Awakening - The Last Science #1

Chapter 16 - Angels and Devils - II

  "I thought you said that wasn't gonna be fun," Alden asked as they came in for a landing.

  "Wait for it," Hailey said grimly. As they swooped up to land upright on the grass just within the treeline, Alden felt a hard tug at his arm. He'd managed to ignore it for so long, but the pain had returned tenfold.

  As Hailey landed and unstrapped him, his arm began to throb madly. His chest felt like hard wires had been cutting into him for hours. His bones were sprouting sores left and right. He was about to stumble and fall when Hailey caught him.

  "It's okay, it's okay. I've got you. Don't worry, this is normal."

  "Why— what—" Alden stammered, trying to catch his breath.

  "You don't have your flying muscles," Hailey answered. "Took Jessica a couple tries to stand just short flights, and she still doesn't like it. You probably don't even have the headache yet."

  On cue, Alden's head started pounding like a drum. He felt Hailey lift him up and carry him towards the doctor's office as gently as she could manage—which was surprisingly far less gentle than Rika, though without the added current of electricity surging through her grip.

  "Why don't you get it as bad?" Alden asked, gritting his teeth.

  "Well, I do this every day," Hailey answered. "Or most days, really. Also, I work out a lot more than you. Your body doesn't have any endurance. You need more cardio especially, but your muscles need work too."

  "Oh," Alden said dumbly.

  "Don't worry about it too much. A lot of guys don't realize how little effort they put into keeping themselves in shape. You've got plenty of time to improve."

  "Right."

  "Also, you're wounded in your arm, so that doesn't help either, especially with the headache. That's blood loss for you."

  "...Thanks."

  "You got it." Hailey walked straight up to the doctor's door and tapped the door with her foot, just loud enough for anyone inside to hear. She helped Alden back to his feet. He still leaned heavily on her for support, but at least he had some dignity before the doctor arrived.

  "Yes, now, what is it?" came a booming voice from within. Alden looked up to find a red-haired, well-built man with a wide, thick moustache staring at him with an intense, friendly gaze.

  "Hi, reverend," Hailey said. "My friend—"

  "Good heavens, look at that arm!" the man cried. He swung the door open immediately and ushered her in. "To the bed in the first room. On the double, Miss Winscombe!"

  In only a few moments Alden found himself swept into a bed, his arm laid out flat and the man dressed in an apron and sterile gloves pulling his sleeve away. The doctor (or reverend, or both; Alden couldn't determine which from the surroundings, which looked like a perfectly ordinary clinic room in every respect) was a whirlwind of activity, pulling out bandages and supplies from drawers behind him without so much as a glance. His eyes were focused entirely on Alden's wounded shoulder.

  "I put the bandages on myself, but I don't know if I did it righ—" Hailey started, but once again the doctor interrupted her.

  "You did well, Hailey dear. The bleeding was stemmed. Is the wound fresh?"

  "In the last couple of hours."

  "How did it occur?"

  "I... well—"

  The man smiled. "Let me ask differently: what actually cut him? I need not know anything more for now."

  "The edge of a cupboard."

  "Ah." He began to unwrap the bandage. "Hailey, please help me out here—do you see any foreign material in the cut?"

  "No, I don't. I think Je... my friend cleaned it all out."

  "Excellent." He leaned in close to Alden's shoulder. "Now, what's your name?"

  "Zack," Alden answered. With the energy exuded by the doctor and the mounting headache from his wound, Alden was feeling very light-headed and overwhelmed. "Who are you?"

  "The good Doctor, Henry Smith at your service," he answered, plucking up a bottle of something Alden didn't recognize. "Now, I'm terribly sorry, but this is going to sting a bit."

  Before Alden could react, he poured it all over the wound. The sensation shot through his arm up to his skull. He flinched and tried to tear away, but Doctor Smith had him firmly held and refused to let Alden wriggle away, grinning triumphantly.

  "There, wasn't so bad was it? Now, on a scale of one to ten, how is your current pain?"

  "Eight," Alden choked out, his eyes blurry.

  "Well, that calls for some medication," he declared. The doctor pulled open another drawer, retrieving more bandages and a bottle of something else. "Here, just a moment now."

  "Reverend, are you sure about this?" Hailey asked in a panic, but the doctor was already doing something near Alden's arm. He strained his eyes to see, but his vision was still blurry from the last burst of pain.

  A moment later, a sharp pain, and Alden's eyes began to go dark. He didn't even have time to panic before everything had faded out.