Subject One

VII. Burst

My heart stops but I feel everything. Every single cell in my body is screaming for release. Luca's warm hands deftly press against my chest, trying to put life back into that little organ that pumps blood. Nothing. Luca's presses become firmer, faster.

"Come on, come on." Luca's lips are against mine, blowing air into my burning lungs.

Nothing.

I hear him leave my side and I start to panic. This is it. Will they bring me back a second time? My mind flashes back to images of Luca's mother laid out on a table, practically a corpse with a voice like gravel. Her eyes haunt me.

I hear Luca back at my side, and he sets something down on the table beside him. He rips open my shirt at the seams, leaving my skin exposed and cold. A surge of electricity fills the air.

"Clear."

Two thousand volts of electricity rack my entire body.

"Come on." Luca says under his breath. I feel the charge again, and Luca electrocutes me a second time. I bolt upwards, and grasp at my chest, where my heart now beats on its own, sporadic and racing. Luca's eyes swell with relief as I collapse back down onto the bed, heaving, but alive.

Luca's arms wrap under me and hoist me back up, cradled in his arms.

"Did you go under? Did you die?" He rushes his words, harsh but hushed in my ear.

"No..." I manage to whisper. He breathes a sigh of relief. Rapid breathing slowly morphs into slow and steady. I honestly don't feel too bad for having a small episode of heart failure. I almost feel... good? All at once, I feel fantastic. Then I notice my chest is completely exposed and snug against his chest. I break away from the contact and wrap my arms around myself to cover my skin, now raised in goosebumps. The tips of Luca's ears burn red as he reaches into a drawer in the end table and gives me a spare, dark blue t-shirt.

"Thanks," I throw the t-shirt on over my head and then discard the scraps of my old t-shirt in a bin next to the cot.

"Well, that was not expected." Luca quickly checks my pulse and then wipes sweat from his brow. I simply nod to him. "How do you feel?"

"Fine." I say, clenching my fists. "Better than fine, actually."

Luca places his hand on my wrist and gives it the lightest of squeezes before pulling away. We're not going to talk about the fact that his lips were on mine repeatedly. It was medical. Non-consequential. He straightens up and rubs his eyes, seemingly exhausted from the events.

"Do you need time to rest?" He asks.

"No," I say, rising from the cot to face him. "Let's do this."

"Follow me, The Embassy wouldn't appreciate any wasted time." Luca gulps, hard. I think about how all of this must be affecting him. Obviously my heart having a little episode was unprecedented but for the most part I feel fine. Will he be wary of me now? Will he be watching closely to see if my skin fades to gray? A deep feeling inside of me knows that I'm going to be okay, for now. I feel lighter, yet stronger with each new step as I follow him.

"I'm going to do an array of tests regarding your physical and mental health. From what we can tell of the new planet we're traveling towards, the air is pure, but slightly less abundant than we're used to, so we need to adapt to that, amongst other things. Hopefully the Supresin will take care of everything..." He trails off. Dr. Arthyr has taken over. His face is a blank slate, his eyes give nothing.

He's hiding. But what is he hiding from?

.-.-.-.

"Class, please recite the five creeds."