Читать книгу Black Riders - Samuel I Sinclair - Страница 7

Chapter 2

Treatment

1

Adrian stepped out of the operating room and into the hall that led to the washroom where he had a clean set of clothes laid out. Walking through the hallway with a candle in his hand to illuminate his path, he felt the hair he had on tickle the back of his neck.

“Oh yes,” he said, removing the wig. “He prefers the lighter colors.”

He paused a moment and felt the twinge of pain in his chest and sighed, looking into his shirt at the freshly finished tattoo Izac had made on their body.

I must admit, he does great work, he thought as he began to walk again. But he forgets we must share. Perhaps I will have a talk with him soon about this.

He walked through the doorway to the washroom and removed his clothes. There were already buckets of cold water sitting inside. He rinsed all the blood off his skin and cleaned himself to his satisfaction, which took the better part of three-quarters of an hour because of the lack of running water and, thus, the need to conserve. When everything was finished, the sun had fully risen, which meant he would have to hurry to get to the appointment he had today before facing a suspicious inquiry.

He dried himself quickly and put on his clothes and the wig he had been wearing when he had first met Anna. Now fully dressed and almost ready to tackle the nagging chores of the day, he exited the building. The entrance was in an alleyway that people didn’t want to look at, so no one noticed that he came out of it.

But that will attract too much attention, he thought. And besides, those are his thoughts. Now to get my little pick-me-up before my appointment.

With an unnoticed spring in his step, he walked along the street for three blocks before turning right. Then a left five blocks after that. And finally, another left at the street corner of Full Moon Road and Half Moon Drive. At this corner was the popular Night Sky Café. It was famous for its energy restoration and enhancement formulas.

“Well, hello, Doctor,” a female server called as he entered. “Did you pull another all-nighter?”

“I’m afraid I did,” he replied and sat down at the counter. “I have a few new patients that are coming in in a few days, and I need to finish examining the files from their former helpers before they arrive.”

“Is that all?” the server asked. “Or is it something with your health again?”

“Alice, please.” He sighed. “As I have told you before, my health is mine to worry about and mine alone. So please, just fix me a triple pump energy restoration shot, and I’ll be on my way.”

“Yes, sir,” Alice replied in a dissatisfied but accepting tone.

She turned her back to him and mixed him a small drink. It totaled three ounces, and he quickly drank it like the way alcoholics downed shots of liquor. He grimaced at the bitter taste.

“It tastes worse every day,” he said as he set the glass down. “But I do understand I normally come in when you are finishing your batch.”

“You really should come here when we first open,” Alice proposed.

“At sunset?” Adrian said in fake exasperation. “We both know I don’t need any help staying awake at night, thanks to my condition.”

“Well, I suppose I’ll see you again tomorrow morning then,” Alice responded, putting her hand out.

Adrian shook his head and reached into his pocket. He brought out his coin pouch and gave Alice one silver and three copper pieces.

“I pulled an all-nighter to complete the paperwork, so I have no reason to stay awake all night for quite some time now,” he lied.

Without giving Alice another chance to speak, he turned and walked out the door. Once outside, he took notice of the sun and decided to look at his watch. He looked to see that there was no one around and then rolled his shirt sleeves up and glove down. When he looked at it, he realized he had taken too long during his leisurely walk to the café. It was almost half past eight.

I’m going to be late! he shouted in his head.

He wasted no time and rushed back up Mirrored Avenue and then through Wallace Park. After going through the park, he met with others that were not quite as early risers as him but still had appointments or work to do and needed to ride the monorail to get to another nonadjacent district.

2

He walked with the other foot traffic, still in a slight panic, until he heard the announcement from the soldiers.

“Any and all suspicious items will be confiscated, and those carrying them shall be arrested,” the announcement informed.

He got in line and waited until it was his turn to be searched, and when it was, he was greeted with slightly open arms.

“Hello again, Doctor,” the soldier searching him said. “I see you are trying a new hairstyle today.”

Adrian smiled and touched his wig, making the comment, “I have a collection so my bald head doesn’t get cold.” The soldier laughed and finished the search. When he was allowed to pass, he wasted no time in getting on the monorail and taking a seat. When he had sat down, he heard the announcement ring out.

“Attention, passengers of the Blue Monorail. We will be traveling from the East Residential Districts to the Southern Medical District. This trip shall take approximately one hour, and we ask that you remain stationary during the course of the trip.”

The monorail then jerked and began to move. The doctor closed his eyes and became lost in his thoughts as the monorail ran its route. When he heard it announce that it had arrived and came to a jerking halt in the district he would be departing, he all but rushed out of the cradle. He had taken the time in the monorail to calm down, and the shock of the drink had had time to diminish, so now he had energy but was in a much calmer mood.

3

When he exited the monorail, he noted that the cradle was not quite as packed as it normally was during this time.

Don’t you go getting distracted? a voice in his head warned. We need to get to our appointment before we are forgotten.

This thought spurred him back into a panic and he began to grace walk toward his destination. He darted around people when he could and pushed past them if he could not. His path of travel took him directly to Sister Carina’s Medical Ward. When he reached the gates to the ward, he paused a moment to catch his breath. When he had caught it, he asked the guard at the gate to open it.

“I must say,” the guard said, looking at his watch, “you really are as punctual as ever, Doctor.”

“No disease can keep me off my schedule.”

“Then I shan’t hold you,” the guard replied, opening the gate.

The doctor walked in and up to the receptionist who began the standard greeting.

“Welcome to Sister Carina’s. How may we? Oh, hello, Doctor. Is it time for your treatment again?”

“Yes,” he replied with a smile. “You know me so well. Now what room shall I wait in?”

The receptionist searched through a stack of papers to her right and found what she was looking for.

“Room 17. It will be on the right-hand side of the hallway to my right,” she replied as she pointed behind her right shoulder.

“How convenient,” he said in a joking fashion. “Thank you.”

He began his walk down the hallway, past the numbered rooms, which are even on the left and odd on the right, beginning at 120. When he reached room 17, he went inside and sat on the platform. To any normal person who had just drank a triple shot of an energy rejuvenation shot, they would not be unable to stay motionless for more than a second or two. He, though, had extreme patience and power of the mind over the body, so he remained motionless.

He waited silently in the room, listening to the clicking of the shoes on the tile outside as people passed by his room. He wondered where they were going to or coming from. He had little time to wonder this as he started to have more thoughts about what he could do to Anna. These thoughts were dangerous because they were not his own, and this meant that Izac would be coming through before his allotted time.

He suppressed the transfer, just as the door opened and a woman wearing a red sash stepped inside.

“Greetings from the highest power and authority,” the sister said.

“And the same to you, Sister,” Adrian replied.

“Dr. Haeveneck has fallen ill, so I will be taking care of you today,” she explained. She took hold of the chart at the foot of the examination platform Adrian was sitting at and examined it. “I see you have been taking to the treatment very well.”

“From what Dr. Haeveneck has told me, it is almost time for the tumor to be removed,” Adrian said with hope in his voice.

“Well, we need one final deep examination before we can do that, but I am very hopeful from these lab results. Now, please follow me to the chamber.”

The two left the room and went through the ward until they were on the third floor and in the chamber marked In-Depth Examination. The specialists took an examination of his entire chest cavity and then one of each section of his body. When they were finished, Adrian went back to room 17 and waited, as his attending sister waited to examine the results. The results should have been available within two minutes of their creation, but it took a total of thirteen minutes.

When the sister returned with the results, there was another woman with her. This woman was wearing a green sash.

“What is wrong with the images?” he asked curiously.

“We found another smaller tumor growing inside your skull,” the sister with the red sash said with sorrow.

“So on top of the one crushing my heart, I now have one crushing my brain as well?”

“It isn’t likely you will survive long enough for the one in your head to be a true problem.”

“What!” he exclaimed in mixed terror and shock. “I thought you would be able to remove the one that is crushing my heart!? Or if that didn’t work, you would extract the tumor and my heart and give me a replacement.”

“That was the plan, but”—she paused a moment—“it has increased in size at a greater rate than we had expected. At this point, you have, at best, one full moon cycle before suffering permanent failure.”

“Is there anything you can offer me then?” he questioned in a growing livid state. “How long will it take for you to find a donor?”

“As we have said before, you have a rare blood type. And finding a noncontaminated match is more difficult than you can imagine.”

Adrian knew this speech to the letter and knew it was hopeless to continue, but he had to play the part a bit more because he had one final hope.

“Then what am I to do?”

4

“I’m afraid there is nothing we can do at this point but wait and hope.”

He said nothing for a short while and considered all the facts of his situation. He didn’t hear the sister speak again until he felt a hand touch his leg.

“I’m sorry,” he said, returning to reality. “I was lost in my thoughts. What did you say?”

“I said I brought Christine from the church to help you through this time, should you need her.”

“My place is by your side,” Christine added with a smile.

“I’ll give you two a few minutes alone to talk. Just knock on the door, and a sister will come to escort you out.”

She bowed and left the room, closing the door behind her.

“So, what do you plan to do now?” Christine asked, breaking the silence once the door had closed.

“I’m going to die my way and not the way that bastard in The Lower World wants.”

Christine held back both a smile and something that was deeper. It seemed to be annoyance.

“Come now. There is no need for you to make such a drastic choice such as that,” Christine advised calmly.

“Don’t you know who I am?” Adrian asked. She seemed about to speak, and then stopped. “Exactly!” he said, rage building inside of him. “I have my work, and I cannot die before it is done, and now I have almost no time left.”

Christine made no reply. She simply smiled a devious smile.

“If you are only here to counsel me and make me feel at peace, then just go, Miss Christine,” he said, composing himself.

Without another word, he knocked on the door and left the room. Christine still inside.

5

He had barely left the main entrance when he heard the ward’s doors open and a familiar voice calling out to him. He didn’t want to deal with anyone at the time, but out of respect for her and what she does.

“What is it that you are going to try on me now, Christine?” Adrian said in annoyance.

“I brought you a way out.” She panted, clearly having rushed to follow him.

“And what way out would that be?” he asked.

She held out a small glass vial. It was filled with a clear liquid.

“Drink this and you will fall into a permanent slumber,” she offered, still smiling.

“Where did you get this?” he questioned.

Her eyes darted left to right as though she was trying to make certain she wouldn’t be heard.

“Can I tell you a little secret?” she finally whispered.

He nodded.

“I work for someone better and stronger than anyone you could possibly imagine.”

“Who?”

She smiled.

“That is something that I cannot say. At least not right now. So do you want it?”

He hesitated, taking the time to consider her offer.

“I cannot make such a decision so quickly. Give me until tomorrow to contemplate.”

“A cautious answer, but this is the only time that I can offer you this.”

He sighed and felt a pain in his chest.

“Perhaps you could pray for me when I go then.”

She did nothing but smile.

“I thank you for granting me peace and passage.”

“I will need to collect the vial so that royal guards don’t learn the formula.”

Adrian was suspicious about this until he had a thought that would make someone he knew very happy.

“If this is the way to complete peace and a chance at safe passage, then let it be done.”

Christine gave him a look of satisfaction.

“But not here,” he added, looking around the area. “I want to be surrounded by my favorite music and favorite drink when it is done.”

Christine nodded.

“Quite respectable. I have no other engagements for the rest of the evening, so we may do as you please,” she replied, hiding the vial in her sleeve.

“Then please follow me.”

6

He led her to the monorail station, to which they traveled back to the East Residential District in complete silence. They remained this way until they reached his home.

“Here we are then,” he said wearily. “The last time I will ever come here.”

He heard Christine mumble something under her breath, something that to him sounded like “So you think.”

But that was probably someone else passing by he hadn’t noticed.

They entered his home.

“Oh my,” Christine said. “You have a lovely home.”

“It is eclectic, but I find harmony in the chaos,” he replied with a slight grin. “Now, please get comfortable while I prepare a drink.”

“I would like to point out that this is tasteless, so it wouldn’t ruin you drink.”

She held out the vial.

He went into his kitchen and fixed himself a drink, adding the vial’s contents into it, and looked back at Christine. He raised the glass and gave a toast.

“To the adventure.”

“And to your new life,” Christine added.

He was about to drink when he stopped a moment and looked back at her.

“How rude of me,” he said, putting his glass down. “I neglected to pour you something.”

“No need,” Christine replied, clearly anxious about him stopping. “I have something for myself.”

She removed a flask from her other sleeve, opened the lid, and took a drink.

I can’t get her off her guard, he thought. There will be no way for me to get her relaxed enough to make her Izac’s next plaything.

It was during these thoughts that he felt another pain in his heart; this one more intense.

I haven’t any choice anymore, he thought. I am a failure and cannot let him suffer any longer.

He lifted the glass to his lips and drank.

7

The effect was almost instantaneous. He felt at peace, but something was wrong. He could hear laughter. He brought his eyes up to look back at Christine, but for some reason, as he did this, he felt so exhausted that he wanted to sleep for a decade. He realized he was still in his home, and Christine was looking at him with a grin he knew all too well; the grin Izac made when he was having fun.

He tried to speak but had such little strength that he collapsed to the floor.

Christine stopped laughing and looked down on him.

“Now the fun can begin, my pet. So get up,” she said in a cold and seductive voice. He felt his body move without his command, as he rose to his feet. “Good. Now, tell me your name, darling.”

He resisted the mind-numbing effect that her voice had on him until he felt her slap him across the face. This was no ordinary slap, though; the pain he felt from it was almost unbearable.

“I said, tell me your name,” she said in a cold and calculating voice.

“A-Adrian Flinch.” He obeyed.

“Good, good. Now, tell me what it is that you do.”

“I am an alienist with a…a passion for…for…understanding the mind of the insane and unbalanced.”

“That isn’t all that you do, though, is it?” Adrian tried to resist but had no strength to stop himself from shaking his head. “So what else do you do, Dr. Flinch?”

He knew what she really wanted to hear, and it was the secret that he had kept inside and never let anyone know since that fateful night.

“Please, won’t you share,” she spoke in her seductive voice.

“I—I—” he stuttered, resisting the drug. Her smile faded, and she raised her hand. “I will take the pain to keep my secret private,” he said through the drug.

She didn’t slap him, this time; she took two fingers and pressed as hard as she could into the pressure point on his shoulder. The pain he felt from this was empirically the second worst thing he had ever felt. He tried to resist, but he couldn’t stop himself from telling to make it end.

“I said, tell me what you do!”

Adrian was about to shout it for all to hear, but he felt a strength rush into him, and he withstood her pressing fingers. Christine noticed this and pulled back.

“Fine then.” She sighed in slight defeat. “I still have one way to get you to speak.”

She reached into her sleeve and pulled out an electric rod that was used by Royal Guard Institute workers to help with their lessons. She turned it on, and when the buzzing was audible, she moved behind Adrian and touched it to the base of his neck. The pain that followed was insufferable.

“Now, I will ask you one final time,” she said, lifting the rod from his skin. “What is it that you do?”

“I—” He resisted. “I—I take care of my”—the last word was where he put the greatest struggle to resist saying—“brother.”