Shifters

Chapter 42

THEA

It was a large room, with a row of windows, all shuttered. White cots lined the walls, with pristine white sheets and pillows. I jerked my eyes away from a bed where there looked to be a slight reddish stain on the sheets. Don't be surprised, Thea, I told myself. These people fight. They get hurt. I swallowed. They die, a tiny voice at the back of my head finished.

"Theodora Myers?" a gentle voice called. I looked to see a plump, petite woman with strawberry-blond hair rise from a desk in a corner of the room. She looked like a stereotypical nurse, with the white uniform and rosy cheeks and everything.

"Yes," I said.

"Good, good. I'm Nurse Anderson. Now, let's begin, shall we? How old are you?"

"Seventeen."

"What were your parents' names?"

"Is this all stuff you know, and you're just seeing if my answers match up?" I snapped irritably.

"Sorry, dear, I must. Their names?"

Reluctantly, I told her.

"Yes, yes. Now, remove your shoes and stand against the wall there, dear." She gestured to a measuring tape on the wall. I did as she asked, and she recorded my height.

"Now, your weight, please."

I stepped onto the scale and she wrote down that number, too.

"Sit on one of those cots, dear."

I did.

"Oh! What is that in your head?" the nurse asked.

"Um...this thing the Facility put in?" I said.

"Oh my," she said, examining the object. "Well, we will have the doctor look at it." She proceeded to look into my eyes and ears, measure my pulse, etc.

"Your heart rate is quite high," Nurse Anderson noted.

"I'm scared of needles," I admitted, wiping my sweaty palms on my pants.

"Ah," Nurse Anderson said sympathetically. She pulled out a pager and said into it, "Dr. Phillips, we are ready for you."

Not thirty seconds later, the door opened and a tall, thin man walked in. I'd think a doctor would look healthy, but this guy was painfully thin.

"Miss Myers?" he asked.

"Yes."

"Dr. Phillips, before you start, there is a strange device in her head," Nurse Anderson noted. "Be careful of it."

"Oh?" Dr. Phillips said, peering at my head. "I can't tell much now, on the surface," he said. "We'll have to do more scans later. For now we'll just do x-rays. Over here." He led me to a jumble of equipment in the corner, directed my exact posture, then told me to be still and flipped a switch. The machine buzzed and then went silent.

"All set. Next, blood tests," Dr. Phillips said.

I followed him and sat on the cot again, my foot tapping the air. I could hear my pulse in my ears.

"She's not very comfortable with needles," Nurse Anderson told Dr. Phillips. I would've rolled my eyes, but I couldn't focus enough, not even for that.

I watched Dr. Phillips ready the needle. My hands clenched into fists. He approached, so slowly yet so quickly. I felt the seconds drag on, but then he reached my side all too soon.

"Take a deep breath. Now hold still."

I squeezed my eyes shut, but then at the last second I flinched away, scrambling back across the cot. "I'm sorry. I can't do it."

"It's alright, dear," Nurse Anderson said gently. "We're not trying to hurt you. I know it's not pleasant, but it'll just be a quick pinch."

Dr. Phillips stepped forward again, but I half-jumped, half-fell off the cot, backing away until my back hit another cot, which tipped onto its side from the impact and crashed to the floor. I jumped at the noise.

Dr. Phillips sighed. "The sooner we do this, the sooner it'll be over."

Face your fears, Thea, I thought. Just a needle. Just a needle. I told myself to move forward, but my legs wouldn't budge.

"Relax, Theodora," Dr. Phillips said, taking another step forward.

My body jerked back another step. "Thea," I mumbled.

Dr. Phillips kept approaching, and I kept moving backward automatically. Then, I ran into something. Before I could process it, I'd already started falling backward, tripped by the cot I'd knocked over. I yelped and grabbed at the cot, bringing it down with me with a crash.

The door flew open and Will's worried face peered in, Luke looking over his shoulder.

"We heard the crash, and you shouted—" Will began.

"Jeez, Thea, what were you doing?" Luke said, raising his eyebrows and pushing past Will. He surveyed the overturned cot. I stared at the two of them, along with Nurse Anderson and Dr. Phillips.

"Mr. Wesley, if you wouldn't mind-" Dr. Phillips began.

"I do mind," Luke declared, already by my side. He helped me to my feet, and then didn't let go of my hand.

"We're just trying to take a blood sample. So, if you would, please leave," Mr. Phillips said curtly.

"No," I said. I walked back to my cot, sat down, and held my other arm out. "Please. Let them stay. Just for this. I promise, it'll be easier."

Will met my eyes and gave me an encouraging nod.

"Fine, if you let us proceed," Dr. Phillips relented.

I nodded stiffly. He approached warily and took my arm. I looked away.

"What did the egg say to the comedian?" Luke asked suddenly.

"Oh no," Will replied. "What?"

"You crack me up!"

"That was an egg-ceptionally bad pun," Will countered.

"Egg-scuse me. I've been told it's egg-cellent. I only tell the best yolks."

I gave a small smile. There was a sudden, painful pinch in my arm, and I almost jerked away, but Luke squeezed my hand, keeping me grounded. I kept my eyes focused on his hand. My skin felt clammy. I was trembling. I couldn't do this.

"Now, that wasn't so bad, was it?" Dr. Phillips said, setting down the needle and sticking a bandage on my arm. It was over.

I sighed and winced at a twinge in my arm. "Thanks, guys," I said to Will and Luke, my voice shaky.

"No problem," Luke said. Will nodded.

"My pl-egg-sure," Luke continued. Will groaned.

"Lucas, please stay for your exam. Thea and Will, you may leave," Dr. Phillips said. With a nod to Luke, Will and I left.

"Irrational fears," I mused, as Will and I sat down on one of the benches in the fitness area.

Will chuckled. "Perhaps it's not irrational. You never know when they'll be pumping strange chemicals into your veins."

I stared at him. "Thanks for that."

He ducked his head. "Sorry. You know I'd never let that happen. Or - I'd try."

"Yeah," I said. "Thanks."