The Rider (Complete)

Chapter Twenty-Five

Kade had spent the better part of a week at the monastery, first wheeling around, and then hobbling on crutches. He was trying to make himself as useful as possible, but also took adequate time to rest in bed, hoping his mind and body would heel.

His lack of mobility was frustrating. He needed to find a way to get back to Endocrine and see if his mother was still alive. It was not a life he wished to return to, but for his own sanctity, he needed to do everything in his power to save his mother and potentially others he was close to. He would surely be killed upon arrival, but there was a small chance that he would be spared and given another way to appease Mr. Saigon.

Kade sat humbly at a long table, eagerly anticipating his next meal. "Thank you," he said, accepting a plate of food. He immediately began shoveling potatoes and other vegetables in his mouth. Periodically, he would massage the back of his stiff neck.

After dinner, Kefu visited Kade in his room and checked his stats once again.

"Your body is recovering well," Kefu said.

"You take good care of me."

"It's more than just my care," Kefu said. "This seems to be the work of the divine."

"No offense, Kefu, but if there is a God, he gave up on this planet, and he certainly has abandoned me a long time ago. After the things I've seen and the places I've been, no benevolent God would allow this to happen."

"Maybe so, but who are we to question his or her authority and the divine plan. There are great benefits that are a result of great tragedy. Our scope of view is too narrow to understand broadly."

Kefu took the usual blood samples and checked Kade's vitals. "How is everything feeling?" Kefu asked. "Are there any nagging issues?"

"I didn't think to mention it before because my entire body was sore," Kade said, "but my neck is killing me."

"Oh?" Kefu said, taking a closer look. "What seems to be the problem?"

"I don't know," Kade said, massaging the back of his neck. "Sometimes I feel like slow dull ache, and other times I feel this sharp pain. It's almost as if someone is sticking a hot poker in the back of my neck."

"Okay, lean forward. I'll take a look."

Kefu placed a light above Kade and looked carefully at the back of his neck. "Hmm, this is unusual," he said.

"What is it?" Kade asked.

"There appears to be a small scar on the base of your hairline. I must have missed it before. What happens when I press down on it?" Kefu asked.

Just then, a sharp pain shot through Kade's body and he reared his head back. "Ow!" he hissed.

"I think I felt something under your skin. I would like to make a small incision and see if I can get it out," Kefu said.

"What do you think it is?" Kade asked.

"I'm not sure, a piece of shrapnel perhaps. Given your line of work, it could be any number of things. It looks fresh though. Have you been near any blasts lately?"

Kade laughed. "Every day someone is trying to kill me."

"Well, not today," Kefu said with a warm smile.

Kefu cleaned the area and injected Kade with a local anesthesia. He then picked up a scalpel and pressed it firmly against the skin. As he drew the blade down, it sunk into his soft flesh and left a small trail of blood in its wake. The slit was only a centimetre long, but that was large enough to extract whatever was burrowed inside.

"There it is," Kefu said, "Now, I'm just going to see if I can get it out..." his voice drifted off as he concentrated. Kefu pinched the surrounding skin like a pimple and a tiny metallic object poked out. Using a set of tweezers, Kefu carefully removed the object and rinsed it off in a nearby tray of water.

Kade couldn't feel a thing. He sat there patiently until Kefu was finished.

"All done," he said, placing the small object in a shallow metal container. "This is definitely not a piece of shrapnel."