Forever Begins Tomorrow by Bruce Coville

Author:Bruce Coville
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781497668492
Publisher: Open Road Media

The Severed Connection

When Roger opened his eyes, he saw the concerned face of Dr. Celia Clark peering down at him. Her thick braid of chestnut hair, dangling past her prominent nose, came perilously close to tickling his ear.

Is she our secret friend? he thought in astonishment.

Suddenly he realized that he was no longer in the warehouse. He tried to move, then shouted in pain as a lance of fire shot up his arm.

“You’re lucky you were still unconscious when I set it,” said Dr. Clark softly. “The effect of bones being snapped back into place can be downright nauseating.”

Roger looked down and groaned. His right arm was encased in a pristine plastic cast. “What happened?” he asked weakly.

Dr. Clark smiled. “You had a close encounter of the worst kind with one of Sergeant Brody’s robots.” Roger dropped his head against the bed as the events of the evening began drifting back into his memory. The movement made him wince as another bolt of pain shot along his arm and into his shoulder.

“How bad is it?” he asked, nodding toward the cast. Dr. Clark shrugged. “Multiple fracture of the wrist, lower radius, and ulna. A few years ago you might never have played piano again. But with the new marrow-enrichment techniques, it just means you’ll be slowed down for a while.”

“Well, I’m glad I’ll be able to play the piano when this comes off,” said Roger, who was never able to resist a joke, no matter how old. “I never could before!”

Dr. Clark smiled. That was exactly the reaction she had been hoping for. While it was clear to her trained eye that her patient was still in shock, it was also obvious that the trauma in the warehouse had not driven him into a shell, as she had feared it might.

Roger heard angry voices in the hall outside. He recognized one as his father’s.

“What’s going on out there?”

Dr. Clark glanced at him as she inserted a long needle into a vial of clear liquid. “I think your father’s having a fit. Brace yourself. This won’t hurt long.”

“What is it?” asked Roger, eyeing the needle nervously.

“Painkiller,” replied Dr. Clark as she plunged the needle into his shoulder.

“Ouch! How’s it supposed to work—by making my shoulder hurt so much I forget my arm?”

“Don’t be cranky. If you had been at home minding your own business, none of this would have happened to begin with.”

Roger was working on a suitable response when Rachel poked her head through the door. “Can we come in?”

Dr. Clark nodded, then turned to busy herself cleaning up some equipment. Hap and Rachel slid into the room and came to stand by Roger’s side.

“How is it?” asked Rachel, nodding toward his arm.

“Sore.”

Rachel’s response was interrupted by another outburst from the corridor.

“Boy, your dad is really on a rampage,” said Hap. “He’s chewing Hwa and Brody up one side and down the other.”

Roger grinned.

“Don’t get too cocky,” said Rachel. “I think we’re next—and that includes you, O wounded warrior. He is not a happy pappy.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.