Lifesphere Inc: Acquisition by Talitha Kalago

Author:Talitha Kalago
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: Young Adult
Publisher: Traditional Evolution
Published: 2013-05-20T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twelve

Home Sweet Home

“What were you doing when you ripped your stitches?” the doctor asked. She was an old, serious looking woman who was remarkably unhurried, given the crowd in her waiting room. Eli had been sitting for two hours before she’d called him in. The receptionist had given him paper towels to soak up the blood.

Now the doctor was cleaning the wounds with a sharply cold, pink disinfectant.

“Uh, I slipped,” Eli lied. With his shirt pulled up over his head he couldn’t see much but Phyre’s hinds as she dug around under the doctor’s desk.

“Get outta that!” the doctor growled, shifting Phyre with the toe of her boot. “They go after the dirty bandages. There isn’t much meka won’t eat.”

Eli grimaced and motioned Phyre into the corner, queasy with disgust.

“Well,” the doctor continued, “I can clean this and stitch you up, then it will be up to you to look after it. There isn’t any infection yet. I bet you’re from the Rim, eh? Never met a kid from the Rim who didn’t have an immune system stronger than a steel wall. We’re out of painkillers tonight; do you want something to bite down on?”

Eli felt his stomach sink and looked around the office, then decided nothing looked clean enough to put in his mouth.

“No thank you,” he said.

She vanished behind him with a suture kit and he felt the snip and tug as she began to cut through the remaining stitches. The dragging sensation as she pulled them loose was uncomfortable, but he only winced a few times, particularly when she dabbed at the raw flesh with alcohol soaked swabs.

He thought he was prepared for the first prick of the needle, but he wasn’t. It bit into his skin, piercing right through his flesh and the dragging of the catgut as she made the first stitch just extended the pain.

Tears rolled down his cheeks steadily and he tried to swallow the lump in his throat that was turning into a sob. The stitching took a long time. When the doctor reached the freshly torn wound, Eli thought he’d pass out. The pain made everything seem too bright and the world tilted and danced. It took all his willpower to stay on the table.

He could sense Phyre fretting in the back of his mind, wanting to help, but he motioned for her to stay where she was.

“You’re done,” the doctor said finally.

Eli’s head was spinning, but he nodded and pulled his shirt back into place, rising unsteadily to his feet.

Phyre followed him out to the reception where put his money on the counter. Some part of him resented paying for this torture, but then he was stumbling out onto the street and bracing himself on the wall while he vomited, over and over, until his gut was empty and his back felt as if it were blistering.

He paused again to rinse his mouth at a tap, then staggered on down the street.

Before Kalex had come after him, before he’d been attacked by yet another mad, human-killing meka, Eli had been looking for an apartment.

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.