A Gift from the Goddess

Book Two – Ch.# 22 

“Please sit down on the bed over there,” said the doctor, pointing in the direction.

She was an older lady and quite pretty for her age, her most notable feature being her gentle eyes. She had introduced herself as Doctor Melissa Chambers. “Kieran, did you want to sit in the chair?” she asked without looking. A question met with a second of awkward silence between the two of us.

We hadn’t discussed him being in the room whilst I was examined. I’d just assumed that, like human doctors, they normally were more of a private thing unless the person was a spouse or relative.

But before any of us could talk, the doctor quickly shook her head. “Oh, right, I forgot… I suppose just wait outside then.”

“No… hang on,” I said, hesitating. “Kieran should probably be here. You know… in case I don’t understand parts of what you tell me. I may need him to help explain later….” I then turned to look at him. “If that’s okay with you?”

He nodded.

“Of course,” he said. “Whatever is most comfortable for you.”

And without any further delay, I went and sat on the bed as the doctor began examining me.

There was a small privacy screen, so I didn’t need to worry about Kieran seeing anything, but I was just grateful to have him there. Truthfully, I was more nervous than I cared to admit and having him close by helped soothe my anxiety a little.

“I didn’t hear the whole story from Kieran, but I was told there was something about potential suppressor usage… and silver,” she said. “If that really is true then we should do an internal investigation as soon as possible.”

She poked and prodded at my skin as she conducted different tests, but her words caused a stir in me.

An investigation could lead back to my father… which could lead back to me. All of which I didn’t want uncovered. My past was still something I hadn’t divulged to Kieran yet.

I didn’t argue with her though, choosing to remain silent. My head was now already thinking of ways I could avoid the situation. But I was promptly pulled from my thoughts after she finished taking my blood pressure,

Because upon lifting my shirt up, a small gasp left her, Just how bad did it need to be for a doctor to be surprised?

“However..,” she continued, her eyes not leaving the old scarring on my skin. “Kieran told me a little about your situation Told me about the potential abuse. As a personal favour, he’s asked me to give you some time to adjust here before we let officials go digging into your personal life I can see merit in that Mental wounds are just as important to heal.” It felt strange to have someone talking about me like this. My last doctor never seemed to show more interest than was absolutely necessary,

“…Were these scars originally caused by a silver object?” she then asked.

It was a difficult question that brought up some less than pleasant memories, but I bit back any discomfort I had.

“No,” I answered, keeping it simple.

The truth was that most of these were from my victim’s pocketknives, training daggers or… whatever instrument Gavin felt like using during punishment. All normal metal from what I could recall.

“Adult scarring like this is rare for our kind. You should have completely healed from these. It’s true the suppressors would limit ability but I’m more inclined to think this might be from the… silver consumption.” She seemed to struggle to say the last part, almost as though the idea of it made her sick “I’m going to take a blood sample now. You can pull your shirt down.” I did as instructed and allowed her to do what she needed. She spoke a little as she worked.

hope?” she asked, taking the sample to

“Yes.”

then I don’t need to tell you

to protest, but I cut him off. “–Yes, I’ve been told.” She turned around to look at me, the vial behind her having turned black. And though her eyes were now sharper, I could tell her blunt response had good reason behind it. “There isn’t any point in sugar coating it. She needs to understand just how bad this really is,” she defended. “…And I don’t say that lightly. This is the worst case I’ve ever seen in all my years as a doctor. Worse than even the things I saw during the war. We stopped production of the suppressors exactly for this reason. To ensure that it wasn’t adapted or developed into something far more terrifying. And now look…” She held

said, a warning in

What was that? I wasn’t sure what she was referring to, but it was a term I wasn’t familiar

have sworn that, for a moment, I saw tears in the doctor’s eyes. But with a long inhale of recovery, she then turned back around and began mixing some small vials or liquid on her workbench. Working until she was able to produce a syringe full of whatever she’d made “This is the best I can give you,” she finally said, walking back over to me. “The external damage already done will most likely never heal and, for that, I am truly sorry. But what I give you will help to eliminate the chemicals in your system, hopefully allowing your full strength to return It

permanent scarring.”

asked, unable to hide my

my potential. “For bruising and wounds… usually within a day. Of course, this also depends on the severity, the person, and the body’s condition. Broken bones though are

then leaned over and stabbed me

the silver in your body. I’mi hoping that it will bind it like a metal, allowing for it to leave your system without issue. And, as for the suppressors….” To my dread, a bottle of pills were then handed to me. A sight I now loathed after discovering the truth regarding my medical care all these years. “This will help to absorb and flush it out. Once a day for two weeks. I would also like to see you again soon to check your progress. In the meantime though, I’ll do some further testing here to screen for long-term internal damage. With any luck, we’ll get you up and running at full strength in no

proceeded to take the pills from her

she said, reaching for my hands. “I’ll do

thanked her nonetheless, doing my best to stay neutral. Another several minutes then passed before Kieran and I were finally leaving the hospital. The entire time we walked, I kept thinking back to the doctor’s

was the one who brought up needing to do an investigation. Then…. “.. Are you okay?” Kieran asked. I hadn’t said anything since we left her office so it probably did seem odd. His voice quickly snapped me out of my thoughts. “I’m

“About”

“But… did the

though, Kieran went quiet. Something that made me think

he would turn

“Kieran?”

because she’s an old family friend. She was close with my mother before her passing. But… there was another reason too.” He then paused, a crease forming between his brows. “She was one of the lead developers who

That explained a lot.

he continued, “but it’s not like she can undo her past. Back then, she didn’t really have a choice either. Meting you now and being able to see how the effects are still present even after all these years… I think she feels

of thoughts in my head. Did I resent her? I wasn’t sure. She knowingly helped create something that had the sole purpose of hurting others. Even in her old age and whether it was voluntary or not, surely she

much good to mull on it. There wasn’t much I could do about what had already happened. All that mattered now was

made me recall her words regarding the need

from, especially if there could be others out there just like me, unknowingly affected. But… letting them follow my trail back to

had to be a way to find out where they

someone said

we’d met at the border yesterday; a similar sort of athletic authority

me a few minutes,” Kieran said to

he walked over to talk to

work related since I wasn’t meant to

thinking about my own work… and my assignments… and…