"So," he said, his disembodied head sticking out from the passenger seat as he leaned forward, "You gonna get your results from the hospital now? Is that why we're headed there?"
I glanced at him and looked back at the road before I answered. "Yeah. I'm hoping they have the results. I know it's only been a day but I was told they would be rushed since its a delicate situation." The day was already growing dark. The days were ending more quickly and I needed to hurry.
He nodded, "Yeah, I can see that. I mean, if you are contagious, you could start an epidemic probably huh?"
My hands tightened on the steering wheel in an effort to calm down. Becker's presence did nothing to help my imminent hysteria.
This time all of him popped into the seat beside me. He looked at me apologetically.
"Hey, I'm sorry. I'm sure you're fine. You look as healthy as a horse." His eyes crinkled.
I smiled. But something in his voice rung false. I thought back to that morning.
"I doubt it. I probably look like the walking dead," I said self-consciously, "I didn't get much sleep yesterday. I felt like an insomniac." I looked over at him and awaited a cheeky comeback. But he wasn't looking at me anymore.
He looked out at the road, his face drawn. His profile was sharp and something in the set of his mouth...those glowing eyes of his, started to give me pause.
"Beck," I asked tentatively. Was he in deep thought? He was so talkative a second ago.
He turned back, his expression back to normal. "Huh? Oh, sorry. I was looking at that." He pointed at a mall that was looming before us. "I'm going to miss it." I looked ahead of us..
"You're going to miss...the mall?"
Oh brother.
He shifted his whole body so it was turned towards the shopping center.
"No," he replied softly, "That's not it." The back of him was all I could see.
Some people say they can read a person by the their back. A strong back. A happy back. An angry back.
His head rested on his shoulder and he hunched forward.
...but I'm no back reader.
He turned to me. His eyes glowing an intense green. It rivaled the neon lights of pink, purple, blue, and yellow that danced across his face in the dark.
"I think I'm going to miss hanging with friends and having fun. Seeing my family, going out with them. Doing normal stuff like them." He gestured to his right. There was a giggling couple walking in the sidewalk. Behind them were a group of stumbling friends that held on to each other. In the restaurant next to them were multitudes of families illuminated by the brights lights inside.
He shrugged. "Living, you know?"
He turned away from it then and the shadows swallowed him, obscuring his features. The lights and people were now behind us and growing farther away as seconds ticked by. I sucked in a breath.
I think my heart is breaking. Is this what it really feels like?
I kept quiet but tears gathered in my eyes. I blinked rapidly, thankfull for the sudden darkness.
The ride to the hospital was quiet now.
I parked the car in front of the building and we got out. Well, I got out anyway. Beck just walked through the vehicle.
We walked quietly into the entrance and headed for the desk.
Becker levitated a few feet in front of me. People were going through him, oblivious. It was a sight.
He looked at me sweetly. "Listen. I didn't mean to be a downer back there. It wasn't my intention to make you sad. That's the last thing I want."
I felt a pang.
"I- Sorry." I cleared my throat. The guy who had been killed was trying to comfort me. I felt like a jerk.
"I know." I looked up at him seriously. "Rather than feel sorry, I'll see this to the end."
"We'll see it to the end. We're in this together partner."
We smiled at one another and he looked around. He turned to me.
"Let's stop talking for now. You're already getting funny looks from the people around us. You wouldn't want them to send you to the nut house would you?"
Shoot. I hadn't been paying attention but he was right. I'd have to be careful.
I looked back at him but he was gone.
What the-?
I looked around but I didn't see him. I felt a hand in my shoulder. I jumped a bit.
"Ma'am? Are you alright? Do you need any help?" It was a nurse. I thanked her and asked her for directions. I left for the right department but could feel her gaze as I walked away.
"Beck," I whispered. I turned the corner and he materialized next to me.
"Holy-!"
"Shhhhhh!" He laughed and put his index finger over his mouth. "What? Are you trying to alert the while neighborhood?" His eyes danced.
Little asshole.
"How did you do that? Where were you?" I looked around as I spoke, hoping nobody noticed me talking to thin air.
"I was next to you the whole time Step. I just kinda faded out."
"You can do that?" He nodded.
"Yeah, I've been trying to see what I can or can't do since I became like this. Apparently I can do quite a few things. But now isn't the time." He looked up.
"Look alive lady."
I looked towards where he had glanced and approached a big desk. Behind it was a thin man with no trace of hair on him. He was very pale and, as I approached I noticed his eyes were a very pale, watery blue color. Combined, it gave the effect of a dead fish.
"Hello," I said to him. "I'm here for the results to my blood tests. Its sensitive information so I was told it would be ready quickly."
His blank excpression didn't change. "Name?"
"Stephanie Plum." He asked me for several forms of identification that I'd been told I would need and I handed them to him.
He looked at his computer and back at me. He got up and sighed. "Come along."
Oh.
I tried to catch up to his long strides as we walked through several doors to a small area. A couple people were there, writing on sheets of paper and samples of different things were organized neatly on several counters. We walked to a door marked Doctor Piper.
I almost did a double take as I read his full name below the plaque on the door, but a voice inside told us to come in and we stepped inside.
Mister Fish Eyes left me there and closed the door behind me. I turned to the doctor.
I guessed he was in his early fourties. He had a head full of wild blond hair that stuck out in every direction. Thick, black glasses framed warm, brown eyes. He looked tired as he smiled at me. His coat was wrinkled and so were the clothes underneath.
A fan to his right blew gently at his mop of hair.
"Please have a seat Ms. Plum. I don't want to frighten you. This is all just so we can discuss your results privately."
I sat down and waited. He leaned forward.
"Between you and me, there are a lot of gossipers here. I wouldn't want you to be bothered. From what I hear, you've been through enough," he said conspiringly. His eyes crinkled, not unbecomingly, and he chuckled.
He pulled out several documents from out of his desk and cleared his throat. "First let me say this. I don't believe you're dying ma'am. According to your results and those of the specimen that were confiscated it seems conclusive that you are not infected by the plague."
I let out a whoop of air. I couldn't believe it. Something white poked at the corner of my vision and I looked up. He held a couple pieces of tissue from the box beside him. I hadn't realized that I'd started crying. I took them and wiped my face.
He smiled at me warmly. "Yes, it so happens that whatever concoction the man had created managed to...cancel each other out.. for lack of a better phrase. That and those old rats he had gotten a hold of that contained the bacteria had been tampered with before he'd taken them."
"Wow." It was a lot to take in. But I was high off relief at the moment. And that made me miss what he said next. "Hmm? I'm sorry, I didn't catch that."
His face was now serious. He spoke slowly, "Yes. I said that while your life doesn't seem to be on the line and everything seems stable...it's not exactly normal."
"What do yo I mean? Did I contract some sort of infection? A...disease..?" Bile started to rise up my throat.
He held up his hands quickly and waved them, "No, no! Nothing like that." He glanced at the papers in front of him again and his eyebrows furrowed. "Thing is, you're fine. But whatever he injected you with is still in your bloodstream. It seems benign, thankfully. It was just something to note. If things go their proper course it should leave your system in a couple days."
My heart sank back to its proper place. "Oh. I see." He asked me if I felt fine. I told him I hadn't noticed anything so far. He nodded and continued.
"Like I said, it seems benign. But this something tricky; We don't have much knowledge on it." He looked back up at me. "That's really all. I hope this settled your concerns."
I nodded. Well, I guess, but..
"I'd like to have a copy of the results, please." I gestured at the documents in his hands. He looked startled.
"Oh, ah. Yes. I see. Of course." He mumbled and looked through them, pulling out a sheet and placing it on another pile next to him. He handed me the other pages.
"Oh, what was that paper," asked. I shoved the papers into the bag I'd brought.
"It's a couple notes I took myself. I like to have them in hand."
Hmmm.
He smiled and extended his hand-
And the fan spun on blast. Papers blew every which way and we jumped. We made a mad scramble, trying to catch them. He turned the fan off.
I picked up the ones that had fallen on the tiled floor and handed them to him. We looked at each other wide eyes and laughed a little.
"Well, that was something! Thank you for your help." We shook hands. "Don't hesitate to return if you have any questions or you don't feel well. Have a good day ma'am."
"Please call me Stephanie. I don't know about Ms. or ma'am. And thank you Doctor Piper."
"Oh, then please, call me Peter. Or Pete for short."
