Blinking his eyes open, John's hands flailed out and he sat bolt upright on his cot. His scrubs were the same, the dried blood crackling and sloughing off when he moved, and John jumped clear of his cot at the sight. Everything blurred and he grabbed for the edge of his desk but missed. His knee hit the wooden and concrete floor and he cried out as the pain flared up his leg.

"Doctor Bates?" Hands grabbed under his armpit and helped back to the bed, sitting him on the edge. "Are you alright?"

"I don't…" John flailed around a moment, his vision finally clearing enough to see Sybil. "How'd I get here?"

"I assume you walked, dead on your feet." Sybil motioned to his scrubs. "You didn't even take off your clothes."

"But I was…" John swiveled, turning toward the tent. "I was in the… Doctor Smith was… We were talking and-"

"And I think you might be dehydrated."

"I need to find…" John pushed himself up, scrunching his eyes against a moment of dizziness, and stumbled forward. "I need to find Doctor Smith."

"Who's right here." Anna entered the tent, holding a canteen. "Though you may want to drink this first."

"What did you do to me?" John almost resisted as the two women forced him back to a seated position.

"What are you talking about?"

"You did something to me." John insisted, his finger shaking as he pointed it at Anna. "You did something to me."

Neither of the women said anything but, even with his vision swimming, John noted how Anna paused before turning to Sybil. "Can you get me some Vitamin C tablets and juice? I think he might need some sugar in his system. It'll help him hydrate. And another canteen if you can get one."

"Sure thing." Sybil gave John an encouraging nod before leaving Anna and John alone in the tent. A reality that forced John back slightly on his cot and he caught the side of it to keep himself from tipping over as another round of dizziness caught him.

Anna crouched in front of him, her eyes flicking to check the tent flap for a moment, and narrowed her eyes in a close study of John's face. Her fingers rested on his temples before he reared back to escape her grip and Anna pursed her lips. "I will say, you proved remarkably resilient. More so than anyone I've ever done that to before."

"Is that supposed to be a compliment?"

"More a statement of fact." Anna stood and grabbed the canteen again. "A personal note I mentioned out loud."

John put his palm to his forehead, pressing hard as if that pain might bring order to his absolutely thundering skull. "What did you do to me?"

"Nothing permanent."

"That didn't answer my question."

"No, it didn't. But whatever I did, you need to hydrate."

"Now you're concerned for my health?"

"I never said I wasn't before." Anna shrugged, "It's a draining process."

"And you knew that going in?"

"I'd be shit at what I do if I wasn't aware of the possible consequences." Anna held out the canteen to him but John shoved it away. "You need to drink this."

"I don't trust anything from you at the moment."

"That's fair but I'd rather not have you incapacitated."

"More than I already am?" John nodded at the canteen, easing some of the pressure on his forehead. "I don't know what's in there."

"Water."

"With what else?"

"Iodine." Anna held out the canteen again. "I promise it's not poisoned."

"Pardon me if I'm not convinced." John took the canteen all the same and dabbed a little on his tongue. The tang of iodine came through but, otherwise, it was the water Anna promised. He swallowed a mouthful and the tattoo beating inside his skull subsided ever-so-slightly.

"See?"

"Doesn't mean I trust you." John shook the canteen, "You wouldn't need to poison this to put me out again would you?"

"It would make it easier but no, it's not necessary." Anna paced a moment. "I did what I did to make sure you didn't remember."

"Remember what?" John frowned and then winced as a sharp pain stabbed between his eyes. "Judas Priest."

"The side effects should wear off in an hour."

"Should?"

"It's like medication, everyone's a little different." Anna offered another shrug and leaned against the support pole in the middle of the tent. "The rules of chaos apply just as soundly in this case as they do in medicine."

"That's not comforting." John closed his eyes, steadied his breathing, and almost sighed when the pulse beat softer in his brain. "What didn't you want me to remember?"

"It would defeat the purpose, and invalidate your current suffering, if I told you after I went to all the trouble to hide it in your mind." Anna adjusted against the pole. "If you don't remember then you can't tell anyone and what I told you…"

She hitched in place, gave a wince of her own, and then continued. "It needs to be secret and I've got to make sure it stays that way."

"Why?"

"To protect the people who taught me what I know."

"And yourself?" John nodded at her before pulling at the canteen again. "Whatever you told me was… personal. I remember enough of the conversation beforehand to know it was steering toward some details about you."

"It went in that direction and I wasn't trying to suggest my aims were completely altruistic or unselfish." Anna made a face before pointing at the stool near John's desk. He shrugged and Anna sat down. "Even telling you in the first place was selfish."

"How?"

"Because it's the burden of information. I didn't want to carry it alone anymore and I thought sharing it would lighten the load, as it were." Anna took a breath, held it, and then released in a controlled rush. "Part of me, even now, wants to tell you all over again. Or just release the block on your mind so I won't have to repeat myself."

"I'll pass, thank you." John paused, the canteen almost at his lips again. "If you did remove the block, would it feel like my head does now?"

"And how's that?"

"Like seven tiny men are trying to dig for diamonds in the recesses of my skull."

"Very similar probably."

"Then, like I said, pass." John finished the canteen and set it to the side. "Hard pass, as the kids say."

Anna snorted a laugh, "I'll keep that in mind and respect your choice."

"Because I get one of those now?" John made a show of appearing honored and noted the moment of discomfort on Anna's face. "How magnanimous of you."

"I deserve that." Anna shifted on the stool, "I don't suppose an apology right now would be poorly timed?"

"It wouldn't hurt anymore than the pain radiating through my cranium, no." John massaged at his temple with one hand and the bridge of his nose with the other. "It's like an axe is splitting my skull in two."

"I am sorry about how rough this reaction is." Anna cringed, "I never know how someone'll respond."

"Done this before have you?"

"Not often enough to have a sample set, no. But often enough to know you're impressively resistant to what I did." Anna's eyes narrowed, "It could be that your mind's fighting the action and you'll remember it all on your own."

"If I do remember," John squinted at her, "Does that mean you'd do this all over again?"

"No." Anna shook her head, "If you remember then I'll just have to beg your silence on it all so what I told you doesn't spread like wildfire."

"I'm not one for gossip. Everyone's business is their own and no one else's as far as I'm concerned." John reached for the canteen but set it back down when he remember it was empty. "It's parching work though."

"Side effect of the treatment." Anna tapped her temple with a finger. "Changing the body and brain chemistry isn't exactly an energy-free activity."

"And the doctor makes an appearance."

"That hurts." Anna bit the inside of her cheek, "But I probably deserve it so all I can say is that I'm sorry."

"For?"

"For violating your choice, changing your mind, and…" Anna took a breath, "For not trusting you enough to keep what I told you to yourself after I forced the information on you in the first place."

"Thank you." John nodded at her, "I accept the parts of that apology I can."

"Thank you."

They sat silent for a moment before John spoke again."

"Would you want to?"

"Want to what?"

"Trust me." John pointed at Anna and then himself, "Would you want to trust me?"

Anna's eyes narrowed again and she pursed her lips. "I don't know."

"You don't know?"

"Not entirely, no."

John gave an exasperated sigh. "Then why, the hell, did you tell me whatever it is you told me that was so secret you had to give me… Electroshock therapy to erase my mind so I couldn't tell anyone else?"

"It wasn't electroshock." Anna shook her head, "We wouldn't have the electricity for it even if I believe in something as archaic as that."

"The point still stands." John leaned back onto his palms on the cot. "Why did you tell me your secret if you don't know if you can trust me?"

"Because I think I want to trust you and then my fear got the better of me." Anna bit at her lip. "But I ruined the potential for trust between us, and I'm sorry for that too."

"So am I." John heaved a sigh, "It would've been nice to trust you back."

"It would've been nice to be trustworthy."

"Live and learn." John took a turn to the bite the inside of his cheek before speaking again. "You can always try again in the future… If you want to try again."

"Part of me wants to. But…" Anna broke off. "The part of me that won out last time gives me the overall impression I shouldn't trust you with this. Or…"

Anna's face contorted a moment, as if sorting through possible words and sentences before stringing them together. "I shouldn't burden you with this."

"And that's your choice." John frowned, "But it does make me curious."

"About?"

"These fighting parts of you." John cringed, "It's not like you're hosting a split personality are you?"

"No. This is the internal battle as basic and old as time." Anna opened her hands. "Self-preservation at its finest."

"Because you're afraid of someone coming after you?"

"The phrase I'd use is 'burn me at the stake' but sure." Anna winced, "What I do… Outside the medical work, isn't exactly kosher."

"I'm Catholic so I won't judge."

Anna snorted and then softened. "For all that rather kind offer means to me, I don't think I can accept it."

"No?"

"No." Anna gave a shake of her head. "I… I allowed my emotions to get the better of me about this in the past and I can't afford to do that again. Not when, given the chance this time, I thought with fear instead of logic and messed it all up… Just in a different way this time than how I cocked it up last time."

"The irony of excessive emotions that makes us a step above the computers we use." John adjusted his position and gripped the side of his cot until his knuckles whitened as a wave of head-pounding induced nausea passed over him. "Whatever you gave me… Or did to me, I don't think my brain likes it any more now than it did before."

"I don't think so either." Anna moved the stool closer to take a better look at John. "It's why I sent Sybil for the Vitamin C and juice. We need to rehydrate your body and get it running efficiently again."

"Because what you did squeezed me dry?"

"It wasn't desiccation but it did take a lot of your inherent energy. Hence your inability to remain upright for long." Anna helped him lay back. "Do you want me to help take away some of the pain?"

John froze, "Will it involve more of the same of what you've done already?"

"No."

"Because I can't take a repeat performance."

"I wouldn't risk you like that." Anna rearranged the stool and herself to get close enough to the cot to keep her arms within comfortable reach.

"Would you risk me by telling me more secrets that you'll be afraid I'll tell others and you'll whip the rest of my brain like souffle batter?"

"No."

John pursed his lips and loosened the grip of his fingers on the sides of the cot to try and rest a little easier. "Then do whatever you think will restore me from this incessant hum in my drum."

"Will do." Anna's fingers moved over John and he almost relaxed into the hypnotic motions of her hands over his body.

Almost.

After a minute or two he spoke again. "You've could've trusted me, by the way."

"Sorry?" Anna's fingers paused in a complex configuration above his chest and stomach as John met her eyes.

"You could've trusted me to keep your secrets." John took a breath, struggling not to blink as he held Anna's stare. "If you'd taken the chance to ask me, I would've kept those secrets… Whatever they were."

Anna drew back, her fingers tugging at one another, and nodded. "Thank you."

"Don't mention it."

"I…"

John perked up but Anna seemed to retreat, her fingers flexing but not moving as they did before. "You what?"

"I… Thank you. For being someone I could trust. I just…" She went back to the soothing motions that brought a slow but deliberate order to John's mind and seemed to give Anna the focus she needed to continue speaking.. "I've not trusted anyone with my secrets before and… I'm bad at it."

"That part almost went without saying."

"It's obvious… Now. But it's…" Anna shook her head. "I've not had the opportunities to really trust people. And when I have… It's blown up in my face so…"

"So you're a little gun shy."

"If only it were only that." Anna gave a little jerk, as if trying to toss away an undesired memory. "But, in a way, yes. I'm gun shy about trusting people."

"I can understand that." John sighed and closed his eyes. "But something compelled you to tell me in the first place."

"Something did."

"And I don't think it was due to my nice face."

Anna laughed and John cracked an eyelid to look at her. "No, it wasn't your face. But it's a nice face so it's not the worst reason."

"Thank you." John sobered after a smile. "Why did you tell me?"

"Other than to shift and share the burden?"

"Other than that, yes."

"Well, as I said," Anna's fingers continued and John noted how his entire body felt simultaneously heavy and as if he could float above his cot without worries or cares. "Part of me trusted you and I wanted to tell someone."

"And I think that's bullshit." Anna's fingers stopped again and John waited a breath before continuing his thought. "I think there's more to it."

"Do you?"

"Of course." John studied Anna's reaction but her face was almost ridiculously blank. "Why else tell me a secret you then risked the stability of my brain to take back"

Anna drew fully away from John now and he turned his head to watch her. "There's another reason. Maybe you don't know it yourself or you're too scared to admit it, but it wasn't a spur of the moment desire that you immediately regretted."

"No, I guess it wasn't."

"Then," John sat up, waiting a second to ensure his head no longer swam as he did, and faced Anna on his stool. "Why did you tell me?"

"Because… Because I think you could be the key to how we keep this place going."

"What?"

"When all is said and done, when Green has his way and Dr. Mukwege moves to his next job and we're the last ones standing, I think you're one of the people who'll still be here to keep us running."

John raised his eyebrows. "You're serious?"

"You'd be surprised how often just having a good head on your shoulders can make a difference around here."

"So this is…" John snorted, "This is hazing? You're hazing me to assess my competence in terms of keeping a bush hospital open?"

"It's not hazing."

"What would you call it?"

Anna shrugged up a shoulder, "More like a measure of aptitude." She shook her head again, as if physical motion kept obtrusive thoughts away. "But that's not what this was. And if I had intentions like that, which I don't, I wouldn't do anything as reckless as… What I did wasn't reckless and…"

She hissed and groaned, standing up to pace. "This is coming out all wrong."

"I'll say."

"It' wasn't a test, okay." Anna faced John, her hands on her hips. "It was… A poorly executed attempt to open up to someone I thought would understand me and mine and I… And I cocked it up."

"Or I did."

"Why would you say that?"

"You told me something so private you then wiped my brain after you confided in me so…" John took his turn to shrug a shoulder. "I guess my only being here a month isn't enough time to judge my leadership qualities."

"I wouldn't judge any of your qualities this way."

"I'd hope not since I must've failed."

"Failed?"

"The conversation we had earlier and this one are… A train wreck." John shook his head and laid back on his cot, stopping himself from continuing to look at Anna. "A train wreck that tells us both one very important thing."

"And what's that?"

"That I'm not the person you'd trust to run all of this in your absence."

Anna bit at the inside of her mouth as her eyes narrowed. "Not yet."

"Not yet?"

"No, not yet. But of all the options here, you're one of the best candidates for training as if that was going to happen." Anna folded her arms over her chest. "You've got the potential for it."

"Then what's holding me back?"

"You're asking me?"

"You're the one with the power to make it happen."

Anna nodded, more to herself than to John. "I've not made a list of anything specific because I didn't intend to have this as a one-on-one so…."

"So you don't think there's anything holding me back?"

"I didn't say that."

"Then tell me what you've got at the tip of your tongue right now."

"Me, partially, and…" Anna chewed the corner of her mouth. "And a lack of information as to the nature of this place."

"Other than being deadly in almost every way known to man?"

"Other than that important part, yes." Anna opened her mouth, closed it, and then tried to speak again. "Can I… Can I tell you a story?"

John snorted his laugh, "What?"

"Can I tell you a story?"

"Will this one end with you swirling my brain like a vodka chaser?"

"No."

"Then, by all means, proceed." John closed his eyes. "It might help me drift off to sleep as I try to put this incredibly weird day deep in my memory."

"It's not really a bedtime story."

"Then find a way to make it one." John cracked his eye to look at Anna. "You got me into this mess. If you want to get us out of it then that's on you."

"Mess?"

"What would you call it?"

"Fair point." Anna took a breath and sat on the stool again, "It's… It's actually more of a local legend than it is an actual story."

"It's all the same to me." John shrugged, "I can't claim to've read an overabundance of Congolese bedtime stories as a child. Or any, really. So this'll be an adventure and an enlightening experience."

"Not sure if it'll be enlightening but I can at least expose you to something new."

"Walk me through it then."

"Well…" Anna gave a little laugh, "How much do you know about witches?"

"In general or specifically?"

"Generally."

"About as much as anyone who's read Harry Potter." John started to smile then paused. His forehead furrowed and he scrunched his eyes against a shot of pain through his head. "I think… That hurt."

"I'd suspect it did."

John twisted at the neck to look at where Anna sat on the stool. "Why?"

"Because part of what I told you before was about witches."

"Is this a test?"

"No. It was an honest question but…"

"But my mind doesn't like it?"

"I told you that you were uncommonly resistant to what I did." Anna winced, "Maybe your mind's still got the memories and you'll get them back in time but the block's just got to fade first."

"You blocked my memory from earlier because you were talking about witches?"

"There were more specifics to it than a general discussion on the craft but yes, part of what we discussed involved witches."

"And now we're going to discuss witches again?"

"In a different way."

John groaned, "Then, generally, I know about as much as is culturally relevant but not enough to be considered more than conversational on the topic."

"It's a baseline."

"For a discussion we're about to have about witches?"

"For a story I'm about to tell you about witches here."

"Here?"

"Sure."

"They've got witches in the Congo?"

"Witches aren't a regional phenomenon." Anna shrugged a shoulder, "They're not called witches here but the general term helps get the idea across."

"But aren't witches worshippers of the Devil or something?"

"If we're talking about Christian tradition, maybe." Anna scoffed, "Or else we're just talking about single women punished by weaponized religion for expressing thoughts outside societal norms."

"Free-thinking women, puniched from the beginning of time."

"True enough."

John sobered, "But that's not the discussion we're about to have?"

"No."

"And we're not about to discuss The Craft?"

"No." Anna shuddered, "We're not talking about that movie."

"Then…" John frowned, "Then why mention witches?"

"Because here, and in other places, there are those with access to real power and practitioners of ancient rites for the betterment of others and the protection of their society." Anna took a breath, "These practitioners have true power."

"You believe they had real power?"

"Have and yes, I do." Anna hurried to her story so John could not ask about your particular use of the present tense verb. "This story is old."

"How old?"

"Older than the European conquest and colonization of the African continent."

"That's older than I thought this would be." John evened his breathing. "What's the witch's story then?"

Anna opened her mouth, as if to begin, closed it, took a breath, and tensed in body and expression as if her next question would spark a reaction she needed to batten down the hatches to bear. "Have you… Have you ever seen Ladyhawke?"

John snorted a laugh, "We went from Harry Potter, to The Craft, and now we're debating Ladyhawke?"

"There's no debate?"

"Semantics." John waved it off and adjusted on his cot as he took a breath. "And of course I've seen it. It was bad eighties fantasy with an electro-synth soundtrack."

"So you liked it?"

"Does that affect whether or not the story you're about to tell continues?"

"Your opinion on the film's inconsequential."

"Good." John shrugged, "I think it's good. Not a banger necessarily but it's a good time so I've never said no to a viewing."

"Then you know the story?"

"Of course." John frowned, "Why'd you ask?"

"Because this story's a bit like that. A woman, a witch-woman if you believe the story, named Andromeda-"

"I thought you said this took place before Europeans tried to colonize this area."

"It does."

"Andromeda's a Greek name."

"It's also the name of an African princess from the Bantu tribe and means 'Ruler of Men'." Anna made a face as if to say 'so there'.

"Really?"

"Really." Anna leaned back, crossing her legs on the stool. "Do you want me to continue the story?"

"If you like."

"Good." Anna swallowed, "The story goes that Andromeda was greatly respected by her people and served them well. Unfortunately she caught the attention of a man she despised. And because of her position in the tribe he couldn't pursue her on his own."

"Can't say I'm overly upset about that."

"Neither was she. But while he couldn't get her for himself, he did get in the way of the romance she sought to cultivate with the man she loved."

"Isn't that just how it is?" John closed his eyes, "What was his name?"

"Which one?"

"The man she actually liked."

John could almost hear Anna's smile as she continued. "Jabari."

"And what's his name mean?"

"Fearless and brave."

"Seems the appropriate object of affection for a woman named 'Ruler of Men'."

"It was." Anna sighed, "And it was what Jabari was."

"Living up to expectations."

"So the story goes." Anna gave another sigh before taking a breath, "The tale continues to say that Andromeda tried to protect them from the machinations of her unwanted admirer by ensuring she and Jabari were never seen together."

"I'm sensing a 'but' here."

"But," Anna gave dramatic pause. "The man was still jealous."

"Isn't that how it always goes." John tsked his tongue. "And what did the asswipe do about his unreturned and undesired affections?"

"If the story's to be believed he found another witch woman-"

"In a catalogue?"

Anna ignored the interruption, "He found a woman practicing forbidden voodoo and entreated her to cast a curse on the lovers for him."

"Ugh." John shuddered, "Please don't say that."

"Don't like curses?"

"I don't like the term 'lover' or 'lovers'."

"I'll keep it in mind." Anna almost laughed but managed to keep it to herself. "The curse cast on the… paramours… Is that better?"

"Much."

"Fine, the curse cast on the paramours separated them."

John opened his eyes. "Is this the part that's like Ladyhawke?"

"Yes." Anna took a breath, "During the day Andromeda was a woman and at night she took the form of an elephant."

John gaped at Anna, "That… There are so many inappropriate jokes to be made about a situation like that."

"I'm sure there are but you won't make them."

"Wouldn't dream of it." John pursed his lips, "But I guess elephants are known for their maternal societies. They take no shit from bulls and are known for their maternal instincts and wisdom."

"Nice save."

"I've got skills with the ladies."

"We'll see."

"What about Jabari?" John shifted on his cot again, "I'll assume he didn't escape notice while his lady love was walking around as a were-elephant."

"Jabari was turned to a black panther during the day."

"Sleek."

"And effective, in a way, as he stalked the village during the day to keep it safe and, at night, he protected his people as a man."

John stared at the ceiling of his tent. "This is the point, if I remember the movie correctly, where you tell me that they're not supposed to ever be together again, as nocturnal and diurnal as their personalities are, but then an eclipse broke the curse."

"In the movie, sure."

John turned his head back toward Anna, "This one doesn't end that way?"

"No." Anna shook her head and her face fell slightly, "While there was an eclipse, a few actually, and they managed to have a few days together, they spent the rest of their lives apart."

"Tragic."

"Bittersweet." Anna gave an almost conspiratorial shrug. "During those times that they overlapped as humans, they didn't waste time."

"No?"

"No." Anna smiled, "Andromeda fell pregnant and gave birth."

"To an elephant calf?"

"To a son she named for his father."

"And what did Jabari Junior do with his mother spending half her time as an elephant and his father as a panther?"

"He trained with his mother during the day, learning her skills as a witch-woman and healer, and then trained with his father at night for the express purpose of learning to break his parents' curse."

"Did he?"

Anna shook her head, "No. As much as he tried, some things can't be undone."

"What did they do then?"

"The legend finishes with their deaths. Andromeda and Jabari died on the same day, both human for a sliver of an instant as they breathed their last breaths together. And then their spirits took on their animal forms to walk the jungle together until the end of time."

"So there's, according to legend, a panther loping about out there with a bush elephant as its mate?"

"That's how the story goes."

John snorted and turned his head back to the ceiling of the tent. "Not sure I believe it's anything more than a romantic story."

"Maybe it is, maybe it's not." Anna stood, "But my great-grandmother birthed my grandmother on a riverbed close to here during, if you believe it, a raising of the river that washed away mercenaries attacking her camp."

John lifted himself to sit up at that. "You're jerking my chain with that."

"No." Anna shook her head, "They say my great-grandmother could bring the animals of the jungle to her aid when she wished it."

"Sounds like bullshit to me."

"I guess it goes to what you believe."

John nodded at Anna, "And you believe that?"

"I do." Anna folded her arms over her chest. "It's my family heritage. It's not just a story to me and, in a way, neither is the tale of Andromeda and Jabari."

"They're legends like King Arthur or Beowulf." John shook his head, "Legends about people who were probably real and did significant things but then suffered the embellishments of time and tide to make them seem greater."

"In my family it's within the realm of possibility."

"Not in mine."

"Maybe in time." Anna stepped to the side as Sybil entered, "Thought we'd lost you to quicksand Sybil."

"Sorry." Sybil's face flushed a bit and John coughed to cover the snort he got at the slight swell to Sybil's lips and the muss to her hair that was not due to the stifling humidity. "The canteen's… It's a bit mad at the moment."

"As is a broom closet I'll imagine." Anna nodded at John, "Rest up Doctor, I'll need you fighting fit as soon as possible."

"I'm sure, if you wanted, you could help that along." John took the Vitamin C tablets form Sybil's hand and swallowed them back with the half the juice in a single pull.

Anna's eyes narrowed and a muscle in her jaw twitched. "I'm sure I don't have any idea what you mean."

"Course not, my mistake." John handed the glass back to Sybil after he finished it. "I'll be shipshape and Bristol fashion before you know it."

"I hope so."