Author: a fan
Rating: PG Episode Reference: The Kidz are Aiight
Spoilers: All first season episodes
Fic Reference: None Feed back: Always welcome! Email me at [1]afanofda@yahoo.com
Acknowledgements: To my awesome beta Zanna whose contributions go much further than finding my lost commas of which I may add there are many. Zanna your insights are invaluable to me.
Chapter 58 - Wednesday February 26, 2020 - Last Chance (The Kidz are Aiight)
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Wednesday February 26, 2020
6:00 am
Go away. I don't want you. I didn't need to say those words. All I needed to say was `You can take it with you if you want' and Max understood. She was out of here in thirty seconds. I know I hurt her, but I don't care. She didn't need to see me the way I was a few hours ago, and I hope she never does. What she felt this morning when we returned from Portland is nothing compared to what she will feel when she realizes that we have failed. I cannot bear to see the look in her eyes when she does find out. I have to do something to prevent it. All I know at this moment, is that Max can't help me. We have already proven that. I have to do this by myself.
When I had my first leg spasm yesterday, I thought it was just a result of exhaustion and overuse. I had been pacing the apartment all night worrying about Max, so I thought my body was just forcing me to sit down for a few minutes. I remember looking at my cane as if it was my enemy. I had set it aside for a few hours and I didn't want to pick it up again. But now I won't go anywhere without it. It is the only thing that is keeping me standing.
The second failure this morning was much worse than the first. I completely lost all feeling in my legs. They didn't respond at all. I don't know how I managed to keep myself vertical until Max left or how I managed to sit down. Then I just sat there, trapped, for almost an hour until some function returned to my legs. I was a paraplegic again for that hour and it was the most horrific hour of my life. What is worse is that I know it will happen again. It is only a matter of time. When sensation eventually returned to my legs I felt like someone was cutting through my nerves. The pain was unbelievably intense. Then when I attempted to get up, I felt like they had. Standing up was much more difficult than before, almost as if I had just lost half my strength. I needed to support myself on the furniture to maintain my balance. And the ease with which I had been walking instantly disappeared. I have not regained my balance or my strength. On the contrary, things have continued to deteriorate. Just placing one foot in front of the other has become a painful chore, and with each step the pain in my back has been intensifying. It feels like my spinal cord is systematically dismantling itself. I am afraid to sit down because I don't know if I will be able to get up again. I don't know when my legs will shut down for good.
My miracle lasted for five days. I know that if I do nothing, I will be back in that wheelchair by the end of the week. I am certain of that. But I will never go back to that life. Not ever. I was such a fool to think that I could solve all the world's problems when I can't even solve my own. If I don't find a solution, I know what I need to do. I already know how I will do it. I have known for a long time.
There must be someone out there who can prevent this, someone with training in motor function research or stem cell function. Maybe an ex-Manticore researcher, anyone. Sebastian has forwarded a list of underground practitioners with experience in motor function research, which I am cross-referencing against the Manticore staff database that I developed for Max. There must be a lead somewhere. There has to be. I don't care if I have to cross the continent to find someone who can help me. I don't care if I have to abandon my work or sell my apartment or even sell every last painting that my mother left me. I don't care what it costs. I will do anything to prevent myself from landing in that chair again. This is my last chance.
Joshua Brockville - Stem Cell Research - Manticore - Deceased
Francine Dupre - Motor function unit - Manticore - Deceased
Manuel Garcia - Motor function unit - Manticore - Deceased
Yoshi Hakimodo - Neurology - Tokyo University
Stan MacDonald - Osteoregeneration - Manticore - Deceased
Susana Nacario - Stem Cell Research - University of Madrid
Leopold Payson - Motor function unit - Manticore - Deceased
Earnest Stutsman - Neurology - Manticore - Deceased
John Thompson - Neurology - Manticore - Deceased
Deceased, deceased, deceased, deceased. Over a dozen deceased. It appears that someone is systematically eliminating the Manticore brain trust.
Adriana Vertes - Osteoregeneration/Neurology - Manticore - Seatt...
Oh God! There's one here in Seattle.
References
1. mailto:afanofda@yahoo.com