Nir-Sighted
Chapter One: The Waiting Game
"Lie still, mei-mei, we'll get this figured out in no time," Simon said, trying to sound confident as he moved quickly around the infirmary. From one drawer, he pulled out a bottle of green eye drops. From another, a Cann wheel.
On the bed, River lay quiet and motionless. Since Simon had found her crying and blind in her bunk fifteen minutes ago, she had said nothing and done everything he'd asked. She seemed unable to speak, completely confused by the blindness.
Simon approached her and put two eye drops in each eye. "Blink for me," he said, and she did. "Any better?"
"Still dark," River whispered.
Simon put down the eye drops and picked up the Cann wheel. A simple device, it was used to test eye function. If River was truly blind, her eyes would not move when he spun the Cann wheel. He was holding his breath as he set it in front of her and put it into motion.
Her eyes didn't move.
"Simon, wasting time," River murmured. "Not going to catch the bad guy this way."
He stopped the Cann wheel with his hand. "Are you sure you can't see anything?"
"Can't see, like a blind mouse," River agreed, her eyes blankly swimming across the ceiling, although he knew now she saw none of it.
"Would you like to sleep?" he asked gently. "Maybe when you wake up, things will be better."
"Not much of a choice," she replied resignedly. "Already got it in your hand."
He looked at her in surprise; he was indeed holding the needle filled with the drug he used most often to put her to sleep. Then he remembered that he shouldn't have been surprised – his sister had shot men without looking at them. "Yes, I do," Simon managed to say. "You didn't answer my question."
"No matter what she says, you'll do it anyway."
"That's not true," Simon said. "You have to make the choice. But it's very early still, and it might be a good idea for you to sleep at least a little."
She shrugged, her blank eyes still appearing to scan the ceiling. "Not sleepy. Have a game to play."
There was a knock on the door, and before Simon could turn around, River said, "She's waiting for you. Worried."
Simon set down the needle and opened the door to let Kaylee in, starting: "I'm sorry, I just…"
"What happened?" Kaylee asked, immediately concerned at seeing River on the bed.
"Everything's dark," River informed the mechanic.
"She went blind," Simon added.
"Why?"
"I don't know," Simon admitted.
"Go," River said. "Have a game to play."
"You stay here, you hear me? Don't go wandering about," Simon cautioned his sister. "I don't want to lose you."
"Can't get anywhere outside without falling anyhow," River replied.
Simon hadn't thought of that. "Stay away from the airlock!" he exclaimed, worried.
She chuckled – chuckled! – and said, "Not going to fall. Going to win. Going to be just fine, all right, splendid. You'll see."
Kaylee took Simon's hand. "Come on," she said. "She'll be fine. Hasn't she always been fine?"
"Stay here," Simon repeated to River, reluctantly letting Kaylee lead him from the infirmary.
He didn't see, but his sister gave the ceiling a grin. "Come out, come out, wherever you are…"
She slid to the floor, her bare feet noiseless, and stretched out her hands. It was her turn, after all, and if there was one thing she hated, it was losing.