Tests

(Day 80-81: Tuesday-Wednesday Afternoon)

"I have to say," the doctor comments, "you seem a little young to be sexually active."

It takes a moment for Carlos to respond, "I'll be turning fifteen in a couple months. So, not that young really." and he hesitates before explaining. "Where I'm from sex is pretty much just seen as another activity. It's not really… you know, made a big deal of."

"So, you've had intercourse, then?" he questions. "It wasn't only oral?"

"No." Carlos flusters, "Uh, yeah, I have."

"Were you safe?"

"What?" Carlos asks in confusion.

"Did you use a condom?" he clarifies.

"Oh, uh," Carlos quickly answer. "Um. No. Pregnancy wasn't an issue."

"Well, first off," the blond man warns, "birth control isn't a hundred percent effective. Someone as young as you are should take that extra step just to further lower the risk." Carlos shifts uncomfortably. "And, secondly, condoms don't just protect you for an unwanted pregnancy. They also decrease your risk of contracting STDs."

When the doctor stops speaking Carlos comments, "Okay."

He nods, "So, can you tell me how many people you've been involved with?"

Carlos's eyes shift, "Like recently?"

"Considering you've never been tested before, let's start with a total."

Carlos thinks for a second, "Two. Just two."

He nods again, and Carlos watches as he seems to jot the information down. "And how many people have they been involved with?" Carlos fails to answer, and then the doctor looks back up at him. "Do you know?"

It takes a minute for him to say, "A lot?" but the doctor doesn't speak. "It's just, uh, we aren't exclusive or anything. Like, I don't know how many people he's been with or how far they've gone. It's not something we really talk about."

"He?" the doctor inquires.

Carlos's eyes widen at his mistake, "She. I meant she."

"It's okay," he reassures. "I'm not going to turn you in. I'd rather have my patients be honest with me."

"I still can't believe it's practically a crime here," Carlos breathes. "On the Isle no one cared. I mean." His eyes shift, "If a guy did anything with another guy more than just a couple times people would assume they're gay, but… It's not like it was against the law."

"You're speaking of the Isle of the Lost," he realizes.

"Yes," Carlos unsurely answers.

"You're one of the kids King Ben brought over?"

"Yes," he slowly responds.

The doctor questions, "Have you gotten any vaccines before?"

"Vaccines?"

"It's a preventative measure to make sure people don't get sick," he explains. "It usually comes in a shot."

It takes a minute for Carlos to think, "No. We had people who knew how to set broken bones or, uh, home cooked remedies concocted by witches. Nothing so… a shot? Like a needle?"

"Yes."

Carlos unsurely hums, "I don't know how I feel about that."

The doctor smiles, "A lot of people don't like shots, especially people who aren't used to them, but I am recommending that even if your results come back clean that you come back here to get some vaccines."

He takes a breath, "Okay."

"And I do apologize," the doctor smiles, "but there are two tests I want to do for you, and one of them will need to be a blood draw."

"I'm guessing that requires a needle," Carlos frowns.

"It will be nothing more than a mosquito bite," he reassures. "You won't feel a thing."

"I can feel mosquito bites," Carlos complains, "and I don't like them."

"And yet," the doctor counters, "it is necessary in order to ease your mind of if you're truly healthy or not."

He thinks for a moment, "When will I get the results?"

"Results can take up to a few days, but assuming everything goes well you could have yours as early as tomorrow afternoon."

Carlos nods, "Okay."

Mal sighs as she lifts her arm up from the table and rests her face on the fist, and Carlos faces her, "Something wrong?"

She lets out a frustrated breath, "No. It's just Ben." before she lets her arm fall back down to the table. "He's just been so uptight lately… and I have absolutely no clue what to do."

"You could loosen him up a little," Evie smiles as she turns around from the sewing machine. "Ya know. Remind him of the beautiful dragon goddess in his corner."

"If you're suggesting that I use my hypnotism to get him to spend more time with me—"

"Who ever said anything about hypnotism?" Evie entices, before she finds the translucent, green silk and holds it up in front of Mal. "Now. I'm thinking a black leather brassiere with this bright, smooth fabric hanging down just over the panties." She gasps, "You know what I bet would really get his attention— a G-string."

"Your fashion mind is completely controlling you right now," Carlos disbelieves.

"Yeah," Mal slowly responds, as she widens her eyes at Evie. "Since when are you so cool about me and Ben being together?" Evie drops her arms in front of her, her hands held together as she hangs onto the fabric. "I mean, you don't have to pretend." Her eyes shift, "I know it's hard for you two to share me. You don't have to act like it isn't."

"Believe it or not," Evie frowns, "I care about Ben to. As a person, and I know why he's been so stressed." She takes a step forward, "It's this whole king thing. And his father. His father doesn't like how he's running things." Evie smiles again, "So, I say that maybe you should just let him forget about work for a little while, get him to destress a little." before she takes another step forward and places the fabric up by Mal's face. "This brings out the light in your eyes so much. I think I'll use it."

"And what if I do this?" Mal breathes. "If I go to his dorm, shoo Doug away, and then drop some overcoat, what then? Would we just make out as usual or…" Evie frowns in thought. "Something like this, there has to be a reason, right? I mean, what would happen next?"

"You could give him a blowjob," Carlos suggests, and then Mal gives him a look. "What? It's a very good way to reduce stress."

Mal lowers her eyes, "Even if he wanted me to… I couldn't." before she looks back up. "I can't."

"Why not?" he questions.

Mal and Evie glance at each other, before Mal uncomfortably informs, "My saliva. It has, uh, numbing properties."

"So?"

"So," Mal frustrates, "I can't exactly get him off if he can't even feel it, can I?"

"You could if you used a condom," Carlos counters, and then her eyes shift at the realization. "You didn't think of that, did you?"

She breathes, "I still can't do it."

"Mal," Evie begins.

"No," she asserts, before sadly laughing. "Okay. I'm not like other girls. I'm damaged. I can't just show up wearing some beautiful, revealing clothing." She gulps, "If I did, it wouldn't be him getting destressed. It would be me having to explain why…" before she looks into Evie's eyes. "I wish I could do this for him—for me— but I can't… I just can't."

Evie feels her eyes fill with tears, as she whispers, "Maybe another time, then." She folds the smooth, translucent material back up, "After you're better."

Carlos watches as she puts it away, "What's going on?" and then they each glance at him before giving knowing looks to each other; however, before either of them can speak Evie's cellphone rings.

She picks it up, "Hello?" and then she strides over to hand it to Carlos. "It's for you." He takes it from her and then she looks back at Mal, before she pulls her over to the farthest corner of the room and quietly comments, "He's going to find out at some point."

"If I don't quit," Mal frowns.

"Does that mean you'll try?"

Mal nearly laughs, "I want to be able to do the things that other girls can." as she smiles. "I want to be able to wear shorts without leggings. I want to be able to run my hands over smooth skin." She grins, "And I want to be able to surprise my boyfriend with a revealing outfit." before she lets out a breath and it falls. "But… I've done this for a long time. It's how I make up for all the terrible things I've done."

"Mal," Evie sympathizes, "whatever you did, doing this to yourself isn't going to solve it. Or change it. You're not accomplishing anything by hurting yourself like this."

"Yes, I am," she counters, as she realizes, "It keeps the thoughts away. The ones that play over and over again, when I do this they stop." She looks down, "Sort of… At least it's not on my mind for hours after, then."

Evie takes her hands, "I want you to do something for me." before their eyes meet. "The next time you feel like cutting, tell me. I want to be there when you do it." She sees Mal about to object, "So that you won't be alone. Okay? I want you to be able to say what's going on in your mind, because, maybe, just maybe, if you say it aloud, then you won't keep thinking about it."

Mal slightly shakes her head, "No, Evie. Some of the things… Sometimes I do it because of how I treat the people I care about." before she offers a pained expression. "I don't want you to have to hear the things about you." Her eyes well with tears, "I don't want you to think it's your fault. I can't have you hear it."

"Maybe I need to hear it," Evie softly speaks, and then a stray tear falls to Mal's cheeks. "Maybe it's not that bad. Maybe if I forgive you, you can forgive yourself." She lifts up Mal's chin, forcing her to face her again, "I will always be here for you." before she moves in to kiss her and a slow breath escapes Mal's lips.

"Are you allowed to do that?" Carlos interrupts.

Mal quickly wipes the tear from her face, "How long have you been listening?"

"I didn't," he frowns in answer, before he hands the phone out towards them and Evie walks over to take it back. "Good news," he leans back in the chair. "I'm clean."

"You don't seem too thrilled about that," Mal comments as she returns to her seat.

"Yeah, well," Carlos folds his arms, "I'm sure you would be too if your partners had been with who knows how many people, you've only been with two in your life, and you're the one that had to go in and see your blood run into a tube."

"Hold on," Evie stares at her phone, "I've got a voicemail." They look at her as she brings the hot pink cased phone to her ear.

"Hello, Evie Queen. This is… Well. I'm just realizing now that I never actually gave you my name, but I'm that guard you told about your vision. And I thought I should let you know that it checked out. I won't bore you with the details, but the evidence seems to suggest that it in fact did happen and that he was the one behind it. So, ah, I'll just end this call letting you know how grateful I am for your tip." He laughs, "You got to know who you're working with, you know?" He pauses, "So, uh, yeah. Thank you and have a great day."

Evie grins as she slowly lowers the phone, "I'm not crazy." before she hysterically laughs. "Do you believe that? I'm not crazy!"

"Anything you'd like to share with the class, E?" Mal smiles back.

"Oh, right," she laughs through a breath. "So, you know how sometimes I see things that aren't there?"

"No," Carlos pointedly answers.

"Okay. So, well," Evie excitedly gestures, "one time when I visited you I just had this very lucid memory of getting shot— and dying— but I lived, and now I'm not crazy."

Mal motions her hand up and down, "Maybe, just bring it down a notch."

Evie nods as she lets out a long breath; however, after she attempts to settle her breathing she squeals, before she tries to slowly explain, "So, when I visited you at the jail one time I saw a police officer shoot me, I felt myself die, and then I woke up. When I woke up I saw one of the guards looks like that officer, so I told another guard." She can't help but widely grin again, "He looked into it— that message was just him— and he said my vision was true. It actually happened, so I'm not crazy!"

"You sure about that?" Carlos questions.

When Evie slightly frowns Mal submits, "Don't worry, Eves. I'm glad you're not crazy too." and then she grins again. "Actually. Funny thing." She notices Carlos turn towards her, "As it would turn out my therapist Janis or whoever is a witch too."

"Really?" Carlos inquires.

"Yeah," Mal evenly responds. "She can feel people's auras and read minds."

"Wow," he replies in surprise. "She must be really good at her job."

Mal looks at Evie, "You can, what, relive people's memories?"

Evie frowns as she glances down, "I don't know how it works."

"Ben and I were looking up magic mirrors," she continues on. "Is it true you can talk to spirits and that's why only you can use the witch's glass?"

Her eyes shift, "Maybe. I don't know."

"Do you know who the spirit is?" Mal suspects, "I mean, if your mother kept it for so long, there must be a reason."

"Mal." Carlos intervenes, "Don't you think you're being a little analytical." before she gives him a look. "You're acting like you did back on the Isle."

"I'm just gathering information," she defends before eyeing Evie again.

"My mother kept it, because he did her well," Evie uneasily informs. "That doesn't have to mean anything."

"He?" Carlos notices.

"Do you know who the spirit is?" Mal repeats with interest.

"No," Evie plainly states.

Mal observes her for a moment, "You know, I could make you tell me."

"Then do it," Evie dares. "I have nothing to hide."

Mal lets out a breath before leaning back in her chair, "Chill, Evie. I'm not going to use my hypnotism on you."

"No. Do it," she insists. "You think I'm hiding something, and I don't want you to act like you can't trust me. There's nothing that's been between us before. Let's not start now."

Mal quietly stands from her chair, before she walks up to Evie. She's firm but shaky in posture: she's scared. Mal looks her up and down, "Are you sure you want to do this?"

"I have nothing to hide," she confidently breathes.

Mal nods with respect, "Okay, then." before she looks into her eyes and her vision turns to infrared. "Tell me, do you know who the spirit in your mother's witch's glass is?"

"No," Evie stands strong. "I don't."

Mal lets the glow of her eyes fade, before she offers Evie a curious look, "Okay, then." She turns back to Carlos, "That settles that." and she heads back to the table.

Carlos lets out a breath of relief, "Good. That's good." before he hesitates to tap her shoulder with a fist. "You had me worried there."

She looks from his hand to him, and then she watches as he cowers in fear, "Witches are to be respected." Mal picks up the red colored pencil, "That's the one good thing my mother's taught me, I think." before she eyes over at the terrarium. "Thank you."

- I know. The chapter title is probably pretty lame, but I couldn't think of anything else.

-Next Up: Ben, Ben, Ben. I hope you've enjoyed.

-Update on the Novel Conversion: I am confusing myself so much. I've estimated that there should be about 1,000,000 prisoners on the island if one percent of the country's population committed high-ranked crimes. Now, the question was how to put them on the island. I was thinking just one big city at first like in the movie, but there would be way too many people to do that. So, it's probably going to have to be broken up into several cities, which without very good transportation could be considered hard... A thought just occurred to me. Maybe a teleporting device, but see, the issue with that is that... I think I read somewhere that it was either tested or has been theorized about, and the thing is you have no way of knowing if the animal that went into the one machine was the same that came out the other... I forget the details, but even though that may solve the issue I'm not sure how possible that would be (even in the future)... I'm just realizing now that I really need to brush up on my science, especially in how it relates to parapsychology, but I just glanced over a book I have and if I'm remembering correctly, the section where it discusses Quantum Entanglement also theorizes how that could relate to teleportation. Theoretically, if one atom could switch with another atom, then why not have the same thing happen with objects? However, I'm not sure if that would be a good thing to implement into the novel or not, having a machine that allows teleportation. Let me know what you think... Anyway, back to me confusing myself. It's the math, really. The thing is I'm typically good at math, but I'm probably just trying to solve too many problems at once: the population, how big a building would be, and how many miles the town would be... I started with people having houses, but then I thought about weather. They're on an island, so there's bound to be hurricanes (or the equivalent) and they would have no way to evacuate. So, they would have to be in hurricane proof homes, probably high off the ground for water to flow under and as small as possible to have the water being able to pass by it easily. This led me to thinking about skyscraper like homes, where the apartments would all be very similar, with ladders and beams in between levels for the water to flow though. However, then it occurred to me that if the magic barrier is still used in the novel (which, how else do you keep prisoners trapped on an island) then the hurricanes and other weather probably wouldn't hit them, so I can just make large, brick apartments instead... I went to the trouble of translating all of these into the Sims 4 build tool so that I could transfer it into feet and miles to get the town size... Not done with all that, but still. It's been time consuming, and I really wish I had thought of how if people can't get through the barrier then other things probably couldn't either. You know, this also leads to the prospect where the island prison (named Purgatory) wouldn't be getting rain, just like how the Bible claims there was a time when rain never existed. So, the prisoners would have to get their water from wells or aquifers (aside from tap water, of course, which may just be directly connected to one). Anyway, lots of thoughts here. I hope it was entertaining for you to read about my struggle of converting this... I really do wish I had the map all figured out, though, so I could just move onto the actual character profiles and writing aspect of it. I really want to write it, but it's probably going to be a while before I can, sadly... Lol. I feel like when I do character profiles I wish I could just write instead, but then when I'm not doing them I have a tendency to just want to do that. Apparently, I just like being miserable and complaining. I certainly do it a lot.