"I still don't get how this mouse is gonna help," Cee said as Kaylin carefully slipped the needle into Algernon's skin. It was difficult, trying to fit the needle between the small muscles, rather than into them, to get what she needed.
"It is a bit difficult to understand," Kaylin agreed, taking only a few CCs of blood from Algernon's blood and slipping the needle out, "let me put it this way," she morved back to Karla, whose condition hadn't improved since she last saw her, "when I take some of Karla's ill blood and put it in Algernon, Algernon's healthy blood learns how to fight it. Then I take Algernon's blood and put it into Karla and it teaches Karla's blood how to fight it."
Cee grimaced, "sounds gross."
"But it works," Kaylin removed the needle from Karla's arm and wiped away the very small dot of blood and smiled, "you're going to feel better really soon," she said, and the red-haired woman managed a smile.
"Thanks doc, I know the first thing I'm going to do when I can walk again," Kaylin turned to her with a curious look, "kick Cee in the pants."
The man threw his arms up in defeat and turned, walking away from the situation but then returning with a smile. Karla chuckled, groaned and turned back onto her back with a sigh. Kaylin remembered the first time she met the woman, having been the one who found her when she had been dropped off, apparently decided she was Caucasian enough to be with the Skulls, and was absolutely livid when Kaylin refused.
Why the rest of her gang called her K-mart was beyond Kaylin's reasoning, but she understood the respect they all had for her. In a way, Karla was the type of woman Kaylin had once wanted to be, strong, intimidating, able to take care of herself.
"Alright guys, all she needs now is rest," Kaylin said, wiping her brow. Even though it was dark outside, the planet was still very hot. Pocketing the needle she, picked Algernon from the table she rested on, cleaning her fur where the needle had assaulted her.
"Hey Kay," Cee said with haste and Kaylin paused, "it's late, crash here," Kaylin truly appreciated the genuine concern on his face.
"It's okay, I've got to get home and pound more oil out of the plum plants I found for another patient," Kaylin had found it was easier to talk to the other gangs about people she was treating, if she never mentioned names or affiliations. In a way, it blurred if not destroyed the line distinguishing everyone from everyone else, by placing them all in the same group: a group of people that just needed help, who got sick and hurt, just like every other human being they knew.
It also kept the gangs from planning strikes on each other if they didn't know exactly who was sick.
"I'll walk you then," Cee said and left another man in charge of watching over Karla. Kaylin gave Cee a grateful smile and walked out with him. It wasn't that she didn't feel safe walking home alone at night, the unanimous rule to leave her alone was one everyone respected, but it was the other gangs that didn't trust the other gangs to keep their side of the promise.
The night on the planet was beautiful. The sky here never really turned black, but a midnight purple instead, and the three moons that circled the planet were red, probably rich in iron. Many of the plants around acted like earth plants, curling leaves and folding petals when the light was gone, and it made sunrise a very interesting display.
"What's plum-plant?" Cee asked a bit suddenly and Kaylin blinked.
"Oh, I named it that, um, you know that small bush that grows here and there, that has the really small but really thick purple leaves?" Cee nodded," well the oil in the leaves is good for… um…," she smiled at herself embarrassed and said quietly, "constipation."
Cee burst out laughing and stopped to slap his knees, "alright, who's got that?"
Kaylin shook her head, "patient confidentiality," she said simply and he shook his head, still chuckling.
"Man," he sighed, getting a hold of himself and started walking again. He was still smiling as they made it into the thicker part of the jungle, the road they walked on only here because of the frequent visits made to her home.
"Thanks for helping Mart out Kay," he said and she smiled humbly.
"I'm glad I could help."
There was silence for a moment, in which Kaylin was unaware that Cee was looking at her.
"How'd you get like this?"
She blinked, and looked at him, confused.
"How can anyone be this nice to people, especially people who aren't nice themselves," well at least he admitted it, "isn't there anyone you hate? That you would want to punch in the face? Weyland, you'd punch Weyland in the face right?"
Kaylin smiled and shook her head, smile broadening as he spoke in disbelief. Kaylin's expression, though, was a bit nostalgic.
"I wasn't always like this," she said and got Cee's attention, "I used to have a really bad temper. I was angry often, people were scared of me. I used to be really mean, getting in fights, pulling hair, breaking teeth. I threw my chair at my third-grade teacher once."
Cee laughed. So did Kaylin. She really hadn't been your stereotypical Canadian back then.
"Then one day, when I was staying over at my grandmother's house, upset because my mother and father had dropped me off and left to go have fun on that resort planet, Zen's Respite I thinks it's called? Without me. Later I came to understand that they were going on their anniversary trip and just wanted some time alone together, but I digress. My grandmother came out into her backyard where I was by her garden and she saw that I had found a praying mantis and I had taken off his legs and wings and I was jabbing him with a hairpin," Kaylin felt a tightness in her chest.
"Brutal," said the man beside her and Kaylin felt uncomfortable with the hint of admiration in his voice.
"My grandmother was appalled and she asked me why I was doing it. 'It's ugly and I hate it,' I said. And I remember my grandmother looking very sad and hurt and she asked, 'did it hurt you?' of course it didn't and then she asked, 'it's because he scared you right?' of course, being the tough little brat I was I didn't admit to it, tough tom-boys weren't scared of bugs. She took him and moved him away from me and made me pay attention. She told me that the praying mantis was very important to her garden, a guardian in a way from the bugs that would eat her plants."
Cee snorted but didn't interrupt any more than that.
"She told me that it was very wrong of me to take him for no reason and torture him the way I did. She told me how much pain he was in now, and that he was beyond hope, and never again would he be able to protect her garden, all because I thought he was ugly.
"So she took a rock and very carefully she squished his head, a quick death and I remember very clearly she said, 'there now poor thing, your pain is over,' and she looked so sad, and I didn't understand, it was just a bug."
Cee nodded, apparently agreeing with the sentiment that the mantis had been nothing really important.
"And then she told me that what I had done was wrong, to try to understand from the mantis' perspective, a giant hideous creature, taking him from his home, ripping his limbs off and stabbing him repeatedly. She told me to think, if it had been me that was snatched and torn apart how I would feel, and I started to understand. She told me that the mantis had done me no wrong, no harm, and was only doing good for her garden and was only as scared of me as I was of him, and he didn't deserve the monstrous thing I had done to him."
She looked at Cee and smiled weakly, "it hit me really hard, being called a monster, especially by my grandmother, and I had started crying. My grandmother hugged me and shushed me and from where I was I could see the squished mantis and I did, I felt really bad for what I had done to him, and I couldn't make it better. I asked her what I could do make amends and she just said to me, 'be nice to the next person that you think is ugly. Try to be friends with someone who has none. Help someone who needs your help, get to know someone who scares you.'"
Kaylin smiled again at the memory of her grandmother's gentle voice, "'there is a power in kindness,' she said, 'a great power in the touch of a helping hand, that can tame even the most frightening of beasts. And you'll find that they're not so scary after all.'"
Kaylin laughed at herself and wiped a tear away from her cheek.
"Your grandma was the Asian one wasn't she?" Cee said abruptly, "that definitely sounds like Asian shit."
Kaylin laughed and shook her head, "well, after that day, I kind of just… switched polarities, I apologized to the people I had hurt, I tried really hard to be nice, I would force myself to go out of my way to get to know the loners who sat alone during lunches, soon I couldn't stand the sight of someone or something in pain, and began trying to do everything I could to make things better for people, and eventually that was just who I was, without trying, it's who I am now."
"So I blame your grandma then," Cee grinned and Kaylin laughed.
"Sure, blame my grandmother, I'm sure she gratefully accepts your accusations."
"She's gone, huh?"
Kaylin smiled sadly, "her pain is over."
Cee gave her a sympathetic smile back and stopped. They were at her house, which surprised Kaylin.
"Oh crap, I didn't realize I was talking for that long, you should have said something I would have shut up!"
"Nah, it was a good story, kinda mushy and touchy-feely. I like the part about how you were a badass as a kid though," he smiled, "kinda wish you were like that now."
Kaylin shook her head, "if I was like that now, I wouldn't have ever become a doctor, I wouldn't be here, helping you, or Karla, or anyone," she smiled, "things are as they should be."
"Alright, I'm out of here before you start preaching more Asian crap to me," Cee threw his arms up and spun, walking away laughing jokingly, and Kaylin snickered. She watched him go before moving back towards her house. She would be lighting the torches, hoping that bugs hadn't already moved in. She stopped before she entered, though, at the sound of her name and turned. Cee was standing on the road, a very serious, maybe slightly worried look on his face.
"You ever get lonely out here by yourself?"
Kaylin smiled and shook her head
Yes.
Kaylin lifted a hand and waved to him again. He hesitated at first, then waved back and started back up the road. Kaylin worried for him. He was actually at risk of being attacked for walking down the road alone in the dark. She watched him until he was out of sight, and strained to listen, hoping that it would remain silent. She could hear the noise of the nocturnal animals in the jungle, but no violence.
Eventually, she lit the lanterns and went into her home, ready for sleep and a new day ahead.