Chapter 8
Discoveries
The next day Richard finds himself in Doc's medical room. He sits on the medical table and Doc's medical team gets right to work on him. They remove his prison jumper, less clothing in the way. Immediately they get out their medical instruments and tools and start to examine Richard. Everything is recorded on a clipboard and paper. Richard sits still for them and let them poke and prod him with their medical instruments. All the tools feel cold and hard against his skin. The stethoscope slides under his shirt, leaving a cold patch of skin behind.
"Breathe in steadily now," one of the assistants asks him. Richard obeys the command and starts to breathe in deeply, his chest rising and falling steadily.
They check everything else just like Doc did the day before only this time everything is recorded. Reflexes, sensitivity to light and sound, heart rate, blood pressure and everything else in between. Not one patch of skin is left unchecked. Doc's team is very thorough in their research.
They stand back from him and ask him many questions. Everything he says is recorded. When did you first notice this? What were you doing at this time? Do you feel different since this happened to you? He answers to the best of his ability and truthfully. He wants to be healed doesn't he?
"If you could take your shirt off and demonstrate this… gift for us, that would be great," one of the assistants orders
"Sure," Richard answers and pulls off his shirt. "What do you want me to do?"
"What do you mean?"
"I don't know," he says with a shrug. "I can do a lot of things. Do you want something specific?"
"Just show us what you got, kid."
With all eyes on him, Richard makes his skin mimic the sun penetrating the waves. His skin turns to a shade of blue and ripples as if the water currents affect his skin. Some of his skin sparkles as if reflecting the sun's beams. The medical team stares at his skin, dumbfounded of what to make of this condition. He makes the ocean on his skin disappear within the blink of an eye. "Is that what you wanted?" he asks.
The medical team moves back and begins to examine his skin close up. Richard ignores the cold and latex covered hands as they circle his skin repeatedly. He sees Doc standing apart from the crowd, keeping his hands tucked under his arms. There's something odd about Doc right now, Richard notices. There's something in his eyes that makes Richard think twice about him. Maybe he's just stressed out about Richard's condition. Anyone would be. How do make someone's skin stop changing colour?
The medical team moves on and starts to take samples of skin to study under a microscope. They also take a small sample of blood in a vial. After a few more tests and poking and prodding, the medical finishes their preliminary examinations and allow him to leave. Richard can't wait to leave and pulls on his undershirt and zips up his prison jumper.
When he leaves, he feels a little weird, like he's an experiment to those medical people. And this is supposed to help him, not hinder him further, as Doc would say. He has the next little while all to himself. The only good thing that this Dark Gift, as it is known, has given him is a reason to not go out panning in the morning. Peter and Eli would always grumble out that, how Richard is being treated well and doesn't have to pan. Richard would only smile and say nothing, knowing he'd rather have this Gift than go out panning. Nothing is worse than panning.
Lunch comes quickly and soon the first level is filled with young boys and teens, all eager for a good lunch meal and a little rest for afternoon panning. Richard walks down the set of stairs and joins his two roommates at their appropriate table spot.
"How was panning?" he asks casually and slides down on the bench next to Peter.
"Terrible," he answers. "As usual. How was the medical examination?"
"Cold," he answers. "All of their instruments were steel and cold and their hands were touching me all over." Richard shudders. "I was glad when I left that place."
"Not as glad as skipping out on panning," Eli comments. "I wonder if anyone else can do what you do."
"What do you mean?"
"You know," he says and takes a bite out of the tuna fish sandwich. "Is there anyone else out there, in the prison or in the ocean, that can do what you can do? You know, change your skin."
"I doubt it," Richard says. "This will probably go away once Doc finds a cure. You'll never see it again."
"Awwww," Eli whines. "Your Gift is awesome. It's so entertaining."
Richard laughs a little. "Well, I'm so sorry that I'm ruining your fun but I just want this to go away."
That ends the conversation on Richard's Gift and the boys continue to eat in silence. Peter and Eli both wander off to get a little rest for going out again. Richard drops his hands into his lap and looks around to see if anyone is looking at him. Most of the boys have disappeared into their cells and the remaining boys don't pay any attention to him. He carefully pushes up one of his sleeves and watches as dark spirals bloom across the underside of his forearm. They spread out like an infection and continue to fatten and grow until his arm is completely covered in a dark tattoo, as dark as ink. Eli is right. It is entertaining and it will certainly give him something to do on the weekends. And it'll occupy his time greatly and make the days go by faster.
After considering all of that, does he really want this Gift to go away? Maybe he can ask Doc to wait to heal him until he's about to be released. That seems like the best idea.
Back out in the ocean, Richard bends at his waist and jams the shovel in the muck. He lifts up a scoop of muck and dumps it into the sifter. He rocks the sifter back and forth through the water and takes the several pearls that are left behind. He stuffs them into the bag and goes back to his shovel.
Panning has certainly made Richard stronger. His endurance has also increased dramatically. His back no longer troubles him as much as it used to. He can pan longer now without pain shooting down his back and causing him to take a small break. But these small superficial facts are now what occupied Richard's mind. His mind is far away from the prison, far away from the muck pit, but not far away enough to solve any of his problems. No, his mind is stuck on the day he was arrested. No matter what he does he can't stop thinking about it.
It was the worst day of his life. He and Gemma had just stepped out of one of the quality time rooms when they knew the hallway was deserted. Only this time it wasn't. Ms. Spinner stood there with her arms crossed and a foot tapping the floor impatiently. Tap, tap, tap. A police officer stood beside her with both hands gripping his belt. The officer's face was unreadable but Richard knew this wasn't going to end well.
Gemma stuck by his side, like the strong little girl she was and still is hopefully. By that time Richard's heart was thumping against his ribcage, as if it would burst free from his chest. He swallowed his fear and looked up at Ms. Spinner, who pointed at him and ranted on and on about 'what a bad boy he's been and should be punished for all of his deeds'. Her words, not his. She went on and on about what Richard has done. Everything. Every. Little. Thing. He. Did. And some of them couldn't even be considered illegal. The officer wrote all of this down in short notes on his notepad. The only thing he was interested in was when Ms. Spinner brought up the topic of using the quality time rooms during off hours. That sealed the deal.
The officer gripped Richard's arm with an iron grip and began to pull him down the hallway towards the exit. Gemma held onto his other arm and tried to convince the officer that he didn't do anything wrong. Which was true. He was only looking after his sister. Why is that considered a crime?
The officer explained to Gemma very carefully and with small words so that she could understand. Richard remembers that he rolled his eyes when he heard the man talk to his sister. She wasn't stupid. She knew what Richard did. The man continued to explain that what Richard did was very wrong. Space was precious Topside. Everyone was allowed to have a certain amount of space. Everything was practically measured out and dealt out fairly so everything was properly used up. The officer said that Richard wasn't allowed to go into the quality time rooms. He didn't have the money to pay for the time so of course he had to be punished for it.
Once Gemma nodded, showing that she understood, the officer proceeded into leading Richard out of the boarding home and probably to his cruiser waiting outside. He looked back at Gemma once more before he would lose sight of her for probably who knows how long. She looked small, standing alone in the hallway with Ms. Spinner standing behind her with a defiant smirk on her face. Of course she was happy. Repeatedly she said the Richard was a thorn left in her side and now it was removed, leaving Ms. Spinner happy and stress free.
The look on Gemma's face was burned into his memory. She looked so disappointed in him, like all of the sudden this happened and she expected him to do something to prevent it and make everything go back to normal. He let her down. He was supposed to protect her and make her grow up straight, like his parents would want. And how he's hear, panning for black pearls. He let Gemma down and that fact ate him up every day he spends away from her.
The voice speaking in his helmet shakes him out of his thoughts. It's time to go back into the prison. He wades his way carefully to the bottom of the moon pool and kicks his way up to the surface. He hauls himself onto a bench to rest as soon as he's out of the water. He pulls off his helmet and inhales deeply to let the Liquigen evaporate. It does quickly and he grabs his prison jumper from his locker and moves off to the medical showers.
Eli looks down at his hands which are puffy and blistered still. "Are your hands hurting?" Richard asks as he passes by him.
"Just a little," Eli answers. "I don't think the dive gloves I have are exactly protecting my hands though."
"Talk to the guards," he suggests. "They could probably fix that up for you."
Eli nods and takes his stuff out of the locker and follows Richard to the medical showers. A pair of dive boots is left in the aisle running alongside the showers. Richard steps carefully over them, making his way down the line aisle. Eli is not as graceful. He trips on boots and reaches out to steady himself. He grabs onto one of the walls separating two showers. What feels like a soft spark shocks his hand as he places it against a control panel on the wall. The lights instantly go dead in the hallway and the showers stop. The lights continue to go out all through the prison. The only lights that are left on are emergency lights, which cast a soft orange glow on the walls.
Richard whips around to see what the problem is. He sees Eli's huddled figure on the ground. The small boy sits against the wall cradling his injured hands. He bends down beside his cellmate. "You alright?" he asks.
"Fine," he answers with a nod of his head. His hands are wet and slick with blood. "The blisters popped though." Richard carefully examines his hands and winces at the sight of them. He remembers what his hands were like back when he first started panning. Blistered and sore for days on end. But Eli has been here for a long time already. Perhaps the dive gloves he does use aren't helping him any.
The guards eventually fix the problem, whatever it was, and the lights and everything else turns back on. A light bloody handprint is left on the wall. Two guards make their way down the aisle and come to Richard and Eli. He helps his smaller cellmate stand up.
"The source of the electrical shortage came from here," the guard explains and examines the bloody handprint. "What happened here?" he asks.
"I don't know, sirs," Richard answers. "The lights just went dim."
"Not you," the other guard snaps. He looks in Eli's direction. "What happened?"
"I-I- I tripped," he stammers and then points to the dive boots. "I reached out to steady myself. I touched the panel there to keep myself from falling and then all of the sudden the lights went out. I don't know if I touched anything to do that but it just happened."
"That panel can't do anything like that," the guard says tartly. He looks down at Eli's bloody hands. "Best see Doc about those. Come on, kid."
Eli looks back at Richard. He nods and Eli follows the guard back down the aisle.
Back in the cell before dinner, Eli steps into the cell with the worst of his wounds cleaned. He has a look of deep thought on his face and doesn't look as jolly and full of life as he usually does.
"Took you long enough," Richard says, noting that it's been an hour since they got in from panning. Even Peter wondered what was taking him so long. "Something the matter?" he adds after Eli doesn't respond.
"I don't know," he says. "I think I have something like you."
"What do you mean?" Richard asks.
"Doc says I have what you have. A Dark Gift."