Cayo Elina 40

“What seems to be the problem, Elina?” The nurse asked her once they were in the examining room.

“I got shot in the back…” Elina started, then immediately stopped them as they burst into action, “No! Stop! It’s healed over. I heal…fast.”

The trio stopped moving and looked at her, the doctor was a woman and the two nurses were both men. The woman, a short Asian said, “You’d better let me take a look. Do you want them to leave?”

“No, it’s okay, I got shot in the lower back, it’s aching now and something doesn’t feel right, if that makes any sense, but it’s not too painful.” Elina took off her combat jacket and pulled up her cotton t-shirt, revealing her belly and lower back for the doctor.

“Does it hurt here?” The doctor said, prodding Elina’s back.

Elina let out a soft moan, “Yeah, right there. Uh, Doctor…”

“Doctor Parker.”

“Doctor Parker?” Elina asked.

“I know, the shoes don’t match the dress do they? My mother was Asian, my dad was half Asian, he picked up his father’s surname, which I own now.”

“Oh, okay, uh Doctor Parker, the other side feels worse.”

“There’s lumps here looks like they’re just under the skin. Have you urinated since this happened?”

Elina flushed, “No.”

“Well, I think we’re going to need to take those lumps out. You aren’t the first super type I’ve seen here, you know. I’m pretty sure those are the bullets that hit you. So the question is, do you want to pee on the toilet or use a bedpan after the surgery?”

Elina opted for the bedpan, one of the nurse, who insisted she call him by his first name, Mark, wheeled her to and from the bathroom, and offered to help her get onto the toilet as well. She declined his help but called him in when she was finished. Pointing at the toilet Elina said, “That’s blood.”

“You took a pretty severe blow to your kidneys, no matter how powerful you are, there’s bound to be some side effects.” Mark said, “How long have you been a maxson?”

“Uh, I…”

“It’s okay, we know about this sort of thing here. Doctor Parker is part of the project working on maxsons when we find them, you’re in good hands. We don’t get too many of you from out in the wild.”

“I…not long.”

“Do you know when it happened?”

“Less than a week ago.”

A puzzled look crossed Mark’s face, “Are you sure? I mean for that to have happened so short a time ago…”

“What?”

“It’s just unusual is all. Doctor Parker, Elina is maxson.”

Parker looked at Elina, “Are you sure?”

A curt nod was the only response Elina gave.

“Okay, that’s important to know. I thought you might be, but some of the jumped up humans we see aren’t. We’ll have to work fast. Do you know much about what changes it made on you?”

Elina shook her head as they helped her onto the table, where she lay down on her stomach.

“Well first off your body heals at a fantastic rate. And the healing gets faster as a wound is detected. The body starts repairing itself immediately, much like anyone else, but then the speed at which resources are thrown at the injury seem to grow exponentially. We don’t even know how the body does it. How long was it since you were shot?”

“About 8 hours, give or take an hour.” Elina said.

“Have you eaten anything? Are you hungry now?”

“No, but I’m starving now. I haven’t had anything since mid-morning.”

“We’ll get you set up after we’re done here. This might sting for a minute.” Park said, giving Elina a local anesthesia. “Okay, I’m going to give that a second to take effect, but I have to warn you, people like you, well your body is great at putting itself back together, much better than a super zombies, but that has drawbacks too. Anesthesia wears off far faster and doesn’t seem to work as well no matter how much I would give you.”

Doctor Parker turned and asked Mark for what Elina gathered was a knife before turning back and saying, “Okay, this might sting a little more, but I can’t wait too long or I’ll miss my window.”

Elina felt a stabbing pain in her back, she started to rise up off the table, but Mark and his co-nurse were there, holding her down. Even with two of them Elina was still able to lift herself easily,

“Elina.” Mark said, “Control yourself! Doctor Parker has to get the bullets out so your body can finish healing.”

Elina gritted her teeth and tried to wish the pain away, but it wasn’t working. It felt like the doctor was trying to use the knife to dig a tunnel through her back.

“Just a little more, I can see it. Unfortunately the muscle has already regenerated, the bullet wasn’t on the surface…There! I got it, dear! You did well!. I’ll give you a moment to rest before we repeat this on the other side.”

Elina felt a cold sweat break out on her face. Mark and the other nurse eased up and he wiped her brow down with a green towel. “Better?”

“Hurt worse than getting shot!” Elina said.

“Well, look at this as providing extra incentive not to get shot.”

“I wasn’t trying to get shot.”

“I didn’t think you were, especially not in the back. Can you tell me what happened?” Mark asked.

Elina started telling the story of how she ended up with two slugs in the back, Mark interrupted to ask her many questions and Parker did the same when it came time to get the other bullet out of her back. The procedure went smoother for Elina, but it took longer, the bullet had fragmented into four large pieces and many smaller ones. Bit by bit Doctor Parker pulled the lead out until she couldn’t find anymore.

“I’m afraid that’s all I can do. We could do an xray, but…”

“No, don’t bother, I know you’re running low on film; Ricardo told me.” Elina said, “What happens if you don’t get the lead out?”

Parker pulled down her surgical mask to reveal a broad smile, “Funny. I’m can’t say for sure. Some people fight infection and get over it without any trouble, others end up needing antibiotics or more surgery. I don’t want to worry you….”

“But?” Elina prompted.

“But I’ve had one case where a maxson healed quickly on the outside, but his power didn’t seem to help his internal organs that much. He took a gut shot too, came in right below the armor in the back, unlike you he was brought in barely able to move. We had xrays then and his showed that one of his kidney’s had been perforated. Long story short, it failed, we went in and took most of it out, but he died of sepsis four days later. The antibiotics were not effective and before he died we were giving him about six times the usual dosage for a patient his size and age.”

“How long until I know if I’ll go that way?”

“Oh, honey, you won’t. You were all healed up when you came in, everything looked pink and rosy to me, you just had a set of fading bruises over your kidneys, nothing to worry about at all.”

“Should I rest or am I free to go?”

“Relax, spend the night. Give it another 30 minutes on your belly then you can roll over and eat whatever one of the orderly’s scares up from the kitchen. You ready for some friendly company?” Parker asked.

“Yes ma’am.” Elina said, feeling better about her prognosis.

Gus and the others edged into the room, looking dirty and out of place in the near pristine conditions of the hospital. ‘My eyes are better than anyone I know and I didn’t even notice how filthy they are. Geez, I must look the same way.’

“Hi, Elina. How’re you feeling?” Gus asked.

“Good, the doc says I’ll be right as rain in a few hours. Told me to sleep on it and start fresh tomorrow. I think I could go for that advice…if I weren’t so hungry!” Elina smelled beef emanating from the trio, “You got something to eat?”

“The Cubans lobbed some artillery shells this way a few hours ago, one of them landed in the cow pen, so we had beef. I can’t believe how great a steak tasted after all this time.”

“I thought they weren’t really invading?” Elina asked.

“No they really are, just not in full force yet. So you sure you’ll be okay?”

“Yep, no complications, she just had to get the bullets out and they were near the skin. What are you guys going to do for the night? Did you talk to Perry yet?”

“Don’t know and no. We spoke to the guy at the desk and he told us quite a bit, then let sit in the waiting room and eat. I guess we’ll crash there if Perry doesn’t send someone for us. I think I’m…”

George Bennet walked into the open door of the trauma room, “Hey, sorry to interrupt, but I gotta fly and wanted to talk to Gus for a second before I go.”

Gus looked at him for a second before making a measured nod of his head, “Yeah, okay.”

“Go.” Elina said, “And bring me a plate of steak when you come back!”

This left Elina alone with Ricardo and Hector. Ricardo had his feet close together and looked like he was a dirty little kid trying not to spread his filth on anything around him. Hector appeared to be asleep on his feet.

“So what’s that about?” Elina asked Ricardo.

“No idea. You want the skinny on what’s going on around here?”

“Shoot.” Elina said.

Ricardo filled her in on everything they had learned from the man at the front desk and the guy from the kitchen who had brought them their food.

Stepping out into the hallway Gus was surprised when George kept moving, the man didn’t stop until they were outside staring at the helicopter sitting about three blocks away, but in clear view. Someone had started it up, but the blades were not rotating. Both men stood staring at it, Gus with his usual squint.

“They’re doing an engine check. I’ll be armed for bear when I go out this time. I’m taking three maxsons with me, a trainee pilot and two guys to pull security.” George said.

“You ready to fly? You’ve been up as long as we were.”

Shaking his head George responded, “I got a cat nap this morning, I had orders not to leave the helicopter, both of us pilots did, we had to leave in an instant in the event that the place got overrun.”

“Geez…”

“They ain’t making these babies anymore, Gus. They’re valuable. So, I wanted to talk to you about Perry.”

“I figured that.”

“I have the ability to stop him alone now, if I want. I’m the last real pilot.”

“What about the trainee?”

“He hasn’t even gone up in the Cessna yet, let alone anything as complicated as rotor driven aircraft. I know one thing, if he has to fly that helicopter I will be dead. And he won’t get it off the ground. He might manage a hard landing, but I wouldn’t bet on it being as soft as Sawyer managed along route one today.” George said.

“So you’d just tell Perry no?” asked Gus.

“I was thinking of either ditching the bird in the swamp or taking it and setting out on my own, depending on the other two who pull security.”

“Oh.” Said Gus, waiting a moment for that to sink in, “That’d be…that be it then, for you.”

“Yeah, me or forty percent of the living people left in Miami. I was hoping you could give me a bit of guidance here.”

“It might take a few minutes.”

“I fly in when they load up the parts for the Fiest.”

“They told us that might take hours.”

“I heard they already got the parts out and were running diagnostics on them.”

“Okay, I’ll be quick.” Gus assured him.

Squatting on the ground Gus leaned back against the wall and went into the future, focusing on two options, one where George came back and one where he didn’t. He came back a few minutes later with George shaking him violently.

“C’mon! Wake up Gus! They’re calling for me!”

“Shaking doesn’t work. For future reference.”

“I got no time for this, what did you see?”

“If you don’t come back Miami falls, twice as far as I can tell, probably three times. Once to the Cubans after a long fight, then to Ricardo’s buddies, then to a hoard moving down from the north. If you come back there is a chance Perry will gas the living, if he does, we still lose, too many people will be sick and too many fighters will die from it. It’s only a small chance. And…I think there’s a greater chance that things work out better for everyone. I can only see so much, George.”

“That’s enough. Thanks, Gus!” George helped him up and jogged back towards his helicopter.

“Good luck, George!” Gus called after him.

When Gus went back in the orderly at the desk told him Elina had been moved up to a room on the second floor, Ricardo and Hector were waiting for him there. Taking the room number Gus found his companions without any trouble. It was a large, barracks style room, with two rows of beds, only one of them was occupied. Elina lay back on the bed and was wolfing down a huge plate of food. Ricardo was sitting on the bed next to her, and their conversation stopped as Gus came in. At the end of the room was a washroom and Gus heard the wonderful sound of running water.

“Is that a…a shower?”

“Yeah, Hector went first. I swear I had to practically carry the kid up here, he was sleeping on his feet.” Ricardo said.

Between mouthfuls, Elina asked, “So? What’d George want?”

“He wanted me to look into the future, he had a couple of course he could take and wanted me to see which one would work out better for him. He’ll be back in the morning, safe and sound, I think.”

“I thought you couldn’t see what happened for other people?” Ricardo asked.

Gus nodded, “Mostly, it’s harder. In this case I just had to check if he did one thing or the other, that’s pretty clear cut.”

“Did it matter?” Ricardo asked.

“Oh, yes, very much so. If he’d gone one way, well things would have been bad. But he’s going the other way and we should be fine. Or at least give us the opportunity to be fine. Elina, are you feeling better now that you got some food?”

She nodded and continued to stuff pieces of sliced meat into her mouth.

“I think you’re up next for the shower, unless she eats faster. The nurse said he’ll bring us clean clothing. But it will be older fatigues. Apparently they have a warehouse full of clothing, but all they keep on the premises are military clothes.”

Hector came out of the bathroom in his boxers, he carried a towel, which was folded around his dirty clothing. The rifle Sidney had given him was slung over his right shoulder.

“Is there hot water?” Gus asked.

“Yep. I’m gonna sleep here.” Hector said, stopping about four beds shy of Elina. He dropped the towel to the ground, propped the rifle up in the corner formed by the bed frame and wall and slid between the sheets. Before anyone could say anything he was asleep.

“Geezus, Ricardo you weren’t kidding.” Gus said.

“I don’t think it was the first time he’s been in a fight, but I think that’s the first time he fought all day long. Think about the first time that happened for you.” Ricardo said with a nod.

“No kidding. We had a few fights out on the island where the days just blended together, nobody slept. It sucked. When it was over I felt like we’d survived a hurricane.”

“And you’re a super human now, imagine what a norm feels like?”

“Yep, he’ll sleep twenty hours if we let him.” said Gus.

“Go shower, I’m almost done and don’t want to wait.” Elina told him before starting in on the fried plaintains on her plate.

Gus didn’t need to be told twice, he only stopped long enough to peel off his pants to Ricardo could give them to the nurse to get a replacement pair.

When he came out five minutes later Ricardo went in at Elina’s urging. The nurse had come by and picked up Gus’s pants, but hadn’t brought back a new pair yet.

“I feel…good.” Gus said.

“We used to take clean for granted, didn’t we?”

It was a conversation they had before. Out at the island getting clean wasn’t that hard, the ocean was always right there everyone enjoyed a good scrub as often as they wanted.

“So what’s new?” Elina asked him.

“Nothing much. How’s your back feeling?”

“Tight. You okay with George, I got the feeling it wasn’t all like you said.”

“It’s…” Gus leaned in close and lowered his voice to a whisper, “I think it’s going to be okay. If we can get out of here I’ll let you know what’s going on.”

“Afraid of Ricardo overhearing you?” Elina asked in a low voice.

“Not him. Perry’s people.”

Elina’s eyebrows rose, but she kept quite only nodding ‘okay’ and changing the subject. In a louder voice she asked “So what do you see for the short term?”

“I haven’t looked most of the day, not too far out anyway. I’m staying focused on the very short term.”

“I die. I die. I die.” Elina said, “I haven’t forgotten.”

“Not if I can help it. We need to get back to Max’s place.”

“Why? I mean why not avoid it if we can? You said nothing is inevitable, so let’s just take off, go explore the rift. Hector will come with us and I bet Ricardo would too.”

“I get the feeling that we could do that, but then we lose Miami.”

“Screw ‘em” Elina said with a yawn, “They survived before we got here, they can survive after we’re gone.”

“I’ll think on it. This whole mess has to do with the island too, you want to leave them hanging?”

“Oh God no! Sorry, Moley, I’m just tired, getting shot takes a lot out of you.”

“It’s not the first time you were shot.” Gus pointed out, reminding her of what happened on the island during some of the fighting.

“That was just a graze. This guy punched two holes in my back from close range, it’s completely different.”

“Yeah when I tool that shot to the guts I wasn’t sure if my body was going to be up for fixing it or not. I don’t think we’re invulnerable, not quite.” Gus said.

“No doubt, otherwise you wouldn’t have wrote what you did.”

At the end of the barracks Ricardo came out of the bathroom, “Button up your breeches ladies, unless we’re going all family style?” he said with a laugh walking towards them.

Gus blushed as he figured out what Ricardo meant, but Elina laughed, “I’m too dirty, even for a zombie!”

“Oh, I don’t know…” said Ricardo loudly.

“Shhh!” Elina said, “You’ll wake the kid! I thought you said zombies didn’t have a sex drive anymore?”

“Did I? What that before or after noon? I tell lies before noon and fib the rest of the day, so keep that in mind when I’m telling stories.”

Elina got up off of her bed and arched her back. “Ugh! That’s tight.”

“That’s what I like to hear!” Ricardo said laughing.

“Shhh!”

Gus kept quiet, but Ricardo and Elina traded barbs as she got ready to clean up. She wouldn’t, despite Ricardo’s insistence, leave her pants for the orderly, saying she was like the special forces, commando and the orderly already knew her size anyway.

Once she was gone Ricardo sat on a bed across from Gus and chuckled, “I wasn’t lying you know, I got nothing left in the sex department.”

“I don’t know whether to believe you or not.”

“Oh I can ‘fake’ it, I haven’t just so you know, but I haven’t even had a desire to do so since I turned. Bantering with her though, it gives me good feelings, like everything is going to be okay. Even though I know it isn’t.”

“We can make it better though.” Gus said.

“I haven’t asked, Gus, but what do you see for me?”

Gus closed his eyes, “I see a jealous husband killing you when you’re eighty years old bedding his wife. He blows you’re head off from behind, you don’t even see it coming.”

“Really? That’s not so bad…”

“No, Ricardo, not really, dude you just told me you don’t even have the urge anymore!”

“Well maybe if I met the right woman.”

“I haven’t looked, Ricardo.”

“You did the ‘eye-closey’ thing, so I thought you were legit. That’s rough man, telling me that.”

Gus laughed, “You’re a moron!”

Ricardo laughed too,  and finally asked, “Can you see zeds? Do we have a future?”

“In every vision of the future I’ve seen, there are zombies, I don’t think that is going to change. I can do a little looking tomorrow, tonight I’m too damned tired.”

“Fair enough. When this blows over do you think you and her will want to head north? Check out the rift?”

“We have a lot of loose ends to tie up here, let’s just take it day by day, okay?”

“She told me you thought you were going to die before it’s over.” Ricardo said.

“Could be, nothing is set in stone.”

“Can’t you just avoid it? For christsakes, man, you can see the goddamned future! Just don’t be where the bullet hits you.”

“Sometimes, Ricardo, not being where the bullet is leads to situations that make me regret not being where the bullet was. If you could save someone you loved by dying and only by dying, would you?”

Ricardo didn’t say anything to that and they were both in a moody silence when Elina came out and said goodnight. Long after the light were out Ricardo sat on the bed pondering what Gus had said. He didn’t need sleep anymore and didn’t trust all the players involved in the ongoing fight for Miami, so he kept watch over his companions as he slept.