“What do you mean?”
Dr. Castillo scratched his head, “Forgive me, I’m getting ahead of myself. A dragon’s blood has some interesting properties, not the least of which is its cellular makeup. Their normal blood cells are quite passive and function similar to those of a human. However, their immune system is quite different. Humanity technically has five different kinds of white blood cells that each have a specific function, dragons only have one. I named them ‘Parisicytes’.”
“What’s so special about them?”
“The way a dragon’s immune system works is that when the body is infected, these Parisicytes immediately run to the source and begin attacking it. Except unlike human cells they attack a pathogen by attaching themselves to it, and becoming a parasite. They use the pathogen as a carrier to procreate, thus creating more of themselves. The pathogen is killed when the new parisicytes reach maturity. They break out of the pathogen like a chick from an egg and they go after other foreign bodies.”
As they reached the science division, Dr. Castillo reached over to a keypad built out of the rock. It stood in a recessed metal panel next to the door, like most man-made items attached the walls.
The doctor quickly typed in his code as he continued, “Now what do you think would happen if even one parisicyte got into another organism’s blood stream?”
Raiya shook her head, “Um… wouldn’t it die?”
Dr. Castillo smiled, “True, a cell can’t survive long in an environment that wasn’t designed to support it. However, these cells are quite resilient. In essence, they act as a pathogen, attaching themselves to whatever cell they find and begin replicating. As the host’s cells begin to die off, the host quickly becomes ill and their body can no long function properly.”
“My mother had it… according to the people who raised me. They say she died soon after giving birth to me.”
Dr. Castillo frowned, “Then frankly my dear, you shouldn’t have survived either. Dragon’s Bane kills its victims very quickly. We’re usually talking a year or two at the most. Fetuses aren’t known to survive.”
“How does someone get Dragon’s Bane?”
The door slid open. Dr. Castillo stepped into the next room and turned back to Raiya, “Well that’s the intriguing piece. The victim would need to have come into contact with the dragon’s blood. Consumption of raw dragon flesh could do it. Being bitten, in rare cases is another way, but most of the victims I’ve seen were ones that had open wounds and managed to come into contact with dragon blood. Fortunately, that is no longer the case. I created a special medicine that, if inoculated at birth, makes human cells impervious to those of a dragon.”
The next room was little more than a glass chamber with vents on the floor and ceiling. As soon as the door closed behind them, the room slowly began to fill with mist. Raiya shivered and stepped closer to the center of the small chamber, “What is this?”
“Welcome to decontamination, my dear. The fumes coming out of the vent are a special dioxide that is meant to kill any bacteria and neutralize any foreign substance that may be dangerous to my lab.”
“Is this really safe?”
“Oh, perfectly safe. I’ve used it many times, my dear.”
“No, I meant for me.”
Dr. Castillo nodded, “We’ve tested it with various other organisms as well. None of them displayed any ill-effects. Relax. It’s perfectly safe.”
The air was chilly and wet. Her skin began to gleam as it became moist. She hated how it felt, but if this was what it took to get any answers, she was all for it.
Raiya began to shiver, attracting Dr. Castillo’s attention once more, “Raiya, are you okay?”
“Yeah… It’s just… cold…”
Dr. Castillo examined her skin as she rubbed her arms, “Interesting…”
“What is?”
“Well, all lizards on Earth are cold-blooded creatures. Our initial tests on dragons indicated that they have a similar makeup. Given your appearance… I wonder if you have similar biological traits.”
A green light on the wall behind them lit up and a loud fan began sucking the mist from the room. Dr. Castillo smiled, “There, you see? Nothing to worry about.”
“If you say so.”
The glass door on the other side opened and a robotic voice spoke up, “Welcome back, Ian.”
“Ah yes, thank you Lucy. Light on, please.”
“What was that?” Raiya demanded in a nervous tone.”
“That was Lucy.” Dr. Castillo replied. “She’s a digital assistant.”
“Digital assistant?”
“A talking computer. She can communicate with humans, but it’s all artificial intelligence.”
“Okay…”
Bright recessed lighting in the ceiling immediately powered on as a young man came out of the next room, “Dr. Castillo, you’re back… is this the girl?”
Raiya studied the younger man as he and the doctor spoke. He was older than Raiya and Jagger, but not by much. She guessed he was in his late twenties. He was tall, athletically built, and had short brown hair. She couldn’t make out his eye color behind his glasses. Probably someone who spent most of his life buried in books. He’ll be fun to screw with.
“Yes Andrea, this is the one. Can you get prepped for examination?”
Examination… what?
“Yes doctor.” He immediately turned and looked nervously at Raiya. “Please come with me.”
Andrea led Raiya into the room where he had emerged from, “I’ve… um… laid out a few things for you, based on Dr. Castillo’s recommendations. They won’t be that comfortable, but they’ll keep you covered while allowing us to do our examination.”
“What does this examination entail?” Raiya asked suspiciously.
Andrea looked up from the table, “Ugh… it’s just like him. He didn’t tell you anything about the procedure, did he?”
“No.”
“I figured… well then I should apologize on his behalf. He’s a brilliant man, but his bedside manner is severely lacking. It’s to the point where he actually calls some of our patients specimens.”
“Great…”
Andrea picked up a folded cloth from the table and offered it to Raiya, “You’ll need to take everything off and put this on. We’re basically going to do a full body scan of you, using a SAT scanner.”
“What’s that?”
“It’s a new innovation we’ve employed over the past few years. It gives us all the information a CT and an MRI would give us all in one. One scan maps out the entire body.”
“Does it hurt?”
“No, not at all. It’s really just a very sophisticated camera, nothing to worry about. It’s perfectly harmless.”
“Okay…” Raiya replied. She had no idea what he was talking about, but didn’t care enough to find out more. As long as she got the answers she wanted, that was all that mattered.
Andrea nodded, “With your permission, we’re also going to take skin, hair, and blood samples. Our hope is to determine specifically what caused your… genetic mutation.”
Raiya nodded, “That’s fine…”
“Great. I’ll be outside if you need anything. Feel free to come out when you’re changed.”
Andrea immediately turned and left the room. He closed the door to give her some privacy as she changed.
Well at least he doesn’t sketch me out. Raiya thought as she unfolded the cloth. At first, she thought that it was towel to wrap around herself, but she quickly discovered that it was a kind of thin dress that tied together in the back.
Once she was changed, she tied the gown together, making sure her backside wasn’t exposed, and opened the door. Here we go.
Dr. Castillo had vanished, but Andrea was waiting outside for her. His hands worked quickly to finish prepping some of his equipment on a small machine with blinking lights. He turned when he heard the door opened and quickly closed his case, “Oh good, are you ready to get started?”
> “Sure…”
“Great, please follow me.”
The room had a few tables and looked more like a galley where food was prepared than an actual lab. Everything appeared to be stainless steel or aluminum. Cabinets lined the walls and a large closet stood on the back next to the door. The clean room was on the left where they had entered from and another doorway with a keypad stood on the right.
Raiya followed Andrea as he entered his code into the pad and the door slid open. The next room was a narrow hallway. The lights were a dim blue color and the walls were lined with transparent drawers.
Each drawer had a label on it that read ‘Sample’ with a number next to it. Judging by the contents of the ones she looked at, Raiya figured that most of them were dragon parts. She became slightly unnerved when she noticed a few suspiciously human looking appendages the cases that were further from the door.
An eerie hum gave the hallway a rather sinister feeling. Raiya always had an uncanny sense of when danger was near and this place was giving her a similar feeling, “Where are we going?”
“Right down the end of the hall is the main lab.” Andrea replied.
“So, who are you in all of this, an assistant?”
“I’m sure that’s what Dr. Castillo wants everyone to think.” Andrea remarked, snidely. “No, I’m a general surgeon… which pretty much makes me the base’s chief doctor and medic when people get wounded. Dr. Castillo is more on the research side of things. I do my best to keep my patients away from him. It’s bad for their care and sanity. I’m well aware of the reputation he’s gained with them.”
“You resent him…”
“No…” Andrea said softly. “Well… not really… I just don’t like his attitude or how he views people.”
Andrea lowered his eyes, “I apologize… I shouldn’t say such things. He is a brilliant doctor and it is true that he’s saved many lives. It’s just hard sometimes. The man has the worst God complex I have ever seen.”
Raiya smirked as Andrea opened the door at the end of the hallway, “Here we go. Have a seat on the bed and we’ll get started.”
Raiya looked hesitantly at where he was directing her. It wasn’t a bed. It could barely even pass as a table. It was a sheet of aluminum with a small pillow at one end. No blankets, no mattress, nothing to cushion her or provide her with any comfort. Below it was a set of cabinets that appeared to be attached to the floor.
Raiya released a nervous sigh and did as she was told. Andrea nodded, “Thanks, I know it’s uncomfortable, but we’ll make this as quick as possible.”
Raiya nodded as he reached into one of the drawers below the table and pulled out what looked like a large rubber band. She watched as he rolled up the sleeve to her gown and tied it tightly around her upper right arm, “Can I see your wrist?”
Raiya turned her right hand over, letting him see the light green of her skin. He held it close to his eyes, “Well… I hope that your skin isn’t too thick… or this could be difficult.”
He opened his case and pulled out a small tube with long clasps that looked like butterfly wings on either side. His fingers quickly snapped the red cap off. A small needle now protruded from the lower end.
Raiya’s breathing became slightly more rapid as he brought the needle close her skin, “Wait, what is that? What are you doing?”
Andrea lowered her arm and looked at her calmly, “The needle needs to go into your vein in order for us to collect a blood sample. You’ll feel a quick pinch, but it won’t be bad. I promise I’ll be quick, I’m usually pretty good at this.”
“Do I have to?”
“No, but we won’t be able to tell you much without it.”
Raiya bit her lower lip and nodded. Andrea smiled, “Thanks.”
He was good on his word. The needle quickly pierced Raiya’s skin. She winced, but the pain quickly went away.
The moment the needle was in place, Andrea placed his thumb over it. He pressed some gauze under his thumb and grabbed some white tape to hold it in place. Once the IV was in place, he inserted a small tube to the other end of the needle. The tube was attached to a splitter that held three empty glass vials.
Raiya watched as the tube went from being clear to a purplish-blue color. Her blood flowed quickly through the tubes into the vials at the other end. When they were full, Andrea detached the pipping and bent one of the wings, “That should do it.”
“Can you take this thing out?” Raiya asked. “I… I really don’t want it in anymore.”
Her breathing became more rapid, causing her pulse to increase. Andrea looked at her with calm eyes, “We’ll take it out soon, I promise. We need to leave it in a little while longer, just in case we need any more samples. It’s better than having to stick you again. Just hang tough for a little while longer, okay?”
Raiya nodded as Andrea took the vials over to a lab station on the opposite side of the room. His work area had a large white monitor that glowed in the dark blue light. Other equipment also flashed green and red as it worked.
Andrea placed the vials into a large white machine on the left side of the table and turned back to Raiya, “Lay down for me, please?”
Raiya did as she was told and laid down on the table. Andrea came over with a file, what looked like scissors, and a couple small sample jars. He carefully clipped a small amount of hair and put it into one of his jars.
Raiya stared at the ceiling as Andrea gently shaved off a piece of one of her scales, “Uh huh… there we go. I didn’t hurt you, did I?”
“No.”
“Okay good.”
“Dr. Wagner, are you quite finished?” Dr. Castillo’s voice erupted over an unseen intercom.
Andrea rolled his eyes, “I’m just finishing up, Dr. Castillo! One moment, please!”
Andrea frowned as he looked at Raiya, “Sorry… okay this is the last piece, please lay back. Try to relax.”
Raiya nodded and laid back on the table. Relax? Was that a joke? She couldn’t relax, it was neither big enough or soft enough for that. The lights and the beeping equipment wasn’t helping either. She did her best to untense her muscles, but that’s as far as she was going to get.
Andrea stepped out of the room behind another glass enclosure. He was soon joined by Dr. Castillo through the door on the opposite side. The glass was slightly tinted, but she could still see them both.
“Okay, are we all set?” Dr. Castillo asked.
“Yes doctor.” Andrea replied. “I’ve collected all the samples and we’re ready to begin the SAT scan.”
“Very good. –Lucy, we are ready to begin phase one.”
The robotic voice appeared over the speaker, “Understood, Dr. Castillo awaiting final clearance to begin.”
Dr. Castillo looked at the readout on his panels, “Rotors look good… RPMs are normal… Okay, begin scan on my mark.”
He slowly looked up at Raiya, “3… 2… 1… mark!”
“Initiating phase one, now.”
The lights in the room flickered on and the room became as bright as day. A light on the ceiling flashed and began spinning in a circle. The light looked like a disc. It was dark in the center, but bright at the edges. The spinning became so fast that it turned the room into a small wind tunnel.
Raiya closed her eyes as her senses were overtaken by a mechanical whooshing sound. Strands of her hair twisted and flew out of control as the wind picked up. She began to shiver as it got colder and colder in the room.
“Are we almost done?” She cried out, trying to make herself audible over the machines.
“Don’t worry, it’s normal for the temperature to drop a few degrees during the scan.” Dr. Castillo replied. “Try to stay still.”
A few degrees? It’s freezing in here! She thought to herself.
“Beginning Phase Two.”
Raiya opened her eyes and looked at the ceiling. The lights in the room flickered from blue to red. The glow was now even more sinister than before. The massive disk was now gl
owing, but was considerably darker than before, allowing her to see. The room slowly returned to its normal temperature as the machines worked.
Raiya let out a deep sigh as the lights slowly began to fade back to blue and the disk ceased motion. “Scan complete.”
Dr. Castillo and Andrea came out from behind the glass. The older doctor nodded as Raiya got to her feet, “There now, that wasn’t so bad, was it?”
I am so killing him later…
Chapter 11
Jagger closed up the back of the jeep, “Yes sir, I tell you, they don’t make them like this anymore. You know it took me forever to find the parts to fix it?”
Lt. Rollins nodded, “Yeah I know… the old Islander model… classic. You said the same thing three hours ago.”
“Well… everything looks good here. All right, can we go see the carrier?”
“Sorry Jagger. I told you it was off limits. I took you as close as I could.” Rollins replied.
“Oh come on, just a peak?”
“No.”
“All right then. I guess…”
Beep Beep “Lieutenant Rollins, report in.”
Rollins pressed the black button on the side of his radio, “This is Rollins, go ahead?”
“Lieutenant Bishop is to be returned to his room immediately. Dr. Castillo is on his way there now with his report.”
“Copy that, on our way back. –You heard him, Jagger. Let’s go.”
Jagger nodded and climbed back into the passenger’s seat of the Humvee, “I guess they finished their tests.”
The Humvee roared to life as Jagger closed the passenger door. The black gate that surrounded the lot where his jeep was parked closed behind them automatically.
Jagger kept his eyes out the window and watched the scene pass by. The layout was very different from New Framingham. Instead of the military installations surrounding the civilian population, the military took up most of the base. Most of the civilian encampments and residences were off to the east. The center and western sides of town were all barracks and hangars for military vehicles and equipment.
The Humvee passed over a small pothole, causing Jagger to turn his attention to the left. He looked past Lt. Rollins and saw the residence quarter. Several apartment buildings had been erected on the rubble of whatever had been there previously. There were also several tents surrounding a new building that appeared to be incomplete. They were red and green in color and clearly enough to house only one or two people a piece.
Drakin: The Story of Raiya Page 13