The Nightingale Circus

by Ioana Visan

  It brought a warm smile to Serioja’s face, and he tipped her chin up with his index finger. “Good. I’ll see if I can bring him around tomorrow. In the morning.”

  “Make it closer to noon. I need to get ready.” It usually took her a couple of hours to make herself presentable, and with the low levels of energy she’d been having lately, she could count on doubling the required time.

  “Don’t make yourself too pretty, or he won’t believe you’re sick at all.” In the past, the tease would have been accompanied by a wink and a flirty grin. This time, Serioja’s face stayed blank.

  Anya’s laughter was pained, seeing the part of him that was missing, but she laughed anyway, choosing to believe that maybe he was still somewhere in there and just couldn’t get out. The laughter brought another coughing fit. Serioja handed her the tea, which doubled the cough, but he didn’t react to her struggle and simply waited for her to calm down.

  Several minutes later, Anya lay back on the chaise, breathing a little easier but also exhausted. “All right, bring him in and I’ll decide if his offer is acceptable.” She gave her permission with a royal wave of hand.

  Serioja caught it and pressed it against his well-shaved cheek. “It will be fine.”

  Anya doubted it.

  * * *

  The tall, skinny young woman and the bulky man with a green complexion circled each other like two wild animals, neither of them wanting to pounce first. After a relaxing bath, Anya had managed to slip into a dress and avoid any coughing fit that would have ruined her make-up. She would pay for it later, but for now she looked presentable and almost felt human.

  Big Dino had refused the offered tea and sniffed her medicine bottle instead. “I wouldn’t take this if I were you. The thyme is weakening your arteries. It’s why you’re drowning in your own blood.”

  “I’ll keep that in mind.” She bit her lip not to tell him that although it didn’t do her much good, it gave her some much-needed relief for a few moments. “These are the most recent X-rays.” She pointed at the rectangular slides resting on the table.

  Big Dino picked them up and carried them to the window, holding them up to the bright light. It had rained during the night, and the garden was still wet and sparkling in the morning sun.

  “Hmm. It’s too late to grow new ones,” he said, frowning at the images.

  “Can you actually do that?” Anya tried to keep her voice light, but the hand pressed against her chest gave away her surprise. She frowned and lowered her hand. She’d heard about copying organs but not about making things out of thin air.

  “One can do a lot of things with the proper technology.” Big Dino glanced at her from the corner of one black, round eye. “Unfortunately, in this case, by the time the organs would be ready to be used…”

  She would be dead, Anya filled in the blanks.

  “Well, then … there’s nothing for us to talk about.” The words came out in a clipped tone.

  “There is a lot to talk about.” Big Dino turned to face her, still holding the slides in his big fists. “I’m not a doctor, Miss Semenova, but I know how the human body works. And these tell me—” he held up the slides, “—that you don’t have much time left.”

  Anya fought against the tightening in her throat. What else was new?

  “We can buy you time. A lot of time,” Big Dino said, fixing her with unblinking eyes. “The question is … can you get over your preconceptions and accept our help?” He raised a hand before she could protest. “I know what we do is frowned upon around here. The situation is more lax in Europe, especially when it comes to minor things, and I promise you it’s not as bad as in the States. However, what I’m proposing is not a minor thing. It’s major surgery, even more dangerous than a full transplant.”

  “So a transplant is the way to go.” Anya nodded, pleased with her reasoning.

  “We have to look at the facts here.” Big Dino stepped back to the table and put the slides down. “If there hasn't been a compatible set of lungs and heart found yet, what makes you think it will change now?”

  Harsh, but true. It was too late for her. Sighing softly, Anya lowered her head and whispered, “There was one once, but it was only one lung.” She looked up and peered at him with a determined gaze. “I can’t dance with one lung.” And at twenty-two, she was too young to retire.

  “All or nothing, I like that.” Big Dino grinned knowingly. “If you let us do the procedure, I guarantee you will be able to dance. And since there’s no danger of organ rejection or damage over time, you will be probably able to dance longer than most ballerinas in your generation. Wouldn’t you like that?”

  So tempting. Anya’s throat went dry, and she licked her lips. Go away, you snake. But she couldn’t bring herself to ask him to leave. “What’s the catch?”

  “There is a fee, of course, but there is no catch,” Big Dino said.

  “I don’t believe you.” No one gave you life and asked for nothing in return.

  “Let’s say I take pride in doing things that haven’t been done before.”

  “So you’ll use me as a test subject. If it works, fine, if it doesn’t, also fine, maybe it will next time?” Anya frowned.

  “No, it’s not like that. I’ve never lost a client,” Big Dino said. “I have this theory, and I’m 100% convinced it works, but I need to make it happen for people to believe it. Unfortunately, it’s hard to find volunteers.” He gave her a long, pensive look. “I believe you’re brave enough.”

  “Or foolish enough.” Or desperate enough.

  Big Dino tapped his thick fingers on top of the table. “You should come by the factory and see with your own eyes, maybe that will convince you I don’t have any hidden reasons to do this. My tech guys could take a look at this—” he pointed at her chest, “—and confirm that it’s doable.”

  “I’ll think about it.” Anya’s cold tone made no promises.

  Big Dino nodded his heavy head. “Have Serioja bring you over one morning. Normally, I would suggest you to stay for the show, too, but I don’t want you to get overly exhausted. It is a complicated procedure.”

  Like she didn’t know that!

  * * *

  Leaning heavily on Serioja’s arm, Anya climbed the steps leading to the train car. Her lungs burned from the unusually hot dry air each time she inhaled.

  Serioja placed his palm on the panel on the wall, and after the metal door slid to the side, he led her into the car with an easiness that showed he knew his way around the place. Anya couldn’t help wonder if they had done any work on him too, but she didn’t see any signs. She supposed the goal was not to make the fixtures visible, but Serioja didn’t look like he was fixed. He watched her with placid eyes and gave her an encouraging smile.

  Anya sighed to herself and turned her attention to their surroundings. The first room they entered was a combination between a workshop and a warehouse with all the prosthetics and spare parts lying all over the place. Two bulky men with rough faces covered in scars leaned over the open shoulder of an old man sitting on a chair. Bile rose in her throat at the sight of the torn muscle, bone, and wires.

  “Take her to the back,” the shorter man said, busy wiping away the blood while his colleague connected the parts together. “We’ll be with you in a minute.”

  Anya gave Serioja a wary look, reluctant to go deeper into that horror house. He squeezed her hand and opened another door for her. Behind them, the injured man joked with his torturers, obviously feeling no pain.

  The door closed silently, trapping them in the new room. The white was unnerving, and the fluorescent lights hurt her eyes. No windows, just one door at the opposite end. Medical equipment decorated the walls, surrounding a high, padded armchair set next to a surgery table. The screens were blank, lifeless like the rest of the room.

  She froze two steps into the room in fear of touching anything. The place was clean, too clean. It smelled of disinfectant, but it still gave her the creeps. “It’s so filthy b
ack there,” she whispered as if they could have heard her.

  “It’s all right, they know what they’re doing,” Serioja said. “All the important procedures are done in here.”

  “Those are Big Dino’s helpers?” Anya suppressed a shudder. No way she was letting any of those creeps touch her. “They don’t look like doctors.”

  “They aren’t. You saw the poster outside. They’re the knife throwers.”

  “Knife throwers, hmm? Well, I guess that’s one way to solve the problem.” Run a knife straight through her heart, and then there wouldn’t be a need for a new heart and lungs at all.

  The rattling of paper inside her lungs intensified, and the tightening in her back announced a strong coughing attack. Her shoulders shook for several moments while her coughs filled the room, and when it ended, she collapsed exhausted in the armchair, with itchy eyes and a handkerchief full of blood.

  “Thanks.” She accepted the glass of water brought by Serioja.

  The door opened, letting the knife throwers in, and Anya jumped out of the armchair so they wouldn’t get any ideas. No procedure was going to be done here today. The whole room spun, and water spilled on the floor, but her strong legs kept her standing. Serioja took the glass from her.

  “Sorry for the delay,” the shorter, chattier man said.

  “Anya, these are Rake and Spinner.” Serioja nodded first at the tall knife thrower and then at the other one. “This is Anastasia Semenova.”

  “Charmed,” Anya said without batting an eye. She even managed a pale smile but made no gesture to offer her hand.

  “We will be too when we get paid.” Spinner grinned.

  The grin didn’t improve his look, but it made him more approachable, and some of Anya’s stiffness faded away despite the money comment. “We didn’t discuss a fee yet…”

  “That’s a matter to settle with Big Dino. We only do ground work here.” Spinner waved a hand. “Now.” He gave her a quizzical look. “I understood you caught a bug that wreaked havoc inside your chest cavity.”

  “Yes. The doctors figured it out but couldn’t do anything about the damage.” Maybe they could do something? Her hope peaked.

  “I can hear it.” Spinner nodded pensively, making her self-conscious of how loud her breathing was. “Okay, let’s take a look.” He clasped his hands with glee in his eyes, smiling in anticipation.

  Anya took a step back. She was not going to take her clothes off in front of these strangers.

  Rake brought a portable device from a shelf and stopped in front of her. “Hold still.”

  Before she could protest, Spinner turned on one of the large screens at her left and the image of her lungs and heart, in color, appeared on it. Rake put away the scanner and stepped closer to examine the image.

  “The good news, Miss Semenova,” Spinner said, “is your doctors were right. The bad news is … they were right.”

  Anya rolled her eyes at his back, unamused.

  “It’s unsalvageable,” Spinner continued.

  “See this?” Rake pointed at the outline of the right lung where a discolored area surrounded the bottom lobe.

  “Uh-huh.” Spinner nodded and said over his shoulder, “It looks like the doctors killed the bug but failed to contain the infection. It’s seeping out through the pleura.” He shook his head. “This isn’t good. We’ll have to remove everything before the abdominal cavity is damaged, too. You really don’t want to get rid of everything in there.” He gestured at her torso. “I mean it can be done, but…”

  Anya wrapped her arms protectively around herself. Was he talking about eviscerating her? Serioja’s comforting touch on the back didn’t erase her suspicions.

  “What do you recommend?” Serioja asked.

  “If it weren’t for the infection, we could try growing new organs and hope there’s enough time left … although chances are there isn’t,” Spinner said. “We don’t normally do this as the law doesn’t allow it without proper credentials, so we mostly focus on mechanical parts, but Big Dino gave this case special care. Unfortunately, as he predicted, that isn’t a viable option.”

  “What is then?” Anya asked in a weak voice, dreading the answer.

  “We remove everything,” Rake said and mimed with both hands pulling something out. “We clean up any affected tissue and coat the entire cavity with a layer of bio-resistant tissue that will prevent the system from interacting with the new parts. We install them, adjust the setting until you feel no difference, and then we close you up.”

  Anya swallowed with difficulty. He couldn’t be talking about her, could he? But he was. “I-I’m a ballerina … will this affect my dancing abilities?

  The knife throwers exchanged a glance.

  “We can try to get the weight close and similar sizes and locations so it won’t affect your balance.” Rake folded his arms. “The weight is the tricky part. It won’t be identical, but we’ll do our best and you’ll get used to it.”

  Serioja watched her with hopeful eyes, asking What do you think?

  “I’ll have to think about it.” Anya looked away. She fought once again against her reluctance to disappoint him, but she needed time. Her hands shook when she smoothed her skirt and started for the door.

  “We need two days to get everything ready,” Rake said. “If you haven't decided to do it by then, we'd better not start at all. We won't be in town long enough after that to set everything right.”

  “Yeah, we’re running on a schedule, and Big Dino doesn’t like to fall behind,” Spinner said.

  Anya hesitated with her hand on the door handle. “You’ll get an answer before the day ends.”

  * * *

  “Rise and shine…”

  The words came from far away, and Anya’s eyes fluttered open. She blinked a couple of times, trying to come to terms with the image in front of her. Not every day one got to see her chest open and people digging inside with screwdrivers and tweezers, but the mirror pinned to the ceiling showed her everything.

  “Are you with us, sweetheart?” One of the two masked, gloved men hovering over her watched her through protective glasses, and Anya more guessed than saw the grin accompanying the question.

  “Tha-mn-me-o-a-u … ” Her tongue stumbled, and she couldn’t get the words out.

  “Stay calm,” Spinner said. “We need to keep you sedated from the neck down until we finish the last touches. We’ve been working at it for over four hours, plenty of time for the bio-layer to take hold. Do you feel anything?”

  “Mno…” Something was wrong with her tongue. It was incredibly difficult to speak.

  “Any pain?”

  “…mno.”

  She tried to swallow and became aware of the tube going down her throat. They had to pump oxygen into her new lungs somehow. No wonder she couldn’t speak. Oh, God, this is really happening. A whimper escaped her lips. She looked around, as much as her stiff neck allowed, but couldn’t find Big Dino. He didn’t do manual labor, he only came up with the designs.

  “All done here,” Rake said. “Major veins and arteries connected. Trachea too. Ready to switch off the ventilator.”

  “Yep, it’s looking good.” Spinner checked the readings on the screens. “Do it.”

  There was a click, a hitch, and for a split second, Anya thought everything stopped in the world, but then the hiss of a fan filled the silence left by the disconnected ventilator.

  “Oy, that’s loud.” Spinner winced. “We can’t have her walking around sounding like a furnace. I’ll have it padded to muffle the noise.”

  “It will risk overheating,” Rake said.

  “We’ll add another fan.”

  “A fan to a fan?” Rake’s eyebrows crawled up his forehead. “Really?”

  “Eh…” Spinner peered inside her chest. “Let’s divert the power through here and here.” He pointed at two sets of wires going separate ways.

  Rake tilted his head. “That could work.”

  “Don’t panic,” Spin
ner told Anya, “I’ll cut your air supply only for a second.” His fingers moved quickly between metal and plastic parts, touching here and there, adjusting things.

  Anya’s vision burred, but the suffocating sensation failed to appear. She was vaguely aware of the noise turning into a soft purr, and then the world brightened again.

  “There you go,” Spinner said. “Much better … now, I’ll take this out.” He pulled on the tube in her mouth.

  Anya gagged. The discomfort left inside her throat gradually disappeared, and she was able to take in a long, satisfying breath. She wondered how she did that since she technically had no lungs.

  “Wonderful,” Spinner said. “You’re regulating the breathing on your own. The machines have fused with your body already, and your system can’t tell the difference.”

  “Blood flow is good, too,” Rake said. “We’ll have to do some stress tests later, when she recovers, but we’re good for now.”

  “Okay, let’s close her up then.” Spinner turned to Anya. “Oops, she’s turning green. We kept her open for too long.”

  Waves of nausea assaulted her, but nothing came out of her mouth.

  “It’s all right, your stomach is empty,” Spinner said. “Sorry about that, it’s the bio-layer’s reaction to the nitrogen in the air. Unfortunately, it needs the oxygen and we can’t get it from your airways with the risk of perforating the circuit, so you’ll have to open up and let the air in at least once a week. The nausea will return each time, but it can be decreased some with an oxygen pump. Did you get all that?”

  “Yes.” Her voice came out stronger than earlier. Breathing effortlessly was bliss.

  “The upside is you’ll never drown. The new lungs are designed to filter the oxygen from the water and decompose it from any liquid or substance that might get in. You have a real factory in there, and I’m quite proud of it.”

  “Can you save the speech for later?” Rake asked. “We have a show to do soon, and I haven’t slept since yesterday.”