CH 37: The first step
Walking into the infirmary John looked around hoping to find one of the two doctor that are always the most busy in the entire base
Failing to find them he put me onto the bed and laid me out flat before retracting his hands from their position
Turning around he looked at Charlotte
Showing a cheery smile he said
"Charlotte, can you go looking for one of the doctors?"
Pulled out of her stupor she thought for a moment before rigorously nodding
"Of course, I'll come back as fast as possible"
Before another word could be exchanged she disappeared out of the doorway and disappeared down the hallway
"Your really lucky to have her Lucas. Stop making her so worried all the time"
I could hear his voice but his face was hidden by the shadows and almost impossible to see from the angle my head was laid on
'Ok John I'll try my best'
"Now come on doctor, I have no clue what's wrong with him"
"Sheeeet"
The curtain was quickly drawn to its side after a few moments of hesitation
"Tch. Why can't this boy just take care of himself for once, I always have to be the one looking after him?"
"Standing behind the last patient curtain wasn't much of a hiding place"
As she strolled over in her bare feet her tone became annoyed
"It would've worked for all but four people in the base. But no, I just had to be lucky enough for you to come bother me"
Finally the doctor came over to my side
"I'm only taking a look at him because you can't work it out John"
Her tone sounded demanding but her statement didn't seem honest in the least
Leaning over me her loosely tied auburn hair fell beside her face and hid her ears from view, her button up shirt seemed to stretch and her chest seemed to bulge slightly at the change in gravity making them look significantly bigger than they actually were
Raising her hand up and resting it a small distance from my chest she took a deep breathe and closed her eyes trying to relax as best as she could
Opening her mouth multiple whispering voices seemed to desperately escape over he cracked lips
After a few seconds the whispers seemed to congregate into a single voice that was both her own but still inhuman
As soon as the voice finished merging an impossibly light colours seemed to explode and search the world through tendrils of energy seemed to stretch out and connect to each other like radioactive flares
A whiteish color glowed from her veins, nails, blood and bones
Wincing she carefully and gently laid it onto my chest
"CRrra"
A revolting feeling entered into my body causing my vocal cords to shudder and shake forcefully
Invaded my nerves
Inspected my blood vessels
And mapped out my body in the few seconds that it touched me
After half a minute she let out a drained breath as the glow quickly diminished and the hands struggle froze leaving her regular hand behind her regular hand
She stood up straight and let her shoulders fall with her breath
Bringing her hand back from its position she dropped it by her side and wiped the sweat off her brow with the other hand
"Phew"
She took a few minutes to completely calm down
"So what's wrong with Lucas?"
She stroked her chin with her hand for a few seconds
"I'm not quite sure, his body seems fine"
She paused and with an idea she turned to John
"I could try something but you'll have to tell me what his mutation is like first"
John gave her a dubious look
"He doesn't have any mutation, remember?"
She smiled like a con man
"Well he's got one now, his bodies currently going through it"
The room went silent, I wouldn't have even spoke if I could as I tried to understand what she had said
'A. Mutation?'
I didn't know how long I spent comprehending those words but as I was trying to, someone's voice pierced the surrounding silence
"John. I couldn't find ei- Oh"
Noticing the doctor standing next to us she froze realizing what was happening
"Has she figured out what happened to Lucas yet?"
Approaching us she roughly wiped her face with her hand getting rid of most of the drops of sweat that covered it
Everyone remained silent trying to decide how exactly to say it
Everyone meaning just the doctor and John
How to say it meaning just John, I physically couldn't and the doctor remained silent as she was either tired or couldn't be bothered
"W-what is it?!"
Frightened by the unending silence she began to panic, the color visibly leaving her face
"Ah...He, well. How do I say this?"
John turned to the doctor looking for advice but she seemed to not care enough to help him
"Oh my god"
She fell to the floor and left my line of sight in a quick manner
"No Charlotte, he's okay. It's just that, well. No he won't be harmed in the long run either ok!"
Even I began to hate the way he desperately tried to explain the situation in a messed up and warped manner
It was surprising that Charlotte didn't lose patience with him like I would've
"You see, he's in the middle of mutating"
She didn't respond and the entire room returned to its regular silence once again
The silence lasted for so long that I thought she might have passed out from the news
Finally a single word escaped her lips causing the silent atmosphere to crumble like delicate glass and bring life back to the run down and bare bones clinic
"Really?"
"Yeah, It's unbelievable"
"How?"
John turned towards the doctor and she simply shrugged
"Maybe he's a late bloomer? Maybe a lucky encounter? Only those in the big cities are doing indepth research on this kind of things, I know what I know from rumors I hear"
Everyone else seemed to drop the matter due to the inability to find out more
"So, how long since he first showed sings?"
"Um? Charlotte found him in his room in this state"
The question caused confusion between us as we tried to understand what she was trying to say
"After an hour of the body adapting enough to maintain its life it will go through the real metamorphosis"
"I don't remember a metamorphosis state? I just made it to the second tier as well?"
A grim smile appeared on the doctors lips
"It only happens on the first mutation, that is because it changes its 'nature'. At least that's what a few believe. Others believe it steps onto a holy path, but I would stay away from that crowd. But sometimes your mind will lock away a memory it believes might drive you insane"
Bringing her wrist in front of her she stared at it while continuing
"It's also because of this process that one can easily identify the type of mutation they will have, the more physically grotesque is most likely an enhancer, one that glows with colours is most likely a invoker and a mix of these is an emitter. A unique change hasn't been recorded, at least not here"
She dropped her arms and took a few steps back while her smile slowly slid off of her lips
"And he's been here for about forty minutes"
Just as her sentence ended I could feel my mind slipping, my consciousness receding into the depths of my brain as if it were a weak prey retreating from a dangerous predator
"Don't worry, Your mind will repress this transformation for you, you won't remember the pain"
'Pain?'
I tried to cling onto the final semblance of sanity but it was abruptly snapped when my body shot upwards chest first from the comfortable bed it had been laid upon