Trials

Chapter 3

Dr. Fuchai took a deep breath, not even noticing that I was about to pass out, “Miss Hoster, I am so sorry. I am afraid you have a very rare blood form of RINS. I know this is shocking; frankly, this is the first time we have seen this particular type of RINS in such a young patient. However, hope is not lost. With an aggressive Mendax treatment plan, we can eradicate this, and you will live a long and healthy life. Miss Hoster? Luella, are you okay? Did you hear what I said? We CAN beat this.”

I comprehended his words yet I couldn't fully wrap my head around them. I was staring at Nurse Yuki, who was openly crying now, and I fixated on the tear that was escaping her eye and running down her cheek. I watched as it fell in midair to the floor and I realized that the tear was how I was feeling. I was powerless to stop the forward motion of what was happening to me. A second later, the world went black.

I woke up nauseated and lying on the bed in the exam room. Nurse Yuki was standing beside me and stroking my hair. Dr. Fuchai was speaking with my Mother in clipped tones.

“I understand your concerns, Mrs. Hoster, but you must agree that this is the only way for your daughter to survive,” the doctor said through gritted teeth.

She was obviously disagreeing with something, or everything, the Doctor had proposed. “If there is even a chance that my daughter could become a Trial, then I don’t want to risk it, Doctor. Isn’t there another way? Another more experimental treatment even?” She paced the room, not even looking at the Doctor as she spoke. Her voice held desperation, and she was frazzled, which is very unlike my mom. I knew that my Mother disagreed with Dr. Fuchai over the use of the Mendax treatment that Doctor Hans Stefferzil created shortly after RINS was discovered because it underwent many unsuccessful trials. Mendax 1- 3 had catastrophic effects on its human subjects, including brain damage, deformities, rabies-like symptoms, hallucinations, and mutations that ranged from grotesque to useful. These people are now commonly referred to as Trials. They live outside our safe zone cities and among themselves, mostly peacefully. The jury is still out on whether the new form Mendax 4 will be any better. I gather my strength and try to sit up. The world is still spinning but Nurse Yuki supports my back and helps me to an almost upright position.

“Mother! I think Dr. Fuchai would give us all the options if they existed, don’t you?” I said with as much force and as little emotion as I could muster.

“You're awake darling! Are you okay?” She comes to sit beside me on the exam table and embraces me with genuine love and affection and I settle into it like a warm blanket.

“I won’t let anything happen to you. We will scour the jack for anything that could help, we will explore all options, and we will NOT let you become a Trial.” Mom said as she squeezed me tighter.

I was reluctant to move out of her rare and real embrace, but I realized that she was speaking to me as if she was pitching one of her clients. I was her new project and while I was grateful for her concern, I knew this was going to be a LONG journey in which my Mother put her goal above my feelings, physical pain, or anything that kept her from ‘winning’.