Sillaran,” G-Vez interrupted in its drawling electronic voice. “He has come to—”
“Shut up, G-Vez,” snapped Mordant.
“I wished only to correct the Earthling’s idea that you, of all people, would want to see—”
“I said , shut up. Now .”
“So, why are you here?” John repeated. “You don’t look ill.”
Mordant took a sharp breath. Turning on his heel, he walked back through the door.
John stared in surprise as Mordant strode away. Normally, the black-haired boy would never have let a chance to insult him slip by, but he had walked away without a word. For a moment, he felt a pang of guilt, wondering if he had misjudged Mordant. Then he remembered the boy’s glee while taunting him and Emmie about Kaal’s illness. I haven’t misjudged him. He probably just came up here to laugh at the sick people , he told himself.
“John?” Dr Kasaria’s voice startled him.
“What is it?” he asked. “Is something wrong with Kaal and Emmie? I mean, are they worse...?”
“Emmie is stable,” Dr Kasaria said softly, gazing at him gently with her large, black eyes. “I have every hope that she will eventually recover.”
A chill gripped John’s heart. “And Kaal?” he whispered.
“The Zhaldarian Flu seems to have mutated. Kaal is displaying symptoms that I have never seen before. None of the normal treatments are working. His condition is critical. I have moved him to another room.”
“What symptoms? How critical? He’s going to get better, isn’t he?” John blurted.
The doctor rested a hand on his shoulder and squeezed. “Would you like to see him?” she asked.
John gulped and nodded.
“Since you are immune and wearing a full quarantine suit, it cannot do any harm,” Dr Kasaria said. “The aggressive stage of the disease has passed. Kaal is in a coma, but it is possible that he can still hear what is going on around him. If so, I’m sure it would be a comfort for him to hear your voice. Follow me.”
Shaking, John followed as the doctor led him along a corridor lined with doors that led onto smaller, private rooms. Each held a single patient with a Meteor Medic hovering by their bed. Without being told, John knew that these were the most serious cases.
At the end of the corridor, the doctor paused. “Try and stay positive. Kaal cannot speak but if he can hear you, it is better that he doesn’t know how worried we are.”
John nodded again. Dr Kasaria placed her hand on a wall panel. The door slid open. John walked quickly past the Meteor Medic by the bed and looked down on his room-mate.
More tubes had been inserted into Kaal’s flesh. An oxygen mask covered his face. John had to force himself not to step back. Even from a metre away, he could feel the heat rising from his friend’s body. Kaal’s normally bulging muscles looked as if they had deflated. His skin hung loose and, as John watched, began to change colour, turning from green to a violent shade of red. The only sounds in the room were the hissing of oxygen and hushed beeps from a bank of monitors.
John reached out and put a quarantine-suited hand on Kaal’s arm, feeling burning skin through the gel. “All right, mate?” he said, trying to make his voice sound as cheerful as possible. “You missed a really harsh exam today...”
Kaal remained completely still and silent as John talked, the only sign of life the constantly changing colours of his skin and the rising and falling of his chest as oxygen was pumped into his lungs. John forced himself to go on, keeping his voice cheerful – even as he realized that his best friend was dying.
Chapter 10
John talked and talked, hardly taking time to draw breath, his gaze fixed on Kaal’s face. He talked about the fun they would have playing their virtual-reality games when Kaal recovered, about their adventures on Zirion Beta and Archivus Major, winning the Robot Warriors’ competition, visiting the scholars of Kerallin, and the deadly battle they fought at
“Shut up, G-Vez,” snapped Mordant.
“I wished only to correct the Earthling’s idea that you, of all people, would want to see—”
“I said , shut up. Now .”
“So, why are you here?” John repeated. “You don’t look ill.”
Mordant took a sharp breath. Turning on his heel, he walked back through the door.
John stared in surprise as Mordant strode away. Normally, the black-haired boy would never have let a chance to insult him slip by, but he had walked away without a word. For a moment, he felt a pang of guilt, wondering if he had misjudged Mordant. Then he remembered the boy’s glee while taunting him and Emmie about Kaal’s illness. I haven’t misjudged him. He probably just came up here to laugh at the sick people , he told himself.
“John?” Dr Kasaria’s voice startled him.
“What is it?” he asked. “Is something wrong with Kaal and Emmie? I mean, are they worse...?”
“Emmie is stable,” Dr Kasaria said softly, gazing at him gently with her large, black eyes. “I have every hope that she will eventually recover.”
A chill gripped John’s heart. “And Kaal?” he whispered.
“The Zhaldarian Flu seems to have mutated. Kaal is displaying symptoms that I have never seen before. None of the normal treatments are working. His condition is critical. I have moved him to another room.”
“What symptoms? How critical? He’s going to get better, isn’t he?” John blurted.
The doctor rested a hand on his shoulder and squeezed. “Would you like to see him?” she asked.
John gulped and nodded.
“Since you are immune and wearing a full quarantine suit, it cannot do any harm,” Dr Kasaria said. “The aggressive stage of the disease has passed. Kaal is in a coma, but it is possible that he can still hear what is going on around him. If so, I’m sure it would be a comfort for him to hear your voice. Follow me.”
Shaking, John followed as the doctor led him along a corridor lined with doors that led onto smaller, private rooms. Each held a single patient with a Meteor Medic hovering by their bed. Without being told, John knew that these were the most serious cases.
At the end of the corridor, the doctor paused. “Try and stay positive. Kaal cannot speak but if he can hear you, it is better that he doesn’t know how worried we are.”
John nodded again. Dr Kasaria placed her hand on a wall panel. The door slid open. John walked quickly past the Meteor Medic by the bed and looked down on his room-mate.
More tubes had been inserted into Kaal’s flesh. An oxygen mask covered his face. John had to force himself not to step back. Even from a metre away, he could feel the heat rising from his friend’s body. Kaal’s normally bulging muscles looked as if they had deflated. His skin hung loose and, as John watched, began to change colour, turning from green to a violent shade of red. The only sounds in the room were the hissing of oxygen and hushed beeps from a bank of monitors.
John reached out and put a quarantine-suited hand on Kaal’s arm, feeling burning skin through the gel. “All right, mate?” he said, trying to make his voice sound as cheerful as possible. “You missed a really harsh exam today...”
Kaal remained completely still and silent as John talked, the only sign of life the constantly changing colours of his skin and the rising and falling of his chest as oxygen was pumped into his lungs. John forced himself to go on, keeping his voice cheerful – even as he realized that his best friend was dying.
Chapter 10
John talked and talked, hardly taking time to draw breath, his gaze fixed on Kaal’s face. He talked about the fun they would have playing their virtual-reality games when Kaal recovered, about their adventures on Zirion Beta and Archivus Major, winning the Robot Warriors’ competition, visiting the scholars of Kerallin, and the deadly battle they fought at
Similar Books
