Read Online The Blood In the Beginning by Kim Falconer - Free Book Online Page B

along with the hallucinations — and make a run for it. Meanwhile, I needed a distraction to focus on and decided Dr Rossi could be it. I forced myself to breathe slow and deep when he turned back to me to check my shoulder. His skin was tan and smooth, not a wrinkle. Looked mid-twenties but had to be older, didn’t he, to be a senior lecturer with a ‘Dr’ in front of his name? He wasn’t wearing intern scrubs. I squinted as he leaned over me. His face … holy wowza.
    He raised his brows.
    Heat flushed over me. Had I said that aloud? I didn’t think so … but he’d hear that a lot. This guy was all kinds of gorgeous. I squinted to read his name tag: Dr Miguel Rossi. ‘Miguel, is it? Never would have guessed from your signature.’
    I’m glad you’re recovered enough to read it.
    I pressed my hand to my temple. Maybe I wasn’t as healed as I thought. Either I’d just blacked out, or this guy was a ventriloquist.
    He sat on the edge of the bed. ‘How old are you?’
    â€˜Twenty-four.’
    â€˜Home address and phone number?’
    â€˜Isn’t it on my file?’
    He smiled. ‘Sure, but I’m trying to ascertain if your brain still works.’
    â€˜Oh.’
    â€˜Favourite colour?’
    Normally I would say green as it was mostly what I saw, but my mind jolted back to the underwater dream. ‘Red!’ I’d have to talk to someone in neuroscience to see if that was possible, to ‘see’ red in my dreams, even though I was colour blind in waking life. What would my reference be?
    â€˜Topic of your presentation last week?’ He kept up with the questions.
    â€˜A survey of auto-immune diseases. Insights and analysis from genome-wide association studies.’
    He asked a few more questions, then finally said, ‘One of Teern’s?’
    I drew breath to answer, which seemed to fascinate him for some reason, and then exhaled without saying a word. After a moment’s pause, I said, ‘What?’ As I spoke, the sea dragged me down again.
    It was quieter this time. I could see forever, an entirely aquatic view. Whale songs echoed in the distance. Shimmering fish darted by. I sank, and the bottom came up fast, a patchwork of deep blues and black, edged with tracks of white sand. Suddenly the world snapped into super-sharp focus, revealing a rugged seascape teeming with life. It was like my eyes had a zoom lens that kicked in wherever I looked. Schools of yellow, black and silver-blue fish shot away from me. Blazes of purple coralline algae waved back and forth in the current, and a velvet gold backdrop of bull kelp rippled like streamers in a light breeze. Then a shadow crossed overhead and the fear crept back.
    I looked up, and a ton of water weighed down on me. The corner of my mind that remained sane assured me it was a dream. This isn’t real. A school of manta rays pumped their graceful wings up and down as they flew by in slow motion, their creamy white underbellies showing off rows of gill slits that looked like emaciated ribs. I had to remind myself that these giants didn’t eat people. I’d done a semester of marine bio. I knew where I sat on the food chain. In this environment, it was definitely not on top. A long arm of kelp wafted in front of my face. I held on, like a boat to an anchor, so I wouldn’t be swept away. Like ‘away’ would be any worse? I spun in circles, stopping at twelve o’clock. What the hell? A temple? A rush of cold current thrust me into the middle of the ruins. Not a temple. It was a sunken graveyard with rows of tombs. I tried to dart away. Damn, I needed to learn how to swim!
    Ava, come back.
    My eyes popped open and I sucked in a breath.
    â€˜Are you having trouble with the memories?’ Rossi leaned in, and with him came the scent of the sea. The aroma was heavenly, organic, marred only by a trace of blood, but then, I was in a hospital. The