AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I didn't want to leave him out, even if he's still asleep and can't eat with us.”
Still asleep.
I wish he were just sleeping.
Now that the centrifuge is here, I'm getting a little more nervous about this plan. It's not likely to hurt either of them, but is it too far-fetched to work? The records for Eight, that poor woman, showed off-the-charts benefits of the plasma injections. Aside from helping sustain that pregnancy, there were notes about muscular regeneration and rapid healing.
If there's a chance, it's worth it. Dr. Franks didn't say it outright, but I know enough to read between the lines. Bennet is only alive because he has some boosted healing abilities, but it's not enough to sustain him and he is likely headed for multi-system failure.
We eat in relative silence, preparing ourselves for the night ahead. The plan is to draw blood, process it through the centrifuge, and then simply inject it directly into Jackson's veins. We'll monitor him through the night, which is easy since we're all sleeping here together anyway, so we'll be able to hear the monitors if anything goes wrong.
Then in the morning, we'll see if Jackson is still in any significant pain, check his vitals, and try to find any measurable differences.
Dr. Franks arrives dressed casually. Since he's not an actual employee of the hospital, he's just staying in another room on this floor until Bennet no longer needs him. Hopefully that'll be when Bennet is well enough to no longer be in danger, and not the opposite.
Stop thinking like that, Micah! Positive thoughts.
The blood draw only takes minutes. Lukas has the centrifuge all set up in the bathroom, so it won't be noticed if a nurse or other staff checks in.
“How long will it take?” Six asks.
“Should be less than 30 minutes,” I tell her.
Labs are my favorite part of medical school, and I sometimes wish I could go into medical laboratory sciences instead of trying to follow in the footsteps of my father to be a surgeon. I enjoy working with patients, and I definitely know and appreciate the vast difference in salary, but I get a thrill out of testing samples and identifying diseases. Seems boring, I know, but I'd love to work in cancer or Alzheimer's research labs, working towards understanding diseases and finding cures.
I'm discussing all of this with Six as we wait for the time to pass.
“So do it,” she says.
“It would enrage my father.”
“Fuck him,” I hear Lukas say behind me.
“What?” That's unlike Lukas.
“You heard me. Fuck Michael Williams. You stood up to him. Keep it up. Get what you want out of life. Who cares about their opinions anymore? You have all of us to support you.”
“He's right,” Six says. “We have a new life since finding each other. Don't waste it.”
I consider their words, knowing that they are right. I'd never truly considered any other trajectory for my life, so it feels like a big mental switch.
“Maybe I will,” I say, grinning, as we hear the machine indicate the samples are ready.
Dr. Franks and I wash our hands and glove up, using a pipette technique to separate the plasma and ready the first injection.
“Are you ready, Jackson?” asks Dr. Franks.
Luis speaks up before Dr. Franks injects the plasma. “Maybe you should let Micah do it so you still have some plausible deniability?”
Dr. Franks shrugs, and I give him mad credit for considering Bennet to be worth losing everything. But Luis is right.
“That okay with you?” I ask Jackson.
“I think I'd actually prefer it that way,” he answers.
Six holds Jackson's hand, Lukas and Luis standing behind her. Dr. Franks stands with me. I check the syringe for air bubbles, tie a tourniquet around Jackson's bicep, and locate a healthy vein.
“Here goes everything.”
