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He eyed the man. “Well, shit, get it over with. Just tell me what you aren’t saying.”
“As I said, we’re not sure what other side effects there’ll be. There’s a chance your human mind can’t handle living so long and you’ll succumb to madness. But one thing we do know is you’ll have to leave your life behind on Earth. For at least a couple hundred years, to avoid bringing attention to yourself.”
Adapa let his arm drop as he leaned forward, resting his elbows on his thighs as he clasped his hands. “Which shouldn’t be a big deal since you have a couple of choices. You can come with me and Inanna to Akurn. We’ve plans to turn the government into a democratic society from a hard patriarchal monarchy. With your experience working for the American government, you’d definitely be an asset.
“Or you can live on Azadi. I’m sure they could use your covert expertise to keep an eye on what’s happening on Earth and report any threats that might crop up.”
The walls of the man cave shuddered as an inhuman screech ripped through the air, shaking the floor and filling the room with an overwhelming stench. Suddenly, something smashed into the outside wall with a thunderous crash, shaking the wide screen TV off its brackets and sending it careening the ground in an eruption of plaster and splintered wood.
“Looks like your time is up. The Goraxag is back to finish the job. I hate to be an ass about this, but I’ve got to have your answer now.” Adapa stood. “You want your last chance at life or what?”
Claude stood tall, arms crossed in defiance. His heart raced a million miles a second.
With every boom of the opposite wall, the roof shook and rattled as beams crashed to the floor, leaving a plume of dust and debris that grew with every passing second.
There was no turning back. Didn’t matter. His choice was glaringly obvious.
“Do it.” His voice was firm. “I’d do anything for a chance to be with Amata.”
When the last word left his lips, the invisible chains binding him to his old life broke apart. Lighter, he faced Adapa’s knowing smirk for what he feared would be the last time. Suddenly, everything around him melted away, leaving him alone until the only thing left was oblivion.
Amata bit the inside of her cheek. She should never have let this happen. Watching the man she loved beyond life suffer was one of the hardest thing she’d ever done. And all for what? There was no guarantee the nanos would fix Claude’s life-threatening situation. Hadn’t Queen Inanna warned she didn’t know how the procedure would affect a human?
Hearing Claude’s cries and screams as he thrashed on the hospital bed was almost more than she could take. But she wasn’t some shallow twit who’d let her loved one suffer alone.
After they brought Claude into a clean medical room, Inanna injected him with the initial dose of her nanos.
His body trembled violently in reaction as the nanos surged through his veins. His limbs flailed against the bed, as if desperate to break free. He shook his head back and forth until his movements became more and more frenzied.
Inanna and her sons, along with Adapa, had no choice but to add extra straps around his hips, chest, and forehead to keep him from harming himself.
His screams echoed off the walls like the howl of a wounded animal.
“Hold him down. I’ve got to give him the second dose now.” Inanna aimed a needleless injection tube at the side of Claude’s neck. She fumbled around, trying to get purchase as he jerked his head and screamed, “NO!”.
“Do you think he can take more?” Michael asked.
Inanna put a hand on Claude’s head and pushed, exposing the throbbing vein in his neck. With quick efficiency, she put the tube against his skin and clicked a button. “We don’t have a choice. He has to have the full dosage for any of it to work.” She jumped back when Claude yanked his head out of her hold. “If I don’t, the nanos will eat him alive inside.”
Amata’s eyes widened in horror. She put her fingers on her lips. “Eat him alive? What are you talking about? Why would they do that?”
Inanna went back to her tray where she had prepared the nano injections.
Gleaming on the silver platter were two more tubes Amata guessed Inanna planned on using.
Grabbing one tube, Inanna walked around the bed, barely missing getting caught by one of Claude’s feet when it got loose from its bindings. “Take care of that, would you, Ben?” She nodded as Claude’s foot pounded on the mattress.
Her son rushed and gripped Claude’s heel and encased it in a tight manacle.
“All the nanos have interlocking programs. We don’t have much time to inject them in his system so they can link and create a cohesive force to fix his heart.” Inanna continued her narrative as she lifted the loose hospital gown up, exposing his undulating abs and the small white briefs he wore. Without another word, she pressed the injection into his stomach and stepped back.
“Pete, hand me that last tube behind you, please.” She held out a hand, waiting. After Pete slapped it on her palm, she gripped it and concentrated on her patient’s upper thigh. With a quick shot, she injected the last of the nanos into Claude.
“Okay, that’s it.” Inanna dropped the empty tube into a medical waste can under the bed. She shoved her hands into the lab coat pockets and looked around the room. “I appreciate everybody’s help, but you’d all better leave now. Your father and I can handle the rest.” Her blazing-turquoise eyes focused on Amata. “Especially you, Amata. You’ve got to give us a chance to work on him without me worrying about you.”
“I…” She opened her mouth to argue, but was startled when Jordyn stood next to her.
“Come on, Auntie.” Jordyn’s soothing voice matched the warm hold of her arm wrapping around Amata’s tense shoulders. “You wouldn’t want to distract Queen Inanna, now would you?”
