Page 3 of Her Dragon Outlaw

But perhaps they're trying to get a broader sample size?

I was nervous when I first walked in and the secretary directed me to take a seat, but now that I'm here, the leg bouncing is more just inertia. My nerves are settling. I'm glad that they aren't as shady looking as I was expecting.

Less worried, and I'm still getting $500. I'd call that a good day. And even though they have me sitting in the waiting room for a while, it ends up being much shorter than it would be if I went in to see a medical doctor. Which is something I can't really afford to do often.

A nurse pokes her head through the frosted glass door at the end of the room and calls me. "Ms. Dunning?"

"Here," I say, feeling a little silly at responding like she was calling attendance or something. Maybe I'm more nervous than I thought. I feel a little flustered as I stand and walk to the door. She ushers me down a long hall to a little side room.

"Please take a seat on the table," she says. I sit on the edge of the exam table as she looks over a clip board.

"Date of birth?" she asks.

"I put it on the form."

"I know, but they have me ask anyway just to confirm. We wouldn't want to accidently confuse you with another Lori Dunning or something like that."

I confirm my date of birth as well as my address and social security number. She takes my blood pressure and pulse.

"You passed the basic physical. You're healthy enough to be part of the trial."

"Yay," I snark dryly.

She raises an eyebrow. "Are you having second thoughts?" she asks.

"No. Sorry. Just a little nervous, and I try to use sarcasm, with mixed success, as a defense mechanism. Don't mind me. I do want to do this."

"Good. Before you can accept the injections and receive your compensation, you'll need to sign this NDA, non-disclosure agreement." She hands me a clipboard.

I skim the document. It says that I can't discuss the testing or the effects with anyone but Miller Laboratories and lays out some rather scary sounding legal consequences if I were to divulge anything. Legal fees upwards of fifty thousand dollars is certainly enough to make me think twice about talking about this to anyone.

I sign it and hand it back to her.

"Okay, the doctor will be in soon," she says as she rushes out the door.

A tall man with salt and pepper hair knocks before entering the room. He has a pleasant, grandfatherly face. He looks down at his clipboard. "Hello, Ms. Dunning. I'm Dr. Nells. I'll be administering the injections today."

"Can I ask what is actually in the injections?"

"Unfortunately, no. We’re conducting a double-blind study of a proprietary medicine. I don't even know if you’re getting anything but saline. It's so we don't skew the results, you see."

I nod. I guess it makes sense.

He continues. "All we ask you to do is record how you’re feeling over the course of the study. Any changes in behavior or health. Fluctuations of any kind. Got it?"

"Um... sure. Yeah. I got it."

"Alright then, let's get to it."

I'm feeling a little more nervous once I see the size of the needle he's wielding. For some reason, I was expecting something about the size of a flu vaccine. Tiny, barely a pin prick. This looks long enough they could drill into my bones with it.

He wipes my arm with an alcohol swab. "Now’s your chance to look away if needles make you squeamish."

They usually don't, but this time I look away. I feel the burn of the needle piercing my arm and then a cold rush followed by a dull ache as he pulls the needle out.

"Arm up. Put pressure there," he says as he presses a cotton ball on to the injection site.

I do as I'm told. He pulls some medical wrap from a drawer and wraps it around the cotton ball.

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