Page 22 of The King

“At that point, I had already completed my doctorates in human genetics, diagnostic genomic biotechnology, and MCDB.”

“MCDB?”

Before the doctor could answer, another beep alerted them that they had reached their destination. The doors opened, and Ettie's senses were inundated with a whole set of smells that were nothing short of atrocious.

Rage, pain, hopelessness, more rage, sorrow, utter disgust, and even more rage – the only thing that made the Demi-Goddess feel better was that the overriding and prevailing sentiment was rage. No one was giving up. If anything, they were fighting harder.

Out of the elevator, the orderlies pushed her bed and then abruptly turned right. Making short work of what she knew was a long, narrow hallway by the way the voices reverberated off the walls, Ettie listened closely as Dr. O'Baoill and Nurse Weatherly continued to talk.

“What was your question, Greer?”

“I just wondered what MCDB stands for.”

Ettie was thankful the nurse repeated her question because she also had no idea what that acronym stood for.

“MCDB is molecular, cellular, and developmental biology, giving those of us who’ve studied it an extensive understanding of biological systems at the molecular, cellular, and organismal levels. It gave me a broader knowledge of genetics, cell biology, developmental biology, cancer biology, and especially, neurobiology.”

“Wow,” Nurse Weatherly exclaimed. “You are very young to be so accomplished.”

“And that’s not all.”

The amount of ego and pride in her voice was downright sickening. It literally turned Ettie’s stomach and made her wish she could fall back into a deep sleep. Sadly, Pandora O’Baoill didn’t stop there.

"I also went on to get my doctorate in cryptozoology and hominology, then metaphysics. It was also imperative that I have advanced degrees in para-anthropology which combines parapsychology, paranormal science, parabiology paraphysiology, and paragenome restructuring.”

“That is simply amazing. You have to be so very proud of your accomplishments.”

"Oh, my father taught me that education was not an accomplishment but a requirement if we were ever to stop the onslaught of predators trying to take over our world. Hold on one minute, Greer. We're here."

Stopping with only a little thrust and jerk this time, Ettie's bed made a hard left. Beeps of codes being entered, clicks of heavy-duty locks opening, then the slide of three keycards into metal slots were followed by the groan of what could only be an absolutely massive metal door. They had arrived at a whole new level of Hell.

Counting seconds, Ettie listened as they plugged in all the equipment hooked to her body. The port, as the doctor called it, but she thought of as a group of needles in plastic stuck in her arm, pulled against her skin as the IVs pumping crap into her veins were lifted onto a pole. Six separate spots on her chest were pulled taut, as well as one on each temple and two more on her forehead, as the orderlies reconnected her to a stationary heart monitor, EKG, and ECG.

"Good thing you paid attention when Calysta explained all the medical equipment to you,"Eden teased.

“Yeah,”Ettie readily agreed."I'm gonna send her a dozen Bat Orchids and the biggest box of chocolate I can find."

Exactly five minutes later, the orderly who Dr. O’Baoill had humiliated announced, “The patient is ready. Is there anything else you need?”

“No, you can go.”

The whoosh of the door and the click of the locks made Ettie's heart momentarily race. The monitor beat double time and then slowed, but apparently, Dr. O'Baoill didn't notice because she calmly asked, "Now, where were we?"

"Did your father believe that, along with Shifters, Witches, and the other Paranormals we know of, that creatures like Bigfoot, the Loch Ness Monster, the Loveland Frog, Chupacabra, and so many other hominids were also real," Nurse Weatherly asked.

"And so much more. Father believed knowledge was power and that we had to learn and discover everything we could about these creatures in order to take what we needed from them and destroy what was left. It is the only way to keep our world safe."

“Every time this bitch opens her mouth, I like her a little less,”Eden growled. “And it makes me sick that she’s going after Biggie and his family. Can’t people just leave those gentle giants alone?”

“We’ll make sure they’re safe,”Ettie scowled.“But before that, there's still one question I need the answer to before I break outta these restraints and rip her head off."

“What’s that?”

Before Ettie could answer, the doctor started to speak once again. However, her voice was low this time, and her tone was conspiratorial. Had the Demi-Goddess been able to open her eyes, she was sure she would see the two women huddled together, sharing their demented secrets.

“Why don’t you ask me what you really want to know?” Dr. Pandora O’Baoill prompted.

“I don’t know what…”

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