Page 51 of Coral Prince Conundrum
I brought Daryl into this world, my world. And now he’s on life support.
“We don’t specialize in treatments outside of Corali anatomy. He needs a pulmonologist,” the doctor says. “He has lost so much blood that his internal pressures are barely holding on.That’s not to mention the broken ribs and punctured lung. We need constant, vigilant updates, that?—”
“Whatever it takes,” I say in a hushed, urgent tone. “Money is no object.”
“Unfortunately, money can’t buy certain resources, like the pressure catheters, central lines, and magnetic imaging machines that only the surface world has,” the doctor says, wiping her hands on her lab coat. “Even if we accelerate the process of importing enough medical tools and ignore any embargos, what you’re asking from us…”
Her voice trails off, and I fear the worst. “You need manpower. Experts from America or some other country,” my brother says.
The doctor dolefully nods. “We can keep him on life support for a limited time, but this is not the country for him to get better.”
My soul crumbles, and I cling to my brother’s shoulder for support.Daryl is going to die.
“What if…what if we get him back to his home? In Oregon?” Oroy asks.
She nods in response. “I don’t want to overstep any political bounds, Your Highnesses, but…” She turns back to the operating room window, and we gaze at Daryl. He looks so fragile that it makes me nauseous. “He will not get better in the Coral Kingdom, he just won’t.”
Her words are the truth I’ve been trying to avoid. I thank her for her time and walk with my brother back to the waiting room. We share a bench, and I’m thankful the guards have once again granted us our privacy.
All of the wealth of an entire country, and I can’t help the man I love.
“I feel so powerless,” I whisper.
“Hey,” Oroy says, rubbing my back. “He’s alive. You saved him.”
I shake my head. “No, you did.” I turn to my brother, my eyes blurry with moisture. “Without your video phone screens, our parents would not have believed me.”
He shrugs. “He texted me the video. Really, Daryl saved himself.” Oroy frowns and looks down. “I should have seen the signs. Priya kept going on and on about how you were making a mistake. About how we needed to rule the oceans with an iron fist.”
I tap my brother’s arm. “She betrayed all of us.”
He hums in agreement, and we sit there in silence for another minute. “I think…you know what you have to do,” Oroy says.
“What?”
He looks back at the operating room, then at me. “Time is of the essence. You need to get him back to his home.”
“But…but how?”
“America has these things called medical helicopters. They’re like machines with little surface world hospitals and personnel on them.”
“And that can save him?”
“It can get him back to a place where he has the best opportunity to live, his home.” He points to his phone, and I nod.
I stand up, my legs feeling like they’re being weighed down by barnacles. Then, I pull out my phone and click one of the only contacts I have.
A quick moment later, I hear a familiar voice that warms my soul. “Renversé Hotel, this is Layla, how can I help you?”
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Daryl
Fuck, I’m in so much pain. I sense a team of doctors and nurses removing a breathing tube from my throat. There are lines coming out of my chest, my arm, and probably my penis if I could see underneath the thin hospital blanket. The medical personnel are telling me all sorts of information, but I can’t absorb it all. I’m overstimulated by the beeping and the bright lights of the ceiling.
It hurts to blink.
But as the nurses help me cough and give me some more meds, I try to gain cognizance. I don’t remember much, but gazing around at the multicolored machines, one thing is clear to me: based on the accents of everyone, I’m back in America. I’m definitely not in the Coral Kingdom anymore.
