Page 19 of Salvation
Nick delved his hand into his jacket pocket until it closed around a small hard object. He pulled out his personal data device and held it close to his mouth. “Record.”
B’iha laced her fingers together, her pain evident in the way she creased her brow. “It has been eighteen days. Four days ago, the pain become so terrible she could not get out of bed even for a short time.”
Almost three weeks of chronic pain. Nick frowned. “Where has her pain localized?”
The two Anferthian women exchanged a look, then B’iha took in a deep breath. “Her heart and lungs.”
“Breathing is a struggle now,” K’rona added. “Sometimes I wonder if she will expire before her organs explode.”
Dread, like jagged ice-chips, trickled down Nick’s spine. Sakura shifted on her feet. The mere idea of shattering organs must creep her out as much as it did him.
He cleared his throat. “I have to ask, when the victim’s bodies finally fail, is the aftermath…contained?”
“The organs are,” a new voice said from behind him.
Nick startled and turned to see Storo. The Anferthian man wore a deep frown. “The bones have the propensity of breaching the skin when they splinter.”
Holy Jesus. Sakura’s face turned a sickly shade of green. Nick reached out and gripped her elbow. “You okay?”
To her credit, she seemed to recover her professional demeanor, and this time she didn’t balk at his touch. “Yes, fine.” Her smile appeared wan and forced, but she turned her gaze to Storo before he could suggest she sit down. “Just one more question. How…long are the victims in pain, from the onset of symptoms to their demise?”
“The shortest, two days,” Storo replied. “The longest lingered for twenty-two days. But, on average, they only survive a week.”
Sakura nodded, then met Nick’s gaze. “Do you have any other questions, Healer Bock?”
Nick released her elbow. “Not at the moment. We’d like to see the patient now.”
