Page 8 of Healer
I couldn’t help the chuckle that broke from my lips. “Getting the implant isn’t all there is to it. Once we have the knowledge, we must spend many years learning how to apply it, apprenticing with experienced healers.”
“How many years?” Agnes’ brows raised in challenge.
“My training lasted approximately thirty of your Earth years.”
Agnes made a sound—snort and laugh combined. “I take it back. You had it worse than me. I only had to learn one species, not hundreds.”
“Thousands,” I corrected.
“Show off,” she muttered, but with a grin.
“What was your medical training like?” I felt it was only polite to ask. Besides, I found myself curious. She was the first Earth healer I’d ever met.
Anges sighed, a look of pleasure softening her features. “Hard… stressful… wonderful. Looking back, it was the best time of my life, but if you’d asked me during, I would have told you it was complete and utter hell.”
“Yes,” I agreed with a degree of wistfulness. “I enjoyed my training years very much.”
“So, what does that little box of yours do?”
Her fingers lightly grazed the Medi-unit pouch, sending a jolt of electricity through my body. I felt my muscles flex in anticipation, though I couldn’t pinpoint exactly what I anticipated. Was it her touch? The rush of adrenaline that came with being near her? Or something else entirely?
“The Medi-unit?” I pulled the small gray metal square from the pouch. As designed, it reacted to my touch, humming while waiting for the pressure of my fingers to command it further. “It can diagnose injuries and illness. Close and disinfectwounds, mend fractures, and remove foreign objects from the body and administer medications.”
As I spoke, Agnes’ hand caught my attention, her fingers opening and closing in a rhythmic pattern. It was as if her fingers had their own mind, and she remained unaware of the action. Was it nerves or frustration? I couldn’t decide, but it added to the mystery of Agnes and her enigmatic presence.
“Foreign objects? You mean like knives and bullets?” She tilted her head, a spill of blonde-brown hair falling over her shoulder.
“Yes,” I agreed, slipping the Medi-unit into the holster. “But it can also remove diseased cells, viruses, and bacteria from the body.”
Agnes froze, eyes widening with expectation. “It can remove disease?”
“In most instances, yes,” I said, watching her hand flex more rapidly.
“What about…” Her voice trailed off as her blunt white teeth worried her lower lip for a minute. “What about genetic disease? Illness attached to a person’s DNA?”
“That takes more capability than the Medi-unit possesses,” I told her, watching something that might be disappointment flash across her lovely face. “Why do you ask?”
“No reason, just curious,” Agnes shrugged. Her eyes, once fixed on me, now shifted away. I could tell that the flaws of the Medi-unit weighed heavily on her mind.
I opened my mouth to press further when a faint, growling grumble reached my ears. Agnes issued a soft gasp, her hand pressing over her stomach.
I couldn’t help but smile. We’d been eating my stash of dried meat and snacking on fruits and nuts I’d foraged along the way, but like the Vaktaire, humans needed fresh meat to keep up their strength. I glanced at the heavy canopy, noticing the sundipping toward the horizon. I needed to hunt and find shelter. We both needed rest.
With a gentle squeeze, I released Agnes’ hand and tapped the screen of my wrist comm. The familiar hum of technology filled the air as I programmed in the code to bring up a topical map of the planet. A holographic image materialized before us, painted in shimmering lines of pale yellow. It glowed with an otherworldly light, projecting a detailed depiction of our surroundings into the air, showing every peak, valley, river, and forest in stunning clarity.
Agnes’ eyes widened as she clutched my arm and leaned closer.
“Damn! My iWatch gives directions, but this is cool.”
“Eye Watch?”
“Earth’s primitive technology,” she chuckled. Her laughter poured over my skin like fresh, cool water.
“Here.” I pointed to a section of the hologram. “It looks like a small cave we can shelter in for the night. You can stay there while I hunt.”
“Hunt?” Agnes swallowed hard.
I felt my lips twitch. “Your stomach makes angry noises.”
