Human Blend (10 page)

“Fair enough,” Julie agreed. “Me first,” she
said. She had a million questions, but didn't know which one to
start with. Finally, deciding on one, she asked, “Why don't you
have a heartbeat?” she asked.

“Because, I don't need one,” he answered.

“Why don't you need one?” she pushed.

“That's two questions,” Eli said.

“No, it's a qualifying question. Those are
allowed,” Julie was not going to let him get away with non-defined
answers.

“I don't need one, because my body does not
function the way a human body does. There are only some
similarities,” he answered.

“Are you saying...” Julie began to ask, but
he put a finger to her lips.

“My turn,” he said, his face close to hers.
“Where are you from?” he asked her.

“Florida,” she replied, feeling slightly off
balance.

“Is that what you tell everyone?” he asked,
his lips near her ear.

“Stop,” she said, pushing him away. “I asked
you not to do that anymore,” she hated that feeling of helplessness
when he got close to her.

“I want the truth, Julie,” he said, trapping
her against the counter.

“The truth could get you killed,” Julie
threatened.

“I answered your question honestly. I expect
no less from you,” he countered. She closed her eyes. Julie knew
that if she wanted answers, she was going to have to provide some
of her own. She opened her eyes when she felt his fingers on her
face. “I'm trying to make it easier for you.” His voice, once
again, was soft and soothing. “Where are you from?” his lips
brushed her cheek.

“Nevada,” she heard herself reply.

“Where in Nevada?” he asked, his lips gently
brushing hers.

“Las Vegas,” she whispered as their lips met
again.

“Good girl,” he said, moving his face away
from hers. He kept a hand near her until she recovered enough.

Julie shook the haze from her head and looked
at him. She realized that lying to him would do no good. Whatever
that thing was that he did, she was unable to resist telling him
what he wanted to know.

“Ready to do this?” he asked her.

“Yes,” she replied. “I'm going to go change
first,” she said.

“Meet me in my office,” he said, and started
off down the hall.

After changing, Julie made a quick call to
the laundromat. She couldn't remember if she had made plans with
Austin or not. “Hey, how's that washer coming?” she asked when she
recognized his voice.

“Hey, Jules. It's all fixed, actually. I
picked up the part it needed after school, and she is up and
running. Are you done work?” he asked.

“Yes and no. I am gonna hang out here. There
is a little girl that is undergoing a procedure, and I kinda want
to be here when she comes through it,” she explained.

“Want me to come wait with you?” Austin
asked.

“No, that's okay. I'm not sure how late it
will run. Oh hey, I got some good news. I found an ad for an
apartment, like one block from the hospital. I have an appointment
to see it tomorrow morning,” she said, changing the subject.

“That's great, Jules,” Austin said, sounding
genuinely happy. “Maybe tomorrow night we'll have something to
celebrate,” he said.

“I'd like that,” Julie said.

“Me too,” Austin replied.

“Have a good night, then,” Julie wished
him.

“Sweet dreams,” he said. Julie hung up and
made her way to the doctor's office.

“All set?” Eli asked, when she entered.

“Ready when you are,” she replied. Julie and
Eli walked down to the room next door. It was a small, private,
patient's room. Michele was there, still curled into her fetal
position. The quiet, steady beeping of the machines was the only
sound.

“Before we begin,” Eli said, “I want you to
describe what you feel when you touch her,” he said. Julie nodded
and walked over to the child's sleeping form. She reached under the
covers and grasped Michele's arm. “Why the arm?” the doctor
asked.

“My choice,” Julie said. “When healing,
sometimes, the intensity of the disease, or the amount of pain I
receive, is tremendous. I clamp down hard in reaction to it, and
find I do less damage to an arm or a leg than any other part of the
body,” she explained.

She closed her eyes and concentrated on
exploring deep inside Michele. “So much pain,” she gasped. “The
sedatives have done a good job at keeping her in a comatose state.
There is no pain medication in existence to battle what she has
inside of her,” she said.

“Where is the bulk of the cancer?” Eli asked
her.

“It's everywhere,” Julie said.

“Can you remove it all?” he asked her.

“Most of it, I think,” she said. “Anything I
miss or am unable to get today, I can get tomorrow,” she added.
“Her heart is weak. You may want to have paddles ready,” Julie
said, removing her hand. “I think I should start by taking the
cancer from in and around her vital organs. This way if my own body
has its fill, at least her organs won't have to work as hard to
stabilize her,” she spoke quickly and surely.

“Besides the paddles, what do you need me to
do?” he asked her, not quite sure on how their roles got
reversed.

“Try and not let my head hit the ground when
I collapse,” she stated, matter-of-factly. She would not be hurt by
the head trauma, but any extra time spent healing herself meant
less time for Michele.

Everything was set. They were ready to begin.
“Okay, here we go,” Julie said, placing one hand on the child's arm
and one on her leg. She felt Eli standing behind her. It was time.
She closed her eyes and once again dove inside Michele's
disease-ridden body. As the cancer was pulled from Michele, Julie
fought to keep focused. The pain increased as she cleansed areas in
and around the child's tiny organs. She heard herself moan as the
cancer filled her. “Just a little more,” she said, unsure if she
spoke these words internally. She could feel herself weakening.

She thought she heard the doctor's voice
before losing consciousness. “That's enough for now.”

Eli scooped Julie up in his arms and placed
her prone form on a sofa that was in the room. He was amazed at
what he had just witnessed. He went and checked Michele's heart
rate. It was still weak, but steady. He went back to Julie.

The doctor did a check of Julie's vital
signs. Her pupils were dilated, her heart rate was rapid, and her
breathing was shallow. If this were a normal patient, he would hook
them up to an IV immediately. He decided to follow protocol. He had
a line strung and ready in minutes. He attempted to insert a
starter line into Julie's arm, and was taken aback at what was
happening. Each time he inserted the needle, it was pushed right
back out and the skin resealed. “Incredible,” he breathed, after
several attempts. Even his tries to take a sampling of her blood
proved impossible. He was left with only one thought: “What are
you?”

Doctor Elsworth went back and forth between
his two patients. He took blood from Michele and sent it down to
the lab. He wanted to see if her numbers improved any. There was
not much he could do for Julie. He made her as comfortable as
possible, placing a warm blanket over her. After about an hour, her
heart rate had slowed slightly, and her breathing had regulated.
Still, two hours had passed, and Julie had not awakened. Finally,
after about three hours, Julie shifted slightly on the sofa. Eli
went over to her and spoke softly. “Julie, wake up. Can you hear
me?” A soft moan escaped her lips. “Julie,” he tried again.

“Still hurts,” she mumbled, curling her legs
up to her chest.

“What can I do to help you?” he asked.

“Nothing,” she said, her face pinched in
pain. After a moment, her features relaxed as she fell into a deep
slumber.

“Rest,” Eli whispered, kissing her head.

Some early blood work came back for Michele.
It had improved from tests done on her two days ago, but that was
not necessarily an accurate indication. He ordered a CT scan and a
spinal tap to see if the cancer showed any signs of decreasing.
Because of the late hour, those tests would be done first thing
tomorrow morning. Eli decided to get some rest, parking himself in
the chair next to the sofa, his feet resting on an ottoman. Because
his body had only some similarities to a human body, he didn't need
to sleep much, but the strain of the last few hours warranted some
amount of rest. He awoke to Julie climbing into his lap, she was
kissing him and he found himself kissing her back. He awoke again,
to a loud clang. He had dropped the metal chart with Michele's lab
that had been in his lap when he fell asleep. He looked over at
Julie, who was still fast asleep. He had been dreaming.

“Keep your mind on work, Doctor,” he
chastised himself. He led a solitary life by choice. He let his
work consume him. Eli never sought out companionship, at least not
on a regular basis. He enjoyed being 'married' to his work. He
strived to be an infallible, unflappable surgeon. The doctor felt
he had achieved this and had settled into a comfortable lifestyle
here in this small town. Then along came Julie Miller: a young,
fresh, beautiful girl who had consumed his thoughts more often than
he cared to admit. He wondered if the attraction to her was mere
fascination. She was, obviously, not entirely human. This was
something they had in common. Her vulnerability was another
characteristic that drew him to her. Julie was running from her
past. A past filled with secrets. A past she was fearful of being
pulled back into. He felt a longing to protect her. His skills as a
doctor were of no use in helping her.

Eli's musings came to an abrupt halt when
Julie suddenly opened her eyes. She sat up quickly, and immediately
regretted it, as a wave of dizziness hit her. She placed her head
in her hands. “How long was I out? What time is it?” she asked.

The doctor checked his watch. “It's almost
one AM, about six hours,” he said, going over to sit next to
her.

“Six hours!” Julie exclaimed.

“It has never taken me that long to recover
before. How's Michele?” she stood.

“She's stable. I'll know more after I run
more tests in the morning,” Eli said. Julie swayed as she took a
step toward the child. The doctor was immediately by her side, his
arm around her waist, steadying her.

“Why am I still out of sorts, six hours
later?” she asked, angry at herself.

”Julie, this is an extremely aggressive
cancer. It was inoperable,” the Doctor said.

“Still, it doesn't make sense. I shouldn't
feel this weak,” she argued. “Walk me over to her, please. I want
to see what's left,” she requested.

“Julie, I don't think...” Eli began.

“Please,” Julie pleaded. She just had to see
if she had done any good.

“Against my better judgment,” he said, as he
helped her over to the child.

Julie held onto the bed rail as she looked at
Michele. The doctor kept his arm around her for extra support.
“She's on her back, instead of curled up,” Julie noted that as a
good sign. She reached down and grasped the child's arm and dove
inside. “It's almost gone,” she said, smiling. “I should try and
get the rest of it now,” she said, but Eli removed her hand.

“No, not now. You are too weak,” he said.

“But, there's just a...” she began.

“No, Julie!” Eli shouted. Julie jumped at the
harshness. “It's foolish for you to attempt it in your condition. I
have no way to treat you. I can't run a pick line or even draw
blood. You, yourself, are not even sure how it is you are able to
heal. It's irresponsible to try and do it again so soon,” he
preached.

“Okay, fine,” Julie agreed, reluctantly.

“Good,” Eli said. “Let's get you back to the
sofa,” he said, steering her back. “Want me to get you something to
drink?” Eli asked once she was settled. A light bulb went off in
Julie's head.

“That's why,” she said, grabbing his arm. “I
forgot to eat,” she remembered. “That's why it's taking me so long.
I'm so stupid,” she said. “I need to eat,” she shrugged her
shoulders at how simple the answer was.

Eli knelt in front of her. “What can I get
you to eat, Miss Miller?” he asked, with a smile.

“Anything,” Julie said and smiled back, “I'm
starving.”

“You stay put,” he ordered her as he stood.
She saluted him and laid back on the sofa. He shook his head, and
went off to find her something to eat.

While the doctor was away, Julie debated
about finishing what she had started.
There is not much left. I
should just do it, and be done
. Her thoughts remained just
that: thoughts. She still couldn't get over how tired she was.
It must be because I haven't eaten
, she tried to reassure
herself. Eli had made some valid points. She really didn't
understand the mechanics of what she did. In the end, she decided
to play it safe, and rest. She closed her eyes and began to
dream.

In this dream, she saw herself sitting in the
back seat of a big car. There was a man sitting next to her smoking
a cigarette. She watched as her ten year old self wrinkled her nose
at the smell.

“
That smells gross, and your lungs are
turning black because you do that too much,” the little girl
said.

The man beside her chuckled. “Well I guess
it's a good thing you can fix people, huh?”

“
You could just stop smoking, and that
would make you feel better,” she told him.

The man exited the vehicle and gestured for
her to come along. “Let's go, smarty pants, and remember... you are
picking the numbers of the horses, not the names like last time.
Got it?” the man growled his reminder to her.

The little girl shivered, remembering the
beating she had received when she picked the horses because she
liked the names. The man grabbed her hand and roughly dragged her
into the race track. She did as she was told and picked the numbers
she saw, even managing a smile when the man picked her up and swung
her around at the winnings. She waited by the trash can with her
water ice, the reward for doing as told, as the man collected the
winnings. A few yards away she noticed an older man leaning against
a wall, he looked to be having trouble breathing. The little girl
immediately discarded her water ice and walked over to the man as
he slid down the wall, with his hand clutching his chest. She
placed her hands on arm of the man as others gathered around and
shouts to call 911 could be heard. By her touch, the little girl
could tell that the man was having a heart attack. She was able to
calm his heart and get it back into a normal rhythm. As her own
breathing became labored the man looked over at the little girl.
“Wha... what did you do?”