The Alchemist's Children: Panacea

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  Callen coughed and felt liquid drip out of his mouth. He was lying flat on his back. With a pneumatic hiss, Callen slowly opened his eyes. He could see the dark shape of Dr. Brewer's wild beard backlit by a large medical lamp. He felt a pinch in his arm as the doctor removed one of the various medical implants from his skin. It took a few more blinks for his eyes to adjust to the abrasive lighting. With a rough tug, Dr. Brewer pulled the breathing tube from Callen's throat.

  "What happened?" His voice was coarse. He attempted to sit up, but Dr. Brewer gently pushed on his shoulder to keep him lying down.

  "You passed out." Dr. Brewer and his voice shifted to the feminine. "The chickens know...they're whispering..." He shook his head and his professional voice returned. "It's been a hell of a few weeks, to say the least. But, the good news is, you're conscious. Now, sit up slowly, I don't want you to get dizzy. How are you feeling?"

  "Like I had one of my cancer treatments. But, I guess that's the bad news, right?"

  Dr. Brewer sighed. "Did I say there was bad news?"

  "No, I just know the look on your face," Callen said. "I'm used to it. My remission ended, didn't it?"

  "Yeah." Dr. Brewer's voice shifted to the deep voice. "Tell him....tell him." His expression grew confused. "Fine....you know...to tell you the truth, I don't think you were ever in remission this time..."

  "Wait, what?" Callen asked. "What do you mean? Dr. James said..."

  "We got your medical files. They were missing quite a bit of information...I don't know how..." Dr. Brewer muttered about chickens briefly before continuing. "Son, there's no easy way to say this." His voice went feminine. "James lied...he's a liar, liar, pants on fire..." He cleared his throat and his voice returned to professional. "His treatments had failed...and he omitted a lot of information...the only conclusion I could draw was when he approved your release, you only had a few months left at best. I think he may have let you go spend your last days having a normal life."

  "So much good that did," Callen grumbled.

  Dr. Brewer chuckled and spoke with the feminine voice. "Yeah, I guess you're right...right, right, right. Ha!"

  "So, did you find anything new out?" Callen asked. "Like maybe a cure?"

  "Nope..." His voice changed back to professional. "There isn't a silver bullet for cancer, Callen, even with our technology it just isn't possible at your age. I...errr I mean we....would have to rewrite your DNA upon conception. Even then, it's a crapshoot. There are some things that are still in the hands of God no matter how much we learn about his grand masterpiece."

  Callen looked over towards his mother's room. "And my mom?"

  "Felix said your device performed perfectly in the testing he set up. Sir Reeves has a working model of your disruptor and the hunt for those monsters has begun. We're ready to synthesize an antidote once he drags one down." His two other voices promptly thanked him for using 'we' and he promptly muttered something about being quiet soon because of the chickens scuttling about.

  Callen nodded and let the news process. He would have expected to feel sad or angry, but he didn't. He felt numb. "Good," Callen said.

  "How do you feel?" Dr. Brewer asked curiously.

  "I don't know." He answered. "It's a lot to take in. That and all the dreaming..."

  "It is." Dr. Brewer nodded and his voice became feminine. "I thought you might be dreaming...the others didn't believe...like the knights don't believe in the chickens...but they're there..." His voice went professional again. "Some of what I learned was some of your cancerous cells are in the part of your brain linked to memories and dreams. It's a complicated part of what makes a person up. I'm not surprised and you should have more dreams as the cancer moves towards its final phase."

  "So, it's moved to my brain, and thus, its everywhere." Callen was emotionless. "So that means my dreaming is like the grains of sand in an hour glass?"

  "No. I don't think so." He smiled with an insane kindness. "In my opinion, I don't think your mind is ready to give up your battle quite yet."

  "But you said..." Callen started.

  "I did," Dr. Brewer said. "However, miracles do happen. You have survived this long and God works in mysterious ways..."

  "Yeah." Callen sounded disgusted. "If it weren't for him I wouldn't be sick in the first place, Mom wouldn't be clinging to her life in that bed, and Dad would never have ...'

  Dr. Brewer sighed disapprovingly, but he didn't push the subject. He turned and picked up a stack of clothes for Callen that were sitting next to the medical control console. "Here, I suggest you get out of that hospital gown." Dr. Brewer handed Callen his clothes. "You want me to tell everyone that you're awake?"

  "No," Callen said. "I'll go find them myself."