Life Inside the Dead Zone

Chapter 10: Medical Exam

Chapter 10

Medical Exam

"Forget it. It's done for." That voice... Why do I know that voice?

"He has a name," another voice says. I know this one. Ivy. She sounds angry. But at who? Who's the first speaker?

"What I can't believe is that you brought these corpses inside the walls," another voice says. A woman. I feel like I should know that voice. Something about that derogatory tone...

"Watch yourself, bitch," a voice snarls. V. "You aren't better than us just because your heart still beats." Oh no.

I open my eyes and find myself staring at a ceiling that I don't recognize. It's too clean. And looks too far away. Turning my head, I see everyone except VI and Prima glaring at a pair of humans. What were their names again? Jenks and Lyman? I think that's right.

"X!" I turn my head to find the source of the sound and find Prima standing over me. She looks so happy to see me. "You're awake! Thank God."

"What happened?" I ask, sitting up. The motion makes my head hurt and I cover my eye with my hand. But, I don't see my hand move into my field of view.

"You were shot," another voice says. Turning to look, I see a human female in a white coat. Delgado, right? "The bullet struck you in the zygomatic bone and punched into your left eye socket. However, it entered at an angle that sent the bullet grazing along the back of your eye socket without completely entering your cranium. The bullet lodged itself in your ethmoid and started putting pressure on your brain, causing you to lose consciousness. Fortunately for you, the round used wasn't military grade. This settlement has a limited military presence and the people here generally use civilian-grade or handmade munitions."

VI steps into view and takes over. "You got very lucky. On top of being handmade, the bullet that hit you didn't seem to be carrying as much force as it should have had. Furthermore, it would appear that all of us have developed a reinforced skeleton, especially the skull." Seeing my confused look, VI chuckles. "While we were removing the bullet, the doctor decided to run a few tests. Now, if you'll lie back down, I need to put in your new eye."

I lie back down and VI leaves my field of view. "I'm going to need everyone to clear the room," VI says.

"This is too fascinating to miss," Delgado says, walking over to stand above me. "Do you mind if I stay to take notes?"

"I can't exactly say no to the woman who helped save my friend's life, now can I?" VI asks. "Just be sure to not touch anything. If you somehow got infected, it could only end badly for all of us."

"Sorry, VI," Lily says from somewhere in the room. "But we can't leave you here unsupervised with the doctor."

"Then you can leave Meagan and Vincent," VI says. "Out of all of you, they seem to be the least likely to try and kill us."

"We'll notify you when we're done," Delgado says. "You are and the rest of your men are dismissed, Lieutenant." I hear feet on the ground and the closing of a door. The doctor pulls over a chair and sits down in my field of view, holding a notebook in her hands. "Do you mind if I ask a few questions, X?"

"Go ahead," I say. "I can't promise that I'll answer them all."

"Thank you," she says. "Ooh, I have so many questions that I don't know where to start. Just pick one, Alejandra. Okay, I guess I'll start with your name. You call yourself 'X.' Why?"

"Going straight for the jugular with that one, aren't you?" I laugh. "The short answer is that we don't remember much from before and I'm the tenth to join our group."