The Queen

Chapter 7: Cripple

Sabrina opened her eyes wearing a pair of sweats and a loose tee shirt. She sat up and dull pain laced through her back, resulting in a soft moan sliding through her lips.  A algae-lamp illuminated her entire cell, casting it in a soft green light across the room.

"Here, drink," Michael said handing her a dusty glass full of water.

She took the glass without a word and took a gulp of the cool liquid. It wet her parched throat but did little to soothe it.

"How are you feeling?" He asked sitting down next to her.

"My back hurts," she said. She took another gulp out of the glass.

"It's a side effect of the drug he hit you with," Michael explained. "Severe pain from an already injured area.  You probably have a strained muscle."

Sabrina thought about what Levi had said, a swollen muscle that could result in surgery to fix if she screwed it up further. She could see the sands in her hourglass about to run out.

“I don't wanna starve," she muttered.

Michael narrowed his eyes and positioned himself in front of her. "Why would you starve?"

"My back," she said.

“It's fine," Michael insisted.

"No, it's not!" Sabrina cried shooting to her feet and pain rocketed through her back.  She stumbled and would have collapsed onto her hands and knees had Michael not caught her. He lowered her to the ground, pulling her into his arms.

"It'll be okay, I'll give you the best treatment, work out the strain," he said.

"I'm a cripple," she whispered nearly inaudibly.

"What?" Michael said, his voice instantly full of concern. "Where'd you hear that term?"

Tears began to streak down her face from a combination of fear and pain. She felt him pull her in closer and she heard him whispering softly in her ear, something about it being alright.  She gave him a hard shove as his hand dug into her back.  She hit the ground and contorted in agony.

"I need to scan your back," Michael said and turned back to his kit.  He removed two discs and placed them against her back, “You need to lay still.”

Sabrina closed her eyes and bit her lip, trying not to scream in agony as she stretched herself out. She reached out and found Michael's hand there. She clamped down on it and bit her lip. A minute later, Michael removed the disks and placed them together and twisting.

"That's not good," he breathed.

"What's not good?" Daniel asked.

“There’s a swollen muscle in her back pressing against her spine,” Michael said. “She needs rest and quiet possibly preventive surgery. Just to replace the injured area with a nanomuscle, it’s rather cheap, it isn’t a major surgery. All I would need is a scalpel, a local anesthetic, a paralytic agent and nanomuscle.”

“Sabrina, give me your knife,” Daniel said.

Sabrina limped over to the desk and picked the sheath up. She pulled the blade out of the sheath and held it out. Daniel took it and held it out to Michael. “I will have nanomuscle delivered to you within the hour.”

“I don’t have the anesthetic or paralytic,” Michael argued.

“I don’t see how that is my problem,” Daniel shrugged. “Tie her down if you need to.”

“Sir! Please, she won’t be able to work for several months after the surgery.”

“You said it was a preventive surgery, which means she will be working when I say she is to be working again. Do I make myself clear?”

“Yes,” Michael said.

Sabrina looked at him, her eyes wide with fear. She looked between the two men and then at the door of her cell which stood wide open. With a deep breath, she shoved Michael and started running, the pain in her back nearly blinding her. She moved by memory, bolting down the hall. The pawns at the end of the hall approached her, drawing their nonlethal weapons.

“Sabrina, Sabrina stop!” Michael shouted.

Catching the first stunrod at half charge on the shoulder, she dropped to a knee with a grunt but continued forward, driving her shoulder into his stomach and laying him flat on his back. Smashing his head into the concrete, she heard a crack and turned in time to catch the second stunrod in the temple, full charge. The world instantly went black.

***

Sabrina opened her eyes, her head throbbing. Trying to grab her head, her wrist refused to move, something tight held it down.

“Sabrina, don’t move, I am almost done,” Michael said.

Sabrina grit her teeth together and squeezed her eyes shut. Pain began to throb from her back and she took a deep breath, barely able to keep herself from vomiting. What felt like an eternity later, the pressure around her wrists released and he patted her shoulder. “It’s gonna be okay, just sleep. You’re going to be okay.”

Sabrina reached over to her back and felt a row of raised stitches running along the side. Her entire back felt numb. “The nanomuscle won’t last if it doesn’t set right,” she mumbled.

“You don’t worry about that,” Michael said. “Rest, everything’s going to be okay.”

***

“I am holding her together with the equivalent of duct tape, she needs rest!” Michael’s voice cut through her sleep, pulling her out.

“We have issues that need resolved, she is very good at resolving issues,” Daniel said.

“She cannot do anything right now, she can barely move,” Michael argued.

“Painkillers,” Daniel said bluntly.

“The nanomuscle hasn’t set, she needs her rest or she will cease to be of any use.”

“She just has to be able to walk. Painkillers can aid in that, can’t they?”

“Well, yes, but...” She felt a hand on her shoulder. “Sabrina, time to get up, you have to work.”

She looked to Michael and felt him pull her into a sitting position. Her back didn’t protest, the muscles working as they should. “I’ll hook you up with a pain killer drip, you’ll just have to give a command for a quick jab of pain killers.”

“Please, don’t,” Sabrina mumbled.

“I have to,” he said.

Daniel stood by the door of the cell. “I expect her ready to go within the hour,” he said and left.

“Sabrina, do something for me,” Michael whispered in her ear. “Don’t come back, complete the job, I don’t care but get out, vanish, hide and let the nanomuscle set, it’ll take another day. Then, find a doctor and have them fix you. Stay hidden, don’t let them find you.”