Gasoline | Ben Parish

2

Dr. Pam tenderly pushes my sleeve up. "We're not 'breaking up families,'" she says as she inspects my wound. "We're going back for the adults. We have limited transportation. Children can't stay by themselves; they wouldn't survive."

"No one can survive in a world like this."

Instead of answering me, she moves my arm.

"Ow!"

"That dog bit you good," Dr. Pam says. "I'm going to go ahead and give you the first dose of treatment for rabies. Then we will conduct a regular examination for those who enter Camp Haven."

"And what does that include?" I clench my fist as she readjusts my arm.

"A regular exam?" She walks across the room to a storage cabinet and opens it with a key. "Well, we'll give you a checkup. We'll ask you a few questions about yourself. Then, there's a simple tag and bag... and then there's Wonderland."

"Wonderland?" I echo.

Dr. Pam turns back to me, carrying a large needle. My heart speeds up a little, but I don't fight it as she gives me the shot. Better getting a shot than dying.

"Wonderland is... complicated." Dr. Pam tells me as she tosses the needle into the waste basket, then stitches up my wound before dressing it with a thick, waterproof bandage. "It's a form of alien technology that we-"

"No way. You guys obtained alien tech?"

She smirks. "Yes way," she says. "It's a sort of... mapping program."

"Really?" I'm on the edge of my seat. "What does it map?" I ask calmly, when on the inside I'm like: fuck yeah, take that aliens! Us stupid earthlings have got some of your shit! Suck it!

"It maps you." She says with a soft smile. She touches the stethoscope to my side, where my heart should be. "Who you are, what your experiences are..."

She has me take a deep breath then, and then let it out, and then suck in again, and then let it out again, and one more big breath, good, hold it, hold it, okay, let it out.

"Your heart sounds good." Dr. Pam seems happy.

Next she shines a light in my eyes and my ears and my throat. "You're lookin' good, Mary." She says as she writes stuff on a clipboard. "You're looking very good.

"Okay, scooch forward." I wiggle to the edge of the bed. Dr. Pam stands between my legs and gently rubs under my jaw. Then she motions for me to lay back, and firmly presses my stomach to check for any pain.

"No pain," I tell her. "Other than in my arm."

She nods. "I'll give you something for that when we've finished the examination." She helps me ease off the table. "All right, can you touch your toes for me really fast?"

"I've never been able to touch my toes." I grimace. "I have the suckiest flexibility. I can dangle, though. I'm good at that."

Dr. Pam laughs. "Okay, dangle, then." She runs her fingers up and down my spine. "Okay! That finishes up this part of the exam. Sit back on the table for me."

I hop back up while she flips a page on the clipboard. "Okay, time for some quick questions. Answer as honestly as you can. If you don't know the answer, it's okay. Now, for starters – what's your full name?"

"Mary Beth Thompson."

"Mary Beth... that's a pretty name." She compliments as she jots it down. "How old are you, Mary Beth?"