Exceptionally Different

Chapter 5

The boy backs up and Marcos goes back to looking at Clarice.

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I stayed with Clarice and the family in a room while John went somewhere else with Sonya in the Underground to talk to her. Marcos also went with them.   

I sitting with Clarice making sure she doesn't flatline or anything. It's kinda hard though when my head and body still hurts from when she fell on me.

I notice Clarice starts breathing heavier and heavier like she's out of breath.

The mother notices and sends her daughter, which I think she called her Lauren, to go get John and Marcos. 

A few minutes later they are in the room and the mother says "She's in respiratory distress and her temperature is spiking. I'm a nurse and she needs help"

John and Marcos come closer to Clarice 

John says "It must be her portal. She portalled for miles and that must take a lot of energy"

Clarice gasps "I-I can't, can't breathe"

The mother says "She needs medical attention"

Marcos says "We can't get a doctor right now"

The mother says "Are you telling me you have this whole network, and you don't have a-"

Marcos interrupts her obviously a little pissed off "A what? A Blue Cross?" he gets up steps closer to her "Yeah, were on a mutant plan. No, we've got some first aid and some painkillers. Can you do anything"

The mother backs up a little as Marcos got closer with an angry aura and she says "I-I took... a one-week course on human variant medicine in school"

Lauren steps closer to her mother and says "Mom. She saved us. You can help her"

The mother looks down then up and says "Yeah. Okay"

She comes closer to Clarice and bends down. She checks her pulse and feels her forehead.

She says "Her heart rate's through the roof. Without running tests, I can't..."

Clarice ups her mouth as if taking a gulp of oxygen and holds the bench tighter. Her lights seem to slightly light up like when she was forming her portal and her hands start to illuminate with purple.

Andy asks "Wh-What's going on?"

The mother says "I don't know" in almost a whisper to herself then looks up and tells John, who has come closer to Clarice, that "She may be in shock. If her system's crashing, it may be unstable, it may be influencing her abilities."

John asks "What does she need?"

She starts listing a bunch of medicines. From liquids to antibiotics.

John and Marcos sigh while bringing their hands up to their head.

The mother says "She needs a hospital"

Marcos says "Whoa, a hospital? She's a wanted fugitive. She'll go straight back to jail."

Clarice was a fugitive. Is that why Lorna was captured. Because she was escaping jail.

Before I can go too deep into thought the mother gets up and steps closer to Marcos and says "I don't think you understand me. She could die here."

Death.

All of a sudden Clarice slightly raises her body the purple in her hands illuminating more and fading out only to see what looks like one of her portals in the side of the area.