Dog Got Your Tongue - Folician Chronicles 1

Chapter 2 - Ray and Flitter

~~~ Ray wakes in his room

Ray slowly woke up. At first, he felt a sensation of warmth followed by being on something comfortable. The air had some odd scents, but he had gotten used to it in his line of work. Eventually he was awake enough to open his eyes and really had to blink. This wasn't the room in his house and he had to frown. It felt like his brain was mired in mud as he looked at the ceiling. As he was thinking memories of what had happened came rushing back and he tensed.

"Oh god I need my meds." He looked around frantically and tried to move but his limbs felt heavy and weak. As he was frantically looking around and trying to move several people walked in. They were dressed in odd looking gowns and masks. The masks and hats covered their heads and faces. All he could see was their eyes and hands, "My meds I need them." Ray was desperate to get the meds. His desperation was enough he was starting to have a panic attack.

The doctor quickly moved over to Ray and rested her hand on his chest, "Relax Rayfuso you are fine. You had an episode and were brought here for treatment." She had seen him nude when she had treated him, but he still felt so slender and almost fragile under her hand, "Take slow deep breaths Rayfuso and relax. You are stable and shouldn't be having any problems breathing or with your heart." She moved her hand and lightly grasped one of his and moved it to his chest, "Feel your heart beating. It is steady and normal." She didn't want to medicate his panic attack unless she had to. This would hopefully help him deal with it.

When she came over he looked up at her and was struck by her eyes. They were a warm brown with hints of gold and showed a caring which many doctors didn't have. Her hand was warm and gentle as she pressed him back into the bed. Ray also noticed she seemed to be very strong since she didn't appear to have any problem keeping him from trying to sit up. When she rested his hand on his chest it did help. Most of it was her obvious concern for him.

As she was talking to him he did as she instructed and focused on what his body was telling him. He was rather shocked when he felt rather normal. His heart was beating normally, his breathing wasn't strained, and he actually felt good, "What?" Feeling this way was definitely a bit odd since normally after he ended up at the hospital due to an episode he felt wiped out. It could be he had simply been asleep long enough for any treatment they had started to work.

The Doctor settled down on a chair one of the other people had moved over for her while the doctor was talking to him. Once the person had moved the chair over she had walked around to the other side of the bed and stood near the head, "When you arrived you were in the process of having a complete heart failure. We used a new treatment to try and resolve your heart condition. It appears to be working but we need to keep an eye on you for another day or so."

Ray had to frown since he hadn't heard of any new treatments. He rather ignored the part about the heart failure since it was something he had been living with all his life, "I have been to the best cardio-thoracic surgeons and due to the location of the defect they couldn't do anything. What is this new treatment?" He had kept up on most of the research, but it didn't mean he hadn't missed something.

She smiled though he couldn't see it behind the mask the doctor was wearing, "It's a very good question Rayfuso and leads me to another issue. I need you to take a deep breath and relax while I give you some additional information." She looked up at the other woman and nodded slightly to let her know to be prepared for his reaction, "It is a treatment you won't have ever heard of before. It is because it doesn't exist on your world." As she was talking she reached up and pulled the cap and mask off.

When she did certain differences became blindingly obvious. First was the fact she had dog ears and a short muzzle with whiskers. Her upper lip was slightly bifurcated as well, and her teeth were different. The rest of her features were relatively normal, and her skin looked normal as well, "We are not from your world Rayfuso. There is a reason we brought you aboard, but the Captain will need to explain it to you."