Page 97 of Across the Universe (Across the Universe 1)

“You’re right,” the doctor says. “Her condition is unusually severe. Has she had any shocks recently? Trauma? Increased heart rate? These will sometimes make the reaction more severe. ”

“Reaction to what?” Eldest says, his voice loud.

The doctor has a funny look on his face.

“To the ship. You’ve got to understand, things are different now from when she lived on Sol-Earth. We have different meds, different food, take more nutritional supplements and vits. ”

“Vits,” Elder says, jumping on the word. “Like the ones Eldest puts in the water?”

“Yeess,” the doctor says, drawling the word out in a funny way.

I giggle at him.

Elder turns to stare at me. I giggle at him, too.

“And hormones. Eldest puts hormones in the water. For the Season. ”

The doctor shakes his head. “They wouldn’t affect her. It takes time for the hormones to build up in one’s body. They need several weeks, over a month to be effective. ”

“She’s been drinking a lot of water lately, though. ” Elder looks at my wrists. “And maybe there’s something to that trauma you mentioned. ”

I blink, and realize that time has passed, and for a moment I wonder what happened in that time, but it doesn’t matter, nothing’s changed, I’m still here, they’re still talking.

. . .

I blink. I was gone again.

. . .

Blink.

Really, it’s easier when I stay gone. It’s too hard to keep up with the words Elder and the doctor say. They are too intense. Why are they so worked up?

Everything is fine.

Elder snaps his fingers in front of my face.

“Amy, Doc thinks you need medicine,” he says loudly.

“She’s unbalanced, not deaf,” the doctor says.

Elder reaches over and grabs the bottle on the doctor’s desk. “These are Inhibitor pills, mental meds. I’m going to give you one, okay, and we’ll see if that fixes you. ”

I open my mouth. The pill sits on my tongue, a bitter taste seeping into my mouth.

“Swallow it,” the doctor reminds me.

I swallow.

“Do you remember the night we met?” Elder says. “You were thrashing around in that cryo liquid, and you fought us every step of the way. I had to hold you down so Doc could give you the eyedrops that made you not go blind. And now you just sit there, swallowing the pill like an obedient dog. Don’t you see how that’s just sad?”

“No,” I say. What was there to be sad about?

“How long will it take to work?” Elder asks the doctor.

“I’m not sure,” the doctor says. “Like I said, her mental state is more extreme than many other Feeders. If it will work at all, it should only be a few hours. ”

“If?” Elder asks, choking on the word.