of the weight of caring for Rachel as my poor little
sister got worse and worse.
"No,
Alec. She spends most of the day unconscious now. There's no fever,
no symptoms at all other than a complete listlessness worse than
anything I've ever seen."
"What
did Doctor Samuels say when he came by?"
"He
still doesn't know what's wrong with her. I helped him draw blood
samples, but it was obvious that he didn't even know what tests to
run on them next. Alec, I don't think it's a natural phenomenon."
I
sighed. It was one more thing that I wasn't staying on top of, and
out of all my priorities Rachel should be at the very top, but I
didn't know what else to do for her. I'd hired a team of twenty
doctors from across the country and hooked them up to a continuous
video conference in an effort to find someone that could figure out
what was wrong with her. Doctor Samuels came by once every other day
or so to run whatever tests his peers came up with, but more and more
I was convinced that Dom was right. Whatever was wrong with Rachel
wasn't something the doctors were equipped to deal with.
"Can
I have a few minutes alone with her?"
"Of
course. Just call me on your way out and I'll come back and keep an
eye on her."
"Thanks,
Dom. I really appreciate it."
Dom
offered up a tired smile and then slowly walked away. Whatever was
after Rachel was still after Dom as well, and while she was dealing
with it better than Rachel, she was still getting worse, too.
One
more thing to worry about. I turned and went into Rach's room. Rachel
had pushed the sleeves of her pajamas up, revealing arms that were
much too skinny. Rachel had always been slender, but she'd really
lost weight recently.
I
watched for several minutes as Rachel restlessly tossed and turned,
but she didn't wake up and I didn't want to deprive her of whatever
little benefit she might be getting from her troubled sleep.
"I'm
sorry, Rachel. You deserve better than this, but I don't know what
else to do for you right now. Hang in there; the doctors will find
something soon."
I
stood to go, but Rachel's eyes snapped open and she grabbed my hand
with surprising strength despite her emaciated form.
"Dominic."
"Calm
down, Rach, you'll hurt yourself. I'll call Dom and she'll be back in
just a minute."
Rachel
shook her head desperately and suddenly her grip on my hand felt
fevered.
"No,
Alec. Dominic needs to take the center. If she doesn't, then
everything stands at risk."
My
mind spun wildly for several seconds before I realized that Rachel
had to be hallucinating. I sat back down and patted her hand.
"It's
okay, Rach. I'll help Dom take the center and everything will be
okay."
She
grabbed my shoulders and pulled herself up nearly to a sitting
position. "I know you don't believe me, Alec. I can see it. You
need to though, it's important."
There
was something about her tone and expression that stopped my response
before I could open my mouth. It was like something other than
my little sister was looking up at me from behind her eyes.
We
locked gazes for several seconds and then Rachel fell back into her
bed and closed her eyes. I checked her pulse as I dialed Dom, but
Rachel seemed to just be resting easily now. Dom arrived a couple of
minutes later, but didn't have any better idea of what to make of
Rachel's cryptic demands than I did.
I
thanked Dom again for taking care of Rachel and then left, wandering
more or less aimlessly through the house until Kristin intercepted me
outside of the theater room.
"Alec,
we need to talk."
I
stopped and looked at her, which seemed to unnerve her more than I
would have expected.
"I
can walk with you. Where were you headed?"
My
shrug didn't seem to help her state of mind any. "I'm not sure.
I didn't really have a destination in mind."
Kristin
looked at me for nearly half a minute. "I've never seen you not
know exactly where you were headed. Usually you're rushing somewhere
and heaven help anyone who gets in your way."
"I
guess I'm
sister got worse and worse.
"No,
Alec. She spends most of the day unconscious now. There's no fever,
no symptoms at all other than a complete listlessness worse than
anything I've ever seen."
"What
did Doctor Samuels say when he came by?"
"He
still doesn't know what's wrong with her. I helped him draw blood
samples, but it was obvious that he didn't even know what tests to
run on them next. Alec, I don't think it's a natural phenomenon."
I
sighed. It was one more thing that I wasn't staying on top of, and
out of all my priorities Rachel should be at the very top, but I
didn't know what else to do for her. I'd hired a team of twenty
doctors from across the country and hooked them up to a continuous
video conference in an effort to find someone that could figure out
what was wrong with her. Doctor Samuels came by once every other day
or so to run whatever tests his peers came up with, but more and more
I was convinced that Dom was right. Whatever was wrong with Rachel
wasn't something the doctors were equipped to deal with.
"Can
I have a few minutes alone with her?"
"Of
course. Just call me on your way out and I'll come back and keep an
eye on her."
"Thanks,
Dom. I really appreciate it."
Dom
offered up a tired smile and then slowly walked away. Whatever was
after Rachel was still after Dom as well, and while she was dealing
with it better than Rachel, she was still getting worse, too.
One
more thing to worry about. I turned and went into Rach's room. Rachel
had pushed the sleeves of her pajamas up, revealing arms that were
much too skinny. Rachel had always been slender, but she'd really
lost weight recently.
I
watched for several minutes as Rachel restlessly tossed and turned,
but she didn't wake up and I didn't want to deprive her of whatever
little benefit she might be getting from her troubled sleep.
"I'm
sorry, Rachel. You deserve better than this, but I don't know what
else to do for you right now. Hang in there; the doctors will find
something soon."
I
stood to go, but Rachel's eyes snapped open and she grabbed my hand
with surprising strength despite her emaciated form.
"Dominic."
"Calm
down, Rach, you'll hurt yourself. I'll call Dom and she'll be back in
just a minute."
Rachel
shook her head desperately and suddenly her grip on my hand felt
fevered.
"No,
Alec. Dominic needs to take the center. If she doesn't, then
everything stands at risk."
My
mind spun wildly for several seconds before I realized that Rachel
had to be hallucinating. I sat back down and patted her hand.
"It's
okay, Rach. I'll help Dom take the center and everything will be
okay."
She
grabbed my shoulders and pulled herself up nearly to a sitting
position. "I know you don't believe me, Alec. I can see it. You
need to though, it's important."
There
was something about her tone and expression that stopped my response
before I could open my mouth. It was like something other than
my little sister was looking up at me from behind her eyes.
We
locked gazes for several seconds and then Rachel fell back into her
bed and closed her eyes. I checked her pulse as I dialed Dom, but
Rachel seemed to just be resting easily now. Dom arrived a couple of
minutes later, but didn't have any better idea of what to make of
Rachel's cryptic demands than I did.
I
thanked Dom again for taking care of Rachel and then left, wandering
more or less aimlessly through the house until Kristin intercepted me
outside of the theater room.
"Alec,
we need to talk."
I
stopped and looked at her, which seemed to unnerve her more than I
would have expected.
"I
can walk with you. Where were you headed?"
My
shrug didn't seem to help her state of mind any. "I'm not sure.
I didn't really have a destination in mind."
Kristin
looked at me for nearly half a minute. "I've never seen you not
know exactly where you were headed. Usually you're rushing somewhere
and heaven help anyone who gets in your way."
"I
guess I'm
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