Sam wasn’t sure what he’d expected of the medical personnel, but it wasn’t that they’d ignore what he had to say about Mackey and start prepping him for surgery.

Though, when he thought about it, he shouldn’t really have been surprised. It was their job after all. He tried to keep talking, but someone brought a mask down over his mouth and nose and told him to “just breathe normally.”

Sam didn’t have much choice about it. His breath seemed to even out on its own as sweet-tasting fog filled up his nostrils. The brightness went dark.

***

When he next opened his eyes, the cloth over them was gone. He lay in a dimly lit bunk that had a whole bank of readouts on the wall by his right arm. He wondered what all those lights and number...

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