Swimming Electric Blue Water. Samantha Holmes

the spine and then his feet while I start the fourth infusion.”

      “40 ccs in the spinal fluid and feet. Do we still have shading on the kidneys?”

      “It’s all a go … go … go … go …”

      Voices came and went. Were they real or just another dream? At one point, Yuri thought he was dancing. He could feel his arms and legs moving to the beat. He imagined Ingra dancing with him. She was so beautiful. The music’s lyrics were repetitious and went something like:

       A little more, a little more, one more time,

       Make him dance, a little more, so he can move

       His bones might break, his ears might burst,

       Stop his teeth, he can’t cheat, just make him move

       Hit it!

      • • •

      “Yuri?”

      Was it another dream? It was a distant voice, weak, frail, but familiar.

      “Yuri?”

      There it was again, coming from beyond the void, so far away. Yuri tried to see where the voice was coming from.

      “Oh Yuri, Yuri, please.”

      He felt something wet on his cheek. A cool streak ran down his face, but it was somehow not his face, as if the water drop fell an inch away from it. He felt so swollen. Another drop. Yuri remembered how to open his eyes. A wave of joy came with that knowledge. His eyes opened slowly, like they were stuck shut with cotton candy. There was a face looking at him, Ingra’s face. Despite the flushed, puffy eyes from crying and hair completely out of place, it was her. She had dark bags under her eyes that made her look like she hadn’t slept in a long time. It was still the prettiest face he’d ever seen.

      “Yuri!” She hugged him. Again, it felt strange, as if she were touching him from far away.

      “I’m so happy you’re back,” she sobbed. “It’s been so horrible without you.”

      “It’s…”

      He was about to say “it’s all right,” but his voice scared him. It was so deep and unfamiliar. He reached for her hand but stopped when he saw the size of his own. His eyes fixed on it, all of it. His hand was twice its normal size. He whipped it back to his side quickly, making the bed lurch.

      “Baby, it’s all right,” Ingra soothed.

      He started to notice his surroundings. He was in a hospital. He remembered the beating, the sound of his bones breaking, the warm gush of blood in his mouth. He also remembered Anna!

      “Anna’s all right,” she said, reading the sudden dismay on his face. “She was found outside of town and has been taken care of these last months…”

      “But I…,” he tried again to use this foreign voice. It was a little easier, but he still stopped himself. He made an effort to inch himself up so he could see his whole body.

      “What happened to me?!” His eyes traveled down his massive physique.

      “You are a fortunate man, Mr. Konikov,” a man in a pristine, white lab coat said from the doorway, “Very fortunate indeed.”

      He had blondish hair and spectacles. His nametag read Dr. Jeffrey.

      “Where am I?”

      “Alliance Hospital, Uptown Moscow,” Dr. Jeffrey said with obvious pride.

      “What…?”

      “It’s natural to want some answers, and I will try to speak in a manner you might be able to understand. The levels of complication to reach this effect are beyond… most people’s comprehension. Most simply, we added billions of nanolayers of chitin to your sub dermal layers. In addition, we introduced embryonic nerve cells biologically programmed to create a cluster of neurons in the lower spine. We then did rather elementary modification of your muscle tissue with hormones, in conjunction with non-participating muscle engagement, to create the added strength and muscle mass. The first two processes were far more difficult, but the latter was an important addition. What use is being tough and fast if you can’t then be an effective agent? Although, timing between the thickening chitin layers to allow for muscle growth proved to be challenging. That is why you might feel a little stiff and experience the sensation of tearing, like pulling a muscle, for a time. Just push through it.”

      Yuri tried to follow what the doctor said, but it was so fast, and his own racing thoughts blocked out half the words.

      “You look confused,” Dr. Jeffrey said with a prolonged sigh. “I don’t have all day to explain it again to you. So, let me show you something, and hopefully, you will get the point.” The man chuckled at his own joke.

      Dr. Jeffrey pulled a scalpel from behind his clipboard. With unexpected speed, he moved to Yuri’s side and slammed the point of the blade into Yuri’s chest. Ingra screamed as Yuri struggled unsuccessfully to avoid the blow. After the impact, the doctor immediately backed away from the bed like he had just kicked a bear. Yuri ripped his hospital gown to see what damage the crazy doctor had just done. He could see the hole in his thin cotton cloth, but there was only the slightest red scratch on his chest. He looked down and saw that the blade had snapped upon impact and was now resting in the folds of the bed sheets.

      “That was no trick knife. You have been a volunteer for a new procedure. Your skin can withstand a shotgun blast. That is, we think it can. You can test that on the job. We don’t have many shotguns available. Not your usual laboratory equipment.”

      “I don’t understand.” Yuri glanced at Ingra’s face, which must have looked as shocked as his own.

      “You don’t have to. We will do your thinking for you. Who could ask for an easier job? You are a very fortunate man. You have had some of the Corporation’s best scientists and doctors working on you. I hope you appreciate all the money and effort that went into you.”

      Dr. Jeffrey looked at his watch and put the broken scalpel back under the clipboard.

      “Excuse me, pressing matters to attend to, but I will stop by soon to check on your progress.” He walked out of the room with short fast steps.

      This was too much to take in all at once. He felt okay, and Ingra was there. For now, that was what he focused on. Ingra could not stop crying, so Yuri put a comforting hand on her shoulder. She pulled away at first, scared of him, but then leaned in for a full embrace.

      • • •

      Two days after Yuri awoke, he began to walk again. The tearing sensation was almost unbearable. The people in the hospital pushed him through numerous exercises. A woman who wore a business suit under her lab coat brought him a cup full of pills three times a day. She also gave him sets of five injections in his arms. He tried to find out what the pills and shots were for but was pointedly ignored or, if he did get an answer, was told that he didn’t need to know.

      The tests his body went through were humiliating. If it were not for Ingra’s visits, Yuri thought he would have lost some part of his sanity among the detached employees who worked in this facility. Yuri asked Ingra about her day and how she was feeling. His head still wasn’t clear, and sometimes, he couldn’t understand her answers. A white noise filled his mind, blocking out other sounds. He hoped that was just because of the drugs and not brain damage from the beating.

      Two more weeks of tests and rehabilitation, and then he was able to leave the facility. Dr. Jeffrey’s assistant had given Ingra a key to a small apartment that the Corporation had set up for them. It was three blocks from the hospital in Uptown. Uptown. He had seen pictures, but stepping out of the hospital was like walking into heaven, with bright clear skies, clean streets, and beautiful people.

      • • •

      Yuri was excited about leaving the hospital, so Ingra arrived five minutes before it opened.