Page 76 of Failed State

“Fill out everything on this. Then change into the gown and push the button by the door so we know you’re ready. Make sure you don’t forget or fake any information—doing so might lead to bad diagnosis and treatment which can disqualify you from the Games and possibly open you up to punishment.”

Blinking at her, I take the device and watch her leave without another word. Of course I realize that the government fucks who run this place don’t want bad PR, but punishment for fucking up a form is a new low. Though I suppose it shouldn’t surprise me. They think of us like widgets in their asset portfolio or show ponies. Messing up our health would decrease both our value and the value of our team.

I hate this fucking timeline.

I blow out a slow breath, calming my nerves as I sit on the edge of the table and work through the questions on the screen. I do the best I can with what information I have; it’s not like I hadtime to bring medical records when they did the Sweeps and I haven’t had to see a doc since I got here. That’s probably why I’m here now, though my understanding is this is happening about a year early. Hopefully, this is good enough for the doctor and what he needs to get me fixed up.

Once I’m done, I take off my uniform and fold it neatly on the chairs across from the table. I feel gross being this naked when I’m on my period, and it’s cold as fuck in here, but it’s not like I have an option. I have to get this taken care of before I make any decisions about my body while I’m here. Plus, Ireallyneed to make sure I don’t smell like a fucking buffet to a bunch of species slinking around this damn building. That’s the number one goal, to be honest, because while I can keep my legs closed on my own, I can’t control their noses.

Walking over to the door, I push the big green button and move back to the exam table. Hopping on it, I groan softly. I don’t know that I’ve ever had cramps this bad before and I don’t like itat all. I feel heavy and smelly and really irritable—none of which are good for my temper. Lying back against the slanted back of the table, I sigh as I look up at the bright lights on the ceiling. Being a female is a certified pain in my ass sometimes, and men do not have the slightestcluehow much work it is just to exist some days.

“It’s you!”

I turn my head, looking over at the centaur as he enters, kicking the door shut behind him with his hind leg. His expression is happy, but it turns to a frown when he looks at the tablet I left on top of my clothes. He’s scanning the information quickly as he moves closer, and I should feel apprehensive, but I don’t. This doctor removed the Marker and I’ve wanted to know why ever since. I’m lucky this damn birth control failed on the night he’s working. If I believed in such a thing, I’d say it was kismet.

But I don’t, so I’m just going to hope it’s as fortuitous as it seems.

“Hello, again,” I say carefully. My eyes dart around the room quickly, hoping to identify any monitoring devices that might be stationed in here. “I’d say it’s nice to see you again, but… given the circumstances, it’s not.”

The handsome doctor winks at me, then jerks his head backward. I follow his inclination and see a small thing tucked on top of a cabinet. It doesn’t look like a camera—though I wouldn’t put filming us naked past the FSHA assholes—so I suppose it’s an audio recording thing. “I certainly didn’t hope to have you as a patient again so soon, Miss Jolie. But according to this, it seems your contraception has expired early? That is a problem for a young woman like yourself.”

I don’t want to respond with any information that can be used against me, so I nod. “Yes. I need it refreshed so I’m safe and also because I seem to be in more pain than normal. It’s escalated quickly since I noticed spotting this morning. I guess it really went kaput.”

His eyes widen and he holds a finger up to stop me before saying, “We can certainly help with that, Sydney. It's a fairly quick little procedure, and once we do it, you’ll need to wait at least two weeks for effectiveness. I’m going to get Nurse Ames to help with the insertion and anesthetic, then afterward, we’ll discuss the rest of your concerns. Okay?”

I nod, not sure why he’s leaving rather than simply pushing a call button or something. However, I want to talk to Dr. Moreau about our last visit, so I say, “Yes, doctor.”

The room is silent as I wait for a few minutes, then the centaur comes back with the grumpy witch in tow. She bustles over to the cabinets, pulling out a bunch of jars, then a mortar and pestle, and finally, a small thing that must be the replacement. It doesn’t look like the one I had when I wasdumped in the camps; that one was put in by a human doctor and it was more painful than I’d been led to believe. I frown as she does a bunch of… witchy… things while the doctor raises my gown to fold it up under my breasts.

“This isn’t like they did when I first got to Tempest Seven,” I say as he arranges me just so on the table. “Is this something new?”

Dr. Moreau gives me a reassuring smile, his eyes full of understanding. “Normally, the camps have human doctors who practice medicine in human ways. Luckily for the competitors, they get supernatural medical practitioners who do things in a far less unevolved fashion.”

“Whether they deserve it or not,” the witch grumbles as she brings the mortar full of something smelly over. “This will take away the pain, but it will not make you loopy, dear. Mind, it’s cold.”

I don’t have time to absorb that before she slathers it on my lower abdomen liberally, making me squeak in response. That’s twice people have made me sound like a hiccuping mouse today and I’m going to punch someone if they do it again. The salve is cold as fuck, but my entire lower half numbs nicely within moments. Nurse Crabbypants huffs at my glare, then toddles over to grab the small shiny thing I saw before and brings it back to the centaur.

“Dr. Moreau will hold you still while I get it situated. Don’t wiggle,” she growls as she palms the thing and hovers her palms over me.

How the fuck are they getting that thing inside me without… tools or whatever?!

The witch chants a bunch of foreign sounding words and a blink of light flashes, blinding me. When I finally get my vision straightened out, I see her back at the cabinet, cleaning up her mess while the doctor smiles down at me. I shake my head toclear it, not understanding what the hell just happened. The doctor waits for the nurse to finish up, wiping the gunk off of me and pulling my gown down as she finally brushes past him. Once the door closes, he grins a little.

“I suppose you have questions about your… procedure, Miss Jolie. Don’t worry; I’m happy to answer anything you need to know.” The centaur hands me a pen and piece of paper on a clipboard, winking as he keeps his back to the audio device. “Fire away.”

Oh, buddy. I’m going to make you pay for this shit even if you did just perform the most painless IUD insertion known to womankind.

THAT’S COVERED BY THE CODE, BRO

SEBASTIAN

The incidentin the showers has been playing in my mind on repeat since Sydney ran from us to deal with it before class. Given my age in vampire years—which is far more than my appearance on the outside—I have an iron-fisted grip on my hunger. Being able to control one’s self takes a few decades for those who are turned, and less if you are born into our kind, like me. However, the second that tiny trickle of fluid escaped, the scent had me struggling to hold back like a fledgling. I was so shocked that I didn’t handle it as well as I could have and I know that frightened and embarrassed her.

I need to apologize, but I’m still replaying it in my head and I can’t do that until I’m completely under control.

That’s why instead of heading straight to our dorm with the others, I waited until Sydney and the demon left to peel off from the group. I didn’t give the other guys an excuse, but I think they were smart enough not to ask why I took the second elevator down to the gym level. The only thing I’m able to do here, in this stupid facility, to burn off this oddly pervasive bloodlust is beat the living fuck out of something until I’m too exhausted to think about anything else.

Even grabbing a blood bag from the hydration area down here didn’t fix the problem, so I’ve been sweating out my mental obsession ever since. My hands have been re-taped several times, and I’ve pulled half the weapons off the wall trying to push away the inner demon that defines my species, but so far, it hasn’t worked. I can feel the burning that tells me my eyes are deep crimson without looking in the mirror. My fangs are still dropped in my mouth, and I have the dry sensation there that indicates my demon wants to feed. Unfortunately, he’s fixated on a single source that isabsolutelynot available for more reasons than I can count.

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