Page 38 of The Tomorrows After You
I sat with that for a moment, trying not to feel dejected. All I had were a bunch of unlinked circumstances that made no sense.
“Have you ever heard of Chimera?” I asked.
He squinted one eye, searching his memory. “The Greek fire-breathing monster?”
“No, it’s some new drugthat’scompletelyovertakenthe Valley in Godot, some hybrid between meth and heroin.”
Dr. Moore grimaced and shook his head. “Eesh, I haven’t heard of it but it’s not surprising. That could certainly be a contributing factor to the aggressive progression of the adenocarcinoma cases.”
“How’s that?”
“Early detection and screeningarecrucial to cancer treatment. Most people in areas like Godot don’t reallyhavepreventive health coverage. They don’t go see a doctor until something’s wrong. And if this Chimeraisa blend, the heroin could suppress any discomfort and the methamphetamine would provide energy, I suppose. They might feelleveledout. Until theyweren’t, of course, and by then the carcinomahasprobablyspreadto other organs.”
“You reallyhaven’theardof Chimera or anything that sounds like a new hybrid drug out there?”
His eyes studied the table as if it held answers and shook his head.
“Not personally, but I’ve been off the floor for a while. Teaching caters better to my aging limbs now.” He smiled. “I’ve got a colleague that consults for the DEA. I can put you in touch if you’d like?”
“I’dappreciate that, thank you.”
Ifoundit strange that a new, deadly drugwasrampant in Godot, and itwasn’teven on the radar of theteachinghospital not an hour away. My thoughtsdriftedto the harrowed faces at the Center.
“I’ve seen a few flyers around town, recruiting volunteers for some new cancer drug trials. Are any of those looking encouraging?”
Dr. Mooretiltedhis head back and forth.“Thereisone study from Echidna Pharmaceuticals that'slookingvery promising. It’s been years in the making andisfinallygettingpresentedto the FDA this summer. Itwashard to find volunteers who meet the criteria, though, and with the addiction problem as big as the cancer problem, I wouldn’t imagine the folks from Godotwereviable candidates.”
Inarrowedmy eyes.“The Centersaidthey send a shuttle van full of people here twice a week for the trials.”
His expression fell to concern. He paused and considered that.
“Odd…” He shook it off and sat straighter. “Well, perhaps there are more clean lung cancer patients than we think?”
“So, in addition to being positive for lung cancer, one of the requirements to volunteer for the trialisthat youhaveto be clean?”
Henodded.“Yes, the presence of substances like meth or heroin could skew the results.”Dr. Moore’s heartfelt lookwaslacedwith sadness.“If this drug getspassed, you can restassuredthat it’ll help a lot of people.I’mnot well-versedin it but it’scausedquite a buzz in the pharmaceutical world.”At that moment his beeperbuzzed.
Ithankedhim profusely before promising to give my dad his regards.
“What kind of unexpected factors?” I asked before he started walking away. He looked at me with a question in his eyes. “You mentioned we’d have to test the mine to determine if there were some unexpected factors. What might some of those be?”
He turned his lips down in thought. “Oh, just the normal things they would have had to test for when they opened the mine. Certain carcinogens, asbestos, radon…”
When Riotpulledup to the hospital parking lot a few minutes later Ifelta pull at the edges of my lips. Something foreign and wholly unfamiliartuggedat the corners of my mouth and my heartflutteredwhen his truckrolledto a stop. My ego stillachedfrom the wayhe’dyelledat me the night before, but I could understand the stress of the new situation wefoundourselves in.
Iwas the new factor here.Iwas the one who was interrupting Riot’s regularly scheduled routine. He had thrown me a lifeline, and I was all but tying us up in it. He deserved better from me.
That realizationsatlike a block of ice in my gut, freezing me from the inside.
Ibusiedmyself with my phone. Ihada message from Chelsea with a photo of Jacob next to his truck, getting towedaway.
Chelsea
Your uncle’s truck totally just blew the bed. Brand new engine — shot!
Something familiar tugged at my memory.
“Wow,” I said out loud, baiting Riot.
