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The Charon Covenant |
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“Mrs. Drew, you’re here for routine questioning. We understand your son has died and that you came back to the hospital after being dismissed. Is that correct?” “I
just wanted to…” Dara
tried to explain. “Let
me continue,” the woman went on. “You
have accused--” She paused to refer to some papers in front of her.
“--A Dr. Kenton of a conspiracy against you and others?
What conspiracy?” She
finished her question and slowly looked up at Dara; peering almost through
her. “All
I said was I think it’s wrong to deny me to see my son.
I never got to hold him or touch him.
I wanted to see for myself that he was gone.”
Dara’s lips began quivering; the knot in her stomach was growing
tighter and larger with each question.
Dara’s mind raced in all directions; she wanted to run and hide
from the world. “Mrs.
Drew, it has always been the policy of the Circle to dispose of deaths
quickly. We have to worry about disease control in this confined
atmosphere; you should know that by now.” She paused.
“Do you not agree?” Dara
hesitated, feeling her nerves turning into anger.
“I understand, but it isn’t right to deny grieving parents a
chance to see their child one last time.
I think the Circle has to change this policy, maybe more of us need
to speak out for change.” “Who
are you referring to? You have
a group?” The woman’s tone
turned more concerned. “No,
but I have the right to speak up about things I don’t agree with. Last
time I checked this was a democratic society,” Dara replied. “The
Circle makes such decisions for you. We don’t allow any demonstrations.
We can’t afford uprisings in such a confined space...” Dara
interrupted. “We, you mean
you’re a Circle member? Why
would a Circle Member bother with something as small as me complaining
about seeing my son? What are
you trying to hide?” Dara
questioned. “Your
attitude is not going to get you out of here very quickly, Mrs. Drew, you
need to settle down.” Dara
stood quickly. “All I want
is to see my son and go home. You’ve no right to keep me here. My
husband will be coming to get me,” Dara said in a demanding tone. The
woman stood as well. “You
won’t tell me when you will go. You
will go when we say you can go.” Dara
stepped to the end of the table nearer the woman.
“I have a lot of people who know I’m here by now; they’ll
come to get me. So what else
do you want from me?” Dara
said, hysteria rising in her voice. “We’ll
stay here and you’ll be questioned until we are sure you’re not a
danger to anyone. Do you
understand?” The woman took
a couple of steps toward her and stiffened her posture, as if in defiance
of Dara’s attitude. It
must’ve been all the sedatives, lack of sleep and her state of panic,
but Dara lost control of her emotions and shoved the woman backwards.
“Don’t keep threatening me. I didn’t do anything!” As
the woman fell backward, she struck her face on the edge of the table.
Dara was shocked that the woman had fallen and stepped forward to
help her up. “I’m sorry, I
didn’t mean to...” The
woman grabbed the edge of the table to lift herself off the floor, as she
did she raised her head to look at Dara.
“Oh my god! You’re
hurt, let’s call...” Dara
stopped talking; she couldn’t believe she was seeing correctly, the
woman was bleeding, but it wasn’t red blood, but dark grey, almost
black. Her skin had peeled
back slightly and it seemed as if there was another layer of skin,
something Dara had never seen before.
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