Mira and Bataar insisted on a thorough medical exam before the long flight home. Eli stared out the window in a daze as the forest turned into a blur of buildings on the long ride to the hospital. He couldn’t shake the foggy and unfocused feeling clouding his head. It only got worse after their arrival.
They pulled up behind an ambulance at the emergency drop off of the hospital. As they left the jeep, a doctor in typical attire introduced himself. Eli was then guided firmly but gently into a wheelchair.
“I am Doctor Koh. Your friends have requested my help with the aspects of your examination that lay outside the scope of traditional medicine. Will that be all right with you, Mr. Gannet?”
Eli nodded. Using his voice still felt uncomfortable. The entire ride there, he wanted to ask questions. What had happened to him? How was his mom?
Have I gone completely mad?
His voice wouldn’t come to him, though. Everything seemed discombobulated and surreal.
Doctor Koh guided the wheelchair through the sliding glass doors and into the hospital, followed by Bataar and Mira. The bright florescent lights and the strong smell of sterilizing chemicals were a disorienting contrast to the rainforest.
So many people.
All of this bustling around, chatting, loudspeakers calling out names, phones ringing. So much more stimulus than the forest. Eli didn’t want to be in here, and felt the mounting urge to run.
Were those people taking about aliens? Oh no. I went crazy and they’re locking me up in the grippy sock jail.
“Can we get this kid something to calm down?” Bataar’s voice rang out from behind him. Eli realized he was gripping the arms of the wheelchair so tightly the metal was bending.
They stopped and Doctor Koh came around to look him in the eye.
“With your permission, I can make an adjustment that will cause you to feel less anxious. Would that be alright with you, Mr. Gannet?”
Again, Eli nodded. The doctor reached out towards Eli’s head, and he flinched away.
“This process will require that I place my hands on your head. I apologize for not explaining. Do you still wish for me to proceed?”
“No,” Eli said, nodding again. “I mean yes. Go ahead and proceed.”
The doctor lightly touched Eli’s temples with the tips of two fingers. Eli felt a cool flow of energy pass into his head. The growing trepidation washed away, leaving an airy, detached calm in its place. He didn’t quite feel high, but he certainly didn’t feel normal either.
“Thank you,” Eli said.
“It is my duty to help, Mr. Gannet.”
They continued down the hall past a group of nurses standing around a counter talking. Eli was one hundred percent sure he heard someone talking about aliens this time.
Yep. They’re definitely locking me up in an asylum.
Unlike a few minutes ago, the thought wasn’t accompanied by any fear or tension. Of course, that’s what they were doing. What else would you do with a person who went on a feral rampage in the woods for months on end?
Eli smiled contentedly and enjoyed the ride.
They wheeled him into a private room with instructions to take a shower. They then stepped out, shutting the door behind them. He could hear them talking quietly right outside. Standing guard.
Eli looked at the open backed smock and socks that had been left for him to put on after a shower.
“Hehe. Grippy socks.” Eli jumped at the sound of his own voice and looked guiltily around the empty room.
He stripped out of his disgusting clothing and put them straight in the trash. Presumably, someone would provide him with clean clothes if he was ever allowed to leave.
Shower.
The thought gave him purpose. He waited for the shower to get warm and stepped in as steam began to fill the bathroom. Eli watched the filth-colored water swirl at his feet before heading down the drain. He closed his eyes and let everything wash away. His thoughts. His fears. His memories. A steady rain of warmth froze the peaceful moment in time.
“Hey! You ok in there!” Pounding rattled the door in startling accompaniment to the gruff voice.
Eli’s eyes shot open and he grabbed at the shower curtain, ripping it down and nearly falling out of the shower.
“I’m not crazy!” Eli yelled back.
The door opened and Bataar’s head poked through.
“What?” His thick brow furrowed in confusion and concern.
Eli crouched in the shower with the curtain clutched in front of him while water sprayed all over the bathroom.
“I’m not crazy?” Eli let out a short laugh, then realized how that must look and quickly put on a serious expression.
“You’ve been in here over an hour. Get yourself dried off and we’ll talk.”
Well played dumbass. He definitely thinks you’re crazy.
He was able to get the shower curtain hung back up and make thorough use of the soap and shampoo. The crud under his fingernails was particularly stubborn, and he eventually called it good. After donning the hospital gown and socks, Eli stepped back out into the empty room.
“Hey, I’m out,” he called.
Bataar and Mira stepped back in, looking a concerned.
“Feeling a little better?” Mira asked.
“Was everyone out there talking about aliens? I’m trying to get a feel for exactly how nuts I am right now.”
Mira and Bataar glanced at each other in silent communication before Bataar answered.
“You picked a weird time to run off and go feral in the woods, kid. But yeah, you heard right. We have some…uh..visitors. It’s a developing situation. Let’s get you checked out first, and then we’ll talk.”
“If you guys are going to commit me, can we do it closer to home?”
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“Nobody’s committing you,” Mira said with a small grin. “We just need to make sure it’s safe to put you on a plane before we head back.”
It was an incredible relief to hear such a small thing. He wasn’t crazy. Probably.
The next several hours were filled with all manner of poking and prodding. Fluid samples to be tested. Whirring machines to ensure his insides looked more or less the way they should. A lot of sitting and waiting, during which Eli found himself nodding off almost immediately until another polite member of the hospital staff wheeled him to the next test.
Bataar and Mira never strayed far. They didn’t seem especially tense, but he could tell that they were always paying attention. It was disconcerting to realize that people thought he might be a danger. Even worse, to realize they might be right.
When the interminable testing finally ended, Dr. Koh reappeared to wheel Eli into an exam room.
“You two may wait out here,” Dr. Koh said to the looming Mira and Bataar as they tried to follow him into the room.
“Cool. I’m gonna find something to eat,” Mira said, and promptly headed down the hallway. Bataar gave her a thumbs up and leaned against the wall.
“I will be diagnosing your core and any qi imbalances or sickness you may be suffering from,” Dr. Koh said once they got inside. He turned to wash his hands and continued. “Please let me know if you have any questions as we go through the examination.”
While his back was turned, the door opened to admit an ancient woman. The white robes draped over her small, hunched frame were covered in stains. Wild gray hair seemed to poke in every direction. She was scowling fiercely as she took in the scene.
“Mr. Bataar, we will be fine if you would like to get food with your colleague…” Dr. Koh broke off and paled as he turned around to see who had entered.
“Sifu,” he said, bowing deeply. “Forgive me. I did not realize you had come with the other members of your order.”
“I will take it from here, Koh. You may go now,” she said without taking her gaze off of Eli.
“Of course, sifu. I will be right outside if there is any service you may need,” he said as he hurriedly exited the room.
“Are you crippled?” she asked, eying the wheelchair Eli sat in.
“Crippled?”
“Are you stupid, as well as crippled?”
“What? No. I mean yes.” He had just been starting to feel like maybe he wasn’t insane until this woman walked in. “Wait, no. I am not crippled.”
“Hmmm. But probably stupid.” She bustled into the room and patted the exam table. The soft cushion on top was draped by a roll of paper, and it make a crinkling sound beneath her hand. “Since we’ve determined your legs work, hop up here and lie down. I need to take a look at you.”
“I’m..uh..Eli.” He quickly moved over to the table and cursed himself. He could feel the power rolling off of this woman and it was distracting. He had never been able to feel a person’s qi like this before. It was already difficult to focus, and he knew he was making a bad impression.
“I know who you are, young man. I also knew your grandfather, Samuel.” She placed her hands on his chest, and he felt something like a ball slowly rolling around in his torso. It didn’t hurt, but it wasn’t exactly comfortable, either.
“Samuel was my great, great grandfather.”
“Whatever. Don’t correct me, boy. He was a powerful member of our order for a time. He died well. It is good to see a descendant finally follow in his footsteps. Were you trained by Haruun?” She raised a bushy eyebrow at the question, and he suspected he already knew the answer.
“No, ma’am. I could never get the hang of meditation. He was just teaching me martial arts.”
“You many call me Doc. Everyone else does, these days. Tell me what happened.”
Eli quickly related the events with Makeena as well as he could remember. She paused in the examination and took notes while he talked.
“You have been brutally thrust through the first gate. It is a miracle that you survived the experience. I have never heard of anyone creating a core in this manner.”
“So there has never been an instance of a spirit beast, like, making another spirit beast, or whatever happened to me?” Eli awkwardly stumbled through the question, cursing his stupid brain for not firing on all cylinders.
“Most would not know how. For the few that may, it is not in their nature to do so.” She grinned slightly and held up a bony finger. “Of course there was the Monkey King and his army. But, as with so many things, he was an exception. In the manner you were changed, however, the answer is no.”
“So what does it mean?”
“Mean? It doesn’t mean anything. It is simply what happened.”
“Sorry, that was a stupid question,” Eli said, trying to organize his thoughts.
“Yes, we have already established you are stupid. Samuel was, as well. Very brave, but stupid.”
That was a little hurtful, but it seemed wiser to gloss over it and not start an argument at the moment.
“I mean, what does it mean that I was forced through a gate?”
“In our practice, there are five elemental gates: fire, earth, metal, wood and water. Others orders may refer to them differently. Each element represents a stage of cultivation. They are symbolic processes, and every cultivator must find their own keys. Each time you pass through a gate, your body is refined and transformed.”
“There are only five?” For some reason, Eli felt like there should be more.
Doc gave him a knowing look. “You want life to be a never ending stairway upwards. It has never been so. Life, young man, is a wheel.”
“Ouch!” Eli shot up as it felt like someone jammed a stun gun into his stomach.
“Don’t be such a baby,” Doc said, gently pushing his chest until he was lying back down. She jotted something onto her clipboard again, then returned her hands to his chest.
“How long is it supposed to take for each gate?”
“There is no right answer to that question.” Doc said. She seemed to notice the frustration as it crossed Eli’s face and clarified.
“There are those who can sit quietly in a cave and find the key to all five gates in a year’s time. Some struggle for a lifetime and can never pass the first gate. It sounds as though you fit that description prior to this incident. Others may pass through two or three, then spend all of their focus learning and perfecting techniques while ignoring the gates entirely. It is a uniquely personal journey.”
The weird rolling ball sensation traveled from his abdomen up to his head. It felt like he was swallowing backwards and he had to fight the urge to retch.
“Hmmm. That is quite interesting. Half of your core has been fused, although the purpose is not clear.” She looked thoughtful for a moment and then spoke. “I need to do some research into this, and I have answered enough of your questions.”
With that, Doc scurried out of the room as abruptly as she had entered, muttering over her notes. Mira poked her head in a few moments later.
“So how did that go?” she asked.
“I have no idea, to be completely honest. I am both more and less confused than I was before she got here.”
“Yeah, Doc can be a lot. The good news is she said we can take you home tomorrow. All the tests have come back clear.”
“That’s awesome. Thank you. Hey, can I call my mom now?”
Back in his room, they lent him a cell phone and gave him some privacy to make the call. He suspected the phone belonged to Bataar, judging from the picture of a Mongolian warrior charging across the steppes on a motorcycle as the background. His mom picked up on the first ring.
“Mr. Bataar, I got the message you found my son. Is he ok?” The worry in her voice tore his heart out.
“It’s me mom, I’m ok.”
“Oh Eli! Honey, I’m so glad to hear your voice. I was so…” The rest of her sentence was lost to several minutes of sobbing and nose blowing.
“They checked me out at the hospital and said we can fly home tomorrow.”
“Don’t you ever do that to me again, do you understand! I almost died from worry. My heart can’t take this.”
“I know, mom. I’m sorry I worried you so much.”
“Wait, did you say tomorrow? Oh my god. I have to call everyone and get them here. Bev and the boys need to be here. Your uncle Tom. Allie and Kevin have been asking about you all the time.”
Her sudden pivots were making his head spin. The names summoned the memory of his break up with Allie before leaving for Malaysia. Kevin trying to mediate between and only making it worse. They had been so wrong, and Eli had been so angry. He felt the edges of that rage seep in at the thought.
“Shit, not now, not now.”
“What honey?”
He pushed the thoughts into a little box and slammed the door.
“No parties! The…uh…doctor said I need to take it easy for a few weeks.”
“Ok. Well, I at least need to invite your sister.”
“That’s fine, mom. Bev can come. Let’s just keep it at that for now, ok? I need some time to recover.”
Something started beeping loudly in the background at his mom’s house.
“Is that a smoke alarm?”
“Oh no! I forgot about the lasagna.”
“You’re cooking?!” His mom was a wonderful person, but had always been a horrible cook. It was one of the main reasons his sister had become a chef.
“I’ve been so worried and needed to do something to keep busy.” The alarm continued to scream in the background.
“I will see you tomorrow and we can catch up then, ok?”
“No, just hold on.” He heard pans clatter loudly to the floor. “Ow, dammit!”
“Listen, mom. I love you. I will see you tomorrow.”
“What? I can’t hear you over this alarm, sweetie.”
For fuck’s sake.
“Bye! I love you!!”
“I gotta go, honey. I will see you tomorrow. I love you.”
Eli hung up the phone and rubbed his temples. Some things never change. He smiled fondly, extremely grateful for that fact.
The energy in his core stirred, and he wondered what he might learn to do with it.
His smile faded. Other things change so quickly it makes your head spin.
Leaning back on the bed, he looked up at a muted television mounted on the wall. Two reporters behind a news desk spoke to each other wearing serious expressions. A red and blue background framed the flashy graphic:
BREAKING NEWS: ALIEN EMISSARIES ADDRESS THE EARTH