Page 84 of Dark Awakening: Hidden Currents

Her phone buzzed, and she glanced down to see a text from Julian:Ell-rom arrived safely.

A smile spread across Jasmine's face as she read the message, and when she looked, she found Margo and Frankie watching her curiously.

"Good news?" Frankie asked.

"Julian texted me that Ell-rom made it to the clinic."

Margo raised her coffee mug in a mock toast. "To progress and new beginnings," she said.

"To progress and new beginnings," Jasmine and Frankie echoed, clinking their mugs together.

60

ELL-ROM

By the time Ell-rom reached the clinic he was exhausted, but he forced himself to stand tall and push through the protesting muscles and the fatigue.

The important thing was that he'd made it without leaning on anyone or anything, and he hadn't stumbled or stopped to rest even once.

Julian looked up from his desk with a knowing smile. "Look at you," the doctor said, his tone warm with approval. "Making the trek all on your own. How are you feeling?"

Ell-rom grinned. "Tired, but I made it, and that's all that counts."

"True." Julian gestured for him to take a seat. "Are you ready to combat your phobia?"

"Yes," Ell-rom said resolutely, even though he was not sure at all. "Did you manage to get the synthetic blood?"

"I did." Julian reached into a drawer and pulled out a small opaque bag. "This stuff is revolutionizing medicine. It doesnot even require refrigeration. What's more, it was developed entirely by humans."

"Fascinating." Ell-rom tried to keep his gaze unfocused so seeing the thing wouldn't trigger his gag reflex. "Is the synthetic blood new?"

"This type is."

Despite his determination, Ell-rom felt his stomach churn.

Julian had been so focused on what a positive impact this was going to have on the medical community that he hadn’t noticed Ell-rom’s reaction when he first brought it out. Now, he sensed his discomfort and immediately pushed the bag aside. "Maybe looking at it briefly is enough for today."

But Ell-rom shook his head. "No. I need to overcome this aversion."

He needed to do this for Jasmine and for himself, but he didn't need to explain it to the medic. Julian knew what was at stake.

The medic studied him for a long moment. "There is no rush, Ell-rom. It's better to take small steps in the right direction than to try to leap forward but fall down and break something. Imagine that you tried to run all the way to the clinic this morning. Would that have been prudent?"

"No," Ell-rom admitted. "But that's not a good analogy. Running when I have just learned to walk would have been foolish, but using the walker when I could do without it would have been caving in to fear."

Julian considered this, then put the bag back in the drawer. "I have an idea," he said, standing up. "How about we go for a walk first? When we come back, you can try something more daring.But let's build up your confidence a bit more before we tackle that challenge."

That was an odd suggestion. He was still tired from walking from the elevator to the clinic, which was not a big distance at all. Maybe Julian wanted to show him something?

"Where do you want to go?"

A smile spread across the medic's face. "Outside. I think it's time we got you out onto the street."

Ell-rom felt his heart skip a beat. He had seen the world from the terrace of the penthouse and had watched the bustling life of the city from above, but to actually be down there, in the midst of it all, was far more exciting.

"I would love that."

"Great. It'll be good for you to experience life on Earth as its citizen and not a patient. A change in perspective can do wonders for the psyche." He rose to his feet. "We don't have another walker, but you can lean on me if you feel tired, and we can take frequent rest stops on the way. There are benches every fifty feet or so."