Chapter 113: Stabilizing the Twin

Early morning sunlight poured across the recovery ward of the Pine Street shelter while three clinic nurses washed porcelain basins near the washstand.

Fin stood beside the supply shelves checking the inventory of sterile bandages while the forty-eight rescued children slept peacefully in the adjacent dormitory.

Ruby set down a tray of herbal tea upon the examination counter, looking toward the far corner of the clinic with a furrowed brow.

Across the room, Darek lay upon an elevated cot with his canvas jacket zipped tightly to his chin.

His eyes flickered beneath closed lids, his fingers twitching against the coarse fabric of the cotton blanket.

"He refused to eat breakfast again," Ruby adjusted a stack of clean linen cloths on the counter, her voice hushed. "He only drank half a cup of water around dawn."

"Did the younger children sleep through the night without coughing?" Fin turned from the shelves, checking the medicine labels.

"The air scrubbers kept the dust out, so all forty-eight slept until the morning breakfast bell," Ruby answered, glancing toward the closed dormitory door. "Darek sat awake on that cot the entire night, staring at the hallway door like a sentry waiting for an ambush."

"That brass collar is still choking his neck," Fin frowned, his gaze lingering on the gleaming metal ring. "The boy has not known safety for four years."

"Maya is cleaning the master key tool right now," Ruby said, unrolling a roll of gauze, "we will remove the ring before noon."

Darek turned his head slightly toward the window, his knuckles pressing into the edge of the mattress.

A sharp tremor rippled across his shoulders, followed by a sudden gasp that cut through the quiet room.

His jaw clenched until his teeth ground together, and a jagged spasm jerked his spine into a rigid arch.

Fin crossed the floor in two swift strides, reaching the edge of the cot as Darek began thrashing violently.

"Darek, breathe," Fin leaned down, placing a steady hand on the youth’s forehead.

"Can... cannot..." Darek choked out, his fingers clawing at his sternum through his clothes. "It burns... the core is burning through my ribs!"

Dark discoloration surged beneath the skin of his chest, spreading like spiderwebs of ink toward his collarbones.

Scalding vapor hissed from the seams of the locked brass collar around his throat, blistering his skin with white heat.

Doctor Varek rushed across the room with a stethoscope, dropping his clipboard onto the nearest stool.

"Hold his shoulders down before he flips off the mattress!" Doctor Varek shouted, grabbing a pair of medical shears. "Watch his arms!"

From the knuckles of Darek’s forearms, serrated bone blades erupted with a wet snap, tearing through the cotton mattress.

His eyes rolled back, pupils dilating into pinpricks as uncontrolled bio-synthetic energy surged through his circulation channels.

Doctor Varek reached for Darek’s wrist, but a violent convulsion threw the physician backward onto the floor.

"The synthetic graft is rejecting his biological tissue!" Doctor Varek gasped, scrambling back to his feet in terror. "His heart rate is doubling every ten seconds!"

Fin leaned over the thrashing youth, planting both hands directly upon Darek’s upper chest and shoulders.

Channeling his solid one hundred and thirty-six Strength, Fin pinned Darek flat against the frame of the cot.

The youth kicked and bucked with feral desperation, yet Fin held his position without shifting a fraction of an inch.

The frame creaked under the immense strain, but Fin regulated his force precisely to avoid fracturing the youth’s ribs.

Fin kept his palms flat against Darek’s collarbones, absorbing the concussive jolts of each spasmodic heave.

The door banged open against the plaster wall as Jolly sprinted into the ward clutching three thick ledger folios.

Behind her ran Maya, carrying the unlocked container of surgical injectors retrieved from Krell’s private wall vault.

"Do not give him heart stimulants!" Jolly yelled, skidding to a halt beside the cot with her papers flying open. "His synthetic organ is choking on mineral toxicity!"

"Explain it fast, squirt!" Fin gritted his teeth, his forearms flexing as Darek heaved upward with bone blades flailing.

"Krell built these counterfeit grafts with artificial bile ducts that accumulate crystallization every forty days!" Jolly spread a handwritten chemical manifest across the examination table. "He built a timed obsolescence mechanism into the organ to keep his test subjects obedient!"

"What is the counter-agent?" Doctor Varek hurried to Jolly’s side, adjusting his spectacles to read the chemical equations.

"Saline and stabilized calcium-magnesium buffer mixed with five percent pure mana extract," Jolly pointed her brass ruler at the handwritten ratio. "The salt breaks down the crystals while the mana prevents cellular necrosis!"

"Maya, prep the second injector with the buffer ampoule right now," Fin ordered, holding Darek’s thrashing torso with unyielding pressure.

"Buffer loaded and calibrated to thirty milliliters," Maya clicked the pressurized cylinder into the injector housing with practiced speed.

"Ruby, take the intravenous line," Fin directed, keeping his gaze locked on Darek’s foaming mouth. "Find the brachial vein."

Ruby stepped forward with calm battlefield focus, swabbing the inside of Darek’s elbow with antiseptic spirit.

With steady fingers, Ruby slid the catheter needle cleanly into the vein, securing the butterfly clamp with medical tape.

"Line is open and flowing," Ruby reported, connecting the injector nozzle to the port.

Maya engaged the pneumatic trigger on the surgical autoinjector, sending the clear fluid rushing into Darek’s bloodstream.

For three agonizing seconds, Darek’s entire body went rigid as a violent violet glow flared behind his sternum.

Then, with a shuddering exhalation, the dark discoloration beneath his skin receded like retreating water.

The scalding steam venting from his collar cooled to a faint vapor, and the serrated bone blades retracted back into his forearms.

Fin gradually eased his grip, exhaling a long breath as Darek’s muscles relaxed into natural exhaustion.

The youth’s chest rose and fell in slow, even breaths, his pulse settling into a steady, healthy pace.

Doctor Varek placed his stethoscope against Darek’s chest, listening intently for ten silent seconds before looking up with profound relief.

"The synthetic core is stabilized," Doctor Varek breathed, wiping sweat from his brow with trembling fingers. "The mineral buildup dissolved completely."

"Jolly’s math saved his life," Fin stood up straight, wiping a bead of sweat from his forehead as he looked down at his sister with genuine pride. "Good work, squirt."

"I told you bookkeeping keeps people alive," Jolly closed her ledger with a proud snap, slipping her brass ruler back into her belt.

A gentle chime resonated through Fin’s mind as the blue system notification window expanded across his vision.

[ Emergency Intervention Successful: Subject One Cellular Rejection Neutralized ]

[ Synthetic Organ Stabilization Milestone Achieved ]

[ EXP Earned: +2,500,000 ]

[ Current Progress: 73,000,000 / 250,000,000 EXP (Rank B) ]

His experience pool surged smoothly forward, reaching seventy-three million toward the two hundred and fifty million required for Rank B.

"Now let us get this cursed brass ring off his neck once and for all," Ruby picked up the three-pronged key from the tray.

"I will hold his head steady," Fin leaned over the cot once more, feeling the steady heartbeat pulsing against the youth’s throat.

Maya brought a basin of warm water and a pair of precision pliers, setting them on the stool beside the headrest.

Darek stirred faintly on the pillow, his eyelids fluttering open as his vision cleared in the bright morning light.

"You are going to be fine now, Darek," Fin spoke softly, keeping his voice gentle and steady as he supported the boy’s temples. "Just rest your head back and let us take the collar off."