Botanicaust

to see around him. Tugging at the lanyard around his neck, he bent to stick a keycard in a lock. With a click, the door pivoted open. He set her on her feet inside the room. Beyond sat an exam table dangling restraining straps. Monitors and instruments on carts surrounded the table and lay on gleaming steel counters. A few portable gurneys waited along one wall, and another door led through the back wall. Three radiation suits hung from pegs near the opposite door. One cart held what looked like a telomerase drip system, much like the ones used back home for conversions. A computer and gamma pad rested on a cabinet in one corner. The man pointed to the exam table.
    She didn ’ t move. “ No way. ” What did he have planned for her? She looked around for a weapon. A scalpel lay on a steel countertop. If she made a move for it, would he stop her? She backed further into the room until she reached the cabinet. Behind her, her fingers found the scalpel. He didn ’ t move, just looked at his feet as he shuffled. She asked, “ Why did that woman attack me? ”
    The man looked up at her with sagging brown eyes and then dropped his chin to avoid her gaze. His long, horsey face was hard to read. Hard to look at, and yet she couldn ’ t drag her eyes away. “ Do you understand me? ”
    To her surprise, the man nodded. What had Dr. Kaneka called him? Michael?
    “ Michael, what happened back there? ”
    Michael ’ s shoulders raised and lowered in a shrug. He glanced at her and away again, then pointed at his mouth.
    She thought of Jo Boy, and how shy he was around new people. “ You don ’ t talk? ”
    He shook his head.
    “ Can you take me back to Levi? ”
    Again he shook his head. His mouth turned down into a deep frown. He pointed into the room.
    “ I ’ m worried that woman hurt my friend. Please? ”
    He didn ’ t look at her. His left hand crept to his temple and with the heel of his palm he pounded his own head as if in frustration.
    “ Does your head hurt? ”
    His brows drew together as if he might cry. He shook his head and balled his fist, dropping it to his side. Leaning out the door, he stared down the hall, as if searching for someone, then looked back at his feet.
    “ Maybe there is some medicine in here to help your head. ” She scanned the cabinets and cupboards.
    His eyes scrunched.
    How could she communicate with a mute? Her eye caught the gamma pad. She smiled. The interface was slightly different than she was used to, but she activated the screen and found the manual illustration mode. “ Do you like to draw? ”
    His shoulders rose and fell.
    She put the stylus to the screen and drew two stick figures holding hands. Her artistic skills left much to be desired, and she wished Levi was here. “ See? This is me and my friend, Levi. ”
    Michael nodded, but didn ’ t reach for the pad.
    “ Can you draw a picture? ” She held the gamma pad at arm ’ s length to him.
    His big hand rose slowly, taking the pad and the stylus. He held the unit cradled against him. After a moment, he put the stylus against the screen and drew a big stick figure next to her smaller ones.
    “ Wow! Is that you? ” She gushed enthusiasm, hoping to win him over.
    The long lines of his face creased in a shy smile and he met her eyes for the first time.
    “ What else can you draw? ”
    He erased the screen and drew again. He ’ s intelligent enough to know how to use the device . Maybe he could write? He turned the screen to her and she smiled. A green face with circular eyes surrounded in lashes could only be her.
    “ Me. Tula. ” She looked at him for confirmation.
    He smiled softly and flushed, his attention sliding to his feet once more.
    “ Can you write? ”
    His frame stiffened and his sagging eyes grew round. The gamma pad slipped from his fingers, clattering to the floor. Taking a step back, he shook his head rapidly as his whole body seemed to curl in on itself . He wrung his big hands against each other.
    Tula assessed his reaction. Why would he worry or lie about being able to write? She picked up the pad. Carefully clearing the screen so he could see what she did, she placed the pad back exactly as she had found it. In a low voice, she said, “ Are you not supposed to write? ”
    His eyebrows drew together like he might cry. With a tiny shake of his head he turned to face the hall.
    “ It ’ s okay. I won ’ t tell. ”
    Overhead, a com system came to life. Dr. Kaneka ’ s voice echoed