The guy stared wide eyed, shocked, looking like he was about to scream. The human had short blond hair, brown eyes, glasses, and appeared to be in his early thirties. His coat pocket saidDr. Ellis Moor.
“I’m with CEB. I need help, quickly and quietly.”
The man stared. “Y-you…”
Severo hissed, cursing. He reached into his coat, doing his best to ignore his injury. Severo rolled his eyes when the guy flinched back with a squeak as he pulled out his badge. “Snap out of it! I don’t have time for you to freak out.”
Skya started to cough before beginning to cry again, her voice softer now than it had ever been.
“Agent, see.” He waved the badge, gritting his teeth before shoving it back away. “Now, you are going to examine her, treat her, and keep everything to yourself. Do you understand? Because if you don’t, you are putting her life in danger. And while I may not want to shoot you, I will do it to protect her.”
“I…” The man gulped and pushed up his glasses. “W-what are the symptoms?”
“She inhaled smoke and has been coughing and wheezing. Her throat is bothering her.”
The man nodded. “Let me…examine her.”
Severo’s eyes narrowed. “If you try anything, you’ll regret it.”
The doctor scoffed. “I’m human, and you literally slipped out of thin air. Don’t worry, I’m not dumb enough to try anything. Lay her down on the bed.”
Never taking his eyes off the man, Severo set the seat down and unbuckled her. He side stepped around the man to lay her down on the closest hospital bed in the room.
“Oh-Oh.” She started crying harder the minute he stepped away from her. Severo barely held back his own tears as her fear-filled cries echoed in the room.
“Shh, shh,” the doctor soothed, approaching. “It’s okay, little one. I’m not going to hurt you.”
The man kept talking to her at the same time he started to examine her. When he pulled out something that looked like a stylus attached to a tiny screen, Severo seized his arm.
“Woah…it’s just something to test her oxygen and carbon monoxide levels. I promise… I had it on me because multiple children have come in with carbon monoxide poisoning due to smoke inhalation this afternoon. And we were warned more would be coming, due to an explosion at an apartment building. It’ll just be a little prick, I promise.”
Severo released his wrist. Skya, who had calmed down under the man’s constant smooth voice, started to whine and whimper again as the doctor poked her with the machine.
The man looked at the device, numbers appeared on the screen. “Her oxygen levels are low, while her carbon monoxide levels are high. I’d suggest a chest x-ray to double check what is going on in there, but there’s no way for us to get one without being noticed.”
“How bad is it?”
Dr. Moor turned to him, a smile on his face. “No worries, her life isn’t in danger. I’m going to grab an oxygen inhaler for her…but even without it…she will likely only feel bad for a few days as her lungs clear out on their own. I would suggest that you gently clean the soot out of her gills with a cotton swab and water as soon as you can. That will help her heal faster, and prevent further damage, because she does get oxygen through them any time she breathes through her mouth.”
“As soon as I can, I’ll do that.” Severo took a deep breath, before coughing himself.
“She isn’t the only one having issues it seems.” The doctor's gaze flicked to him. Eye widening, the man rasped, “You're injured!”
“I’m fine. Let’s go get this oxygen thing. It’s not good for us to stay here long.”
“Us? I—” the doctor yelped when Severo scooped Skya up and slipped back into the Shadow Realm, leaving a small hole so the doctor could hear him. “Oh…I…yes…I’m guessing you will be following me.”
“You guessed right,” he said as he strapped Skya back down. The little girl fussed, but he forced himself to not give in and just hold her. He couldn’t.
“Oh, disembodied voices… Oh, that’s disconcerting.”
Severo scoffed, which sent him into a coughing fit again.
“I’ll…get two oxygen inhalers. Are you sure you don’t have time for me to clean and rebandage whatever you have going on with your left forearm?”
“Do what you want. And, no,” he grunted, following the man as he left the room. His eyes narrowed at the sight of a police officer down the hall.
When one of the men caught sight of the doctor and approached, he stiffened up. Without hesitation he pulled his gun, clicking the trigger off.
