"What exactly do you mean?"
Dr. Lee makes a vague gesture in the air. "Anything that could potentially be an issue."
"I have a metal rod implanted near my spine. It was connected to a remote system my uncle used to deliver electric shocks. The surrounding tissue is scarred."
"May I see it? And have you considered having it removed?"
"I dream of nothing else, but it’s not a simple surgery. According to the doctors who examined it, the rod is very close to the spinal nerve connections. One small mistake could leave me paralyzed."
"Could you show me the area?"
Eliano grimaces slightly, then grabs the collar of his T-shirt and pulls it off in one smooth motion, exposing his chest. He turns around, and for the first time I see his back.
It knocks the breath out of me.
Eliano’s back is a mess of scars. Not just one or two, but dozens, maybe hundreds, crossing over each other in every direction. Some are jagged, others smooth. Some are thin, some thick, with uneven edges. Older scars mix with newer ones, some faded, others still relatively fresh.
Sure enough, in the upper part of his spine, a long metal object about three inches in length protrudes slightly beneath the skin.
"Where did these scars come from?" Dr. Lee asks, stepping closer to inspect them.
"Whipping."
My hands curl into fists, my jaw clenching hard as I fight the torrent of emotion rising in me.
Suddenly I remember.
My vision! The one that stopped me from killing myself! A bleeding man in a cage, his back whipped like this. Could he be…? No. Totally different hair. Impossible. Just a coincidence.
I shake the thoughts off and force myself to push down the wave of compassion. I don’t want to allow myself feelings like that, soft and almost tender, not toward him. It would make everything too difficult when the time comes for me to run.
And yet part of me simply can’t get past that so easily. So I turn my gaze away, cursing in my head.
Apparently, Eliano’s life wasn’t any better than mine. I took my share of beatings too, before Senu and I escaped our stepfather. Once, he beat me so badly that my brain and eye were damaged. That’s why one of my pupils is permanently dilated. I know exactly what it means to be a victim of violence, and I can’t stop the sense of solidarity I feel with Eliano as someone who survived brutal abuse.
A part of me wants to step closer to him right now, to press myself against his scarred back, but of course, I don’t. I can’t. Period. I can only have one goal. I need to kill Tanner, and that means I cannot allow myself to care about anyone who could pull me away from that purpose.
Hold it together, Salt. Stay tough,I whisper to myself.
Dr. Lee seems to have satisfied his curiosity. He gestures for Eliano to get dressed.
"All right. I’ll still draw blood for routine screening. Our policy requires an initial panel for infectious diseases, blood count, and hormone levels."
"No problem," Eliano says flatly.
He pulls his T-shirt back on and sits down again, avoiding my gaze. His jaw muscles are tight.
Maybe that’s for the best, because I have no idea what expression I should be wearing right now. One thing I do know is that I can’t pull off the hostile grimace I consistently wore before. No matter how much I try, my features just won’t settle into anything sharp or cold. The best I can manage is something neutral.
I stare at the floor and wait for whatever comes next.
ELIANO
The whole situation in the medical office is costing me a lot of nerves, or maybe more than that, it’s just infuriating.
After he draws blood from both me and Salt, Dr. Lee says, "Now I’d like to examine you, Salt. As you know, the reproductive system of betas is central to our program’s area of focus, so these examinations are mandatory here."
I see Salt’s shoulders draw inward slightly, his lips pressed tight. His hands are clenched into fists, and despite that, they’re trembling just a little.
