Nobody knew what the hell just happened, but I could see Professor Negeri carry a worried expression as she spoke with the dean who was now present. I looked at Namir as he continued to cough, and his claws clenched at the floor while his spine curved against his skin with each desperate breath.
“The pool will be closed until further notice!” Dr. Joy Vaughn called out as she motioned for Professor Negeri to follow her. “Students, please make your way to the clinic and counseling should you need it. This class will be redirected to Study Hall until further notice.”
That should have been music to my ears since study hall was optional, but when I looked back at the pool, I almost backed up when I saw the once clear blue pool was now the color of red, blood red to the point where you couldn’t see the bottom.
What the fuck just happened?
Isis
I could hear the screams, and the roaring sound of something large, something violent. I quickly pulled the strings of the face mask behind my ears as I tried to get my uniform together. Most of my studies were spent in and out of the classroom as I stepped closer into my field of study and chosen career. The Health and Applied Science building wasn’t too far from the clinic on the Grounds, but something was happening where somebody was brought in for an emergency.
“Do you know what’s going on?” Seline asked as she pinned her braids back. I shook my head while closing the locker with my school uniform hanging from the hook. My gray scrubs were tucked as I followed the rest out into the hallway where you could hear it loud and clear. The building shook under his cries and groans like he was in pain. Nobody knew what was happening or where it was coming from. I stepped into the room and prepped myself as I washed my hands and arms with the soapy solution. Surely somebody was tending to the person and not just letting them shout in pain.
“I heard they brought a teacher in…” someone whispered behind the mask. “They’re trying to get the best doctors on hand to calm him down.”
“A teacher?”
“I heard there are several teachers here right now.”
“Who is it?”
“It must be serious.”
I pushed the pedal down with my foot to cut the water off before stepping into the lab where Dr. Haines stood over a body. A brooding man with dark eyes, peppered yet balding head, and slanted shoulders that never quite fit his shirts and jackets. His glasses were thick when he blinked at us like an insect behind the lens.
“Quickly students! Quickly!” He hollered with a lick of his lips. “While the body is still freshly dead! Hurry up now!”
All thirteen of us gathered around the table as we eyed the body of the older black male laid out, completely bare. I could see some of my peers look sick at the sight but given what my mother is, I’ve seen bodies since I was a child. She was one of the best healers in the Underground, so this was nothing new to me, dead or alive.
“A true healer doesn’t just study the flesh…they need to know what lingers after the flesh begins to fail,” Dr. Haines said as he pressed his hand on the chest with a light tap of the skin. “What remains when life stops?”
“The soul?” Someone suggested.
“The soul,” Dr. Haines grunted. “No. There is no soul. Death will never leave the soul in the body unless something happens. Unless something or someone disrupts the cycle. In this case, the soul is long gone.”
“How do you know if someone disrupts the cycle?” I asked.
He leaned over to lift one of the eyelids and flashed a small light directly in the pupil that began to cloud.
“This is an empty vessel, do you see the eyes and how settled they are? There is nothing there. You would be able to feel it if a soul was still trapped, even a part of it.” Everyone leaned inbefore he allowed the lid to close shut. “Now, what lingers after life stops is new life.”
He waved his hand over the body as the skin began to ripple and tremble. The bacteria that suddenly pulled to the surface was evident as it took over his body.
“Decomposition has already begun,” he said with a solemn tone. “You are witnessing in real time death and life working together at the exact same time. As a healer and soon to be doctors, to understand life, you need to understand death. The duality of the two, and the importance of why it's needed. If you look closely, blisters have appeared on the organs and muscles have started to grow stiff during this stage and it's only been a few hours.”
The sound of yelling broke through the thick walls as Dr. Haines looked up, irritated. I wondered if he knew what was going on? With a shake of his head, he focused back on the table.
“Alright. Let’s begin.” He said as he pointed finger down on the man’s head, causing his body to fall apart and his insides spill. His skin slid off like meat to a bone. Some of the bones broke in place, and nails popped off each limb becoming scattered. The table expanded, careful not to let any parts fall to the floor as he placed the file on top of the body. “This is his medical records… you have until the end of the period to put him back together.”
My shoulders dropped as Dr. Haines walked out without another word to see what the commotion was. I grabbed the file and began to read out loud his history while the rest began separating the body.
“We need to focus on what’s most vulnerable to the bacteria. His organs are the weakest of his body,” Melvin said behind the mask. “What did he have a history of? Any complications?”
“Let’s separate the skin first and put it in a solution,” Seline demanded as she grabbed the pile of brown skin. “This will be the last thing we put together.”
“Evan Nelson,” I said out loud. “Age 63. African American…”
I paused just as the rest looked up at me. It wasn’t often we referred to ourselves as African American even though in a technical sense, I suppose we would be. We usually lead with what we are versus how we look. That was the first clue that his body would not be like ours, nor would his DNA be the same apart from sharing the same amount of genetics as distant cousins.
