Domination (A C.H.A.O.S. Novel) - By Jon Lewis Page 0,8

hand over the stubble of his shaved head.

“Could you be any more obvious?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Sure you don’t.”

Danielle stayed at the medical facility long enough to make sure he checked in before she left to take a shower and get something to eat. He sat in the waiting room and stared at the floor, wondering why his appointment was with someone named Dr. Roth instead of the medical team that had been monitoring him since he arrived at the campus.

Twenty minutes later a door opened, and a white robot on track wheels entered the room. It was roughly the size of a mini-fridge, with a red cross on its chest, a wide rectangular head, and two of its eight retractable arms fully extended.

“This way, if you please,” the medibot said in a synthesized voice. A series of eyes lit up as it wheeled back around and led Colt down a hallway. It passed the examination rooms and stopped at an elevator.

“Where are we going?” Colt asked as he entered the elevator.

“Dr. Roth maintains an office on sublevel three.”

“Sublevel three? Wait, what happened to Dr. Cornelius?”

“He is currently indisposed . . . Mind your fingers. Some of our subjects are a bit aggressive,” it said as the doors opened.

Three other medibots were in a room that was about as big as a fast food restaurant, each one of them attending to a variety of caged animals. Their domed heads sat on top of tapered bodies that were wider at the base than they were near their shoulder joints. Their retractable arms and the cluster of eyes reminded Colt of the creepy mechanical spiders that had attacked him back at Greg’s Comics in Arizona.

The walls were lined with cages made of thick glass. One held a chimpanzee that simply sat there, staring at him. Another had a nervous dog that paced back and forth, its tail swishing as it yapped. But most were filled with strange creatures.

The first thing that stood out was an enormous green slug resting in the branches of a tree like a length of gelatinous intestine. According to the plaque it was called a Storaab and was from the jungles of Gathmara, the home world of the Thule, but Colt hadn’t run into any during his training scenarios in the hologram rooms. He stood there, entranced by how disgusting yet fascinating it was. The only light in its cage emanated from its body, where a complicated network of veins was lit up like a neon sign beneath translucent skin.

Nearby, colorful reptiles called Kyax fed on a carcass. One tossed a hunk of marbled flesh into the air and snatched it in its jaws as its leathery wings pounded the air. The Finopod in the adjacent cage looked like a Venus flytrap, but it was nearly as tall as Colt. And he recognized monkey-like creatures called Twilek as they glided from a platform to a series of poles, using membranes that ran from wrist to ankle like those of flying squirrels. It was incredible to see them in the flesh instead of as a holographic representation.

“Interesting, aren’t they?”

Colt turned to see a man with the beginnings of a goatee and hair that hung down to his shoulders. He was in good enough shape that his tight black T-shirt didn’t look too ridiculous, and most of his right arm was covered in an intricate series of tattoos.

“Sorry,” Colt said. “I, um . . . I was looking for Dr. Roth.”

“Then you’re in the right place,” the man said. “You must be Cadet McAlister.”

“Dr. Roth?”

“In the flesh.”

“Are you a veterinarian or something?”

“Not exactly,” Dr. Roth said. “Though I do know a thing or two about Thule physiology. In fact, you might say I wrote the book on the subject.” He stood there like he was expecting applause, but Colt just stared at him. “Anyway, given the unusual nature of your condition, I’ve been asked to take over your medical care.”

“What about Dr. Cornelius?”

“He’ll still be part of the team, but in more of an advisory role.”

“Does my grandpa know about this?”

“We had lunch yesterday,” Dr. Roth said as he pulled a penlight from his pocket. “He’s quite the storyteller. May I?” He pried Colt’s eyelid apart without waiting for a response and shined the light at his retina. “When did you first notice that your eyes had turned color?”

“I don’t know . . . a few weeks ago, I guess.”

“Fascinating. And you haven’t noticed any other physical manifestations?