Man, this place was truly something else. Things really hit a new all-time low after what happened two days ago at the university. It wasn't the first time I've been shot at, but felt like the closest I've been to death. I couldn't really sleep all too well since then, that look on Charlie's face as he mowed down those people. That Glock pointed right at me. It just kept playing over in my head every time I fell asleep.
That was too close for comfort, I can't let that happen again.
"You were right," My mom said to me as she walked past me. She had gloves on while carrying an old box that I haven't seen in ages. Old pictures of our family were contained inside of it along with some of my childhood memories.
"About?" I asked her trying to figure out what I said to her.
"We shouldn't have come back here." She set the box down gently on the counter. "T-this is just too much." It sounded as if she were on the verge of breaking down. I saw it when we heard of my dad's unexpected death, and at his funeral, but this felt like those moments.
"I'm fine ma, we're fine."
Crossing her arms she shook her head. "No, it's not fine Rayvon. There was a shooter on campus, it should never have happened. This wouldn't have happened if we just stayed in New Vegas."
I wanted to agree with her on that. We should have stayed put in New Vegas because coming back here has not been the best for my mental. Too many memories both good and bad. It would only be a matter of time before we received more bad news. Still, we came here for my father, so I didn't want to be right on this.
"Well, there won't be any more shooters there anytime soon. The university is closed for who knows how long, so I won't be hanging out there anymore."
She obviously did not take what I said too well. My bad for trying to make light of the situation. "I'm serious here, you could have been hurt. Worse, you could have died. Have you talked to Buttons? Is she alright?"
I nodded my head as I opened the refrigerator door, "Yeah, she's solid. We're out of eggs, I'm going to run to the store to grab some."
She eyed me for a second before shaking her head again. "What do you need eggs for? You don't eat breakfast."
"Yeah, I know but you need some for baking a cake." I grabbed my jacket and a black bookbag that I brought here with me when we came back. I haven't used it much, but it was handy.
With a raised brow she looked at me suspiciously. I knew why. She's not once seen me bake a day in my life, and here I was talking about making a cake. What kind of cake was I even going to bake? Truthfully, I had no idea.
"I'm baking it for Buttons," I said. Which was sort of true, even if she wasn't a fan of sweet things. She wouldn't turn down a gift I gave her though.
"Uhuh. Let me find out somethings going on between you two."
I laughed at that and headed towards the door. "We're just friends ma."
"Yeah, ok. You want the keys?" She asked me.
"Nah, I'm fine walking. It's not that far from here."
"Alright, be safe, and love you."
"I'm always safe, and love you too," I responded as I closed the door behind me.
★★★
"Well, funny meet you here," I said as I saw a familiar face.
It was Julia who was leaning against a black Buick with tinted windows. The car was elegant and looked new but was probably freshly washed. She was startled by my sudden appearance, but that could be due to the fact she was staring at a house. It belonged to One-Eyed Joe, and the grass was cut. It wasn't like this the last time I was here.
What was the same was the dark windows that seemed to prevent light from entering or exiting.
"Oh, hey," Julia said in a daze. "What are you doing around here?"
"I don't live too far from here, you?" I asked.
"Nothing, just passing time."
"Uhuh, sure you are. Well, don't stand here staring all day, that won't accomplish anything."
Julia lowered the shades on top of her forehead. "I wasn't planning on it. I was just about to leave in fact." She seemed a bit annoyed, a stark difference from how I recall her acting when we first met at the university.
The front door opened up and I saw One-Eyed Joe step out. He looked surprised to see us out here but it was probably Julia he was shocked to see and not me.
"Julia!" He shouted.
"Well, guess I'll see you around Raven." Julia tapped me on the shoulder with her fist as she ignored One-Eyed Joe.
"Wait, don't go!" One-Eyed Joe shouted as he came down from his porch. He wasn't moving too fast, and the limp in his walk reminded me of those old-school pimps.
Julia did not respond to him, she sped off before he could say anything else. I might not have the best of relationships with my own parents, but I'd never do something like this. Made me wonder what happened between the two of them.
"Don't think she's coming back doc," I told him.
"What makes you think that?" I could feel the sarcasm oozing from his voice. "I guess time doesn't heal all wounds." He muttered to himself but I still happened to catch wind of it.
"What do you mean?" I asked prying for a bit more information.
He simply sighed. "Nothing, just a mistake on my part is all."
Shrugging I said, "We all make mistakes, some worse than others. But we bounce back, it's what we do."
"That we do, that we do." He turned to walk back towards his house. "I guess this isn't that bad, I wanted to see you again anyway. Come with me if you've got a minute."
"I'd love to doc, but the thing is I got a run to make."
He turned to look at me from over his shoulder. "It'll only take a minute, and you want to see this."
Checking the time on my phone I noticed I still had some time to spare. This hopefully wouldn't take a long time, because I truly had somewhere to be.
★★★
It sort of amazed me that his house didn't have that old-person smell to it. In fact, there was this peachy scent lingering around in the air. One thing I had to say was that it looked like no one has sat on his furniture in a long time. There was still plastic over it, and the center table had withered flowers.
I took note of the small clear bags he had thrown in the corner. There was Zandilin, Cethanol, and so many more types of drugs. But he had many of the same type that Buttons gave him the last time I was here. I'm talking about stacks on top of stacks. I'd assume he was a drug dealer if I didn't know better by how much he had stashed in that corner.
"Can I get you some water or something?" He asked me.
"Nah, I'm good doc. So, what's up?" I wasn't trying to be here long so it was best to cut to the chase.
He coughed into his shoulder, it was a nasty one too. Sounded like his lungs wanted to come out, but he stood firm and shook his hand towards me when I was going to offer him some help.
"Well, what's up is that you kept your word. Even if she did not stick around, she still came here. It's my fault she left, so can't blame you for that."
Honestly, I'd kind of be pissed if he did blame me. I barely said a word and as soon as she saw him she was ready to never look back.
"I can't take the credit for this one, even if I wanted to. I was going to ask her to come, but with the situation at the university, I never got around to it."
"No, my boy, don't humble yourself. She'd never have come if you hadn't said anything to her about me, I'm sure of it. Besides, you need my help more than you realize." One-Eyed Joe reached behind an old wooden clock above his fireplace. The fireplace had spiderwebs in it that could be seen from where I was standing. He should clean it or light it on fire every now and again.
"I looked further into your situation after you left and I have to tell you, you have one month left at best." He pulled out a folder from behind the wooden clock and handed it to me.
It was the results of the tests he ran on me, showing me more than the doctor in New Vegas ever could. I was momentarily stunned by his words that my mind didn't even register the fact that his data told me it wasn't a ruby that I had in my chest.
"Left for what?" I asked.
"To live." He replied back to me in the tone he always used. It wasn't cold, but it definitely did not comfort me in any way.
"Nah doc, you gotta be joking with me. I feel fine, great even." I told him as I could not believe what I just heard. A month left to live? People that were sick, on death's door were told that news. Not me, no, not healthy people. I mean, there were minor instances of fatigue here and there but that's about it.
"Well, that might be the case sure. However, you cannot deny that you've been feeling the effects of your unique condition. Sweating more than usual? Fatigue? Lack of sleep? I can go on, but these would have slowly built up over time."
He saw the look on my face and placed a hand on my shoulder. "You need to get that cut out of you as soon as possible, or you'll be as good as dead."
For some reason, I thought back to that conversation I had with Buttons. Thought about my dad, then my mom. A month? That would fly by before anyone knew it. I'd have rather taken a bullet by Charlie than go out like this.
"Alright. Alright," I said as I hyped myself up for this. "I'm ready, let's go. We can do this now!"
One-Eyed Joe shook his head at that remark. "Afraid not. I haven't done this type of operation in fifteen years, I can't just jump back into it."
I pushed off his hand which was still resting on my shoulder. "What do you mean you can't? It's like riding a bike, you just don't forget. You told me you could do this, you said it. Besides, weren't you the best surgeon in the state!"
"Exactly, I was the best. My time has long passed." One-Eyed Joe told me as he took a seat on the couch. I followed suit and sat in the chair next to his. The seat wasn't what I would consider soft, but my mind was not focused on that at the moment.
"Besides, even if I were ready to operate I couldn't. I don't have any sedatives that are capable of putting you under for this."
I motioned towards the corner those stacks of drugs were. They would definitely dull the pain and make me feel all good inside, and if the only other option was staying awake then I'd take my chances with those. "What about those?"
"No!" He nearly shouted which startled me as it caught me off guard. I could see his grip tightening on the top of his cane. "I'm not using those, not again."
"Doc, they'll work. I can handle it."
I've never taken drugs a day in my life, but once wouldn't hurt.
"Yeah, that's what they all say. That stuff is no joke, one taste and you'll be one of those addicts looking for their next high. Sure, it will get the job done, but you won't come out of it the same." He sounded like he was speaking from experience. Wonder if this had anything to do with his insanity that was spread all over the news back in the day. It's how I learned about him, how most of us did. We didn't know him from his success, but from the damage he caused as he fell.
I shrugged at that. "It's gotta be better than the alternatives."
"I'm not changing my mind on this one. If you want this operation done, which I suggest you have done as fast as possible. Then bring me some Midzamazim, efficient and safe."
My jaw dropped to the ground. He was insane, I knew it. "Doc, that drug is expensive I can't afford it. Hell, you said it yourself, ninety percent of the world can't afford this operation and that drug is one of the reasons why."
Midzamazim is not a normal drug, it is the drug. The best pill to have come out of a lab since I don't even know what else can compare to it. This drug was so strong that the ad said it could bring you back from death. I'd believe it too because you needed a miracle pill to recover from having a gem extracted from your chest.
Heart surgery was child's play compared to gem extraction. It's why Midzamazim is one of the sole drugs used to extract gems while keeping the patient alive. The others were less effective and had a high chance of causing you to die or become an addict. That's why doctors who specialized in gem extraction were the highest-paid and most sought-after.
"Yeah, and no one is going to sell it legally either. Since you can't afford it, that only leaves one option."
I was all ears for this next part. I'd be willing to sell my soul if it meant I'd continue living. "What's the game plan? You wouldn't have said anything if you hadn't already had something in mind."
One-Eyed Joe nodded. "I do. But you're going to need help, this isn't a one-person job. The risks for that are way too high, and there's no reason to send you to an early grave."
"Just tell me when and where I'll take care of the rest."