The tests that followed were all equally outside the realm of the typical and inside the realm of science fiction. The machines that Marcie had to go into were massive and she was pretty sure one of them had a sort of built-in cooling system. She jumped when it would release pent-up air pressure from who-knows where.
The nurses had begun to mutter to each other and pulled in some doctors to take a look at her exam results. It seems like they were deliberating over something. One nurse approached Marcie with a hurried hop to her step.
"Miss Marcie, we are going to do one last test here. You might feel some strange sensations as we are going to be increasing the machines sensitivities and power output. While you shouldn't feel anything more than tingles and possibly some discomfort, it should not be painful." The nurse began to strap Marcie securely to the machine, much to the patient's dismay. "This is just to make sure you stay still and don't fall off the table. This output might make some of your muscles move involuntarily and we don't want you to get hurt."
What the heck were they going to do to have to strap her down?! Despite how calm everyone was trying to be, Marcie could feel her heartbeat picking up pace and her breath wavering. "It's okay, it's okay… I'm okay, I'm okay, I'm okay…" She faintly whispered, eyes closed, in anticipation for what was to come.
As the machine revved up once again, the control room became crowded with medical professionals. Some poised themselves just outside the control room to be ready in case something went wrong with the machine with nervous looks worn on their faces. Perhaps it was a good thing that Marcie couldn't see them. Her breath held when the machine clacked and the revving of the motors had sped up and gotten louder, as though shifting into another gear.
Ding!~
The sudden imbuement of extreme energy has affected an unknown presence within the body. Damage to the spinal cord and organs are at risk.
A weird sensation was an understatement. In that moment, Marcie could feel something move. Was this the involuntary muscle spasms the nurse talked about? No, this was different. It felt foreign. Marcie's entire body tensed and seized and her back arched up off the table. Indeed something was wrong, very very wrong.
The machine surged on, its machinations functioning now at full output. The room and surrounding area on the facilities was filled with the booming of the exam device, similar to the way a train's engine shakes the heart when standing too close. To Marcie, it was overwhelming. The sound and pressure of the machine seemed almost rhythmic like pulses as it ran to the point where Marcie couldn't even feel the little bit of blood dripping from her ears.
She couldn't move at all, as though she was completely encased in concrete. Her breathing labored as she tried to maintain some semblance of reason and consciousness. The staff were extremely tense, one nurse pleaded for the machine to shut off but the doctor held her off. "Just a few more seconds! We need this reading to come through or else we have to do it again, and we don't want to put the patient through another test!"
A few seconds in that moment felt like the kind of minutes that feel like hours. But sure enough, the signal was given and the power output was pulled back and eventually turned off. Marcie could feel her body spasm like it wanted to relax, but the intensity she just went through would not allow it. Indeed, it wasn't necessarily painful, but it was absolutely overwhelming. She was too exhausted from the experience to realize the nurses had rushed to her side and began checking her over, wiping the blood, giving her water and massages, anything to help Marcie recover.
The water was perhaps a bad idea though as it just gave her fuel to vomit. Strangely, Marcie felt a little bit better after, almost lighter in feeling. The nurses helped her change into fresh gowns before wheeling her back to the lounge.
Richard and Angelo were chatting to some other patients when the nurse brought Marcie out to them. They were happy to see her out, but turned distressed when they saw her condition. Angelo moved to apply some healing to her back while Richard noticed the smallest amount of blood on her ear lobe. "What happened?"
The nurse frowned a bit as she handed her over to the two men. "The last exam was a particularly intense one. You were right to suspect there was something wrong with her body. We had to use a rather extreme amount of energy in order for the machine to be able to pick it up. The doctors are processing the examinations and we will be going over the results shortly."
Marcie's eyes fluttered before coming back so some life thanks to Angelo's healing. "I'm cold…" she whispered to Angelo tugging on his sleeve with a gentle weakness. Angelo nodded, waiving a nearby nurse for his friend.
"Please wait here and we'll call her back in shortly for discussion. If she wants, you may join her this time." The nurse glanced towards Marcie and her expression fell in pity before she excused herself. Richard immediately joined Angelo in tending to their friend.