Just like any doctor's office, the room was eerily quiet save for the ever slightest buzz of the computer stationed on the desk. The healing that Marcie just received was a very welcome one, even though she still felt unnaturally tired. The poor woman has hardly been able to rest since the incident at the Association, and neither has her two companions.
Angelo had looked especially haggard in all his efforts to improve Marcie's condition. A pang in her heart caught Marcie's breath when she realized her new friend's current state was because of her. When Angelo caught her glance, he only gave her a reassuring smile.
The doctor once again confirmed with Marcie that she consented for the two men to be present when discussing the exam results. She didn't hesitate to give it though. They have done so much for Marcie and have made it clear their adamant support for the change in her career moving forward. 'They deserve to know what they are getting into by taking me on…'
Opening up the folder in his hands, the Doctor took a seat on the other side of the desk. He browsed the file for a moment before he began. "Miss Bromley, it says here that you suffer from spinal fractures and a build-up of scar tissue in your body which has rendered you nearly entirely paralyzed from the waist-down, correct?"
Marcie only nodded before he continued. "And this injury originally occurred just over two years ago, as a survivor of the Harben Bridge incident?" Marcie nodded again, not really wanting to recall her memories of that time.
"It shows in your medical records that you sustained a multitude of injuries during that accident including a crushed lower body, a broken collarbone, severe whiplash, multiple lacerations, and impalement in two locations in your torso by rebar that had launched from the freight truck behind you… correct?"
Marcie winced while he listed off the injuries. Both Angelo and Richard gawked in utter amazement at the miracle that sat between them, while simultaneously fighting back the tears that wanted to well up in their eyes hearing about the tragedy. "...Yes… that's correct…" she nearly whispered.
"It also says here that once released from the hospital, you have been trying out all sorts of different therapies to try to regain your lost mobility?" Marcie caught a glimpse of the list he was looking at on her paper. "Yes… no matter what I tried, nothing ever seems to help in any significant way. My family doctor told me that I should be well on the way to being recovered by now…"
One could hear the hopeless tone in her voice. She recalled how her family doctor would constantly lecture her about not being lazy and that regular therapy is the only way to get better, believing that Marcie has been lying the entire time about her efforts. She was losing her faith in the medical industry when she met her very patient physiotherapist she goes to now. Richard gave her hand a little pat.
"Yes, I have your family doctor's notes here too. He wrote that he believes your inability to recover is entirely psychological and that you disregard his advice for consistent therapy, however the rest of your record shows a great dedication to it. Have you ever wondered why you haven't been able to get better at all after two years?" The doctor flipped to the next page.
Marcie's frown twisted and her brows furled. "Of course I've wondered! It made no sense to me why I haven't healed at all since then and no medical professional has been able to help me find out!" she clenched the blanket keeping her lap warm. "It can't be all in my head if even my medical exams are coming up 'No change' don't you think?"
The doctor nodded and slid some sheets towards them. Richard picked them up to show the three of them better. At first, they didn't really know what they were looking at. The doctor pointed at the images with his pen.
"The Harben Bridge incident was one of the first instant dungeons to occur in our country. It's no surprise that we were ill-prepared for it. The public have only been told the obvious that portals suck in people in the first 5 minutes that they open, but what you don't hear about it is how an unsecured portal may also spew out creatures from the dungeon."
Marcie wasn't sure what he was getting at but she let him continue. "At that incident in particular, there were reports of other small mounds of strange flesh and organs scattered about the wreckage. We concluded that whatever they were, did not survive in our atmosphere."
The doctor handed them imaging scans and pointed to a specific section. "You were told before that this was a build-up of scar tissue around your spine, correct?" Marcie nodded even slower now. She could feel her heart beginning to race as she stared at the image. "We nearly missed it while we were giving you tests earlier. The only reason why we caught it was because we had to expose you to high levels of energy. Miss Bromley, that isn't scar tissue, that is an otherworldly parasite."
Inward panic set in as she stared, unblinking at the revelation on the page before her. Richard quickly rubbed her back to snap her out of it though only partially succeeded. The doctor slipped over some graphs and charts from the tests. "It appears that the parasite has been feeding off the energy and nutrients your body sends to repair your spine. It has been keeping you in a permanent state of injury. We think it entered your body through one of your wounds and has been camouflaging itself since."
The doctor paused for a moment. "Miss Bromley, you should have died that day. By all rights, there should have been no way for a non-awakened to have survived what you did. It is likely that this parasite, in order to ensure its immediate survival, integrated itself in with your organs and kept you alive."
More papers found their way across the table. "Since your awakening, it looks like the parasite has begun to reach its mature stages. There is a strong possibility that instead of just keeping you in a suspended state, that it will either kill or take over the host completely. If that's the case, Miss Bromley, it is imperative that we remove it as soon as possible."