Chapter Four: Black Mass — Part 5

When Jynx wakes up next, she is treated to the blushing faces of Paige and Heath, dressed in what look to be stylized nurses outfits, complete with the red diamond the Red Cross might choose to use when on soil once poisoned by the Crusades. Paige is carrying a tray that has a bowl full of warm soup, a cup of pills, a glass of orange juice, and a plate of crackers, while Heath is holding tray with a bowl of warm soapy water, clear water, and a sponge. Jynx sits up, head spinning, and pops her neck first one direction. She points to Paige first, smiling kindly, and Paige lights up. As Paige slinks over and sets the tray down, all she can do is wonder why Daria would bother to pack French inspired knee length anime style nurses outfits on a trip to Japan. Paige sets the tray on Jynx’s lap, and Jynx smacks her hands as Paige tries to spoon feed her patient. Jynx picks up the bowl of hot soup in shaky hands and sips it. Something wonderful teases her palate: A mix of beef, pork, fish, chicken, and potato, all pasted into a broth with what tastes like curry and honey.

“Yes.” She says gently, as if it is the best meal she has ever eaten.

At Paige’s prompting, Jynx drinks slowly, despite the urge to fill her stomach. She nibbles on the crackers, sips the juice, and when she is done with the soup, she is shaky but refreshed. Finally, Paige urges her to take three pills Jynx has purposely ignored in lieu of a meal. Once Paige has taken the dishes from the bed, Heath rushes forward, ready to do her part, but Jynx raises a hand. Heath has the tray with two warm bowls of water balanced on one hand, and the sponge in the other, and Jynx is quite familiar with how they are used, though she can’t figure out how she knows. Her eyes shift to Heath, and Jynx closes all her fingers slowly, so that only her index finger is projected upward, and her thumb, unexpectedly stiff, fails to close as cleanly as she would like. She disapprovingly shakes her finger, causing Heath to stop short of the bed.

“No.” Jynx says quietly.

“It’s been a week with you in bed.” Heath says quietly, looking a little concerned.

“And I thank you for tending to me while I couldn’t tend to myself. But I think I can manage on my own now.” Jynx says. “Now turn around, both of you, or get out.”

Once Heath and Paige have their backs to her, Jynx stands up, pulls her panties off, setting them in a hamper she has just noticed at the end of her bed. She is surprised to find that they are the only clothes she is wearing. She hadn’t thought herself topless a moment ago, though Paige had been quite professional, Jynx knows now why both girls were blushing. Putting aside the illusory notion of embarrassment, Jynx begins the scrub down with her face. She is thankful for short hair. She had been lithe before, and her muscle tone is still there, but the happy layer of feminine fat is gone, her body apparently having been pressed to its limits during her recovery. She rinses her hair in one basin, washes it, and rinses it again. Then she sponges her entire body down with the soapy water, and rinses off, working from her shoulders to her toes. She takes a towel and dries herself, shivering despite the warm air in the tent.

Then her fingers find a disparity. She feels the dent in her face, a pucker like a dimple still tender to the touch, and the hint of an ‘X’ shape centered on the indentation. She traces her fingers across a slight gummy residue, hinting at tape that tacked something to the side of her face. She remembers the dream of a stainless steel mosquito, sucking at her cheek, not knowing entirely what to think of it. She is clean now, and finds some pajamas on the end of her bed, a clean pair of ChoCho’s boxers lying on top. Jynx smiles, putting on the boxers and pajamas, looking for slippers or sandals, and upon finding none, she sits down quietly, ready to assess herself.

“Nurse Paige, Nurse Heath.” Jynx says gently, “I need a mirror.”

“Okay, we’ll go get one.” Heath says.

The two of them leave together, causing Jynx a bit of concern. Once alone, she begins to test her strength, to get a feel for her shaky body. She stands, lifts the end of the cot. It feels heavy, and her fingers ache with the effort. The shake is stronger on the left side, and she’s aware of a sort of numbness, patches here and there, as if parts of her are tingling in and out of existence. She sits down, winded, shivering and chilled. Before she had been unconcerned, facing down death’s door with no real concern for the darkness or the light. Now, having somehow survived what should have been something rather routine, Jynx is shaken and scared.

What the hell happened to me? She thinks.

A minute later, her mind blank, grasping at pieces of things half remembered, the entrance flap to the tent pulls open and Joe comes in, dressed in swim shorts and a cheesy floral shirt, massive straw hat spreading out to his shoulders. He takes off the hat, exposing a solid tan and a distinct smile. He’s holding a hand mirror, but he isn’t offering it to Jynx. Instead, he sits across from her, his deep baritone voice somehow comforting. He sighs before he talks, gathering his thoughts. Jynx wants to hit him, but there is no way Joe can know this.

“I sent ChoCho and Daria on an expedition to the north shore, as we didn’t expect you to be ambulatory for another day. Sorry he wasn’t here to greet you, but we needed to go looking for more medical supplies, and those two move fast. I bet you’re wanting to know what’s been going on with you for the past week, right?”

“You gonna tell me, Joe, or are you gonna flirt with the words?” Jynx is starting to get pissed, and she’s not entirely sure why.

Joe smiles, unnerving and charismatic. He sets the mirror on her lap, face down, and waits for her to lift it and take a look.