The next morning, Joe managed to eat the breakfast of toast, yoghurt and a banana, though his lack of coordination made everything a struggle. Kaden didn’t look his way, so he probably didn’t recall the late-night visit Joe had made. Or maybe he’d thought it was a dream.
Two men in white coats came to Joe’s bed and pulled the curtains around.
“I’m Dr Willis, the hospital safeguarding officer. This is Dr Walker.”
Joe nodded, fearing trouble.
“I’m just going to examine you again,” Walker told him.
Joe lay still while they checked his arms, legs, head, then his chest, blood pressure and throat. They had him sit, stand, try to walk. When he collapsed, they caught him and eased him backdown. They looked at his reflexes, eyes and ears. Not one part of him was left unexamined. Joe was still fascinated by his new body. He couldn’t help wondering if his cock would work like Kaden’s. It hadn’t been hard this morning.
“Do you know the patient in the bed nearest the door?” Willis asked.
Joe shook his head.
“We have a problem. You were found on the same floor of the hospital, within an hour of each other. One of you has a throat injury too severe to be accidental. You have unexplained neurological issues and muscle wastage. You claim not to be able to speak, but there’s no apparent reason why you can’t.”
Joe opened his mouth and tried to sayasylum.“Ass…lee…men.”What?His forehead creased. He didn’t understand why he couldn’t speak the words he had in his head.
Willis handed him a pad and pencil. “Write down your name.”
Joe was pretty sure writing was beyond him. He’d intended to pretend to struggle to get his hands around the pencil, but he didn’t need to. He was too clumsy to hold it, let alone write legibly. Though he tried to write Jalis. That wasn’t what it looked like.
The tears were genuine and a shock.Leaking.He felt overwhelmed. He’d thought he knew enough to pass as human, and he didn’t.
“Lift your arm, close your eyes, and touch your nose with your finger,” Walker said.
Joe hit his cheek. He tried again and still missed. Was that significant?
The two men went to the other side of the curtain and Joe heard them talking quietly about him.
“Faking?” Willis asked.
“I don’t know. He should have been able to touch his nose. The tox screen came back negative. He’s severely anaemic. Extremely low in some essential elements. Underweight. His heart rate is too fast. He could be suffering from some rare neurological condition. Maybe he was held somewhere and starved. According to the nursing staff, he ate the breakfast so I don’t think he has an eating disorder. We could get a psychiatrist to talk to him but if he can’t or won’t talk back…”
“He tried.”
“He appeared to try.”
“You think he’s lying about knowing the other patient?”
“I have no idea. He can’t walk. That’s real. So how did he get into the hospital?”
“We can have the CCTV checked. See if they arrived together. If they did, I think we should call the police. We have no idea who he is. He can’t or won’t tell us. He has no ID on him, just a small amount of cash. No phone. That alone sets alarm bells ringing. If he assaulted the other patient, we might be in trouble having them on the same ward, though he doesn’t look strong enough to do anything.”
“Maybe they both took the same drug but he had less than the other man.”
“But we’ve not found a trace of any drug we recognise.”
“Something new? A dare that went wrong? I’ve ordered further blood tests.”
Their voices faded and then they were gone. Joe wiped away his tears. If they linked him to Kaden, Joe might be charged with assault. Hewasguilty but not in a way they’d understand.
His body and mind needed time to develop. He’d read a lot about the human body, but in that mass of data, he struggled to find an explanation for why his muscles and brain weren’t working in tandem. He kept looking and eventually found it. Proprioception. Something that told the brain where body partswere in relation to each other. It should have enabled him to touch his nose. He should have been able to do it. Proprioceptors were located in tendons, muscles, and joints. He hoped his body would develop them. Though he could feel he had arms and legs. It wasn’t as if he’d lost the sensation of having a body.
As for his vocal cords, he probably needed to practise speaking, getting the right balance of breath, sound and meaning. And also practise holding a cup and using cutlery.
He kept telling himself to be patient.
