Chapter 19

It seemed to Paul to take forever from the instant Quince fired to the moment that the bullet slammed into him. Paul could remember being surprised at the force of the impact. He had slumped to the floor, feeling his blood staining his blouse.

He was surprised that there was no pain. That means the damage is very bad, thought a corner of his mind. He had no time to ponder it further as the world rushed away, leaving only darkness.

Paul had brief snatches of awareness in the ambulance, and later as he was rushed to an operating table. After an endless instant, he became aware of a dark tunnel which he seemed to be plunging through at high speed. There was no feeling of motion.

Looking ahead, he could see a bright, white light, which somehow didn't hurt his eyes. As he approached, he could see human figures in the light, beckoning to him.

"We're losing her!" said the nurse standing next to the surgeon.

The surgeon continued working at breakneck speed. This girl had been very unlucky. He had seen people riddled with bullets survive with ease. She had only been shot once, but it might have done enough to finish her. "Just hold on, girl." he told his patient.

Paul came to a stop just outside the light. He could still feel a strong link to his body on the operating table. He wanted to reach the light so badly, yet he knew he couldn't leave his life behind.

With that thought, the light receded, and he accelerated back the way he had come.

He awoke to dull feeling of pain across his chest. He was dimly aware of being in a bed with various things strapped to him. Paul cracked open his eyes and saw Mandy and Anne standing over him.

Anne smiled. "Welcome back. We thought we'd lost you there."

"The docs say you're doing fine," Mandy added.

Anne doesn't look angry, Paul thought groggily. He had many questions he wanted to ask, but he was already drifting back to sleep.

"You'd best leave her to sleep for now." The nurse said to Anne and Mandy. "We'll let you know when she wakes up again."

Anne nodded. She and Mandy headed back out of the ward. "I'll be glad when I can get Paul out of here and back home." she said.

"Don't you think you've done enough?" Mandy asked sharply.

"What are you talking about?"

"Paul told me what you did to him!" she said hotly. "You deliberately infected him with that virus and turned him half female!"

Anne looked at Mandy in amazement. "That's not the way it happened at all. My lab assistant, Jim, accidentally caught the virus. He became a copy of my niece. While he was in a female body, Paul got him drunk and had sex with him. Paul picked up the virus, and it started transforming him from the head down. If I hadn't got there when I did, he would have been completely female. He must have thought I set the whole thing up. No wonder he ran off."