Extensis Vitae - By Gregory Mattix Page 0,2

machine next to him. “Everything looks good here… Can you speak?”

He opened his mouth and gagged on the tube.

“Oh, sorry. It might help if I removed that. Hold still.” She slowly began pulling the tube out of his mouth. He unsuccessfully fought not to gag again as it slid out of his throat.

“Is that better?” Myrna asked. She coiled the tube up neatly on the rack with the beeping machine.

“Yes,” he gasped. He realized his throat was as dry as a bone. “Water.”

“Of course,” she replied and walked over to the sink and filled a glass with water. As she turned back toward him, her lab coat swung open and he noticed she was wearing some sort of dark uniform beneath it.

“Let me help you sit up first.” She reached down and unfastened the restraint from one wrist and then walked around to the other side of the table to undo the other. He was shirtless, wearing only some type of thin hospital pants. Her hand was warm on his back as she helped him sit up. A wave of dizziness hit him, but it quickly passed.

She held the glass up to his lips. “Drink slowly; you don’t want to get sick. You haven’t really had anything in your stomach in, well—forever, I guess.” The water was cool and refreshing on his parched throat. Now that he was sitting up, he noticed there was an IV in his arm. Myrna was watching him intently.

“Where am I? Is this a military hospital?”

“No, not military…not a hospital, either. Do you remember your name?”

No, he thought as he drew a blank. But then he remembered scraps of the dream. “Reznik…my name is Reznik?” It came out almost sounding like a question, but once the name crossed his lips, it felt right.

“Yes, that’s what it says in your file. Good!” She smiled for the first time. “How are you feeling, Mr. Reznik?”

“A little weak and dizzy, but no pain.” For a moment, he thought back to the dream. He probed his side where he had been shot, but the skin was smooth and unblemished. Did that really happen to me? he wondered. It had felt so real—like he was reliving a past event. “That’s strange—I remember getting shot, but there’s no scar or anything. I don’t know…it must have just been a dream.”

Myrna looked at him with some concern. “It’s probably just some disorientation. Other than the dizziness and confusion, are you feeling well?” He nodded. “That’s good. You would probably like to get dressed.”

She moved to unfasten the leg restraints when a voice boomed from the doorway, “Hold on! Myrna, what are you doing?” Myrna stepped away and turned toward the door.

A heavyset man entered the room, concern on his face. He looked to be in his mid fifties with graying hair, a mustache, and a large paunch. He wore a navy blue uniform similar to what Myrna was wearing under her lab coat. It didn’t look military, but more like some type of utility uniform. There was gaudy gold ornamentation on the shoulder board and a logo of a golden phoenix with the words ‘Extensis Vitae’ on the breast. He looks like a South American dictator out of a B-movie, Reznik thought. All he needs are some aviator shades and a cigar in his mouth.

“You need to be careful, Myrna! We don’t know what this man’s mental state is. We don’t have any research data for this procedure.” Myrna shrugged, unabashed. Her eyes flicked over to Reznik and then back to the heavyset man.

The man turned to Reznik and a smile easily replaced the scowl he had given Myrna. “Pleased to meet you, good sir! I’m Malcolm Swanson, administrator of this facility. How are you feeling? I take it Myrna’s taken good care of you?”

Politician of some sort, Reznik thought. “Yes sir, she was kind enough to fetch me a glass of water and remove these restraints,” he replied. “Other than that, I’m not sure what else she did…or even what was wrong with me, for that matter.”

Swanson beamed. “Excellent! She’s a brilliant young woman—being able to take over her father’s work like this. We have much to talk about! But right now, if you’ll excuse us, I need to speak to Myrna for a moment in private.”

“Sure,” Reznik replied.

Swanson gestured out the door and Myrna walked outside with him. Reznik could hear their footsteps receding as they went down the hall. From what he could hear of their discussion, it seemed