Cairo

Chapter 2: Rumors

"Don't you need it?"

"Kleptos don't need to eat," she said quietly, moving the banana again for Cane to take.

"Oh... I forgot. Sorry," he said, staring at the banana in his hand. Cane took a deep breath pushing the ice pack harder against his head. "Actually, I think I'm going to take a walk. And! I don't need you to follow me, Aerie. Cairo's probably still hurt, so you can watch him. I'll leave the banana and ice pack for him, though."

She nodded her head as Cane closed the door behind him. The hallway walls were made out of white brick and the floor was hard cement. Only a few lights hung in the hallway. They were so dim that either way, with no windows, it felt more like a prison than a clinic. It could could have been easy to feel claustrophobic-close walls, no light, and tight spaces could easily make the mind see the walls closing in on its victim. This was better than the slums they were in at Crimson City, but this was only on the outskirts of the slums, and was still considered part of the slums by most people. The people that lived here had a better living, though it was by a slim line.

Cane pushed the thoughts to the back of his mind as an elderly man with a white coat walked out of a room a door down. He looked at Cane with a fierce defense before his eyes softened on recognition, a smile dancing on his lips. "Oh, you're one of the boys that came here from Crimson City. I'm surprised you can walk already. You've got a pretty bad bruise by your ribs. They were almost broke. Make sure not to apply more pressure on them or they will break." 

"It still really hurts," Cane said, taking a glance at his ribs before sucking in a breath as a shot of pain coursed through him. He fought with another urge to wrap his arms tightly around himself.

"I'd be surprised if it didn't'!" He threw his head back as he laughed, though his face was serious again when he stopped laughing to look at Cane. "It's supposed to hurt, boy. What did you expect after you almost broke your ribs? This isn't something a bowl of ice cream and a hot bath can fix. You have some serious injuries and I don't recommend walking through the clinic. I already yelled at your other friend about this, so both of you be good kids and rest up some more."

"Where are we?" Cane asked. "The last thing I remember was blacking out in Crimson City. I don't know what happened, where I am, or most of what you're talking about."

"Mmm. That's understandable." He nodded his head, running a hand over his white moustache.  "My clinic is just between Crimson City and Edna. When you came here, I thought you'd died. You inhaled enough smoke to kill a grown man, but somehow miraculously you survived, though your airways did shut down for a short time almost immediately after you got here. The fainting was also due to your lack of oxygen and dysfunctional airways. That headache you have is from the carbon monoxide you inhaled-it'll probably be followed by nausea, vomiting, and more confusion."

"So, are you going to give me more tests?" 

"I don't need to give you more tests if you're wandering around my clinic!" he yelled. "Get back in your damn room and sleep." 

"Yessir," Cane said as fast as he could, a brisk bob to the head. "Right away, sir."

Another series of knife stabs coursed through Cane's body as he turned on his heel and ran for the safety of the room he came from. It was hard to ignore it when everything on his body felt like it was about to fall off or was being crushed by something at least one-hundred times his weight. He took a long breath as he pushed himself against the door of the room he woke up in. Cairo opened one of his eyes, a slight smirk parading on his lips. 

"Got yelled at too, did you?" Cairo asked, adding a laugh at the end that sounded more like a snort. He took Cane's silence as a yes and continued on. "So did I. He called me a runt, and when he heard I worked for the Government, threw a chair at me. I fell flat on my butt and couldn't move for a good five minutes. He's crazy. The sooner we get out of here the better."