A New Strange Sight

John turned back to the Gorbachevs only to be startled once more. Both of them had an additional eye open on their faces. Tricia’s third eye appeared in the center of her forehead, with a black sclera and bright red veins leading to a crimson iris, it was an imposing sight to behold, and instinct told John that this eye was very dangerous if it were to be focused on him.

In comparison, Michelle’s eye seemed far more gentle. While located in the same spot on her face as Tricia’s, it appeared to replace one of the three eye like tattoos that had been hidden under her beanie cap. The sclera of her eye was a lovely shade of azure surrounding an iris of emerald green that encompassed a pool of obsidian. And unlike Tricia’s third eye, John got a feeling of peace and contentment.

Then John saw a pop up appear before him.

Confused, John looked back at Michelle who in turn looked away sheepishly, then he looked at Tricia, but her third eye had already disappeared.

“What’s going on here?” John asked looking back and forth between the two of them expectantly.

“We are from the same,” Tricia paused as if grasping for the right word to use, “clan, you could say. We have a unique ability that manifests in extra eyes, as you just witnessed. We don’t like to advertise this ability as even in the Abyss the uncanny valley still exists and most people find it disturbing.”

“Wait a minute,” John held his hand up, “the uncanny valley? Are you talking about the phenomenon that humans have with things that look like they’re human but are slightly off, like humanoid looking androids?”

“Exactly,” replied Tricia. “But since we are known for our healers and the ease in which we are able to gather information, we hide the full extent of our abilities. Now do you have any other questions for us before we continue with the examination?”

John shook his head and watched as the drones began to circle him. While he was busy watching the drones scan him, another drone popped out of the bag that the others had come from and floated over to the drone that Ryoko had bitten. The flying drone began to scan the broken drone even as the others continued to scan John with the same colored light.

A small beep issued from the drone broke the silence and startled John before flying back to Tricia with a small whir of its fan. Tricia looked at the data the drone was displaying to her with a dispassionate face, as if nothing in the world could reach her. John thought about it and realized he hadn’t seen any other reaction from from the Gorbachev doctor, whereas Michelle was a vibrant ball of energy.

“Are you okay?” John asked hesitantly as the drones around him continued their scan unabated. “It is just that you don’t seem to react to anything and it is a little bit worrisome.”

“I am fine,” Tricia said, and although the tone stayed the same, John could practically feel the ice in that statement warning him not to inquire further. Luckily he didn’t have to.

“It is because she is hiding behind a special suit that she developed,” Michelle stated happily, completely ignoring Tricia’s sudden stare. “It helps her to be safe around other people by controlling her emotions.”

Before Michelle could explain any further, a shiver went up the three spines in the room and a pop up appeared before John informing him that the barrier had been invaded and turned into a trap barrier.

“How big is this barrier supposed to be?” John asked Tricia and Michelle quickly.

“Only the size of this room,” Tricia explained, “maybe a little beyond that.” Her voice didn’t change as she walked over to her bag and reached in to pull out some parts.

While Tricia did that, Michelle drew an odd looking pistol from a hidden holster at the small of her back and crept over to the door. She paused there listening.

John looked at Michelle and realized that he should arm himself as well. He pulled out his dagger and equipped the hidden blade that Gaia had given him. He was amazed at how natural it looked to be on his arm, and he would have been very surprised if anyone actually noticed it if he was wearing short sleeves, as he was sure that long sleeves would cover it completely. He turned and looked back at Tricia, opening his mouth to say something.

He saw that she had made something that looked like a futuristic tank, which she promptly set on the floor. It rolled silently over to Michelle by the door just as the drones that had been scanning him beeped. All of the drones flew over to Tricia’s bag of surprises.

“So, what’s my prognosis?” John asked in a weak, self-deprecating tone, somewhat embarrassed by his lack of ability to defend himself.

’Note to self, get gear before the next time you get into a situation like this,’ John thought to himself as he waited to hear the results.

However, Tricia was not exactly forthcoming with answers. “I will have to study the data later when it is safe to do so,” she stated flatly as the drones that had flown into her bag came back out, each of them armed with various weapons.

“Stay behind us,” Michelle told him with a soft encouraging smile. “We wouldn’t want you to get hurt and wind up back in a coma, now would we?” This got a chuckle out of John and he nodded his agreement to her.

With a nod from Tricia, Michelle opened the door of the examination room to what was supposed to be a hallway. Only that wasn’t quite where it led to.