Free Earthfall by Mark Walden

convulsed, his back arching off the bed and his arms thrashing wildly.
    ‘Help me!’ Stirling yelled at Rachel and Will as he fought to hold Sam down. They ran over to the bed just as Sam’s eyes flew wide open, staring at the ceiling. He let out an unearthly howling scream. Will lay across his legs while Rachel and Stirling took a firm hold of an arm each, trying to pin him to the bed.
    ‘Good God,’ Stirling said, staring wide-eyed at Sam’s chest. The green veins that covered his torso were vanishing as they watched, retreating rapidly towards the site of the original wound. Within just a few seconds the traces of the toxin had almost completely faded and Sam relaxed, settling back on to the bed, his eyes closed again and his breathing ragged.
    ‘What happened?’ Rachel asked, eyes wide with amazement.
    ‘I have no idea,’ Stirling replied, shaking his head and relaxing his grip on Sam’s arm. ‘I’ve never seen anything like it.’
    Moments later Sam’s eyes fluttered open and he looked up at Rachel with a confused frown.
    ‘Morning,’ Rachel said with a worried smile.
    Sam lifted his head from the pillow and looked slowly around the room.
    ‘Hate to sound corny,’ Sam said after a few seconds, his voice croaky, ‘but I have to ask. Where am I?’ The room he was lying in had bare concrete walls with no windows and was lit by fluorescent lights protected by wire cages mounted on the ceiling. There were a couple of other camp beds against the opposite wall and at the far end of the room was a long bench that was covered with medical equipment.
    ‘Safe,’ Rachel said. ‘Don’t worry.’
    ‘Safe, that’s good. You’re real too. Also good.’
    ‘I’m happy to say that, yes, I am in fact one hundred per cent real,’ Rachel said as Sam lifted his head from the bed and looked around. ‘You had us worried for a while there.’
    ‘Indeed you did, Mr Riley,’ Stirling said. ‘How are you feeling?’
    ‘Like I got beaten up,’ Sam said with a slightly pained smile. ‘By a gorilla.’
    ‘Well, you appear to have made a truly miraculous recovery,’ Stirling said with a slight frown. ‘The problem being that I don’t believe in miracles.’
    ‘How long have I been out?’ Sam asked, rubbing his eyes.
    ‘Three days,’ Rachel said.
    ‘Really?’ Sam said. ‘I don’t remember anything after we headed down into that Tube station, to be honest.’
    ‘You passed out just after that,’ Rachel said. ‘Me and Jay managed to get you back here in one piece, but you’ve been unconscious ever since. It’s nice to see you with your eyes open again.’
    ‘Allow me to introduce myself,’ Stirling said. ‘I’m Doctor Iain Stirling and this is my assistant, William, and we’ve been looking after you for the past few days.’
    ‘Hello,’ Sam said, ‘and thank you.’
    ‘You’re quite welcome. Now, if you don’t mind I’d like to take a look under here,’ Stirling said, pointing at the dressing on Sam’s chest.
    ‘Help yourself,’ Sam said, letting his head fall back on to the pillow. Stirling carefully peeled back the dressing.
    ‘How extraordinary,’ he said as he examined Sam’s injury. The wound, which had been showing no signs of improvement just a couple of hours ago, had now fully closed and scabbed over, as if it had been healing for days.
    ‘That’s impossible,’ Will said, shaking his head.
    ‘Clearly not,’ Stirling replied, raising an eyebrow. ‘William, would you be so kind as to take another sample of Mr Riley’s blood for me. I believe that I might have some more tests to run after all.’
    ‘Of course,’ Will said. He picked up an empty syringe from the tray on the table next to the bed and turned towards Sam. ‘Is it OK if I just . . . ?’
    ‘Go ahead,’ Sam said, extending his arm. He winced slightly as the needle went in, watching as Will drew a small quantity of blood. ‘So how far did you and Jay have to carry me?’ he asked Rachel as Will busied