Free Changing of the Glads by Joy Spraycar

she?  They seemed familiar, but they couldn’t be. Could they?  The more she thought, the louder the clangs got, and the more pain they caused. 
    Fighting against the blinding light, and the banging and pain, became harder and harder.  Max forged ahead while her footsteps slowed and faltered until, at last, it became all she could do to take one tortured step at a time.  
    Max faded in the distance.  She was sure he was worried about reaching this Kilapon place before the sun sank.  Vile liquid bubbled up in her throat, burning it.  She swallowed hard and leaned against the bumpy bark of the nearest tree.  The ground shifted beneath her.  One leg shot out to catch the sudden change, but her senses tricked her, and she clattered to the ground.
    Now the steady drum of continuous slamming gates filled every inch of her skull as she lay in the poking needles.  She lifted her hand in an effort to signal Max and bring him back.  The sudden movement shot sour liquid into her mouth, and she barely managed to turn her head as it bubbled out and ran down the side of her face.  No strength left to call out.  No way to fight the pain or signal her position to Max. 
    Now, even her eyes refused to open.  The bile rose again and bubbled down the side of her face while she lay helpless to do anything about it.  No longer could she lift the boulders that were her arms and legs.  Every joint cried out.  Even her most trying bout in the arena never affected her like this.  Was this what it felt like to die?  Would Max even notice she wasn’t with him anymore?
    A finger traced her brow.  “Zalphia?  What is wrong?”
    Opening her eyes a sliver, she tried to answer, but her stomach rolled and the liquid bubbling out of her mouth was all she could muster.
    “No! No!”
    The sound of his voice tore at her pounding head, and she squeezed her eyes shut.  She tried to raise her hand and halt his words, but it barely cleared the layer of needles before dropping back down. 
    Kill me now.  Put me out of this misery.
    This was more than she could endure.  If he cared at all for her, he’d end it.
    Max slipped an arm beneath her neck and lifted her head. “Zalphia, please, try to open your eyes.  Look at me.  I know that it hurts, but I need to see your eyes.”
    She clenched her teeth, stuffed the pain back the best she could, and managed to make her eyelids flutter.  Light shot a bolt four times stronger than the lightning stick straight into her brain, and a shriek ripped from her throat.
    “No, it cannot be.  Oh, dear Selestia. Platy chipped you.”
    His words ripped through her, pulling muscle from bone and arching her back.  Another scream echoed through the trees.
    As Max laid her back down, the simple poke of the needles against her legs stole her attention.  How could she feel that when pain more intense than anything she’d ever suffered serrated every nerve?
    “Zalphia... can you hear me?”
    She managed a subtle nod, but the movement sent a million knifes cutting through everything from her eyes to the back of her head.
    “I must remove the chip, do you understand?”
    Stop talking.  Stop the pain. 
    She didn’t care what he did now.  If only he would quit adding more to what she already bore. 
    “I have no painkillers.  Nothing to deaden the area in which I need to work.”
    She managed to brush a finger against his knee.  Whatever this chip was, she wished he’d hurry and get it out. 
    “ Pleaaaseee.”  The sound of her voice sent shock waves rolling over every inch of her body.
    Max entered her mind.  He tried to lead her to their spot with the tree and the tinkling water, but he faded before she could grab his hand.
    Hold on to my voice.  Listen to the music.
    He sang to her. 
    More pain joined what was going on inside as she felt Max working just above her hairline. 
    A flap of skin folded over her aching eyes, turning the red she was seeing through her closed eyelids to deep