An insistent knock came from the back hall.
Dr. Milwaí reluctantly turned away from exam one and headed back to check it out.
The knocking came from the emergency exit.
She put in her key to unlock the alarm and opened the door to find the vixen morph from the flyers.
“Doc, I need your help.”
“Alice, they’re looking for you.” She pulled the vixen inside and shut the door.
“I know. They think I hurt Kerry, but I didn’t.”
“Alright, let’s go to my office.” Anjela glanced down the hall as she hurried the vixen to her office and shut the door. “What happened?”
Alice sat down on the sofa, “I came downstairs, and she was upside down and Nancy came in and started screaming and said I killed her, and she called the police, and I just ran.”
“She was just upside down? Are you sure she was dead?”
“She wasn’t moving the whole time Nancy was screaming.” Alice shook her hands frantically. “I don’t know what to do.”
“Well, first thing is you’re going to breathe and calm down so you can think clearly.”
“Calm down?”
“Yes, calm, so we can sort this out.”
Alice took a deep breath and forced herself to sit still.
“Stay here for a bit. They came by earlier, so they probably won’t look here again. I’ve got to tend to some other patients, but I’ll try to find out what is going on with Kerry.” Dr. Milwaí put her hand on Alice’s shoulder comfortingly then headed back to the hall.
The officers stepped out of exam 3 followed by Dr. Kansas. He nodded as they thanked him and left, then turned back to beckon Dr. Milwaí closer. “So, Pardu in here was in a car crash. Apparently, his owner ran a light, and they were t-boned, flipped over. The other driver died on the scene and his owner was rushed to the hospital. The police were thinking the morph may have done something to cause the crash, but it was pretty clear he was broken up about his master getting hurt. He’s no killer.”
“Raymond, Rade called and told me his master died.”
“Oh, is he a killer then?”
“No, Ray. But he is alone now.”
“Ah. Right.” Dr. Kansas looked at the door, “So what are we going to do with him?”
“I don’t know yet. Just let him rest in there for a while.”
“We’re running out of exam rooms.”
Anjela groaned, “I know. Let’s do what we can and try to get this mess of a day straightened out. Nilla is still waiting in one to talk to me before she leaves. You can use two to work on clearing the waiting room. The dog from the car crash is in three, a mouse that might not be safe at home is in four, a Free Morph is in five with a rescue, another runaway that was actually kidnapped years ago is in six, and another runaway is in the office. I think we need to call for a van.”
“They usually like some notice.”
“Yeah, so would I, but we’ve been overwhelmed today.” She sighed, “Just so much happening at once.”
“Then we better get moving. I’ll go pick a patient from the lobby for exam two.”
“And I’ll call for the van, then get Nilla on her way home.”
“Have Tracy call for the van, she’s done it before.”
Anjela sighed, “Yeah. Let’s get moving.” She caught Tracy at the counter and gave her her mission then headed for exam one. She paused at the door, half expecting something to interrupt her, then opened it.
The old fennec looked up at the doctor coming in.
“How are you today, Nilla? It looks like everything checked out okay today. You’re one of my best patients; you keep yourself healthy and always keep your appointments.”
The fennec wrote on the pad she was holding and showed it to the doctor: I’m scared.
“What are you scared about, Nilla?”
She wrote more on the pad: Hen wouldn’t wake up this morning before I left.
“Is she okay? I know you have been with her for a long time.”
Nilla wrote: I’m scared she might be dead.
“Did you call 911? Why didn’t you say anything sooner?”
Nilla wrote: She told me to only trust you when she was gone.
Anjela covered her mouth as she realized the situation.
The fennec patted the pad for attention then spoke in a raspy whisper, “Pase hep mae.”
Anjela gasped in surprise, “Of course I’ll help you. Just-Just wait here while I figure out what to do next.” She left and closed the door, then stared at it as she remembered her friend, Henrietta.
“Dr. M?”
She caught her breath, “Yes, Tracy?”
“The van will be here in three hours.”
“Oh? That’s sooner than I thought. Thank you, Tracy. Now, I need you to do something else for me.”
“Of course, Dr. M.”
“I need you to call the police to do a wellness check on Henrietta Klaus. She’s…”
“Nilla?” Tracy gasped.
“Yes. Nilla is worried about her. Just have them check and let me know.”
“Absolutely.” Tracy turned and headed for the counter.
Anjela sighed and touched the door for exam one. She looked up as Dr. Kansas came out of exam two and smiled at her on his way to the counter. She walked to exam three and slipped inside. “Hi, I’m Dr. Milwaí. How are you doing?”
The old dog morph looked up with tired eyes.
“I heard that you were in a car wreck and your owner was hurt bad. Do you want to tell me what happened?”
Pardu sighed, “Is Bernie okay?”
Anjela frowned, “I’m sorry. I’ve been told that he didn’t make it.”
The old dog leaned over and sobbed.
“I’m so sorry. Was he your friend?”
Pardu looked up at her, “He wasn’t a friend. I raised him. I raised his kids. I know their kids as family. We were going to the courthouse to file the papers for my freedom. He always told me that when he retires, so do I. Now he’s dead and I’m still alive. I’m too old to do any more. Why didn’t I die? He should have lived.”
Anjela put her arm around him, “It’s not your fault. You’re going to be okay. Do you know anything about his final wishes?”
The dog lifted his head, “His will? I… I don’t think he updated it in years.”
“Do you know if he included your freedom?”
Pardu sniffled, “I have no idea.”
“Don’t worry. Even if he didn’t, we can connect you with the Free Morphs project and get you someplace where you’re free.”
He looked down again, “But I would never see my family.”
Anjela sighed, “That would be the downside, yes. How do they feel about morph freedom?”
Pardu shifted uncomfortably, “Most of them treat me like family, except his oldest son. He thinks it’s unprofessional.”
“What’s unprofessional about treating people well?”
“Gant is a police officer. The law says morphs are property. He can’t be seen treating me as a person.”
Anjela shakes her head, “The laws will change someday. For now, we will do what we can to help you get the freedom Bernie wanted for you. Do you have a way for us to contact your family?”
He nodded and pulled a phone from his pocket, then stared at the picture of a younger version of himself and Bern.
“Do you want us to call them for you?”
He shook his head, “No, they should hear this from me.”
“Do you need me to stay with you?”
He shook his head again.
“Alright. I’ll come back in a bit to see how you are doing.” Dr Milwaí rubbed the old dog’s arm then left. She took a breath then slipped into exam four. “Hey, Kamie. How’s your arm?”
The mouse was laying on the exam table staring at the wall, “It still hurts.”
“I was told that the girl you live with did this. Can you tell me why?”
“I don’t know. She said she was trying to wake me up. Maybe I shouldn’t have been sleeping.”
“You have to sleep sometime, Kamie. There is no reason for her to stab you.”
“She doesn’t need a reason. She’s the human and I’m not.”
“She shouldn’t be stabbing anyone. I will have a talk with her and her parents about it.”
“Doesn’t matter. She doesn’t want me anyway. They’re going to sell me, and I’ll get worse.”
“You don’t know that. There are lots of good people in the world.”
“But ‘good’ people don’t buy used, damaged morph girls. The people that do are not ‘good’ people.”
“Maybe they won’t sell you.”
“And maybe Illia will kill me.”
“Why would she do that?”
Kamie propped herself up to look at the doctor, “You don’t know all the things she does to me. My tail used to be longer, but she cut the end off because she wanted to see what was inside. She wanted to make my ears smaller, and I ran away from her, but her father beat me and told me to ‘play nice’ with her. She wanted me to bite her so she could stay home from school, but I wouldn’t, so she bit me, and her mother punished me for letting her. If she doesn’t kill me soon, I might runaway to make them kill me.”
Anjela smiled slyly, “What if you ran away and they didn’t kill you?”
“That’s what they do to morphs that runaway.”
“Only if they catch you.”
“I’d let them catch me.”
“Kamie, there is a group that helps morphs get out of situations like you are in. They take them to places where morphs are free and help them live their own lives.”
“That’s a fantasy.”
“No, it’s not. They’re here right now. They brought another morph that was injured for me to help before they leave. They can take you with them.”
“But,” Kamie sat up. “They’re… It’s… Th-They’d take me?”
“I’m sure they would. I’m going to talk to them now. Would you like me to ask?”
The mouse looked around as she dared to believe the possibility.
“Kamie?”
“Yeah. Ask them if I can go, too.”
“Alright. You just sit right here, and I’ll go talk to them.” Anje patted her hand then left.
“Dr. M.”
“Yes, Phila?”
“The couple in exam five would like to speak with you.”
“I was headed there next. Was the doe’s nose taken care of?”
“Yes, Dr. M.”
“How is Dr. Kansas doing with the regular appointments?”
“We’re getting through them quickly, considering we only have one exam room.”
Dr. Milwaí sighed, “I’m working on that. Thank you for all you are doing.”
Phila smiled, “It’s my job.”
“Well, thank Dr. Kansas for coming in, then.”
Phila noded and headed back to the counter.
Dr. Milwaí slipped into exam five.
“Hey, doc. Looks like you’re pretty busy today.” The raccoon offered his hand, “I’m Trent Lyra and this is Julip.”
Anjela shook his hand, “And you’re from the Free Morph project.”
Trent looked around nervously.
“It’s safe to talk in here.”
“You can never be too careful. Anyway, thank you for taking care of Julip’s nose. It was an unfortunate incident that happened before I could intervene.”
“You confronted her owner?”
Trent chuckled, “No, that has proven to be a dangerous method. And since I can’t purchase their freedom, being a morph myself, I prefer to help them simply disappear. No arguments, just happy endings.”
Anjela smirked, “Well, your ride should be here in a couple hours. I wasn’t expecting you today and you have a few more unexpected passengers joining you. I assume you can make arrangements for them as quickly as you expected me to?”
“I’m sorry about dropping in on you like that. This was just going to be a quick stop on the way to our ride. I didn’t expect you to call for one.”
“I guess that’s the problem with a secret mission, you can’t tell people what you’re doing.”
“True. I will make some calls. Can you tell me who will be joining us?”
“Well, we need to free up this exam room, so I will let you use my office and meet them yourself. If you will follow me.” She opened the door and led them down the hall and around to her office. “Alice, this is Trent Lyra with the Free Morph project. He’s passing through while taking Julip here to freedom. I still haven’t heard anything about Nancy and Kerry, but this could be an option for you. I’ll let him tell you about the project. I’ll be right back.” She closed the office door and hurried to exam six. “Hello again, Garin. I have some people I think you should meet. We’re still waiting to hear from the Karabiners, but this can help pass the time.”
The tiger nodded and hopped up from the exam table, then followed the doctor to her office.
“Everyone, this is Garin. Here we have Trent Lyra of the Free Morph project with Julip and Alice. There are a couple more I’d like to bring to this party, so I’ll be back again.” She closed the door behind Garin and returned to exam four. “Pardu, would you follow me? There are some people that I would like you to meet.”
The old dog nodded and followed sullenly.
“This is Pardu. I’ll be right back.” She nodded to the old dog, “Go on in, they’re friends.” She closed the door behind him and went to exam three. “Kamie, could you come with me?”
“Why?” The mouse was curled up in a chair.
“So you can meet my friends that can help you.”
Kamie looked up, “That’s real? You weren’t just trying to get me to not runaway?”
Anjela smirked, “Actually, I’m trying to get you to runaway, but with them, so you will be safe.”
Kamie looked around as she considered it then got up, “Okay. Where are they?”
“Come on down to my office.” She ushered the mouse out and down the hall. “This is Kamie. She is also in a bad situation. Now, as Trent can explain in more detail, the Free Morph project that he is part of does more than just runawaying morphs to freedom. Each of your situations is unique, but you could all benefit from the project’s services. Kamie is a child companion in a highly abusive home. Julip is a servant who has suffered abuse, as well. Pardu was with a nice family that was prepared to free him, but his owner recently died before doing so. Garin was with a nice family but was kidnapped five years ago until he recently escaped. Alice is accused of hurting a human. Each of you faces situations that the Free Morph project can help with. A van will be arriving soon that can take you to people that can help or even on to freedom. It’s your choice.” She paused a moment then continued, “Talk with Trent while you wait. I just thought of someone else that could benefit.” She shook her finger as she left again and hurried to the counter. “Phila, have we heard anything about Henrietta for Nilla or the Karabiners for Garin or Kerry Banker for Alice or anyone looking for Kamie?”
“Um,” Phila grabbed the phone message pad. “No, there’s just a call from the insurance guy. He wanted to know if the doors were okay and if there is anything else we need. I told him you were busy and would get back to him.”
“Okay, I will later. But could you call to see if the police checked on Henrietta Klaus and…”
Phila quickly wrote as she echoed the instructions, “Ask police about Henrietta Klaus.”
“Call the Karabiners again to tell them Garin is here.”
“Karabiners – Garin is here.”
“Check Alice’s records and call to find out about Kerry Banker.”
“Alice – Kerry Banker.”
“And let me know if anyone comes looking for Kamie, but don’t call. This will be so much easier if they are just abandoning her.”
“Got it. Anything else?”
Anjela rubbed her face. “Yeah, I’ve been running nonstop since midnight. Could you find me some coffee before I hang myself an adrenaline drip?”
“Sure thing, Dr. M. You’re just amazing.”
She put her hand on Phila’s shoulder. “I couldn’t do it without the rest of you. Thank you. Looks like the waiting room has calmed down.”
“Yeah, I think we’re down to our normal level of overwhelmed.”
Anjela patted Phila’s arm then headed for exam one.
