Author: Alana Winters
Warnings: yaoi, dark, angst, AU, OOC, horror
Pairings: 5x1 *winces nervously* this is my first fic that starts out with Heero being paired up with someone other than Duo, 4+3, 2x1 [later]
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimers: not mine, please don't sue.
Feedback is welcome, no flames please.
*....* denotes internal thought or conflict
------ break in scene
Author's notes: okay, this fic is a bit stranger than my usual fare... it's DARK (capitalized for a reason ppl), and it deals with some rather... disturbing topics... mainly about the black market and illegal gathering of human organs... if this kind of thing squicks or disgusts you, please don't read it. Consider yourselves fairly warned. I'm in a weird mood right now.
Shukaku Prologue [1]
*Light... pain...*
"... securely fastened... not going to move..."
*Where am I? How did I get here?*
"... succinylcholine... wear off... can't have... thrashing around..."
*What's wrong with me? Can't move! Can't breathe!*
"... intubate now... lose him..."
*Who's there? Help me, please!*
"... only AB stock... need him... client waiting...healthy..."
*What's going on?!*
"... helicopter will... in five..."
*I'm scared... please help me...*
"... pentobarb... want... humane, after all..."
*Who are you? What are you doing? Why are you doing this?*
"... Dr.... will you... honors?"
*I miss you, mama... please come get me...*
The gowned and scrubbed surgeons and anesthetist watched as their bound patient slowly but surely succumbed to the administered sedative. They had already infused a dosage of succinylcholine, a hydrated chloride that relaxed a body's muscles, often used in surgery purposes such as this for easier retraction. [2]
After all, that's what they were here for. To surgically extract some healthy organs from a donor to ship off to their waiting client.
Nevermind that their client was a wealthy aristocrat who was willing to pay black market prices for borrowed time.
Nevermind that they were operating illegally, outside of the normal red tape procedures of the United Network for Organ Sharing, or UNOS, for short. [3]
Nevermind that their "donor" was a street rat taken in off the streets and wasn't aware of their impending harvest.
Nevermind that he was an thirteen year old kid.
He was an orphan, a street rat, living off of what he could lift from passerbys. A scourge on the pristine facade of their society.
No one would even miss him.
After all, what was one less pickpocket orphan?
The anesthetist looked at his two cohorts and nodded his head, indicating that the patient was ready. The taller of the two surgeons looked at the other and then held out a razor sharp scalpel. The overhead light reflected upon the blade with a diamondlike brilliance, illuminating the lunula of stainless steel.
"Make the first incision, Dr. C."
The shorter surgeon took the scalpel, a flicker of something flashing through his fathomless black eyes. With nary a word to his two co-workers, he turned his attention back to the unconscious patient lying on the table. For a brief moment, he stared down at the young boy, barely in his teens, skin flush with the glow of youth.
But the moment soon passed and he lowered the scalpel to make the first incision over the abdomen region. The liver was the first organ to be harvested, but only the first of many. The surgeon sliced, a long and curving incision. As the skin parted and the first line of blood welled up to dribble onto the surgical drapes, the surgeon could feel the slight hesitation he had been feeling earlier recede. After all, the organs harvested from this young boy would soon provide nearly half a dozen people with additional time to their lives. What he was doing might not be ethical, but it was saving lives.
After all, he was just a common, homeless thief.
Who would miss him?
TBC...
[1] japanese for harvest or crop - I'm taking artistic liberties here and slightly twisting the meaning into a more morbid type of harvest since I don't know the appropriate japanese word...
[DUO] 0.o you're twisted, you know?
[2] vocabulary - succinylcholine - a drug often used every day by anesthesiologists to induce muscle relaxation during surgery, but outside of the OR, it can cause painful death. It induces complete paralysis in a fully conscious subject, who remains awake and aware, although unable to breath or move.
[DUO] um... just how do you know about these drugs, Alana-sama?
.......
[DUO] that's not an answer...
[3] UNOS - an actual organization whose purpose is to maintain the national transplant network under contract to the federal government and monitors compliance with national rules for organ sharing and distribution - often works in conjunction with other agencies such as NEOB - New England Organ Bank (a not for profit angecy that recovers and distributes human organs and tissues for transplant) - both have systems in places to prevent unlawful recovery of organs and to ensure equitable distribution of organs to recipients. Unfortunately, they don't always succeed in preventing black market organ harvesting.
that's about it for the prologue for my newest fic... er, and no, for anyone wondering and about to lynch me, the victim in the above chapter is NOT Duo. ^_^;;
Back to Alana Winters' Fanfictions Page