Parasite Eve by Hideaki Sena Read Free Book Online Page B

to the patient’s doctor and nurse. “This will be their last chance to see
her alive.”
       
        At twenty minutes past five,
the nurse came into the waiting room to call Toshiaki and Kiyomi’s parents. She
informed them of the situation and brought them back to the ICU.
        When they walked into the
room, Toshiaki was astonished at the dramatic change in Kiyomi. Unable to tear
his eyes away, he gazed steadily at her face and approached her slowly with the
doctor. With every step, her face grew more and more distinct. He looked around
and stopped at the left side of the stretcher. His mother-in-law was sobbing
behind him.
        “Kiyomi’s vital signs are
indicated here, but as it is now her pulse is erratic and nearly unverifiable,”
the doctor said as he pointed to the screen at Kiyomi’s bedside. “The
respirator is still running, but she barely has any heartbeat and her blood
pressure has fallen sharply. Her skin, as you can see, is getting very cold.”
        Kiyomi’s face was so white it
was nearly translucent, her lips like two flower petals glazed with frost. It
looked like a clear stream was flowing inside her body. Lashes extended from
closed eyelids like crystals, casting short, thin shadows upon her skin.
Without thinking, Toshiaki extended a hand towards her cheek. The moment his
fingertips made contact, a numb sensation shot through his arm to the back of
his head, not unlike the time he had accidentally touched dry ice: a pain that
flickered between coldness and heat. He gasped and his hand trembled. He
stroked Kiyomi’s cheek calmly with his index and middle fingers, continuing
down along her neck, then stopped at her white chest where the veins showed.
Though obscured by her garment, he could tell clearly that Kiyomi’s nipples
were erect. Toshiaki took his hand away and wrapped his fingertips in his other
hand to warm them. A cool sensation seemed to linger there.
        Toshiaki’s heart leapt with a
great THUMP that broke into its steady rhythm. Feeling as though he were
suffocating, he placed a hand upon his chest. THUMP . As if to mock his
nerves’ autonomy, his heart leapt again. He felt hot.
        “We will now stop the
respirator, if we may,” the doctor stated.
        Hand still clutching his
chest, Toshiaki gazed at Kiyomi and took a deep breath, his lungs swelling
unsteadily as they filled with air. Kiyomi’s body is being destroyed , he
thought. The doctor flipped the respirator switch. The machine, which until
then had been keeping rhythm like a metronome, stopped in an unfinished hiss,
and several seconds later, let out a languid ssss . The movement in
Kiyomi’s chest abated. The doctor glanced at his wristwatch and said quietly,
“Official time of death is 5:31 pm.”
        Kiyomi’s father inhaled
audibly.
        THUMP . Toshiaki’s
heart cried out yet again. It was such an enormous wave of sound, he wondered
why no one else in the room could hear it. Maybe Kiyomi was sending the last of
her life energy into him, almost as if he had caught her final heartbeat. She
seemed to be telling him: I don’t want to die .
        “After the extraction, she
will be transferred to the morgue for a post-mortem inspection,” said the
doctor before encouraging them to leave the room.
        Toshiaki and his in-laws
exited the ICU. Three men who looked to be doctors were standing in the hallway.
The coordinator was behind them, holding a large box and giving instructions.
One of the men, who looked to be the leader of the three, noticed Toshiaki and
Kiyomi’s parents and approached them. He looked to be about forty years of age,
but a certain pride in his face made him appear younger. He bowed his head
simply and stated his name.
        “I’m Takashi Yoshizumi, from
the transplantation staff at the City Central Hospital. I’ve been placed in
charge of both the kidney extraction and transplant. We’re about to begin the
surgery. Please forgive me for