talking about, I only wanted to get their attention so they could tell me whether or not my toes were wiggling when I told them to wiggle. Ismelda wiped my legs with a cool, wet cloth, and when the nurse pulled out the thermometer and read 101 degrees I caught her attention.
âMy toes â¦â She and Mike looked at the same time. I strained as hard as I could, shut my eyes, groaned, sank deep into my shell and found the one live ember, blew on it softly, squeezed it, held it in my hands for Ismelda to see, and then it exploded and went flowing down my arms and legs, spastically jumping over dead nerve endings and numb muscles, flipping open long dead circuits, moving through the dark channels inside my shell, making me cry with pain as the energy of the relit fuse churned inside my stomach and jerked up my balls as it filled my groin and thighs with a warm, electric liquid, a liquid which buzzed as it flowed through my bones and dry tendons and finally exploded at the tip of my toes.
âHe moved!â Mike shouted and turned to grab Steel.
âTwo ccâs,â Steel ordered and I felt the prick of the needle in my arm, felt the syrupy heaviness spread quickly.
âOh Tortuga,â Ismelda smiled, worked her way around the nurses and touched my forehead.
âWater â¦â She held the straw to my lips and this time the water was cool and refreshing.
âLook, doc! Look!â Mike shouted.
âJust a spasm â¦â Steel said. He pushed up my eyelid and shone a light into my eye. âGet the kids out,â he said again.
âEverybody out!â the big nurse shouted.
âKeep the sheet cold ⦠bring down the fever ⦠heâll be all right â¦â
âNo! No! Look! He moved! Tortuga moved!â Mike shouted and pulled at the doctor.
âTortuga moved!â one of the kids shouted and they rushed to the window to see if the mountain was indeed moving. Dr. Steel turned, looked, cautiously, cynically.
âMove it again!â Mike shouted. The kids shouted, beat bedpans, tripped over each other to get to the window.
âDamn little bastards!â the nurse swore under her breath.
âDonât cuss us, weâll report you to the committee.â
â100 degrees,â another nurse called, flipped the thermometer and stuck it back in my mouth.
I groaned, found the thread again, the thin light which had been gone for so long and which was now responding to my call, a fine gossamer thread burning in my brain, pounding in my heart, acrid-wet with electricity, and I said move and it moved, jumping the long-dead relays, sizzling like the rivers of fire and water deep in the mountain, it went careening through my dark flesh and withered tendons.
âSee!â Mike shouted. âSee!â
âYes,â Ismelda whispered and wiped the sweat from my forehead.
Dr. Steel turned and looked at me. âI donât believe it,â he said, âI want to but I donât. Can you do it again? Iâll watch.â âI can do it again,â I answered, âI can do it all day long,â and I smiled and pushed the switch again.
âDoctor, the feverâs down ⦠perhaps an enema â¦â a nurse suggested.
âOh my â¦â
âYeah! Itâs moving!â the kids at the window shouted. They were looking at poor old Tortuga changing colors and groaning as the new storm gathered over it, and they saw it move ⦠ancient dreams, reptilian flesh, cold as ice, now moving to a new found melody.
âSharp or dull,â Steel asked as he poked along my legs with his needle.
âSome sharp ⦠I think â¦â
âYahoooo!â someone shouted by the door.
âAlgo es algo, dijo el diablo!â Mike responded and grabbed my leg and shook it. âIt moved!â
âNurse, get the kids out â¦â
âAll right! Everybody out!â
âDown to 99
âMy toes â¦â She and Mike looked at the same time. I strained as hard as I could, shut my eyes, groaned, sank deep into my shell and found the one live ember, blew on it softly, squeezed it, held it in my hands for Ismelda to see, and then it exploded and went flowing down my arms and legs, spastically jumping over dead nerve endings and numb muscles, flipping open long dead circuits, moving through the dark channels inside my shell, making me cry with pain as the energy of the relit fuse churned inside my stomach and jerked up my balls as it filled my groin and thighs with a warm, electric liquid, a liquid which buzzed as it flowed through my bones and dry tendons and finally exploded at the tip of my toes.
âHe moved!â Mike shouted and turned to grab Steel.
âTwo ccâs,â Steel ordered and I felt the prick of the needle in my arm, felt the syrupy heaviness spread quickly.
âOh Tortuga,â Ismelda smiled, worked her way around the nurses and touched my forehead.
âWater â¦â She held the straw to my lips and this time the water was cool and refreshing.
âLook, doc! Look!â Mike shouted.
âJust a spasm â¦â Steel said. He pushed up my eyelid and shone a light into my eye. âGet the kids out,â he said again.
âEverybody out!â the big nurse shouted.
âKeep the sheet cold ⦠bring down the fever ⦠heâll be all right â¦â
âNo! No! Look! He moved! Tortuga moved!â Mike shouted and pulled at the doctor.
âTortuga moved!â one of the kids shouted and they rushed to the window to see if the mountain was indeed moving. Dr. Steel turned, looked, cautiously, cynically.
âMove it again!â Mike shouted. The kids shouted, beat bedpans, tripped over each other to get to the window.
âDamn little bastards!â the nurse swore under her breath.
âDonât cuss us, weâll report you to the committee.â
â100 degrees,â another nurse called, flipped the thermometer and stuck it back in my mouth.
I groaned, found the thread again, the thin light which had been gone for so long and which was now responding to my call, a fine gossamer thread burning in my brain, pounding in my heart, acrid-wet with electricity, and I said move and it moved, jumping the long-dead relays, sizzling like the rivers of fire and water deep in the mountain, it went careening through my dark flesh and withered tendons.
âSee!â Mike shouted. âSee!â
âYes,â Ismelda whispered and wiped the sweat from my forehead.
Dr. Steel turned and looked at me. âI donât believe it,â he said, âI want to but I donât. Can you do it again? Iâll watch.â âI can do it again,â I answered, âI can do it all day long,â and I smiled and pushed the switch again.
âDoctor, the feverâs down ⦠perhaps an enema â¦â a nurse suggested.
âOh my â¦â
âYeah! Itâs moving!â the kids at the window shouted. They were looking at poor old Tortuga changing colors and groaning as the new storm gathered over it, and they saw it move ⦠ancient dreams, reptilian flesh, cold as ice, now moving to a new found melody.
âSharp or dull,â Steel asked as he poked along my legs with his needle.
âSome sharp ⦠I think â¦â
âYahoooo!â someone shouted by the door.
âAlgo es algo, dijo el diablo!â Mike responded and grabbed my leg and shook it. âIt moved!â
âNurse, get the kids out â¦â
âAll right! Everybody out!â
âDown to 99
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