Chapter 28: Peremptory

The infirmary was probably the least decorated building in the entire village. Checkered lament floors, whitewash cement walls, and irritating fluorescent lights that buzzed now and again. The odor was the same as in every medical environment…sterile and pungent, with lingering notes of bleach and floor cleaner.

The scent burned Jaxx’s nose as she sat and waited for the doctor to finish his report. He was a nice enough man, she thought. Serious, a bit dull, but he had a kind face covered by a thin beard that bled upward into a balding crown of thin salt and pepper hair.

“All done,” he said as he pulled the latex gloves from his hand with a snap and tossed them into a nearby wastebasket. “Thankfully, your advance healing will have this ship shape in a couple of days. I don’t recommend any laborious tasks in the meantime. A broken collarbone is no light matter.”