vet offic

Dr. Martinez shared a vet practice with another doctor. Today was her day off, but she was sure no one would think it was weird for us to show up at the office. She gave me a windbreaker to wear, but I was still pretty freaked about seeing other people up close.
"Hi, guys," Dr. Martinez said as we walked into the office. "This is a friend of Ella's. She's doing a
report on being a vet, and I told her I'd give her a quick tour."
The three people behind the counter smiled and nodded as if this was totally believable. Maybe it was.
How would I know?
Two seconds after I walked in, I froze in the doorway, feeling the blood rush out of my face and a
wash of terror sweep over me,
There was a man there.
In a white coat.
Dr. Martinez glanced back. "Max?"
I stared at her mutely. She gently took my arm and led me off into an exam room. "Yes, in here is where we see our patients," she said cheerfully as she shut the door behind us. Then she turned and lowered her voice. "Max, what's wrong? What's the matter?"
I forced myself to take several slow, deep breaths, to uncoil the fists at my sides. "It's the smell," I whispered, embarrassed. "The chemical smell, like a lab. The guy in the white coat. I have to get out of here, okay? Can we just go now, really fast?" I looked for an exit, a window.
Her hand rubbed my back. "I can promise that you're safe here. Can you stay just long enough for me
to get a quick X ray, and then we'll leave right away?"
I tried to swallow, but my mouth was dry. My heart was pounding so hard it made a rushing sound in
my cars.
"Please, Max."
I forced myself to nod. Dr. Martinez checked to make sure I wasn't wearing jewelry — as if -then carefully positioned me on a table. A machine hovered over me. I felt like my nerves were about to snap.
She stepped out of the room, I heard a tiny buzz, and it was all over.


The Angel Experiment Chapter 41