ALONG CAME A ZHI ZHU -Chapter SEVEN

By BlueHandTwoByTwo (LarryL)

Like a shot of adrenaline directly into the heart, Drapomine works fast. The patient’s eyes flutter open almost as soon as the drug enters the bloodstream and there is always a gasp for breath. The patient then experiences a moment of extreme disorientation as both the brain and body resumes normal motor function and thought process. Side effects are nausea -which quickly passes- and a feeling of unquenchable thirst. Within five minutes, the patient is usually cognizant, though a little weak, depending on how long the muscles have not been used.

Zoe injected the crew members one by one, starting with Inara, since she had been the first infected and was most in need of the antidote. Jayne got the next dose, then Kaylee, her husband Wash, then Mal, and finally Simon, since his was the newest. One by one, her friends came out of their sleep and sat up on their beds, rubbing their faces and flexing their fingers and legs to aid blood circulation.

Zoe stood at Mal’s bed as he slowly roused himself to consciousness. “Welcome back, Captain. How do you feel?”

“Like the winner of a whiskey-drinking contest when he wakes up the next morning,” Mal said, shaking his head to clear the fog. “How’s everybody holding up?”

Book answered, “About as well as you.”

“How’s Inara?” Mal asked, turning his head to see her at the far end of the room. Simon and River were standing next to her bed, wiping her face with a wet cloth while she eagerly drank glass after glass of water.

“She’s doing better but I suspect she won’t be entertaining any clients for a while.”

Mal nodded, relieved. He was more concerned about her than he had let on. “Ship out of danger?”

“No, Sir, unfortunately not,” Zoe answered with a heavy sigh. “We’ve got Alliance hot on our trail and we still have a loose spider running around.” She didn’t tell him about the forty others still nestled in their crates that Serenity was carrying in her cargo hold. That d