"A concussion?"

"Yeah, from when those guys were kicking you. Mavi says you have a cracked rib, too, but there isn't much she can do about that except get you to keep still."

"Mavi?"

"The friend I told you about. She’s a healer."

"You, you saw those guys?"

"Yeah, and I'm sorry I didn't get involved, but I'm a shitty fighter, we'd probably both be dead."

"You saw me, fighting? And this friend, she saw... I-" In a sudden burst of shame Helix realized the obvious. Both of these women had seen her for what she was. Her face burned, tears welled up in her eyes. She wanted desperately to be out of the sight of this sharp eyed person, this person who had already seen too much. She tried to roll over, but the motion sent a lance of pain through her chest and she gasped, pulled at the afghan, and drew it over her head. The strange, nubby yarn was smooth against her skin and oddly comforting.

"Hey, hey, what are you doing that for? Was it something I said?"

"No," Helix said from her side of the afghan.

"Then what are you hiding for? Are you afraid?"

"Yes."

"Because Mavi and me saw you without that raincoat you were so particular about?"

"Yes."

"Look at me."

"No."

"C'mon, nobody's going to hurt you. Look at me."

Helix felt little hands, tugging firmly at the edge of the afghan. She swallowed, and allowed it to be drawn back from her face again. She looked up to see Chango peering closely at her with those strange eyes of hers, and suddenly she realized why they were strange. They were two different colors. One blue, the other green.

Chango nodded, acknowledging her realization. “That’s right. I’m one too.” She leaned back and released the afghan, but Helix didn’t draw it back. “I know this,” she waved at her eyes, “doesn’t seem like a very big deal to you. But it’s enough to give me a label for the rest of my life. Believe me, I’ve been through lots of pairs of sunglasses.”

Helix lay there, staring. She didn’t know what to do, she just remained motionless. Finally she said, “I’ve never met anyone else who was...”

“Oh,” Chango said quietly, steadily holding her gaze, “That must be weird - to be the only one. I’m lucky I guess. I grew up here, where there’s still a few of us to this day. People still treat us differently, but we don’t come as a big surprise to anyone.”

“Until yesterday, I hadn’t been seen by anybody but my father for ten years,” said Helix. She didn’t know why she said it, it just came out.

Chango took her turn at staring, her mouth hanging open. Silently she mouthed the words, “ten years?”

Then out loud she said, “Goddamn, that’s terrible. Shit, no wonder you freaked out.” She paced the floor anxiously, glancing quickly back and forth between Helix and the floor.

“Your father... He hid you.”

“No, not really. He let me hide. I went out from time to time, but always with the raincoat.” She tilted her head in some vague indication of the direction in which it might be. “Actually it’s his.”

“It’s his raincoat,” Chango repeated, and then shook her head. “Wow, so you just hid out for ten years. Why?”

“Before I went to live with Hector, I was in an orphanage. I was the only sport there, too. It wasn’t exactly a good place to be saddled with uniqueness.”

Chango had drifted back to the chair and sat down. “Yeah,” she nodded her head, “kids suck.”

“It was really bad. I remember one year where there wasn’t a single day that I didn’t wish I were somebody else. That was the last year. Then Hector came along and rescued me, and I guess I just didn’t want anything like that to happen to me again.” She shook her head, “I can’t stand that look. You know that look?”

“Yeah, I know that look. So what happened? How did you wind up where I found you?”

Helix shrugged. “I just left. I felt... I don’t know, like there was something out here that was meant for me, and I’d never have it unless I left.

“Wow, that’s amazing. What an incredible story.” Chango fished a pack of reefer cigarettes out of her t-shirt pocket and offered them to Helix.

“No thanks.”

Chango took out a cigarette, lit it and smoked in silence for a few minutes. The smoke made her squint, and Helix thought she could see her the way she would be years from now, an old woman, smoking and thinking. “So how long ago was this?” she asked at length.

“Yesterday. I just left the GeneSys building, that’s where I lived, and started walking around. I ended up in Greektown, I was in this casino. There were people everywhere, and I was starting to panic. Then someone bumped into me. I didn’t even see them, but I felt them touch my arm, my lower arm. I just took off, and then I wound up down this alley, and that was when those guys attacked me.”

“Welcome to the outside world,” Chango laughed harshly. “But then I found you. Out of all the people around there who could have found you, it was another sport. Maybe somebody watches out for us after all.”

“Maybe. At any rate, I can thank you for getting involved. I think I would have died out there if you hadn’t done something.”

“Oh probably not died.”

“Maybe not then. Soon enough, I’ll bet.”

Chango shrugged and looked at her wordlessly.

“Shit, what am I going to do?” Helix suddenly raised her upper hands to the sides of her head. She’d tried going out, and it had nearly killed her. She didn’t have a job, nor any prospects of one. Her only friend was a total stranger. What had she been thinking, that she could do this?

But every time she thought about going back, that hand reached up from her gut and pushed her back out again.

“You’re going to stay put for a couple of days and let your ribs heal and your head return to its normal size and shape,” said a voice from the doorway. A tall figure in a long black dress stood there, her thin face nearly hidden by the unruly strands of her black hair. She walked across the room with understated grace, and stood at the foot of the bed. She wore a silver amulet, a five pointed star inside a circle. She had a long and rather prominent nose which shouldered the main burden of pushing aside her hair. She made an imposing figure there, a long black line parted by a pale slice of face. Then her hand swept up and pushed back her hair, to reveal a pair of eyes that were warm and deep, and strong lips spread in a smile. “Glad to see you’re up, how are you feeling?”

“Better.” In spite of herself, Helix slid farther down beneath the covers of the bed.

“This is Mavi,” said Chango, “She took care of you last night.”

“Thank you,” Helix nodded at her awkwardly.

“No problem,” Mavi hiked up one bare foot and sat on the edge of the bed.

“Her name is Helix,” said Chango.

“Let me take a look at your head, Helix.” Mavi moved around the side of the bed and bent over her. Her pendant swung above Helix’s eyes as her long, cool fingers probed her skull.

“Ow,” said Helix, reflexively jerking her head as Mavi’s fingers found the lump at the side of her head. The pendant banged her in the forehead.

“Sorry,” murmured Mavi as she gently probed the lump. “The swelling is down some, but it’ll be sore for a while.

“She’s been speaking coherently?” she asked Chango over her shoulder.

“Oh yeah. Complex sentences and everything, Mavi.”

“Good,” Mavi straightened up, nodding her head. “That was the worst of your injuries, actually,” she said to Helix, “The ribs will be alright if you just lie still for several days. But I do need to look at your knife wound.” She looked at Chango who was still sitting in the chair, picking at a thread on her skirt. Chango looked up suddenly. “Oh, you want me to leave.” She glanced over to Helix, “You want me to leave?”