"Ray Vukcevich - In the Flesh" - читать интересную книгу автора (Vukcevich Ray)

I climbed onto the metal table.

"It's cold," I said.

The soldier grabbed my left foot and shackled my ankle to the gurney.

"Small poke," the woman said and gave me an injection. Delicious warmth moved through my body as
the sedative did its work. The woman shook out a thin blanket like the way I remember my mother used
to shake the sheets out before hanging them on the clothesline. The blanket settled over my body.

The soldier moved to the head of the gurney and pushed. The woman walked along beside me.

"I'm off to see my granddaughter," I said.

The soldier made a noise which I interpreted as meaning, "Hey, and here we thought you were some kind
of hot shot off to a big deal that could only be closed by much meat in the same room at the same time."

"Pressing the flesh," the woman said.

"What?" I said, suddenly wondering how much of this conversation was strictly in my head.

"I don't know," she said. "It just seems kind of frivolous, you know?"

The soldier maneuvered my gurney parallel to what looked like an aluminum garage door. The woman
pushed a button and the door slid up and away. Inside, the passengers who had gone before me were
stacked up like items in an automated deli.

"Here you go," the soldier said and slid my gurney into place. Then the whole thing rolled up so they
could slide the next passenger in. Once the box was full or when they ran out of passengers, it would be
moved to the airplane. And then we would be off into the wild blue yonder, as free as birds. Or maybe
caged chickens.

Leaning to the left and looking over the edge of the gurney, I could see the legs and feet of the woman
and the soldier.

"This is the most important trip of my life," I called out.

"So, b'bye then," the woman said and closed the door with a bang.