He laughed and reached over to pat her knee. “You bet I did. But, on the upside, I got to work those six and a half days with you, didn’t I?”
Chapter Seven
Marina’s legs felt like they were about to fall off. She was pretty sure the painfully burning straps under the skin of her thighs that might have once been muscles were about to actually spring out of her body. They would fly out and over the rails and straight to the Down Deep where they would be swept up by maintenance and never return.
What made it even worse was that a quick glance behind her told her that the easy stride and pace of conversation between her two family members meant this climb was no big deal for them. It sucked.
In truth, it shouldn’t have been such an ordeal. Yesterday they had climbed almost 50 levels. It was more than 50 if she counted the trip up and down the ramp at the Animal Farm. And now they were just taking a so-called short trip up to IT on 34. With each level being more than forty feet of distance, it was not a short climb and Marina should have realized there would be a price to pay.
It hadn’t started out that way an hour ago. She had done all that Joseph suggested, performing some stretches that hurt like crazy to loosen her overworked muscles. She had a glass of water as well as juice and tea for breakfast at the hotel breakfast bar. When she took that first step on 50 she thought it would be fine.
It wasn’t fine though. By the time they breasted the landing on Level 48, every step felt like balls of metal had been inserted under her skin and were rolling painfully across the surfaces of her muscles. There was a terrible pain in her left foot too, but not like a normal pain. Instead it was in the arch of her foot, horrible and sharp, each step bringing it forward and then pushing it back as the other foot took the lead.
She finally hobbled off onto the landing at Level 40 with tears in her eyes. Her embarrassment added more to the tears than just her pain. The concern on the faces of her husband and child as they followed her off the stairs made it worse still. They were actually confused by her discomfort and couldn’t quite grasp the situation.
She shuffled off to the side of the landing and out of the way of the people who passed by. She eased herself down the wall with a groan till she was seated flat on the grating. She put her feet out in front of her and sighed as that sharp pain in her foot immediately began to subside and the strain on her leg muscles fell away.
It took her a moment to speak. “I’m sorry, guys. I really am. I feel like such a weakling compared to you two.”
Joseph waved off her words and crouched next to her. He set down his pack and held his hands above her thigh, giving her a look that requested permission.
Marina grimaced but nodded and then bit down on her lip as his hands ran along the exact line in her leg that was causing her so much pain. Tears sprang to her eyes. He saw it, gave a decisive nod and rocked back on his heels.
“Well? What is it?” Marina asked, wiping away tears.
“Basically, it’s just very overworked muscles. It happens,” he spread his hands in a helpless motion, his expression sympathetic and also a little guilty. “I’ve seen it a few times when I brought someone up to the clinic or to the mediators and they weren’t used to going so many levels at once.” His eyes flicked away from hers with even more guilt and he added, “Tourists, too. I should have known this would happen to you.”
Sela watched the interaction and the look she gave her mother seemed a mix of embarrassment at their situation as well as simply feeling sorry for her pain. She knelt on the other side of her mother and whispered, “What do we do? She’s supposed to be at Level 34 soon.”
Marina gave a tentative flex in her feet and felt the sharp pulling pain in her arch respond immediately. She let the flex go and stuck with rubbing her sore thighs gently. She looked at Joseph, who was in turn watching her. “My feet, too. But that feels different. It’s mostly my left foot.”
Joseph gently removed her left boot. Sela looked around, red faced with embarrassment, as he did so. He shifted to a better position and lifted her foot to his knee. “I’m going to press on it to see if I can figure out what it is. It might hurt so get ready. Okay?”
She nodded and set her jaw, hoping that whatever he did didn’t bring back that sharp pain. In this matter, she wasn’t going to get what she wanted. His fingers seemed to find the exact spot to press to bring it on. She lifted a hand to stifle the yelp she could hear bubbling out of her.
Her husband gently lowered her foot again and shook his head. He gave a deep sigh and said, “It’s Stair Foot.”
Marina looked alarmed but Sela merely sunk to a sitting position and groaned. “What is that? It sounds terrible.”
Joseph gave her a sideways smile and said, “No, it’s not serious but it is painful and the only real treatment is to stay off your feet. I should have checked to be sure your boots had enough support in them.” He motioned toward her feet and continued, “It’s basically overstretching that gets out of hand. I’m hoping yours isn’t the kind that lasts for long. For the moment, you’re not going anywhere.”
He stood and looked around. He found the directory for this level and walked away to consult it, Marina following him with her eyes. Sela shifted from her kneeling position to sit next to her mother but the silence between them was awkward. Marina felt awful about the situation and understood all too well that staying off of her feet equaled ruining their vacation. For a teenager like Sela, it must seem terribly unfair.
She turned her head to look at her daughter and saw that she was trying hard not to show her disappointment. “We’ll figure this out. I promise not to ruin your vacation.”
Sela dropped her head and Marina realized she was about to cry. That particular catch in her breath and the defeated slump of her shoulders was familiar from her younger days but Sela had grown into a pragmatic and strong young woman. It had been a long time since Marina had last seen her cry. She was unsure how exactly she should approach it. The methods that worked on a ten year old probably weren’t the right ones for a young deputy shadow.
“If I put you on my lap and tickle you to make you happy, I think that might cause a scene,” Marina said, trying to put a cheery note in her voice.
Sela looked at her in alarm, her eyelashes dark and wet but her cheeks unmarked by tears, “Please, please don’t even try that. I’ll die of humiliation.” Her eyes darted about, as if trying to gauge exactly how many of the people on this level would notice such a fiasco occurring in their midst.
Marina laughed and said, “Okay, I won’t do that. But it seems to have worked just to say it.”
“Hmph,” Sela grunted as she wiped roughly at her eyes. “I wasn’t crying.”
“Of course not.”
Joseph returned just then and squatted next to Marina, his knees popping loudly. He gave her an encouraging smile and said, “I think everything is going to be fine. There’s an office with a couple of couches just inside where people often rest so I can take you there. Also, I got them to send up for a medical tech who will meet us there. They’ll know what your problem is and will bring what you need. We’ll be okay and then we’ll figure out the rest.”
“This is a zero floor. Shouldn’t there be a med station here?” Marina asked, checking for herself that the large numbers four and zero were, in fact, painted on the landing wall.