Read The Archer's Paradox - The Travis Fletcher Chronicles for Free Online

voice. Three times a week a doctor, usually Dr Lota, would come in and test his reflexes. They always asked his name and always ignored the answer. He was waiting for ‘Nurse Marylyn’ to come in; she was blonde and had that husky voice you only get from smoking forty cigarettes a day.
     
    “Good morning, Mr Fletcher.” Right on queue but this morning was different. Accompanying Nurse ‘Marylyn’ were Dr Lota and four colleagues. Dr Lota conversed in hushed whispers and compared notes with two, while the other two, a man and a woman, stood at the end of the bed regarding him with curiosity while Nurse ‘Marylyn’ busied herself checking his IV drip.
    “They’re discussing whether or not to switch off these machines that are keeping you alive.” the male waved an elegant arm at the array of devices surrounding Travis’ bed.
    What? Travis was alarmed, firstly by what the man had said, secondly because no one had spoken directly to him for weeks without asking his name and ignoring the answer.
    “They’re going to end your life, but then to them you are already dead.” Nurse ‘Marylyn’ continued checking drips and needles, oblivious to the conversation taking place. “Your whole family died in that accident, you have no one left and they cannot cure you, so they are going to turn off these machines and let you die.” the man continued.
    The nurse looked at him sympathetically for a moment before turning to Dr Lota. “Do you need me, doctor?”
    “No, thank you nurse.” Nurse ‘Marylyn’ left. The three doctors approached the bed and repeated tests that had been done so many times before, ignoring the two strangers at the end of the bed. They retired to a corner in a huddle of shaking heads then left the room.
     
    The man made as if to speak but the woman cut him off, “Are you sure? Is this the best we can do?” her tone was tinged with venom. “He is barely sentient, only just managing to walk erect and his link to The Originals is tenuous at best. He disgusts me, this whole place disgusts me.”
    “Your views are noted, Xnuk Ek’. He is the best and the only.”
    “Have you considered the others?”
    “They have been considered and rejected. They have families and acquaintances so would be missed. Their leaving would upset the equilibrium of this planet and The Originals no longer wield any influence here.”
    “Let the equilibrium of this cesspool be damned!” her silver eyes flashed with contempt. “Our existence is at stake. If we fail, we are extinct, and everything we have ever achieved will die.”
     
    They turned to consider the broken form before them, but there was neither pity nor compassion in their eyes. Travis felt like a lobster trapped in a tank in a restaurant and he was the only choice for dinner. The visitors were both about seven feet tall and wearing close fitting grey jumpsuits. She was slimly built with silver irises which stood out against her dark tanned skin, whereas he was stocky with ebony skin, a wide flat nose and dark golden eyes. His wiry hair was jet black and pushed back over his high forehead. Hers, in contrast, was long and silver, augmenting her tanned skin and complimenting her eyes, and also pushed back over her forehead into a tight, multiband ponytail. His attention was drawn to the woman. He felt something, a feeling, emotion maybe, he could not pin it down. It hovered tantalisingly on the edge of his perception. She looked straight into his eyes with utter contempt and the feeling was gone.
     
    He had questions, many questions. Who are you and what the hell are you talking about? I have been shouting and everyone has been ignoring me for weeks.
    “We know. Anybody in this hemisphere would also know, if they knew how to listen.” the man replied, cryptically and with almost a hint of humour. “I am Wingu Kanzul, my companion is Xnuk Ek’,” he bowed slightly, Xnuk Ek’ scowled, “and we have an offer to make to you.”
    Travis wondered if his