The Tempering (The Mackenzie Duncan Series) Read Online Free

hand.
     “I’m 5’6”. I have been since I was 12.”
    “No dear, see here?” the nurse gestured to the height portion of the scale, “Five Eight on the nose. Perhaps you grew and just never realized it?”
    “I grew, all right.” In her mind, she was adding yet another symptom onto her list of weird and wacky things to ask the doctor.
    The nurse left Mackenzie alone in the room to wait for the doctor on duty. She slowly walked around the tiny space, looking at all the pamphlets and posters that advised the students of the dangers of drugs and unprotected sex. It just so happened that when the door opened and the doctor walked in, Mackenzie was holding a pamphlet titled ‘You Got Drunk and Wound up in A Stranger’s Bed. Now What?’
    Scrambling to put it back in the pile where she had found it, she ended up knocking the whole stack over. Before she could even chastise herself for her clumsiness, she reached out and caught most of the pamphlets, righting them before picking up the few that fell to the floor. Quick reflexes were not usually in her repertoire.
    “Ms. Duncan, nice to meet you. My name is Dr. Mallson.” The older gentleman held his hand out for her to shake. She glanced down at it quickly, before placing her hand in his. She wasn’t sure why she was so wary of him, but there was something that told her not to trust him.
    “Hello.”
    “So, what seems to be troubling you?”
    Mackenzie took the few steps to the bed and hopped up. But when she hopped, she went a few inches higher than she had intended, which made landing on the bed much louder than she expected. The bed let out a groan and slid slightly along the floor, bumping into the wall.
    “Sorry about that,” she said with a slight grimace. Embarrassing moment number two in all of twenty seconds. The day just kept getting better and better.
    “Don’t worry about it. How about we just talk about what brought you in? Did you see any of those you would like to take with you?” he asked as he nodded toward the pamphlets on the table.
    “No, I think I’m good without them, thanks. I came in because I was so sick over the weekend, that I don’t even remember it. Apparently, while I was throwing up I passed out and didn’t wake up for a few days. Oh, and my eyes. I have had blue eyes my whole life, up until this morning, that is. Oh, and I grew two inches over night.”
    “Can you remember anything from the night you started to feel ill?” He moved to the wall beside the bed and pulled down a tool that looked like a little thin hammer but with a light shining out of one end. “Look straight ahead.”
    As Dr. Mallson started to point the light in Mackenzie’s eyes, she tried to recall all the details of the attack. She also wasn’t sure she should tell him. He wouldn’t believe her anyway.
    “I was at the football game, got in an argument with one of the Final Boys and left. When I was walking through the park, I thought I saw something, got scared, and ran. I did fall and bump my head though. You think that has something to do with it?”
    “Well, I don’t see anything wrong with your eyes aside from the color change. You can make an appointment with your optometrist, if you would like. As for the sickness and fatigue, we can run some tests. Mackenzie, when was the last time you were sexually active?”
    Mackenzie laughed at his question. She could count the number of times she had sex in her entire life on one hand, and none of those times had been even remotely recent.
    “Not for a long time. About two years ago.” The doctor made a note on his paper with a little grunt, as if he didn’t believe her. She watched as he scratched down whatever drivel he thought important enough. The sound of the pen on paper as he was writing down what were most likely lies irritated Mackenzie’s ears, much like nails on a chalkboard. She didn’t stop to wonder why she could hear each stroke so clearly; all she thought about was ripping the pen