
“What’s this?” Joe knelt down brushed away the clippings from the last time the city had mowed the median.
“Joe!” His supervisor called out from across the street. “Leave that alone. Get inside before this drizzle turns into a deluge.”
“Why is there a random concrete slab here?”
“That’s not what it is, son.” Come on. “
Joe joined his boss, motioning back at the thing. “So what is it?”
The old man said nothing more as they stowed their gear and got in their truck.
“What, some evil portal for monsters?” Joe said at last, laughing.
“I told you, son. Leave it alone.”
They rode in silence for a time, the old man constantly checked his mirrors as they drove back toward the city garage. Once there, they unloaded their gear still in their stony silence. Just as Joe was about to walk away, the old man finally looked at him. “It’s a Healer’s Door. And you better pray to whatever god you worship that you never hear one open.”
” I don’t understand.”
“Why would healers need a door that allows them to literally pop up at the scene and take the wounded away before traditional help arrives ?”
An involuntary shudder ran down Joe’s spine. “Because of what they heal their patients from?”
The old man nodded, his eyes growing distant. “Beautiful creatures, absolutely beautiful. Their blood is bioluminescent. I was a mess when they found me. They put me back together, ok I guess.”