The longer the moment stretched the more Danny felt a touch uncomfortable. Anapa was studying him like a science experiment he wasn't quite sure was going to plan, and - worse - Danny was left feeling more than a little guilty for his earlier train of thought. He was pretty sure Anapa wasn't a mindreader, but then, it was Shaman. So he was relieved, a little, when the man's smooth features creased at his words.
"Well, that's a relief," Danny replied to Anapa's matter-of-fact comment. He opened his mouth to ask a few questions (there were few with Death Sensing at the clinic, and he'd yet to learn more about the ability), when he thought better of it. Better to focus on the task at hand - he didn't want to waste Anapa's time, after all - and he couldn't even be sure that it was Death Sensing in the first place. Maybe Anapa was just an optimistic sort.
Studying his face again, Danny reconsidered this idea. He was about to make his apologies for wasting Anapa's time when the man stepped back from the desk, telling him to lead the way. Well... they had been wanting an expert.
"This way," Danny said, navigating the twisting hallways and up a short set of stairs into the intensive care unit. He checked in with the nurses, then made his way towards Wing B, Room 1.
"We have to leave most of the lights off, so it'll be a little dark in there. We try to avoid sudden movements or loud noises as she responds... poorly."
With that, Danny gently nudged the door open and led the way inside. Light poured in from the hallway and the person on the bed twitched; Danny closed the door quickly and quietly. Danny paused a moment, to let his eyes adjust to the relative gloom, and gestured Anapa forward.
The woman on the bed was pale and sickly, so slim she looked like a skeleton. Her breathing was ragged, wet gasps that sounded painful. She looked badly bruised, but if one looked closer...
"We... we think they're shadows," Danny explained in a voice above a whisper. The woman's eyes snapped open, burning fever bright but unfocused. He fiddled with his watch absently, frowning in thought. "We can't run any tests, every time we try she just sort of... phases out for awhile."
"Some farmers brought her in, said they found her in their fields, just plodding along," he licked his lips, refusing to use the word that first came to mind. "We thought she was gone for awhile there, but then..." he shook his head. "Have you seen anything like this before?"
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Danny