Primordia 2: Return to the Lost World

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Primordia 2: Return to the Lost World Page 28

by Greig Beck

“Yeah. Living the dream,” Cash replied quietly.

  “I’ll be fine. I’ve got Lakshmi and she’s got the Brain. We’ll all be fine,” Raff said. “And when I see you in a year, you can buy me several beers while me and Lakshmi tell you how we fixed everything. Cool?”

  “Sure, Raff, cool,” Cash lied.

  “Gotta go, buddy. We’re shutting down all systems. We can’t risk the electronics getting fried during the transition. Brain is taking the geothermal generators offline until we’re fully Flipside.” Raff went quiet then cleared his throat. “Hey, buddy? Can I ask you a favor?”

  “I’ll watch Elvis,” Cash said, anticipating the favor.

  “Thanks, Cash. He’s at my parents’ farm right now, but they can’t take care of him for another year. And no way his anxious ass would survive a year at the Topside Industries kennel by himself.”

  “I’ll get him as soon as I’m home.”

  Cash waited for a response, but there was nothing. He tapped at his ear and the resulting three beeps told him his comm was active, but no longer connected. Systems at Flipside FOB were offline.

  Cash’s stretcher was hurried into an operating room and the foam was quickly dissolved away from his body as medics began cutting the uniform off his legs.

  “Jesus Christ…” a medic said at the sight of Cash’s knees.

  “Gonna take some rehab to get those right again,” Cash said, staring at the warped messes that sat in the middle of his legs.

  “Let’s hope,” Dr. Leonard Raskov said as he strode into the OR. He took a long look at Cash’s knees then frowned. “Sorry, Cash. Those are beyond repair. I have civilians that are a higher priority. I only came by to confirm what the medics reported from the field.”

  “You aren’t even going to try?” Cash snapped. “What the fuck, Doc!”

  “There’s nothing to try, Cash,” Dr. Raskov replied. “Those knees are gone. There’s nothing there. You’re looking at a full rebuild.”

  “I’m allergic to replacements,” Cash stated, his fury barely under control. “I can’t have implants.”

  Dr. Raskov blinked then shook his head. “We’ll figure it out. But you’ll need a full orthopedic facility to do any good with those knees. I need to go take care of the civilians.”

  Cash started to argue, but bit the comment back. He shook his head. “Yeah, of course. Go. They need you.”

  “We’ll get you fixed up, Cash,” Dr. Raskov said. “I promise.”

  Before Dr. Raskov could turn and leave, the entire room began to shake with such violence that Cash’s stretcher fell over sideways, something it was designed never to do.

  “Raff!” Cash shouted into the dead comm.

  “Holy shit!” a medic shouted as she spun a tablet around to show everyone once the shaking had calmed down to a minor vibration under their feet. “It’s turning already!”

  “What? No, we have hours,” Dr. Raskov said.

  “Give me that!” Cash ordered.

  The medic handed him the tablet as two others righted his stretcher. Cash stared at the image on the tablet’s screen. “Brain was wrong…”

  The Flipside is available from Amazon here!

 

 

 


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