by Gun Brooke
She hoped this wasn’t the last she saw of them.
*
Caya felt like a caged animal, ready to chew through the bulkhead to get out. She had tried reaching Briar several times but hadn’t succeeded. Calling Adina again, she nearly wept when she heard her sister’s lover respond.
“Caya? What’s up?” Adina asked, and Caya could hear her walking rapidly.
“I paged Thea. The hospital is being targeted again. Briar is supposed to work today and she’s not answering. I need to go there—”
“Hold on. I haven’t received any alerts.” Adina’s steps stopped echoing. “When did you have your vision?”
“Fifteen minutes ago, maybe? Thea is acting on it. She’s sending help. I just need to be there to help locate Briar if she’s doing some of her heroic stuff.”
“Oh, damn.” Adina’s voice was a mere whisper. “Can you find her, I mean, mentally? Can you reach out to her?”
“I’ve tried!” Caya howled the words. “I’m too far away. If you come get me and vouch for me, I can get closer and try to connect. She’s usually the one to find my mind, but I have to try.” Frantic now, Caya began to change into a dark-grey hooded coverall.
“All right. I’m on my way. Thea might demote me to crewman, but I don’t care. If Briar needs us, that’s all that matters.” The sound of Adina’s steps indicated that she was running. “I’ll be at your door in about five minutes. Good thing I had to give a lecture in the government building.”
“Hurry!” Caya rushed over to her cabinet and pulled out an emergency-kit case. This was yet another thing Thea knew nothing about. Caya and Briar had put together a bag with emergency supplies of all kinds in case Caya ever needed to disappear. The bag held everything she would need for five days, including a set of fake identity cards. They wouldn’t fool a thorough scan, but the rudimentary scanners used by law enforcement routinely would be deceived.
Tapping her foot just inside the door, Caya waited impatiently for Adina to arrive. When the door chime finally rang and the door opened, Caya was about to jump out into the corridor when she saw Adina’s warning gaze. Outside, Thea had clearly put one more guard on duty since Caya’s vision.
“Adina, welcome.” Caya knew her smile was more of a grimace.
“I thought I’d ask you to join me and Briar for some dinner at our place.” Adina ran a hand through her short, dark hair. “It’s been a while.”
“Sure. Will you be able to vouch for me?” Normally, any of Caya’s outings needed to be cleared in advance and logged.
“Absolutely.” Adina turned to the guards, and whoever saw her insignia probably recognized her on sight. “I’ll take responsibility for Ms. Lindemay. She’ll be back in a couple of hours. I’ll page the lieutenant in charge of your shift when I know the exact ETA.”
The guards exchanged a glance, but it was clear that Adina’s rank made them wary of asking questions. “Feel free to page the president if you think you need her confirmation. I believe she’s busy though.” Adina looked casual.
Caya nearly gasped but realized Adina was gambling that they wouldn’t dare disturb the president with such a routine matter.
“No, that’s all right, sir. I will need your retina-scan signature.”
“Of course.” Adina performed the procedure put in place to keep Caya safe. “There. We better hurry, Caya. Briar’s waiting.”
“I’m ready.” Caya stepped outside and hurried after Adina before any overly conscientious guard objected. “That was bold.”
“Don’t kid yourself. That was the easy part.” Adina lengthened her steps. “Let’s hope we don’t run into Thea on our way out the door. I had confirmation on my way here that she’s on the bridge, but you never know. For having the ultimate office on this ship, she sure likes to micromanage at times.”
“For good and bad,” Caya said. She might well argue and be furious with Thea, but she didn’t like it when anyone else said anything unfavorable about her. “Who knows under what conditions I’d be held if she didn’t micromanage my situation? Or Briar, for that matter.”
“True.” Adina didn’t elaborate, but the way she pressed her lips together told Caya she was a force to reckon with if anything or anyone threatened Briar’s wellbeing. Right now, that wellbeing might hang in the balance unless Caya reached her sister. The closer they got to the jumper gate, the harder it became to keep up their speed and not run into people. Passengers, politicians, and military personnel milled around them, and Adina took Caya by the hand.
“We can’t get on the regular jumpers. No official traffic is going into cube eleven right now. We need to procure a military cart.” Adina motioned for a door close to the entrance to the gate, where a growing crowd of passengers stood. She swiped a card and allowed the retina reader to confirm her identity again. The door opened and she pulled Caya with her. “Hurry. If the general public thinks they can get in and find a transport in here, we’ll never be able to close the door.”
Caya squeezed through and saw how Adina closed the door behind them just as people came running. Hands banged on the door, making Caya cling to Adina’s hand. “Why are they so agitated?”
“Rumors spread fast, and even though Thea no doubt put the lid on this pretty fast, some may have been leaked. Now people either want to go home or to the hospital and get their loved one out of there.” Adina let go of her hand and crossed the track as she moved to the opposite bulkhead.
Caya felt as if every palm and fist hammering at the door hit her midsection. What if she had interpreted the vision wrong—or if the vision had come to her too late? It could mean the end for Briar and many other people, most of them sick or injured already. She heard a scraping noise and turned in time to see Adina flip open a hatch and reveal a very small runner, meant for four people.
“Get in. I’ll program it in transit. Otherwise it won’t cross the border to cube eleven.”
Caya took the left seat. Knowing they’d be going much faster than in the usual jumpers, she strapped herself in with the six-point harness. Adina did the same and began giving verbal commands as the jumper began to move. It shook slightly before it reached maximum speed, and the tunnel walls became a blur. Caya gripped the seat, fearing they might crash at any moment. As they neared the gate of cube eleven, Caya half expected the guards there to stop them or the automatic brakes to disengage the magnets that kept them moving forward, but they blasted straight through the gate, not even slowing down.
They reached the hospital area and Adina steered manually until they came to the main gate. “Hmm,” Adina said. “Something tells me we need one of the side entrances. Hold on.” She whipped the mini-jumper around a corner and moved it into a side track.
The side entrance wasn’t as inundated with people trying to get in, but Caya could tell they would have to struggle. She was the one grabbing for Adina’s hand as they weaved in and out among the people. How could rumors spread this fast? The answer was self-evident. During the first attacks, nobody had been prepared, or even worried, that such things would occur aboard a ship of salvation. Here they were all hoping for a new, safe future for the Oconodians and the Gemosians. Why would anyone want to destroy that? Now, after several attacks, of learning about changers having snuck aboard, the passengers on Pathfinder didn’t take things at face value. When they learned of a rumor regarding something happening that might impact their loved ones, they didn’t sit around waiting for the authorities to deal with the situation.
“To the left. I need to reach the guards or we won’t get inside.” Adina gasped and tossed Caya in behind her as a group of men approached, shouting “Open the door” to the security personnel in charge. Feeling a hard shove against her back, Caya fell to her knees. She knew she had scraped them badly against the floor but bounced back up before she was trampled.
“Hold on!” Adina pulled Caya in under her arm and literally dragged her over to the closest soldier. “Open the door, but keep the weapons trained on the crowd. Do
you have reinforcements coming, Ensign?”
“Sir. Yes, sir!” The young woman already had her rifle in a ready-to-fire position, her index finger mere millimeters from the trigger sensor. “Two units from cube four are inbound. Get behind me, sir. Ensign Cioma will open the door for you on my signal. Be prepared. We can’t do this too many times, or they’ll storm us.”
“Understood, Ensign. Be safe.” Adina glanced down at Caya. “I’m so dead when Thea learns of this.”
“Me too.” Caya gripped Adina’s hand again. The door opened before them, and they almost fell through it. As it hissed closed behind them, they heard the wheezing-popping sound of weapons being fired.
“Oh, no.” Caya whipped her head around, staring at the door.
“She’s firing above their heads the first time around. Hopefully the teams from cube four will get there soon.”
Caya hoped so too. She glanced around. They were in the far right wing of the hospital. People scurried around on the inside as well, but not nearly as many as on the outside. The communication system kept repeating for people to evacuate unless they were unable to do so for medical reasons.
“I need somewhere a little bit quiet, Adina.” Caya looked for a door to an office or even a cleaning-supply closet. “I can’t focus with so much movement around me.”
“This way.” Adina pulled Caya along and opened a door located just around the corner. It was indeed a minor office area that had apparently been evacuated.
“This all right?” Adina locked the door behind them.
“It’s fine. Now, I need you to be very still until I know if I can reach her.”
Adina merely nodded and sat down on the closest desk.
Caya pulled out a chair and sat also, barely noting her torn coverall and bleeding knees. She pressed her palms to her chest and closed her eyes. Thinking of her sister, Caya envisioned them together when she was little and they lived in the traditionalist house in a small town. They would sit on the porch or in the garden, have homemade juice or tea made from the charka trees by the river. Longing so desperately for her sister, Caya began to hum the melody Briar had always sung to her on those days when they both missed their parents, or when Caya had one of her nightmares that were preludes to visions. Only Briar’s voice could soothe her back then.
“Caya? Caya?” Briar’s voice was like a whisper in the wind, but it was there. “Caya?”
“Briar. Where are you? Are you safe?” Caya focused so hard to maintain the connection, she could feel sweat run down her back.
“I’m fine. You had a vision about what is happening?”
“I did. I’m here. First floor. With Adina.” It was getting harder to maintain the contact.
“At the hospital?”
“Which floor? You on?” Clutching the armrests tightly, Caya began to slump. “Tell me.”
“I’m on the third deck. A team of soldiers is already here, and I’m trying to assist.”
Caya felt Adina’s hands cup her shoulders and hold her upright. It was as if Adina’s love for Briar and deep affection for Caya helped her regain her strength and focus. “We’re coming to help you.”
“But—”
“On our way.” Caya snapped her eyes open, gasping for air. She grabbed Adina’s wrists and pulled herself up. “Third deck. Soldiers in place searching. We need to hurry.”
Chapter Six
The third level of the hospital was eerily quiet. The staff moved patients in hover chairs or beds, soldiers searched every part of the wards meticulously, and nobody spoke above whispers or murmurs. Adina and Caya moved down the corridor, Adina now with her sidearm in her right hand.
“Can you sense her?” Adina glanced back at Caya.
“No. I don’t function like that. She should be able to sense me though, unless someone in great pain or distress drowns me out.” This had happened before. Briar was getting better with each passing day when it came to tuning out the noise around what she really wanted to home in on. Still, it was hard to filter out someone overwhelmed with emotions or in excruciating pain.
“What’s going on? Where are you taking me?” An old woman clung to the railings of the hoverbed, staring at the soldiers with frightened eyes. She was Gemosian and so emaciated, it pained Caya to see her thin, transparent extremities. She was dressed in a light-blue shirt that matched her starkly blue-veined skin in a distressing way. Part of Caya wanted to reach out to the woman, but she feared if she touched her she might be inundated with the woman’s long history. Was this to be Caya’s future—fearing the touch of other people?
“Don’t worry, ma’am,” Adina said, as if she had read Caya’s mind. “You will be well cared for at another unit until we sort everything out. Just relax. You’re in good hands.”
The old woman tilted her head and looked at Adina and then at Caya. As she gazed into Caya’s eyes, she suddenly smiled, which looked completely out of place. “Ah, yes. She awaits you in room four. You best hurry on, little miracle girl. Time is of the essence.”
Caya gaped at the woman slumped back against her pillows as she was whisked away by the staff. “What—what was that about?”
“I have no idea, but I suggest we might as well find room four and check it out.” Adina hurried down the corridor, twice as fast as before. Caya kept a lookout for the room numbers located above the door frames. When they reached a fork in the corridor, Caya spotted room four on the far right.
“There,” she called out, then began running.
“Wait!” Adina caught up with her. “Stay behind me. I’ll go in first.”
“Adina?” a familiar voice said, and Briar poked her head out through the open door to room number four. “I heard your voice.” She ran up to them and pulled them both in for a quick, strong hug. “I believe that room four—”
“—is where they placed the white garnet.” Caya nodded. “We have to discuss how you managed to use an old lady as a conduit just now, later.” She walked with Briar to room four, only to have Adina yank both of them back by tugging at their coveralls.
“You’re not going in there, in case you’re correct.” Adina stepped in front of them and motioned for someone behind them to approach. “I’m Commander Vantressa. I need this room swept before you continue to do anything else.”
“I’m Commander KahSandra,” a melodious female voice said from behind them, and a stunning woman circled them, followed by eight soldiers. “This is Lieutenant Diobring and his team. We’re reporting directly to President Tylio, and she said nothing about you being here, sir.”
Caya studied Commander KahSandra and wondered if they were really going to waste time by arguing who was in charge of what. Exchanging a glance with Briar, she didn’t have to mentally connect with her sister to realize she was thinking the same thing. Caya saw Briar nod discreetly, motioning with her head toward room four. As Adina and KahSandra faced off over what needed to be done and in what order, Caya and Briar moved stealthily along the wall until they managed to slip inside room four.
“Creator…can you smell that?” Caya crinkled her nose. She was sure she had never encountered that exact odor before. Something chemical and tinged with metal, it made her nauseous.
“I can’t smell anything other than regular hospital scents.” Briar frowned. “What are you talking about?”
“That foul, sickly sweet smell. Surely you have to notice it?” Caya spoke in a whisper to not alert the ones outside the door of their whereabouts. “It’s from over here.” She walked to the left part of the room, where the heads of the beds had been before they were evacuated. A multitude of cords, hoses, and different outlets confused her at first, but then she realized the odor came from an outlet marked TPN. “Here. It’s from here. What’s that?”
Briar joined her and sniffed at the outlet. “You have to be wrong about this, sis. That’s where we hook up patients that need complete nutrition via infusions. Total Parenteral Nutrition.”
Caya thought fast. If what they were l
ooking for, the white garnet, was in the TPN system, and infused into someone…This couldn’t be true. “Either way, the guys in the corridor need to bring their scanners. If I’m right—”
“The whole hospital needs to shut down their TPN lines.” Pale now, Briar hurried to the door and called Adina’s name. Soon the entire room was filled with KahSandra and Diobring’s team.
“How the hell did you slip in here?” Diobring growled.
“Never mind that,” Briar said calmly. “Scan this room for white garnet. Even trace amounts can be lethal, so be careful.”
“What does she know of white garnet?” Diobring muttered as he and his team took out their scanners.
“More than you, Lieutenant,” Adina said and rubbed her lower arm.
Caya shuddered at the memory of how Adina had been seconds from having her arm severed by the volatile substance only days after Pathfinder launched. Briar had saved her by adding a neutralizer, something that was standard fleet issue now in the shape of small aerosol canisters. Adina had hers already prepared to administer.
Commander KahSandra pulled out her scanner, a larger, more elaborate tool than what the soldiers had on hand. She ran it up and down the wall, starting by the corner, and when she reached the tubes and outlets, it began to sound a low hum that increased until it literally howled.
“Here.” KahSandra pointed at the TPN outlet, and it was her turn to go pale. “I’m reading concentrated amounts, but no corrosion, which doesn’t make sense.”
“It actually does.” Adina joined her. Briar put her arm around Caya’s shoulders and approached them carefully. “White garnet has a very slow impact on silicon-lined tube systems like these.” She was already tapping furiously at her tablet. “I’m issuing an alert to all medical facilities on Pathfinder. Caya’s vision showed only this ward at this hospital, but we need to be prepared.”
“What happens if someone gets this into their system mixed with the TPN?” Caya asked, nauseous at the mere idea.