Heath

by Arcadia Shield

  “Stay the night, at least,” said Nick. “I will show Annie around. She can see the excellent work we’re doing, and make a decision whether she’d like to be a part of it.”

  “You don’t want to be involved with this place,” said Dmitri, not taking his gaze from Annie.

  “Maybe we should stay.” Annie chewed on her bottom lip, not liking the way her father’s whole body trembled. Maybe he was coming down with the same illness as her. “And we need to arrange transport to get out of here.”

  “That’s true,” said Nick. “And all of my vehicles are out. But the next available truck is all yours. One of my team will take you wherever you wish to go.”

  Annie nodded and smiled at her dad. That didn’t sound so bad. She could handle being here one night and was curious about what went on in the facility.

  “Please, Annie, you must listen.” Dmitri grabbed her arm.

  “Dad! We’re staying.” Annie couldn’t figure out why he was being so irrational. “And you need to rest and get something to eat before you’re fit to go anywhere.”

  “I can arrange for that,” said Nick. “We’ll take the very best of care of you and your father. Perhaps that will persuade you to join us.”

  Annie gave Nick a small smile. “Perhaps it will. And I would like to see the facility.” She turned to her father who still clutched her arm. “Are you going to come with me?”

  “I’m not leaving your side,” said Dmitri. He looked at Nick. “And you can’t stop me.”

  “You’re free to accompany us,” said Nick, his lips pressed into a thin smile. “There’s a test subject who’ll be of interest to you both. No matter what we do, his beliefs remain firm. I fear we might have to take drastic measures to help.”

  “I’d like to see how you work with patients,” said Annie.

  “Of course.” Nick led Annie and Dmitri out of his office and along the corridor to the laboratory.

  There were more problems with the lights as they blinked and flickered.

  “Don’t listen to him,” whispered Dmitri to Annie. “This man is a liar. Nick will say anything to convince you to join him.”

  “He’s helped me,” whispered back Annie. “He’s helped us both.”

  “Nick’s only helping himself. And I think we’re getting some help soon.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “These flickering lights. Our friends in the vent are causing problems. Maybe some of them got away.”

  Annie dismissed her father’s ramblings. It wouldn’t be the first time she’d heard him when he was in a delusional state.

  “Right this way.” Nick beckoned for them to catch him up.

  “How long have you been treating this patient?” Annie’s eyes widened at the number of armed guards they passed. Why were they here if this was merely a place for sick people?

  “On and off for almost a year,” said Nick. “We’ve been watching him from afar, aware of his declining health, but waiting for him to be receptive to treatment. We find the power of the mind is almost as strong as any drug when it comes to patient recovery.”

  “What methods have you tried on him?”

  “Nothing that’s been successful. And his actions are becoming erratic and dangerous, not only to himself, but to other members of society. He’s even convinced his family that what he’s doing is right and has a growing team of delinquents who follow him. We can’t risk his acts of terror infiltrating society for any longer.”

  “Sounds serious,” said Annie. “And you think a re-education program will work on him?”

  “I’ll let you decide that.” Nick opened the door to the laboratory and stepped through before moving to one side. “Here’s the subject in question.”

  Dmitri choked back a cry as he saw who was on the examination table in front of them.

  Annie’s eyes widened. “Heath!”

  Chapter 17

  Heath’s head jerked, as Annie, Dmitri, and Nick entered the room. He strained against the restraints around his wrists and ankles, the sharp metal biting into his flesh.

  “This is the patient?” Annie looked at Nick, color fading from her cheeks.

  “Don’t listen to him,” said Heath, his head throbbing from the guards’ beating. “There’s nothing wrong with me. He’s got Lincoln and Juniper here. And the dragon hybrids we helped. See for yourself.” He had been yelling at Lincoln to wake up when they brought him into the room five minutes ago, along with a furious, hissing Juniper. Both were now strapped to examination tables, alongside the female dragon hybrids. So far, he’d seen nothing of Arlo, and hoped he was still free.

  Nick shook his head, a sad expression on his face. “Doctor Ember, your delusions are out of control.”

  “But I know him.” Annie stared at Nick. “I can’t have Heath as a patient. And neither should you.”

  “I know you. And helped you to recover.”

  “He’s lying. This whole thing is a lie.” Heath pinned Annie with his gaze, willing her to remember.

  “We’ve tried every method to remove his delusions,” said Nick. He gestured to the doctor waiting by Heath’s bed. “All without success. It’s time for something more permanent.”

  “Wait!” Annie strode to the bed and looked down at Heath. “You said if I came to work here I could use a re-education program. Can’t I do that with Heath?”

  “What’s he told you?” Heath glared at Nick, who stood behind Annie, a smug smile on his face.

  Annie touched her fingers to Heath’s cheek. “It will be okay. I know about your delusions. I’d like to help you, if I can.”

  “I initially thought Doctor Ember would make a suitable candidate,” said Nick. “But after his recent behavior, he’s too dangerous to have around. You saw for yourself we had to restrain him when he visited you.”

  “What are you going to do to him?” Annie’s gaze flitted around the room, to the other people strapped to examination tables. The people Heath seemed to think she knew.

  “A chemical lobotomy,” said Nick.

  Annie spun around on her heel. “Are you serious? That will destroy everything, not just the false dragon memories.”

  “It will give him a fresh start,” said Nick. “There might be rudimentary damage to his personality, but we believe this is the safest and best thing. He has become so lost in his delusions it’s the only way to retrieve him. This will give Doctor Ember a chance at an actual life, instead of losing himself to fantasy.”

  “Don’t believe a word he’s saying.” Heath longed to grab Annie, shake the sense back into her. But it would do no good. Nick had stolen that from her, stolen their chance to be together.

  Annie’s hand hovered over Heath’s head. “I don’t agree with removing a person’s personality because they’ve become difficult.”

  “We’ve been working together,” said Heath, seeing a hint of indecision in Annie’s eyes. “Try to remember.”

  A host of emotions flickered across Annie’s face. “I’m sure Nick’s trying to help. Perhaps there’s another way.”

  “No. We’ve tried everything.” Nick gestured to the doctor again, who moved closer to the examination table.

  “Keep away from me,” growled Heath.

  The doctor shot a worried look at Nick. “Perhaps we should wait. We’ve been having power outages. Won’t be safe to perform the procedure if the lights die.”

  Nick waved at him to continue. “It won’t be a problem. I have people looking into that little matter.” His gaze settled on Heath. “They will soon be dealt with.”

  Heath knew he was talking about Arlo. Despite wanting him safe, he was glad he were making things difficult for Nick.

  “Annie. You must see this.” Dmitri had moved away from her side and was staring the other patients.

  Annie looked up “Are they also receiving chemical lobotomies?”

  “They’re your friends,” said Heath. “See for yourself. Juniper and Lincoln and the two dragon hybrids we rescued from the o
ther group of prisoners.”

  “Prisoners? Dragon hybrids?” Annie’s gaze went from Heath to the other examination tables, where one of the patients was shifting around. “I don’t think I know—”

  Nick dashed in front of Annie. “These patients will be suitable for you to work with.” He shot Heath an irritated glance. “Their delusions aren’t as deeply entrenched. There’s still hope for them. They were trying to damage this facility. We prevented them, assessed their state of health, and now wish to make them well.”

  “He’s lying,” said Heath. “That’s my brother, Lincoln. And the female dragon hybrid has been helping us get your dad free from here.”

  “Annie!” Juniper kicked away a medic who was adjusting the strap on her leg.

  “You must remember Juniper.” Heath lifted his head, as he watched Annie approach her table. “She was the first dragon hybrid you’ve ever seen. Hell, the first one I’ve seen.”

  Annie squinted at Juniper. “Have we met?”

  Juniper bucked against her restraints. “Don’t let this scum trick you into doing something you’ll regret. We’re working together.”

  “How do we know each other?”

  “Heath’s right. I’ve been helping you get your dad back,” said Juniper. “You hired me. We met in the market. We tried to escape through the wall vent, but some of the prison guards caught us.”

  Annie rubbed her forehead. “I don’t remember that. What market?”

  “In the Badlands!” Juniper growled at the medic, as he got too close.

  “Restrain the patient.” Nick’s hand settled on Annie’s back.

  Heath felt the urge to snap his neck for touching her.

  “It appears you’ve chosen your first subject,” said Nick. “This female is not without her challenges, but if you can convince her to break her delusions, it will be worthwhile. And she is correct in that she broke into this facility and tried to harm staff. She is a danger unless we help her.”

  “Check her arms for scales,” said Heath. “We’re not lying to you. She’s a dragon hybrid.”

  Annie looked back at Juniper. Heath saw confusion on her face. She had to remember them and the reason they were here. Nick couldn’t have taken her from him.

  Annie stepped away from Nick, her gaze remaining on Juniper. “Show me her arm.”

  “This is nonsense,” said Nick. “And scales can be faked.”

  “Juniper is genuine,” said Heath.

  “Shut him up!” roared Nick.

  Juniper grinned at her. “My scales aren’t a delusion.” The smell of burning rubber shot up Heath’s nose, as Juniper freed herself from her arm restraints.

  “Stop her!” Nick pulled a pulse laser gun from the holster inside his jacket and pointed it at Juniper as the guards approached.

  The medic standing close to Juniper scurried backwards and threw himself through the door out of the way.

  Juniper released her legs from the bindings and launched herself at Annie.

  “Be careful,” yelled Heath, as Nick swung his gun toward them.

  Juniper moved with lightning speed and grabbed Annie’s arm before sinking her teeth into it.

  Annie shrieked and tried to pull her arm away, but Juniper held on as her teeth punctured the flesh.

  Heath thrashed in his restraints. What the hell was Juniper doing? Had she gone mad? Was she trying to kill Annie?

  Nick grabbed Juniper around the waist and pulled her away from Annie, placing the gun at her temple to stop her from fighting back. “Give me a reason to pull this trigger, you disgusting hybrid freak.”

  Heath’s stomach clenched, as Nick waved his gun around like it was a toy. It was too close to Annie.

  “Why did you bite me?” Annie stared at her bitten arm.

  Juniper smirked as she swiped a hand across her mouth. “It will help you remember.”

  “This one needs re-educating,” snarled Nick, keeping the gun against Juniper’s head. “I will deal with her personally. You should not have experienced that, Annie. I apologize on behalf of this monster.”

  “No!” Annie continued to stare at her arm, the skin stinging, as blood welled into the bite marks from Juniper’s teeth. “What did you mean? Why will this help me remember?”

  “Dragons have something special in our bites,” said Juniper.

  Heath smiled grimly as he realized why Juniper had attacked Annie. He’d read a research paper about the unique qualities of dragon saliva. Similar to other scaled species, dragon saliva had powerful properties. But he didn’t think it could disrupt hypnotic suggestion and remove false memories.

  Nick slammed the butt of his gun against Juniper’s head and she fell to the floor. “She’s worse than I thought.”

  “You didn’t have to do that.” Annie knelt and inspected the wound on Juniper’s head.

  “She’s dangerous,” said Nick.

  “You’re the only dangerous one in here,” growled Heath. The lights dimmed. “Looks like you aren’t in control of everything. Maybe you missed one of us?”

  Nick pointed the gun at him, his arm trembling. “Keep your damned mouth shut.”

  Heath ignored him and focused on Annie. “Get out of here and take your father with you. Don’t trust a word Nick says.”

  Annie looked over at Heath. She blinked several times and scrubbed her fingers over her eyes. “I should help her.” She stared at Juniper who was out cold.

  “We’ll deal with her.” Nick gestured to the guards. “Take this one to isolation. I need to determine her state of mind before I decide her next course of treatment.” He rested a hand on Annie’s shoulder. “Perhaps that’s something you can be involved in.”

  Annie shook her head and staggered to one side. “I’m not sure.”

  “Are you okay?” Dmitri touched her elbow. “Are you remembering the truth?”

  Heath watched Annie’s movements and his heart clenched. Was Juniper’s bite having an effect?

  Heath sucked in a deep breath, hope forcing energy through his veins. “Annie, you must remember us.”

  ANNIE BLINKED, AS COLORED sparks swam across her vision. Everything felt wrong and warped. She looked up at Nick and frowned. He’d never told her what her illness was. In fact, he’d been vague in explaining it.

  She stood and stared at him, noticing the sweat on his forehead. “Tell me more about my stay here.”

  “You know everything already.” The irritation in Nick’s voice was clear. “We’re wasting time.”

  Annie stepped back as the guards strode over, holstered their guns, and dragged Juniper away. Annie raised a hand to stop them, but an image of dragon scales painted on Juniper’s skin flashed before her eyes and her vision blurred. She looked at the table Juniper had been strapped to. Her gaze jumped to the charred restraints. How had Juniper done that? She turned to Nick to ask him what was going on, but he’d moved to a comms screen, his shoulders hunched, the gun still in his hand.

  Every time she looked at Nick, Annie’s stomach flipped. And there was something wrong with this place. She couldn’t work here. It was wrong to tie patients down and rob them of their personality. And it was even more wrong to hit people with a gun and have them dragged away because they tried to escape.

  “Can I examine Heath?” Annie asked Nick, forcing her voice to remain calm.

  Nick didn’t turn to look at her. “Go ahead, but he’s a lost cause. You only need to speak to him for a moment before you see how far gone he is.”

  “I don’t doubt that.” Annie grabbed her dad’s arm they hurried to Heath’s side. She pretended to check the port screen medical chart on the table next to him. Her head swam with conflicting memories; her father missing; Heath helping her find him; searching for a State base inside the Black Zone and discovering it full of prisoners. Just what was she remembering? What was the truth?

  The bite on her arm stung. She wiped away the blood with a piece of tissue. Maybe she was the one losing her mind.

  “Annie,
try to remember,” whispered Heath.

  Annie kept her gaze on the medical chart. “I am. I know you.”

  She heard Heath suck in air, but didn’t raise her gaze from the chart. She had to keep it together and figure out what was going on.

  “Juniper’s bite worked?”

  “I’m not sure if the bite did it, or maybe the shock did,” said Annie. “I wasn’t here because I was sick, was I?”

  “You are quite well,” whispered Dmitri.

  “You’re fine, you were never sick,” said Heath. “We’re all fine. Nick’s the problem.”

  Annie glanced over her shoulder. Nick still studied the screen in front of him. He was reviewing a map covered in red dots. She moved to block his view of Heath’s restraints and undid each arm tie.

  Heath eased himself up and pressed his forehead against Annie’s, keeping a finger to his lips, before undoing the ankle restraints.

  “About that dinner.” Nick turned from the screen. His eyes widened, as he saw Heath free. “What are you doing? He’s not safe to be released.”

  “You’re the one who’s not safe.” Annie glared at Nick. “You lied to me.”

  Nick’s gaze narrowed. “That little hybrid’s gotten to you.” His gaze went to her bleeding arm. “So, dragon saliva has its uses. That will make for an interesting study.”

  “One you’re not going to do,” said Annie. “I remember everything.” That wasn’t true. Her thoughts were a tangled mess. But one thing she understood was that Nick was no friend.

  “Everything?” Nick raised his gun.

  Heath grabbed hold of Annie, shoved Dmitri to the ground, and tipped over the table he’d been strapped to. They all dived behind it. A second later, a blast from Nick’s gun exploded into it.

  Annie looked around for a weapon, but all she could find was medical instruments. She grabbed a scalpel, not feeling any better for having it. It wouldn’t do any good against Nick’s gun.

  “Annie, you must see sense,” said Nick, his tone cloying. “You don’t believe in dragons.”

  “What’s it to you?”

  “I understand you want to help your friends,” said Nick. “If you join with me here, you’ll be able to do that. It’s natural for you to have loyalty to Doctor Ember, having worked together, but you’re only harming him and yourself with what you’re doing.”