Sword of Blue (Tales of a Dying Star Book 3)

by David Kristoph

  He'd never seen Katy angry before. That it was directed at his blunder only made things worse. Her face quickly softened though, and soon he began to enjoy their walk together. It was a beautiful day, one of the rare spring days where it wasn't overcast and rainy. Other steadfasts in clean uniforms went about their daily tasks, and every now and again Charlie saw a civilian. Nobody gave a second glance to he and Katy walking together, a relief after the scrutiny in the outer city. It was almost relaxing strolling through the city in the sunlight. Except for their impending task.

  The hospital was no more than twenty levels, but stretched wide across three city blocks--in contrast to most inner city buildings that towered like trees in a forest. The hospital was blocked from view by those taller buildings, so it didn't appear until they were close, jumping into view as they rounded a corner. Like all buildings it was metal-framed and mostly dark glass, pleasing to the eye. The south-west rail ran level with its roof, a station built on top for easy access. Next to it, barely visible from the street, was a landing pad for aircraft.

  Katy stopped in the street and whistled between her teeth. "A building doesn't need to reach to the sky to be impressive. The hospital is huge."

  Her amazement amused Charlie. "You've never seen it before?"

  "No, I never go deeper than the Academy." Steadfasts in white uniforms had to step around her, but she continued standing there, staring.

  "This is nothing," Charlie said with a smile. "You should see the Terminal at the base of the Chain."

  Katy shook off her awe and stepped out of the street, back around the corner of the building that was adjacent to the hospital. Although they were now out of view of the hospital, they were still in the open, exposed and visible to the light crowd of people walking down the street.

  "You ready?" Katy asked.

  Now that they were here, ready to go, dread filled Charlie. He peered around the corner, thinking of a way to stall them. "In a minute. I want to watch the entrance for a bit."

  People passed through the hospital doors, going in and out. A personnel vehicle sat outside another entrance, powered-down and resting on the ground, its hover engines disabled. He watched it all, looking for anything abnormal, anything worth noting. He couldn't tell if the setting was routine or unusual. Charlie knew he was delaying, but he needed time to gather his courage.

  "What are you waiting for?"

  He remembered what he wanted to do. "Let me see the pill," he said as casually as he could manage.

  Katy paused. "Why?"

  "I just want to see it."

  "Is that so?"

  "Yeah. And I think we should go over the plan one more time."

  She crossed her arms under her breasts. "Why are you delaying, Charlie? Are you afraid?"

  "Of course not. I just want to be careful. This is a dangerous plan and I think we should go over everything one last time."

  She pulled the pill from her pocket, popped it in her mouth, and swallowed.

  She teased him with a sarcastic grin. "No time to be careful now."

  So much for that, he thought. She probably knew what he'd intended. Well, it was too late now. Focus on the plan. Onero had planned it all carefully--it would work if they stuck to it.

  "Let me know when you start feeling the headache and we'll--"

  Katy's eyes rolled back into her head as she collapsed. Charlie barely grabbed her to keep her skull from cracking on the pavement. He lowered her the rest of the way down, cradling her head on the ground.

  "Katy? Katy!"

  White foam bubbled from her mouth. Her head jerked in his hands. He rolled her over so she wouldn't choke, foam pouring onto the pavement.

  "Katy, can you hear me? Katy?"

  Her body spasmed.

  Charlie picked her up, holding her in his outstretched arms, and ran.

  Other steadfasts stared as he rushed by as fast as he could manage while bearing her weight. He knew he was quite a scene, a steadfast carrying a civilian through the street, but he kept his eyes on the hospital doors. It was still hundreds of feet away. Stars, why had she taken the pill so far from the entrance? Had she known this was what would happen?

  He rolled her body against his chest so more foam could drizzle from her mouth. She made a wet, gurgling sound.

  Reaching the hospital seemed to take forever. An attendant stood by the door and called inside when she saw Charlie coming. By the time he reached the doors a wheeled bed had been brought out, and two doctors in blue waited next to it. One took her from Charlie and laid her on the bed.

  They rushed her inside. Charlie followed.

  "Tell me what happened," asked one of the doctors, an elderly man with a moustache. He leaned over the bed as he pushed it through the waiting area.

  "She drank tetracyne," Charlie said, remembering the plan. He added, "A lot of it," hoping that would speed her care.

  "Tetracyne?" asked the other doctor, a younger-looking woman. "How did she do that?"

  Charlie's head felt fuzzy. Everything was happening too fast. Katy continued twitching on the bed. Was her face more pale, or was it his imagination? "The tetracyne was in a bottle. I saw her drink it. From a bottle."

  They passed through a pair of double-doors and into a hallway full of equipment. The doctors steered the bed around a corner. The older doctor pressed a metal instrument to Katy's chest.

  "Did she know what she was doing? Was it intentional?"

  Charlie didn't know what he was supposed to say. "I think so."

  That concerned the doctors; they leaned close to one-another and spoke hurriedly. But they didn't slow down, so it must have been the right thing to say.

  "Come with us. We may need to ask you more questions."

  Charlie nodded. The plan. This is the plan. Everything is going to be okay. Get to the tenth level, steal the drug, walk away.

  They reached the line of lifts. Another attendant stood there, holding one open so they didn't need to wait. They pressed a button and the doors closed. Charlie stared at Katy, watching the doctors work while the lift ascended. The color had definitely drained out of her face but she was still breathing. The younger doctor cut away Katy's uniform, revealing her underclothes. Charlie looked away, embarrassed.

  "Do you know her?"

  "Uhh." They hadn't discussed this part. Thinking fast, he said, "I found her, in an alley."

  She gave Charlie a strange look. "I thought you said you saw her drink it from a bottle."

  "He's in shock, doesn't know what he remembers," the older doctor said, shaking his head. "There's too much of this these days. Civilians killing themselves in the streets. Were you on the shift two nights past? No? Be glad you weren't. A boy, only nine or ten years old, self-immolated. Just lit himself on fire outside the Emperor's palace. Terrible sight. Body all charred and black. What would cause someone, a boy, to do such a thing?"

  "There was a double suicide attempt yesterday," the other doctor said. "A young couple took turns slashing their wrists in the middle of a train, screaming gibberish. Gave everyone a fright. Blood everywhere."

  From underneath the bed the young doctor pulled a long, plastic tube. She covered it in a clear gel, opened Katy's mouth, and gently pushed until most of the tube was inside. The tube ended in a round container, shaped like a balloon.

  The older doctor turned to Charlie. "Don't worry, son. We should be able to save this girl's life. You did a good thing bringing her here."

  The younger doctor nodded. "And if she lives they'll be able to get her to talk. We'll find out the purpose soon enough."

  "Get her to talk about what?" Charlie asked.

  "The Children," she said. "They're behind all these suicides. Nobody knows why, though."

  Abruptly, the tube in Katy's mouth changed colors. Brownish-grey fluid poured into the balloon at the end of the tube. When it was half-full the liquid stopped.

  Charlie stared.

  His shock must have been obvious, because the older doctor said, "D
on't worry, son. The Children of Saria aren't anything to worry about. I'm sure you just thought you were saving a pretty girl. They'll want to question you about it, though. You might have some information that's valuable."

  It was then that Charlie realized the lift had passed the tenth level. Through the clear door he saw the floors blur by as they continued upward. The lift finally came to a stop at the fourteenth level. Psychiatric.

  The plan. Everything was wrong. Charlie tried to think of what to do but his mind still felt fuzzy. He couldn't take his eyes off Katy. The spasms had stopped, but her face was still a terrible shade of purple.

  He followed as they wheeled Katy down the hall. The lights were bright, sterile. The air smelled too clean.

  They reached a room where another doctor in blue waited. "Well?" he asked.

  "Tetracyne poisoning, intentional," said the young doctor.

  "Another?"

  "Yeah. We've already pumped her stomach. She's stable now."

  "Good. I'll sedate her. I want to do some scans before she's aware of anything."

  They wheeled Katy inside the room. Charlie watched from the hall as they pulled equipment from a drawer and began attaching wires to her. Then the door closed, blocking his view.

  "Have a seat there," an attendant said. "The chemist will be up to ask you a few questions soon."

  "What scans are they going to do?" Charlie asked. "Is she going to be okay?"

  The attendant looked bored. "I'm sure she'll be fine. Just wait here please." The computer on his wrist flashed. He stared at it with shock before jogging away, leaving Charlie alone.

  Chapter 5

  The hall was silent, but in the back of Charlie's mind a clock ticked ominously. He didn't have much time before someone appeared to question him.

  Get up and go, he urged himself, trying to peel his eyes from the door. Katy was inside. Who knows what they were doing to her?

  Stick to the plan. Get the plourine.

  The plan was already in shambles. They suspected Katy of being a member of the Children. Correctly, although for the wrong reason. Charlie was on the wrong level, far away from the medical closets Onero had identified. Maybe there was plourine here on the fourteenth level but he had no idea where to look.

  Go. Do it for Katy.

  Katy. She risked her life so they could get the plourine. She'd done her part. How would she feel if Charlie failed to do his? Hers was the real danger--all Charlie had to do was grab some vials.

  That got his feet moving. He didn't want to go back near the lifts--there would surely be more people there--so he walked down the hall in the other direction, deeper into the hospital.

  He passed more rooms similar to Katy's, though hers had opaque walls while these were clear, allowing him to see inside. Most of the patients were sleeping, or unconscious. A few were strapped down to their beds. One boy sat up as Charlie passed, staring at him with an alarming intensity. He shouted something at Charlie, muffled by the clear walls. Charlie hurried on until the sound stopped.

  He reached an intersection with another hall and stopped. On the wall was a computerized map displaying the floorplan. Charlie squinted until he found what he wanted: there were two stairwells, one near the lifts and another in the opposite corner of the hospital. It would be easier traveling down to the tenth floor than trying to find plourine here.

  Charlie continued on, stopping at intersections to peer around the corners. If anyone appeared, if anyone saw him, they'd know immediately he was out of place. He never saw anyone; the floor was deserted.

  He stopped when he reached the door to the stairwell. He pressed a button on the wall, and the door opened.

  A camera buzzed in the corner, capturing his image, noting his presence. He remembered what Onero said: he wouldn't be flagged as suspicious for several days. Charlie hoped he was right.

  The clock still ticked in his head as he darted down the stairs, stopping when he reached the door to the tenth level. There was no window, no way to check to make sure the path was clear. He pressed his ear against the door but heard nothing through the thick metal. It was exhilarating sneaking around, hiding in the empty stairwell, proceeding carefully. He wondered if this was what being a shade was like.

  After more deliberation he forced himself to push the button.

  The door opened to chaos.

  Noise buffeted him: shouting doctors, screaming patients, beeping machinery. The hallway before him extended across the hospital, crowded with activity the entire length. Though the hospital employees moved with purpose, there was a panicked feeling in the air. It felt like a disaster had occurred.

  A girl sprinted past Charlie, a white blur. He watched her go. Another girl fell to her knees and vomited, sending green liquid running across the floor.

  Two more boys shoved past him before realization sunk in. He looked around, confirming it: a boy on a stretcher wore the same white uniform, and two others being led down the hall.

  These were all students from the Pilot Academy.

  He grabbed a student walking by. "What happened?"

  She looked at him with dazed eyes. "A bomb." She continued on without saying more.

  A bomb at the Academy. Like the one he'd worn the previous day? Onero had not told them about this plan, if he was behind it. Finn! Was his brother okay, or was he injured in the attack? Charlie frantically looked around, scanning the faces, but none were familiar.

  Someone grabbed his shirt sleeve, spinning him around. He panicked and nearly ran, but before he could the doctor asked, "Were you there?"

  "Where?"

  "The Academy. Were you exposed to the gas?"

  "No, I'm fine. I'm here with someone..."

  Charlie didn't know what else to say, but it didn't matter because the doctor rushed away, grabbing another uniformed student and repeating the question.

  It will be easier now, he thought as the doctor disappeared down the hall. The dread he felt about his brother remained, but there was nothing he could do about him. I can worry about Finn later. I need to get what I came for.

  He pictured Onero's map in his head. He thought he knew where he was in relation to the plourine despite taking a different route. One of the supply closets should be in front of him, a long distance down the main hallway, but it was too crowded. He hoped the other closet, farther away, would be less busy. He turned right.

  The chaos had not spread down this hall; a few rooms held patients, forgotten and ignored in the crisis. Paradoxically, the panicked environment of the floor calmed Charlie. Instead of sticking out, an intruder with illegal purpose, he was part of the chaos. What doctors he did see rushed by without noticing him. It was like being invisible.

  He turned down several corridors before he reached his destination. This part of the floor contained spare machinery and supplies, with no patient rooms at all. Around the corner, set into the wall fifty feet away, was the drug closet. Opposite the hall was an administration desk where two hospital attendants stood, bent over computer terminals. They looked busy.

  Charlie was unafraid as he rounded the corner and walked to the closet. The attendants never looked up from their computers. He stopped in front of the closet.

  It was more of a cabinet: square-shaped, three feet to a side, set into the wall at eye level. Two doors parted it down the center. The door frames were metal but the rest was glass. Three shelves held vials and bottles arranged in neat rows, seven or eight bottles deep. There were thousands of them, all of them identical except for the words written on the side.

  There were no handles on the door, but a small computer screen glowed on the wall.

  Charlie sensed the two hospital attendants moving from their station. He stood very still as they rushed by him, speaking hurriedly all the way down the hall. He was alone.

  He touched the computer screen. It came to life, flashing the words "Authorization required." Charlie glanced both ways down the hall, made sure Onero's chip was fastened into his wrist computer
, and then held his palm up to the screen to be scanned.

  The screen blinked. "Access denied."

  What?

  He held up his palm again. "Access denied."

  He removed the access chip from his wrist, inspecting it for any visible faults. Even after reconnecting it the supply closet would not open.

  The codes must have changed. What was he supposed to do now?

  Desperate, he went to the administration desk. It held nothing useful: a small chest scanner, a handheld laser probe, some half-eaten food. The computers there were locked as well, unresponsive to Charlie's touch.

  He picked up the chest scanner. It was the size of his palm, metal, with electronics in the center. He returned to the drug closet, hefting the scanner's weight, wondering if it would break the glass. Would alarms sound? Would anyone even care?

  He gripped the scanner in one hand, raising it high to strike.

  A stout female doctor appeared at his side. "What in the stars are you doing?" she asked. Not waiting for an answer, she shoved him aside and held her palm up to the computer. The doors clicked and swung open.

  She grabbed a bottle from the top shelf before rounding on him. "What are you doing?" she repeated.

  "There are too many wounded," Charlie said, thinking fast. "They sent me. The crisis. The bomb that went off at the Academy."

  The doctor cursed under her breath. "Who sent you? Stars help me if it was Kendra again," she said. "She knows she's supposed to fetch her own supplies."

  Charlie bobbed his head.

  "Fine, what does she need? Hurry up, boy."

  "Plourine," Charlie said. He tried pronouncing the word as if he didn't know what it was, just some dumb errand boy retrieving supplies for someone important.

  The doctor didn't care. She leaned into the closet, touching bottles and moving some aside to look. "I don't see any plourine here," she said. "Try the other closet, back in the main hall. That's where Kendra should have sent you in the first place."