Dr. Emily pulled out the needle and placed it on the table; Hadley thought it was over. Then, without warning, the doctor grabbed what looked like a gun off the table and shoved it against her neck. She heard a click and instantly the pain ran down her side.
“I’m sorry,” Dr. Emily cooed with a mischievous grin. “I don’t like to warn people about that one, it never gets better, and you just have to bear it.”
Hadley clenched her jaw and waited, breathing slowly through her nose.
Dr. Emily grabbed the last injector off the table. It looked like an epi-pen. She flipped it over between her fingers grinning. She popped off the cap and came back towards Hadley, who struggled to back away; her limbs were so weak she could barely move.
“What the hell is that one?”
Dr. Emily just fixed a smile on her face as she raised the injector slightly above her shoulder and brought it down with all the force she could muster into Hadley’s chest.
“Insurance,” she said simply.
The pain seared through Hadley’s whole body and everything went dark but not before she saw Dr. Emily chuckling and the alarm sound on her holographic body image.
Chapter Eleven
2083
Hadley was wringing her hands together as she looked around the library filled with women in cocktail dresses and men in suits. She felt out of place between the books and dark mahogany, where before she had always found sanctuary. She had been asked to come to this mixer by Kane and had begged for Anna to be allowed to come too. She didn’t like going places with Kane it made her feel uncomfortable even though she hadn’t been his student for six months.
Now Anna was off flirting it up with some handsome man in a navy suit with a pink tie she had ‘accidentally’ bumped into as they had walked in the main door. Hadley rolled her eyes just thinking about it, but smiled knowing it was just Anna’s personality. She remembered vividly her first day at Harvard, which happened to be the first day she met Anna.
She had breathed in the warm fall air, admiring all the seemingly ancient buildings, whose structure had withstood the hands of time. She had looked around and the excitement bubbled within her. She was finally where she had always dreamed, Harvard. She clasped the cold metal handle of an enormous suitcase that rested on the cobbled street.
Harvard currently was the top international school in the world. The 2070 referendum for consistent education, where education became a global economic resource formulated for success of the best meant it was harder and harder to get into the programs. Hadley was one of the few who had secured a spot for the next class.
She pulled out her holographic phone. It was the size of a coin and she opened in to reveal a holographic map. Hadley walked down the path pulling her suitcase along and got to the dorms. She walked in and a woman approached her. “Are you looking for a room miss?”
She had rainbow hair and was holding a holographic tablet.
“Hadley Evans.”
She nodded and started to scroll with the touch of a finger, “Room 42B. Your roommate’s name is Anna.” She pressed a button and a small chip the size of a pin head popped out of the tablet. Hadley held out her hand for it but the woman grabbed her wrist. She placed the chip onto Hadley’s wrist who watched as it absorbed into her skin, disappearing, attaching itself to her program.
“I didn’t realize they were programmable now,” Hadley cooed.
“New this year!” the woman exclaimed with a smile.
Hadley felt the smile spread across her face, unable to hide her excitement about the small things.
Everyone was implanted with a program at birth. They were small, and left a small bump under the persons less dominant wrist. Everything you needed was added and since they were made of semi organic material when a piece was useless it was absorbed and deleted. Microscopic threads wound their way through a person’s entire body, so taking it out would lead to a painful death. That’s what the government had planned. There were black-markets claiming to be able to do it, but no one was ever certain they worked.
Hadley remembered asking her grandpa what would happen if someone lost the arm in an accident if the person would still die. He just nodded his head slowly, and had to explain that they were meant for perfect human beings only. The government had decided that those who ended up crippled were a burden on society. It had only been 20 years since science had gone far enough to start altering the human body. People got their bones replaced with lightweight titanium and organs could be grown in a lab.
Hadley flexed her fingers, feeling the familiar warmth of adding to her program. “Thanks,” she said with a nod and hurried down the hall. It was filled with people from every country imaginable. A pretty even mixture. Hadley passed one girl who looked vaguely familiar but she brushed that notion aside.
The stairs creaked as she made her way up to the fourth floor. The hardwood was worn and showed its age. Harvard had kept some of the original wood decor and they had worked tirelessly to protect it after wood was declared a protected and sparse resource.
She smiled down at her shoes. This was the happiest she had ever felt in her entire life. This was what she had been working for, for the entirety of her education. She finally opened the door onto the fourth floor. People were hustling around, but the noise was noticeably less than on the main floor. She found room 42 and heard the lock click as she brought her hand to the automatic latch. The automatic door swung open the perfect amount for her to bring her stuff through.
Hadley walked in and saw a girl sitting on her bed, four or so books sprawled out around her. Her hair was tied up in a messy bun on top of her head. Her glasses took up half her face and she was deep in conversation with herself.
‘Hi,” Hadley said gently as to not startle her. Unfortunately, she still jumped anyway.
“Hi!” she exclaimed jumping off the bed. She ran and took Hadley’s hand, shaking it furiously. “I’m Anna and I’m from France.”
“Hadley, Canada.”
“I’m so excited to meet you. I’ve been dreaming about my roommate!”
“Me too.” She could tell Anna and her were going to be best friends just by their co-loving of books and their excitement to be there.
“I’m in Neurobiology with a specialization on genetics and genetic infections.”
Hadley rattled off her own major, “I’m double majoring in Climatology and Neurobiology with a focus on climatological impacts on human evolution.”
“We are literally going to be best friends.”
And from that moment they were.
Hadley smiled remembering it all, how much they had been through over the time since then. The heartbreak, the late night study sessions, the girl’s nights out and the world slowly ending around them.
Hadley walked up the marble staircase. She looked around the entryway and marvelled at the pristine statues. One of them stood right beside the door and towered over the young adults making their way in.
She turned sharply to continue down the hall and almost ran into someone. She didn’t look up instead she just looked at her shoes. “Sorry,” she murmured apologetically before side stepping around them, trying to avoid making a scene or starting a conversation. She pulled down her too tight skirt.
“Hadley! Hey!” a friendly chipper voice said. Hadley let the words bounce around in her head. It was a voice she knew only too well and turned around in slow motion, lifting her head from her scuffed shoes.
“Paxton?” His name got choked in her throat.
He stood there beaming in his lieutenant uniform, medals hanging from his lapel.
“Hi, Babe.” His eyes got wide immediately and he clenched his jaw.
Without thinking Hadley practically spat at him, “Don’t call me that. I haven’t seen or talked to you in almost a year!”
“Sorry. Force of habit.” He flexed the muscles in his jaw.
She looked at her feet, the words caught in her throat. “I didn’t mean to snap—”
He shook his head at her. “I think you made your point pretty clear. Same old Hadley.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“I only came here tonight hoping to see you. I was invited and almost turned it down, but I had to see you. You haven’t responded to any of my emails.”
“Pax—” Hadley looked into his grey eyes, searching for a hidden motive that she couldn’t find. “We said we were having a clean break.”
“That’s easier said than done. Especially when you’re thrust into war. Thinking about you was what kept me going. I knew I needed to see you when I got back from my deployment,” Pax said grabbing a hold of her elbow.
“What happened to your degree?” Hadley said taking a step back.
“Didn’t you read my email?”
She sheepishly looked away to the chandelier hanging off the roof in the distance, remembering how she had set all his emails and contact to go straight to junk, “I must have missed that one.”
“I finished my first 2 years in an accelerated program in four months before I was deployed for the last nine.”
Hadley gaped at him, a smile spreading across her cheeks. “Show-off!”
“You could have done it.”
Hadley shook her head. “No, I couldn’t have. Here I thought I was the smart one.”
Pax laughed, a real laugh for the first time in a long time.
Out of nowhere Hadley felt a hand on her shoulder and turned her head around, still laughing. Kane had a gloating smirk on his face behind her.
“Hadley, introduce me to your friend.” It was a demand, not a request, though Hadley was sure Paxton thought he was friendly enough. She was the only one who could tell the small change in Kane’s voice, especially when he was talking to her. She only hoped this wouldn’t become a fight later.
“Professor Neil Kane, Paxton Avery,” Hadley muttered.
Pax held out his hand, which Kane took, giving it a hard shake. Kane studied him for a moment as they let their hands fall back to their sides.
“Ah, you are our West Point Medical student. I’ve read all about you. You are impressive, maybe even more than Hadley here,” Paxton just stared. Kane continued, “I’m on the invitation committee and head the scientific research.”
“Nice to meet you,” Pax said each word slowly trying to keep his voice level.
Kane slid his hand onto Hadley’s lower back. He rubbed his palm up and down, making sure Paxton saw. Hadley clenched her hands into fists and dug her nails into her palms to avoid shuddering.
“Come sweetheart. There is someone I need you to meet.” Kane put pressure onto Hadley’s back and guided her forward.
Pax was bewildered. Hadley looked over her shoulder and gave him a shrug as she furrowed her brow.
“Hey! What was that?” Hadley said as she stopped and moved away from Kane.
“Babe, you were done talking to him.” There was that word again, Babe—now she knew why it upset her so much. It was Pax’s word for her.
“Says who?” she spat.
Kane raised an eyebrow. “Weren’t you? Now come on.”
Kane left it there. He had the last word. Hadley followed him grudgingly as they walked up to a man with grey hair and menacing eyes. A man who Hadley had seen before but she didn’t know where.
“Hemmer. This is my prized student, Hadley Evans. She will make SPaDI great.”
“Nice to meet you, sir.” She held out her hand and Hemmer just looked at it.
“I hope that you are as amazing as Kane here says—” Hemmer looked her up and down. It was an instantaneous dislike, on both sides. Maybe it was Kane’s hand on her back, or maybe it was the way he held himself. In the end, Hadley didn’t like Hemmer and first impressions were everything.
Chapter Twelve
“Have a great rest of your day, and just call 9911 on your program if you ever need an appointment for any medical issue,” a woman in her early thirties smiled sweetly. Hadley’s head was spinning as she walked forward out of the office. A woman was waiting for Hadley.
“I’m Commander Alice Kimberly,” the young woman said as Hadley walked out of the office. She was noticeably taller than Hadley, which was amazing considering Hadley’s anything but short stature. She was bigger too. Her shoulders were broad and her body straight with just a hint of curves. She was in terrific shape and Hadley was envious as she looked down at her average frame. Too much time in the books—Hadley thought and giggled to herself. The woman’s blonde hair was pulled up into a high ponytail that swung back and forth while she walked.
“Hi, I’m…”
“You don’t remember me Hadley but I know you. I’m doing Kane a favour by escorting you to your room, but I won’t have anything to do with you after that.”
Hadley was taken aback; she said the only thing she could think of: “All right.”
Hadley followed Alice down the hall. She practically had to run after her as she walked with such power. They got to a door and Alice unlocked it; they were at another, smaller and homelier door, which Alice also unlocked. She held it open for Hadley to walk through.
“Kane doesn’t want you meeting the other participants until after the meeting tomorrow. So for tonight, you’ll find a fully stocked mini fridge and everything else you could ever need. Sleep tight.”
“What…” Hadley tried to ask a question but the door slammed in her face. She heard the distinct click of the lock going into place.
Great! Hadley rolled her eyes, turned on the light switch and looked around. It was small room with a bed and dresser. There was couch and a small kitchenette inside. A door led to a bathroom. Hadley went to the fridge and opened it. She was thankful to see it was fully stocked with solid food, something she hadn’t yet seen since awakening in the rubble.
She grabbed an apple and a water bottle and walked into the bathroom, excited to finally have real substantial food, to relieve the longing she felt in her mouth. Looking in the mirror she saw once again a reflection that she barely recognized. She needed to get the dust off and even more she needed to get the blood off, which had hardened across her body. She felt fine now and flexed her muscles, seeing if there was any residual pain, but there was just a tightness and exhaustion through her body. Nothing that a good night sleep wouldn’t fix.
She turned on the shower and took a bite of the apple. She chewed and heard the loud crunching in her ears. She tried but couldn’t bring herself to swallow; it was as though she was chewing cardboard. Looking around as she continued to move her jaw she opened the lid to the toilet and spat out the apple chunks. She flushed it, watching the floating pieces of apple disappear into oblivion. She threw the rest of the apple into the composter.
She opened the icy cold water bottle and took a long gulp. The water immediately came back up. She spat it out over the mirror and sink. Her throat was completely raw and apparently her stomach was in no state to take anything in. The nauseated feeling reared its evil head. Water droplets ran down the mirror and over the metal frame around it.
Feeling determined to make at least some of the water stay in her stomach, Hadley took another slow gulp. She felt the cold on her throat, soothing her dry throat as it ran down, cooling her core.
After a moment the mirror started to fog up from the shower. Hadley watched the steam settle over the mirror and sink. She slowly peeled off the layers of clothes that were stuck to her from the sweat, blood and dirt. Reaching out a hand she watched the water roll off her palm, in tiny droplets and eventually stepped into the bolting stream. The water ran red down her legs. She watched it flow over her and swirl in the bottom of the grey stone shower.
Hadley took the bar of soap off the ledge and started to scrub. First she scrubbed and scrubbed ignoring the pain, watching tiny gravel flecks fall from her arms, sides and legs where she had road rash.
She scrubbed until her whole body felt nothing and she dropped the bar of soap onto the ground and watched it bounce and spin until it stopped near the
drain.
The water left a speckled pattern across her non-bruised skin. Suddenly her knees started to shake and she could feel the tears. She fell back against the side of the shower and let her knees give out so she could slide down the wall to sit on the ground.
She let herself cry with her head between her knees. She just watched her tears mix with the water that was flowing over her. It all ran clear, having washed away everything that had happened over the days before.
The water eventually ran cold.
Even as she shivered under the icy stream her body released emotion, her sobs turned into short gasps, from a pain hidden so deep within her soul that it was eating her up.
Unable to stand, she turned the shower off and crawled out. She grabbed a towel off the shelf and wrapped herself in it as she slowly drifted off on the floor. She left her bed perfectly made.
What seemed like moments to Hadley but was actually hours later, there was a heavy handed knock on the door.
Hadley opened her eyes, wiping the crust from the corners. She blinked in the morning light that flooded the room from the artificial window that shows a mountainous sunrise. She got to her feet, still shaking and went to the door. She pulled the towel tighter around herself before she casually opened it, surprised that it was unlocked. She looked up to see Kane.
He was standing with his back against a wall, and had an eyebrow raised. He carelessly flicked his eyes up and down Hadley. Judging, always judging.
Hadley raised her eyebrow at him and bit her lip feeling the red rush to her cheeks.
“Hi Dr. Kane,” she breathed.
“Hadley, it’s just Kane.”
“Neil then?” she joked, before realizing that she might have overstepped. Her eyes got wide and she fidgeted uncomfortably.
“My mother was the only one who ever called me Neil,” he stated playfully though with an edge that suggested he’d rather keep it that way.
Insolation Page 5