A lattice of metal spread out behind her as she neared the bottom, warm enough to feel from several meters away. The ladder continued through it toward a network of pipes further down. Her fallen protector lay out upon the grid, at the center of a crater of smashed metal slats and leaking water. She stretched one leg out, hooking her toes on the platform before pushing herself off the ladder. Althea caught her balance with a wave of her arms before walking a pipe, maneuvering like an acrobat until she reached where Shepherd’s impact had flowered the steel tubing.
Blood no longer gushed from his mangled shoulders, and his stare did not find her. The red glow from within the lens had faded to an almost imperceptible electronic ember. Althea stepped over a bent pipe holding her arms out for balance, and climbed up to sit against his side.
“I’m sorry.” Grief came down the ladder, and she bawled. “You didn’t have to do that.” She sniffled, collapsing over his chest. “It’s my fault.”
Sob after sob fell out of her; she lost the ability to see as well as breathe. She witnessed people die many times, but for this one, she felt responsible―as if she had killed him herself.
A glimmer of light raised her head. A mass of writhing ribbons of pure white surrounded her like wings. Stretching out and rising into the air to either side, the ethereal trails drowned the darkness with light so pure it tinged blue. Her sniveling breaths calmed, and a pass of her hand rid her cheek of tears. Scintillating energy wreathed her arms, wafting like vapor into the air. Too sad to care what was happening to her, she leaned forward, and embraced the giant’s neck. After kissing him on the forehead, she fell onto his chest.
“Thank you.”
Regret and contrition surged. The radiance grew blinding, and Althea felt all the strength drawn from her body. She hugged tight to her fallen guardian and closed her eyes.
A creak of metal.
“I think she’s in here… What the hell is that?” The weak trace of a man’s voice intruded upon her state of calm.
“What the…” The first voice drifted to a whisper.
A different voice. “Fuuuuuuck this, I’m outta here.”
Time hung in a cloud of non-space; Shepherd’s chest hair tickled her cheek.
Pain crawled through her; a sensation as though she had run herself to the point of vomiting. Time held no meaning.
“Deal with that. I’ll go after those idiots,” said a familiar female voice.
Althea lifted her head to look; blue-white light was all she saw. “Anita…?”
A wave of energy pulled out of her and a warm breath burst upon the top of her head.
The glow became all-consuming.
Whirling winds and the touch of a hand on her back faded to soft warmth that enveloped her. A strange smell came to her senses, the scent of clean. Struggling to breathe, she inhaled the sweet air and her fingers tensed to find a squishy bed.
Resignation sapped the will to move from her heart. They caught her with Shepherd’s body; Archon’s people had found her and taken her back to her room. For a time, she lay without moving or opening her eyes; too afraid to feel the presence of Archon’s promise around her wrists. She did not want to try to get up and find she could not. A sound shuffled past the door, followed by indistinct and unfamiliar voices: a woman talking, and far in the distance, a small child laughing. Something was not right. There were no kids that little at the power plant.
When her eyelids parted, pure white surrounded her on all sides. She leaned up, holding an arm over her eyes until they adjusted to an unreal place that seemed nothing like the evil city, or her home. A blanket the color of green tea covered up to her chest. She spent minutes staring at the tents her feet made. He had threatened to handcuff her for a month if she tried to run again. Since her arms lay above the blanket, obviously free, she feared what she would feel if she moved her legs. A small silver cylinder clung to her right forearm by virtue of a sticky strip. A thin rubber tube ran from it to a pad on the back of her hand. The presence of a tiny plastic needle under the pad, inserted into her skin, intruded on her senses.
To the right, a small alcove held a toilet behind a little door next to one of those bath machines. A grinning stuffed goat stared at her from the silver table next to the bed, and the scent of food teased her and then vanished. As her eyes compensated for the brilliant glow, she noticed the light came from a window out to blue sky, tinged by smog. The floor, white and immaculate, gleamed with a perfect inverted recreation of everything above it. This did not look like the place Archon had taken her. After a tentative pause, she pulled at her right leg, shocked by the fact nothing held her down. She sat bolt upright, rubbing her legs and arms and reveling in the lack of restraints. Her dress was gone, replaced by a snug and stretchy white smock; the thin material held around her by a series of strange fastener dots down her right side.
Althea pulled the plush goat into her lap. She squeezed it, crying before she realized why. It smelled like Karina. Her brain struggled to explain why it did, but could not.
The rubber pad behind her knuckles reminded her of the Zoomer Violet had so craved, but she did not feel loopy. She peeled it and licked a droplet of blood from the back of her hand as the needle came out. The hurt was so tiny, fixing it was a reflex rather than conscious thought. Althea cringed as she peeled the cylinder from her arm; the small strip that held it in place took some peach fuzz with it as it came free.
After rubbing the spot, she was out of the bed and at the window in an instant, gawking at the ground from more than seventy stories up. The height scared the air from her chest, and she recoiled from the glass, spinning around as her surroundings overwhelmed her. With nothing else to do, she clutched the plush goat and cast a fearful glance at the window.
She abandoned it as an escape route and went for the door. Hesitant fingers hovered over the handle; she expected to be locked in. When it opened with ease, she almost cried from joy. She slid her head through the gap and peered into a busy hallway. To the right, it led past a series of other doors to a wide area with a large desk that had strange figures seated behind it. They resembled people in white uniforms and hats bearing little red crosses. Gaps in their skin revealed metal underneath, the way they moved looked unnatural, and she could sense neither thought nor emotion within them.
The other side had yet more doorways and ended in a small room with empty seats, fake plants, and many windows. An old man sat enjoying the daylight, in a chair floating above the ground on a pad of light.
She slid a leg through the barely-open door, extending her toes towards the floor outside as if an ounce too much pressure would set off alarms. Transferring her weight to the outstretched leg, she crept out of the room and in the direction of the desk, with the goat tucked under one arm. Beyond the other doors lay rooms with beds, just like the one in which she had found herself. Some empty, others had snoring figures in them. She drew near the counter, squeezing the plush toy and slowing her steps, her gaze locked upon the machine-people behind the desk. If they did not look up, she could walk right past and escape.
A sudden loud chime made her leap into a crouch atop a cushioned bench.
She flattened herself into the wall away from two silver panels that slid apart to reveal a cube-shaped room with no windows. Four men and two women walked out of it and went in different directions. She wondered how long they had been trapped in there, and did not move until the strange cage closed again. Easing herself off the bench, she managed to take one tentative step before a voice startled her from behind.
“Hey there, kid. Glad to see you’re awake; you’ve been out for three days.”
Althea jumped at the sudden speech, falling onto her back atop the bench. Mike, from the strange flying car, had come up behind her. His black uniform made him look like a hole in space against the stark whiteness everywhere. The shock of being snuck up on shifted to annoyance and then to worry as she thought about what Archon told her police would do to people like her. Whisk said the poli
ce were nice to kids, and she trusted him far more than Archon. She sat up and pulled her legs under her, placing the goat in her lap.
“Where am I?”
He smiled. “This place is called a hospital. It’s where sick people go to get better.”
“I’m not sick. Does the government want to kill me?”
She peered into his thoughts. Shock, confusion, horror.
“No, of course not. Our abilities are no different than guns. Having them isn’t a problem―it’s what you do with them that matters.”
His voice caressed her mind. Look as much as you like, sweetie. I trust you. We have a lot to talk about.
Althea could find no deception and relaxed. With a tentative smile, she climbed off the bench and reached for his outstretched hand.
“There are some people downstairs who want to see you…”
lthea followed, holding Mike’s hand. She stepped tentatively over strange smooth hallways full of strange things, staring around at the commotion. The mixture of fear and wonder in her eyes attracted several nurses and staff who were happy to see her up and about. Few understood the nature of why she felt so frightened; none of them could know how a child of the Badlands felt here. Mike came to a stop at one of those large desks where three women with glowing eyes and odd lines on their faces worked. Not one of them had surface thoughts or emotions, and all seemed stuck wearing permanent smiles.
She shied away, positioning herself behind him.
“Nothing to be afraid of, Althea; they won’t hurt you.”
“The dead should not move.” She shivered.
He patted her on the shoulder. “Dolls were never alive. They’re machines.”
Althea thought back to the one stuck in the river. “Do they want to purge taminants?”
Mike blinked, then looked into her thoughts. “Oh… oh, my. No, Althea, not at all like those things. They are administrative workers. They are here to answer questions and help people. Think of them like a computer you can talk to.”
Her eyebrows scrunched together. Her mouth opened. He laughed at the look.
“I’ll explain what computers are later. Right now, we have to get you checked.”
“I don’t want to be checked.” She stepped back. A ripple of silence ran through the area as every person within a hundred meters inherited a wave of angry distrust.
“Easy.” Mike leaned on the counter to steady himself. “I promise you, we will not hurt you. You need to see a doctor before they will let you leave. Then, we can see your visitors.”
She sagged, staring at her toes. At least the spot of sunlight she had found to stand in was warmer than whatever the ground here was made out of. After a few brief words with the machine-woman, Mike again took her by the hand and walked her down a different corridor to a small room. Inside, a large cylindrical tube dominated the space, while two small beds sat closer to the door. Althea stared at the tube with a tilted head.
“Is that shower meant for two people?”
Laughing, Mike guided her over to one of the beds and lifted her to sit on the edge. “No, it’s a medical tank. You don’t need that now, since you’re not hurt, but you were asleep for several days, and no one could explain why you wouldn’t wake up. We just want to make sure you’re healthy.”
“I feel fine.” She folded her arms over the goat. “Well…” Althea let them fall onto the bed at her sides. “Maybe a little tired.”
“Yeah… I imagine you might feel a bit drained after―”
“Good morning,” said a black man in a white coat, entering at a brisk stride. “Welcome to Ancora Medical. I’m Dr. Bailey.”
Althea stared at metal strips along the side of his head, studded with winking blue lights. She trembled at the sight of the white coat and looked at the ceiling above her―no metal octopus, and no straps on the bed. She relaxed, and remained quiet as the man waved a small device over her, connected to his head by a wire. Green laser lines slid down her limbs as it passed; she stared at the flashing emerald stripe until it vanished over her toes. He lifted her arm, flipped her wrist up and tapped it before setting it back in her lap. A small device the doctor pressed to her shoulder pinched and left a droplet of blood behind. Althea frowned at him, willing the miniscule wound closed in an instant. He plugged the machine into a console and watched words spread out next to various colored blobs. Whatever it meant, it made him smile.
As expected, he spent a great deal of time checking out her glowing eyes before he handed a small silver disc to Mike.
“She is a little undernourished, but I see no evidence of any permanent injury. Brain chemistry is consistent with a post-comatose state, though from these results, I would have said she’d been awake for a week, not hours. They tell me you have a theory about what put her in a coma for three days?”
Mike tapped his head. “Psionic stuff, she overextended herself. Extreme fatigue. She isn’t undernourished; her abilities drive her metabolism way above normal.”
The tapped on a datapad. “I’ve updated her file. Am I signing off on her discharge to the department, or does she have a parent?”
“I’ll get back to you on that,” said Mike.
“Can we go now?” Althea slipped off the bed.
Mike took her hand. “Do you want some slippers or sandals or something?”
“No. Shoes make me walk funny.” She smirked at the floor. “They’ll just get stolen anyway.”
“That life is behind you, sweetie, but we can worry about that a little later. Come on.”
She shuffled along, holding his hand and feeling lost. He led her around a corner and up to a doorway. Despite the apparent safety of this bizarre place, it surrounded her with an unwelcome alien presence. There was no wind in her hair, no earth under her feet, and no…
“Karina!” She shrieked at the sight of who waited on the other side of the door.
Before her legs gave out, she sprinted into her sister’s waiting arms. Karina collapsed to her knees, burying her face in the crook of Althea’s neck and sobbing as she tried to crush the little waif with a hug. The poor goat turned into a pancake between them. Althea squeezed as hard as she could, unwittingly detonating a pulse of telempathic joy that shared her mood with everyone inside of a quarter mile. Neither girl was in any condition to speak for the better part of five minutes. When at last she regained her composure, at least most of it, Karina ran a hand over Althea’s head.
“You missed your bath.”
Althea flashed an impish smile. “I’m sorry. I know you told me not to get kidnapped after dark. I won’t do it again.”
“Is it true it was Beard?” asked Father.
Althea had not noticed him in the chair off to the left. She dragged Karina over and climbed onto his lap. He palmed the back of her head, pulling her cheek gently against his chest. Althea closed her eyes, adoring the feeling of having a dad. Karina held on to her right hand. After Father ceased stroking his hand through her hair, she leaned up and shook her head.
“Beard did not know. Dean had a bad spirit in him. It made him do it.”
Father stared into her eyes for a long moment, his elation well hidden from anyone who was not a telempath. “They said the man who took you is no longer a threat?”
Althea grinned, soaking up his emotion like a sponge as she cuddled against his side. “He won’t bother me again.” Remembering Archon also made her think of Shepherd. She sniffled, and then bawled into Father’s denim-covered shoulder.
Karina rubbed her back, assuming her second round of tears came from overwhelming joy. “I missed you so much.”
Althea squeezed her hand. “He was a bad man. He hurt people. He killed my friend.”
Father patted her on the cheek, and then slid his hand to her shoulder. He pushed her away enough to look her in the eye. “Did he do anything to you?”
She cringed at what was on his mind. “No, he did not wife me. He wanted me to play with brains. He killed Shepherd.” Althea sputtered into sobs. “
It was my fault.”
Father relaxed, letting her cuddle once more. She tucked her legs up so she was entirely on his lap. He held her in stoic quiet, the polar opposite to Karina’s display of emotion. He did not have to act it out; Althea knew how he felt, and found solace in his quiet strength. Karina sat on the nearest chair, keeping her hold of Althea’s hand.
“We found Querq,” said Mike, leaning on the doorway. “Anita and I ran out there without permission. We thought you’d like to see your family again.”
“Thank you,” said Althea, letting her cheek rest on Father’s jacket. “Can we go home now?”
Mike held up his hand. “Not just yet…”
Althea pouted.
“There are some other people that want to meet you; it’s really up to them.”
“You can’t keep her if she does not want to stay.” The reserved hostility in Father’s voice vibrated through her chest, making her feel warm inside. “If you are this city’s Watch, she has done nothing against the law of your elders.”
“Oh, no.” Mike chuckled. “It’s not that. She has special talents that we have never seen before. All they want to do is meet her. We can help each other, and there’s something”―he peeked out into the hall and waved―“else.”
Althea’s eyebrows drew together as redness came over her face. She stared at the wall, listening to the sound of Father’s breathing. Thoughts of Querq drifted through her mind, the kids she played with, the Water Man, Ornry, everyone there that needed her so much more than this fancy place with their fancy little red things that could do what she could do. She scowled, thinking of how Archon demonstrated the stimpak. This strange police man had brought her family back to her; she could tolerate the bad city a little longer.
“Thank you for bringing my family to me. I will talk to your elders, but I will not let them keep me.”
Prophet of the Badlands (The Awakened Book 1) Page 42