Chapter 5.2

Guilt weighed heavily on us as we climbed into a large lift that took us down to the floor below, then we were quickly whisked away into a white corridor away from all the offices and labs we could see from above. That part of the compound was different from the rest; it was quiet, and the ceiling was low. The end opened up into a large medical facility. It was mostly empty, it looked as if there were missing beds and equipment where there were pockets of empty room with no apparent function. Unlike in the main building, it was lit by large hanging lights, casting a harsh luminescent light into the room.

"Wait here. I'll get the professor." She looked us up and down with slight contempt and disappeared into the adjoining room.

All the pain and exhaustion I was holding back flooded back in, in one massive wave and I barely made it to the bed before collapsing in a heap, my legs still hanging off the edge. We were safe now, well, as safe as we could be in a situation such as that, we'd made it. I didn't have to hold back, and relief flooded through me.

I remember Theo perching on the edge of the bed, then her leaping up as someone entered. They exchanged a few words, and then someone somewhere was asking me questions, but I couldn't understand the words, and I think Theo answered for me. I just wanted to sleep. I could feel their icy skin touch mine, it was refreshing but sent dull shivers down my spine. Then I think I fell completely asleep because I don't remember anything else. The blissful nothingness was welcoming.

I think I woke up a few times, shifting in and out of consciousness, maybe I said something or saw someone but when I woke up for good the memory of it was foggy and I wasn't sure if it was reality or a dream. A first my mind was slow and confused, I couldn't remember where I was, or even what had happened over the last two weeks. I observed the half-empty room with medical equipment and a dozen empty beds, with confusion. The light was bright, so I squinted. "where am I?" I mumbled, my throat feeling dry and sore.

"you're in the FDD medical centre." A women's voice explained. I raised my hand to rub my eyes into focus, but a sharp pain and pulling sensation stopped me. "Careful." The owner to the voice leant over and adjusted the IV sticking into the crease of my arm. She untangled the tube from the sheets and the pressure released. "My name's Anna."

Quite quickly the events of the past two weeks came flooding back, and I shot upright, provoking a wave of nausea as the room spun around me, "Where's Theo? Is Tommy okay?"

"It's okay. Theo just stepped out to get some food."

I let out a sigh of relief, followed by a wave of guilt and dread, "what about Tommy?"

"I'm sorry I don't know. I haven't seen your other friend. How are you feeling?" she asked, rapidly changing the subject.

"Better." I admitted, my mind was clearing, even though my stomach was in knots thinking about what they might be doing to Tommy. "How long have I been here?"

"About forty-two hours. The doctor didn't think you would wake up so soon, I should probably let her know. Lye back down." She ordered, and I relented. She was wearing some sort of medical uniform, although not the same as a doctor. She had short, cropped hair, and petite features, like a fairy. Her footsteps didn't make any sounds, almost like she glided over the floor. Almost like clockwork, as she disappeared through to the backroom, the main doors opened, and a halo of golden bushy hair poked through. A blink later and Theo's arms were crushing my mid-drift.

"I'm okay." I wheezed, tapping her lightly on the shoulder in an attempt to get her to release me. She ignored it and continued to try and crush me.

"I was really worried." She admitted, her voice muffled by her own hug. I could hear her pout in her voice.

"But I'm okay now." I assured her and she reluctantly eased her grip and sat opposite. Someone had patched her up, she had a small bandage on her arm and a white paster on her forehead. The same went for me, I realised my hands were bandaged along with a few other wounds I hadn't even noticed I accumulated. She was wearing fresh clothes, and apart from her worried expression, she looked better than she had since the invasion began. I dreaded asking my next question, but I did anyway. "Have you heard anything about Tommy?"

"They won't tell me anything." She growled, her frustration showing. "That women won't talk to me. She's insufferable. The way she talks to me… Ugh. I just wanna punch her in the face."

"What did she say?" I ask.

"She said they're talking to him, and if they decide he's not a threat then we can see him."

"That sounds allusive."

"I know. That's why I'm worried. Seriously you guys, I've been so worried about you both, since we got here, nothing's gone as planned."

"We didn't really have much of a plan though, did we?" I admitted.

"I suppose that's true…. How long have you been up? I was only gone for about an hour."

"About ten minutes."

"I bet you're hungry." She plopped a packet of biscuits on my lap, they were slightly crushed coming from her trouser pocket, but I took them gladly. For the first time in what felt like ages, I was hungry. I ripped open the packet and shoved the contents into my mouth, chewing only a few times before swallowing and shoving the next mouthful in. I didn't care that I probably looked like an animal, at the time I had no shame. Behind Theo, Anna reappears with an elderly lady in toe and a shallow bucket in hand, just as I finished eating.

Barely a moment later, my stomach turned sour, warm saliva flooded my mouth and my throat contracted. Before I realised it, it was coming back up again. Theo jumped out of the way, and Anna caught in just in time as I reached and threw up everything I'd just eaten. She soothingly rubbed my back patiently, as if I wasn't violently puking in the bucket she held. I felt a sort of maternal warmth from her, even though she couldn't have been more than a few years older than us. She continued like that until I was done, which took a lot longer than eating it in the first place. There seemed to be an impossible amount from the little I ate.

"I should have warned you about that. The medicine we used to help treat you has that effect on most people."

"We can keep you on a drip for now and ease you back onto food in a few days." The elderly woman explained. She took my wrist and counted my pulse. She then checked the discolouration of my skin, which seemed to have receded a bit. "You're a medical mystery, so we don't know what to expect. Don't push yourself, rest. I know what young people are like these days. I'd never seen a virus like that before so all I could do was treat your symptoms. I could ascertain that it wasn't easily transferable, or this young lady would likely have it too. Her blood was clear."

"Thank you for helping us."

"It's my job dear. I wouldn't be a very good doctor if I didn't help, would I?" she answered a little curtly. "I'll check on you again later." She stated, and without waiting for any sort of response, she returned to the back room.

Anna smiled apologetically.

"I'm sorry… for puking."

"Don't worry about it. I've seen a lot. Medicine is a messy business, it's not the worse thing I've had to deal with."

I almost asked her what was worse than vomit, but I decided we were better off not knowing. Then suddenly I blurted, "What about Sean? Is he here?" I couldn't believe I forgot to ask already.

Theo shook her head, "I'm sorry, I haven't seen him. I'm sure if he was here… We'll he'd be here. Everyone's talking about us and the crazy story of how we got here."

Anna nodded. "It is pretty crazy. It's almost unbelievable that you escaped and travelled for three days without detection to get here. In fact, a lot of people don't believe it." She perched on the adjacent bed.

"Well, they need to believe it, because it's the truth." Theo boasted. Somehow, she seemed proud of our 'unbelievable' feat.

"So, how did you do it?" Anna asked.

Theo took a little too much pleasure in describing our 'feats' as if they were simply some adventure in a storybook, slightly dramatized, but not too exaggerated to seem totally unbelievable. I leant back and listened to her account, chucking when she exaggerated or left out some embarrassing detail she didn't want to share. Eventually, I fell asleep again. I felt safe. Although I was worried about what would happen to Tommy, I knew he was alive and that Garlantia couldn't get to us.