I always went out of my way to avoid conflict if I could help it. See, some conflict was unavoidable, like change―change was a conflict because of inertia; the feeling of wanting to stay comfortable. I was a victim of that, and right then, I had to adapt which meant going along with an absurd plan so simple yet so complex.
The EVA outlined the plan in succinct terms. First, it would take out the lights on the floor I was being held on using an EMP pulse. I was the only resident of an entire VIP wing on the first floor and therefore, no one else would be inconvenienced. And even if they were, there wouldn’t be any casualties because subsequent pulses would only knock out the lights.
The wiring that fed to equipment ran on a different line designed to be redundant so that the transition from the mains to backup power was seamless . The same couldn’t be said for the elevators though. Using the cover of darkness, the bot would break the window and attempt to cause a distraction outside by setting loose, parked vehicles to give the illusion I’d already escaped.
There were a total of 5 self-driving electric vehicles which they would set off―four would be decoys, one would carry me and Cassandra. I would have to drive to the preprogrammed destination where the ship would be waiting for us. I had under a minute to get out of the hospital. The misdirection with the lights would only last for 15 seconds tops before the back up power kicked in.
15 seconds in, the power would revert and the lifts would be available, my wardens would use those to move around. A second EMP pulse would shut down the elevators and trap them until maintenance teams can get to them. That would give me ample time to get to Cassandra, enclose her in a gravity sheath; a kind of shield with stasis that could stabilize her condition for an hour. Enough time for us to drive to the destination the car would be set to. Fortunately, traffic was sparse at night. It was a good plan―and now for the execution.
For that, the EVA gave me my first alien doodad, a sophisticated chronometer. The gizmo was made of finely articulated links and would have passed for a bracelet outright. It was slimmer than a Fit and displayed things by lightning up miniature tiles. It would buzz at 15 second intervals. It had additional functionalities but the unboxing ritual would have to wait.
The first EMP pulse found me hiding behind the EVA as they activated its adaptive camouflage by bending the light around itself. I had squeezed myself in the corner and it was barely just enough to fit me while I crouched. The glass shattered from a sonic whine and collapsed outwards—the guards came barging in shouting at their dead radios which they soon realized and changed tact. The situation escalated and I caught every single word they said.
As per the EVA prediction, they had to go get back up. 15 seconds of casting about and the lights came back on, just in time for them to run head towards the lift. Meanwhile I took the stairs while dressed in overalls and a cap. I ditched the brogues and other clothes which hid away in its maintenance compartment.
I didn't encounter anyone down the stairs as I dragged along a bucket and a mop I'd appropriated from a janitor’s closet . Pandemonium found me when I stepped onto the first floor, I found pandemonium.
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Lights were flickering on and off, car alarms were blaring outside, someone was screaming for a nurse—no one was paying attention to a janitor just doing their job. Neither the guards nor the military police were even in the vicinity.
I was tempted to dash out and run for it with the entrance wide open. I wanted to have a moment to rethink how to approach this when I got another chance, but fate was so fickle. There was no other chance like the present and I might not have gotten another. I headed to the progressive care unit, looking like someone who knew they had a place to be. I steered clear of nurses and health workers on call as they rushed to stabilize or check patients. There were near collisions and curses as people swerved around gurneys and trolleys. The lower floor’s auxiliary power also ran on an isolated line that separated the lights from the sockets so I needn’t have worried about Cassandra’s life support.
I almost got stopped by someone who thought I looked suspicious but got away with a mention of someone having burfed their sickness in the wards. Nobody even bothered to see if I had a work tag. Unimpeded, I managed to arrive at Cassandra’s ward just in time for another EMP pulse to wreak havoc on the hospital’s lighting.
“ Hey, who the hell are you?!” Lucas spoke as soon as I ducked into the ward.
“ Easy bud,” I put up one hand in placation closing the door with the other. Then I flicked up the front of my cap to reveal my face.
“ K?” Lucas whisper-shouted. Surprise writ his features as he stood across from Cassandra’s cot. “What are you doing here―wait, are you busting out?”
‘Good, Lucas' brain wasn’t all muscle then, ‘ I thought, glancing at my borrowed chronometer. I had less than 10 seconds to make an absurd pitch to my not-less-than best friend.
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“ I know how to help Cass,” I started. “ For that, I need your help,” I said. Lucas’ expression went from elation, to shock and then determination in the span of a breath. I saved myself 5 seconds. Cassandra was still under, head wrapped in bandages and neck braced in a collar. The electrocardiogram beeped away to her shallow breaths under the respirator. As of then, she was stable.
“ What do you need me for?” he said, looking longingly at his girlfriend. I grinned as I whipped out the gravity sheath from my coverall pockets. It was a round disc the size of a puck with a flashing ring of green around a knob that you had to press to activate. It hadn't taken me more than a few moments to discern how it worked.
“ I’ll use this to stabilize her, get a wheelchair somewhere. There’s a getaway car prepped outside,” I winked.
“ Better hurry up then—,” Lucas said as he darted from his seat. “ I don't think you want to add kidnapping to your list of charges,”
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The gravity sheath set in like an ephemeral cocoon of hexagon tiles. Unless you looked at the from the side they were almost transparent. Somewhere around the 5th EMP pulse, we were ready to leave. Lucas was curious how I pulled it off but knew enough not to voice as he pushed his girlfriend along. He'd thrown one of his hooded jackets over Cassandra to avoid unwanted attention as the wheelchair rolled down the hallways.
Of course that didn't mean we had an easy time of it; walking out the main doors was just asking for troubles. As per the EVA’s plan we took the cafeteria route which had a door connecting to the garden and a reserved parking lot. There, the EVA indicated I would find the vehicle before it had disappeared to run interference. Lucas looked at me worriedly,
“ Bruv—You sure this is okay? Cass' mum might know something's up in the morning,”
“ I know,” I said, worrying my lip. I didn't know how he was going to handle her but it was not going to be pretty. Lucas could barely lie through his teeth and neither was I one to conceive grand schemes.
“ I think you should stall her, pick her from the airport even―” I said.
“ Huh?” Lucas gawked.
“ Just trust me,” I said. “I know it's a tall order but if you can stall her for as long as you can I know we can get out of this mess—maybe even take her to the farm,” an idea came to mind. I didn't know how long Cassandra's treatment would take. I supposed that if what I had could patch burns maybe they could fix her spine no problem. I knew whatever they did to me was more advanced than any biotech we had.
“I'll see what I can do,” Lucas nodded in acquiescence
Thankfully, the cafeteria was deserted when we arrived. Despite the fact, the rain was coming in hard and lightning was flashing stark against the ceiling to floor glass windows that looked outside the garden. It was past midnight and no one was manning the front counter. Slightly to the left of it was another hallway with a backlit exit sign above the doors beyond.
The flickering of fluorescent lights the and buzz of their capacitors gave the hallway a dreary appearance. I could not shake the feeling that our luck was hanging by a tenuous thread. It felt almost too easy. I did not believe in jinxes but lest fate grace us with her fickleness I refused to give in to hesitation.
“ I think I’ll take it from here, better go lay down and sleep and pretend nothing happened,” I said, tossing the mop and bucket into a janitor’s closet.
Lucas hesitated, staying his words as he looked from me to the end of the hallway. Two doors were all that stood between me and freedom, and potentially, Cassandra’s treatment. The chronometer buzzed again, just in time for the hallway to plunge into darkness.
“ You take care of her, alright?” Lucas said, picking up his girlfriend like a baby. I nodded to him as I extended my arms to receive her. The fragility of her form tugged at my heartstrings as her familiar weight settled in my arms.
The gravity sheath was like a shroud of silk yet sturdier than anything diaphanous had to be. It was just a chrysalis—Cassandra would soon be more than she was right now. I don't know how I knew, but I knew she'd come out of this stronger.
For the last time, I gave Lucas a look. I knew from that point on, things would never be the same. If I stepped out those doors, any semblance of normalcy would cease to exist—I snorted, normal ceased to exist the day the Baltic Sea anomaly decided to live up to its moniker. Wordlessly, Lucas gave his own farewell, trusting that it was the chance Cassandra had of ever being on her feet.
Equal parts anticipation and anxiety fluttered in my stomach as I turned away from him. Words would be superfluous and utterly inadequate for the feelings that passed between us. Nonetheless, I was grateful for Lucas' unwavering confidence as the creaking of the wheelchair receded from my awareness.
I found myself staring up at the green exit sign and gave the door a pull with one free pinky finger. It rattled against its hinges but didn't give—for a moment I stood there as a jolt of unease paralyzed me. Then I saw the push sign and couldn't help but chuckle in deprecation.
I gave it a shove and walked into the storm. Windswept rain slapped me in the face as I blinked against the onslaught of water in my eyes. I chanced a glance at Cassandra relieved that the Gravisheath kept Cassandra dry as water parted around her form. Except for the white noise of rain on the pavement and the gurgling of water in eaves gutters and drainage, the parking lot was devoid of activity. The parking lot lights continued to flicker overhead, a testament to the alien bot’s disruptions.
The presence of MPs was nowhere to be found. But for the rain, I would have heard the whine of their vehicles’ sirens as they tore through the night. Several reserved parking spots were empty from where runaway electric vehicles had torn out of the lot, and beyond that was a gate that remained half open, a silhouette against the curtain of cloudburst. I was about to cast about for our getaway vehicle when on cue, lights from a sports utility AEV flicked on ―