Given the choice, I would have simply sat in a dark room with my head against my knees and focused on working my way through all the memories that had come slamming their way back into my brain. There was so much there, so many thoughts and realizations about so many things. Losing my memories of Anthony and Paige had ripped a huge piece of myself out and left an ugly hole in who I was. Now I had those memories back, and I needed to sift through all of them. But I couldn't. Not right now. Not when Bobby was in trouble.
That, to be honest, was probably the only thing that could possibly have distracted me from dealing with my memories. The image of Bobby being shot in the back like that kept playing through my head. No, it was more than that. It was both images. I saw him being shot in the back here, and five years ago.
Was that what had broken through the power suppressing my memories to begin with? I had been so thoroughly traumatized by the sight of Bobby being shot like that after he saved my life five years ago. And just now I’d seen him shot in the back again. Hell, it was even while he was outside a vehicle I was sitting in. Did that similarity break through Kent’s power? That had to be it, right? It was the only thing that made sense.
All those thoughts were rushing through my mind as I scrambled to my feet and ran back that way with Paige right behind me. The two of us carefully pulled Bobby out from under the van. I saw the blood all over his chest and started to say something, but Paige grabbed my arm and gave me a shove. “I'll help him! Get in the van and drive! We've gotta get out of here!” She was already opening the back doors and lifting him up inside.
She was right, of course. We had to get the hell out of this place. I didn't know how the Breakwater guys had found us, but there would be more any second. Scrambling around to the side of the van, I jumped in and started the engine once more. We were leaving Bobby's car here, but there was no way around that. I just hoped he didn't have anything in it that would cause problems if they found it. There wasn’t any time to do anything else.
Blinking away the furious tears that were trying to blind me, I glanced over my shoulder into the back briefly, only to see Paige doing some sort of emergency first aid while Qwerty perched nearby giving advice. Oh right, his power. He could help when people were building or fixing things. That extended to fixing injuries. I just hoped between the two of them, they could--
A shudder ran through me and I tightened my grip on the wheel while dismissing that thought. I couldn't think about that. Just--I had to focus.
“We've gotta find the nearest hospital!” I shouted over my shoulder while sending the van rocketing down the freeway once more. There were sirens in the distance, and I just had to hope we didn't end up in another chase with more cops. I was pretty sure we couldn't explain anything about this if it came down to it.
Paige, however, called from the back. “No hospitals! Follow these directions!” Even as she said that, a set of GPS coordinates appeared on the van’s main console. It was for a place about ten miles away. I wanted to question that, reflexively trying to argue with her. But I knew she was right. As terrified as I was about what is going to happen to Bobby, if we took him to a hospital, the cops would be there. There was no way we could get away with any of this if we took him there. Not that would've stopped me if it was the only way. Now that my memories were back and I knew exactly how much Bobby meant to me, I would gladly have surrendered my identity to the entire goddamn world if it was the only way to save his life. But if Paige thought there was something else we could do, somewhere else to go, I was going to trust her. I did trust her, especially with this. She was my friend, my… she was Paige.
So, I followed her coordinates, listening the whole time as she and Qwerty kept working on Bobby using a first aid kit she’d pulled from some compartment back there.
I was under no delusions about how serious this was. The other two were doing everything they could to stop him from dying, but we had to get to this place and hope that wherever she was sending us, someone there could actually help him.
Of course, listening to them working in the back didn't exactly distract me from all those newly-revealed memories. With my hands so tight on the wheel that my knuckles were white even without any use of my power, I watched as all those images of times with Anthony and Paige seemed to fly across the windshield in front of me. It was like watching a slideshow. It was a slideshow I could hear and smell and feel. All those memories, everything I knew about my best friends, it was all right there. I was trying to drive, but between the tears I kept blinking away, and the memories that struggled to take over my consciousness completely, I was afraid I would wreck the van. Only the thought of what would happen to Bobby if I failed right now was enough for me to grit my teeth, push all those thoughts away, and focus on the freeway. Bobby, I had to help Bobby. I had to get him to a doctor. That was the only thing that mattered. Everything else could wait, dammit. Once he was safe, once someone else was helping him, then I could deal with all that. Right now, I had only one job, which was to drive.
Obviously, it didn't take very long to travel those ten miles, not the way I was driving, certainly. But it still felt like forever. Every second that passed seemed like a full minute. I was terrified, lost in my own fear about what could happen. But finally, after what seemed like a century, we were pulling up in front of some sort of auto repair shop. But Paige insisted this was the right place. As soon as we stopped, two men in mechanics overalls came running out. Despite the clothes they were wearing, the men looked surprisingly clean, without a speck of grease or dirt on them. More importantly, they were carrying a stretcher. Obviously, Paige had sent word ahead that we were coming. They opened up the back and carefully put Bobby on that stretcher before starting to carry him back toward the garage. Paige hopped out behind them, as I joined her in the lot with Qwerty on my shoulder. She had put her own mask back on, so apparently she didn't trust these guys quite that much. Part of me wondered if we could trust them with Bobby, but I knew we didn't have a choice. We couldn't take him anywhere else.
Joining Paige, I started to chase after the guys with the stretcher as they carried Bobby to the building. “Who are these people?” I hissed, my eyes wide. “Are you sure they can help him?”
Paige was right at my side, her voice firm. “For the right price, they will. Trust me, I planned both our routes there and back so we’d always be close to somewhere we could go if we ran into trouble. They're a mercenary hospital, like that one back in Detroit. There's plenty of them all over the place to deal with things Touched might not want to see a regular doctor for. You know, just in case one of those doctors at a regular hospital gets a big mouth. They’ll keep our secrets. They stake their reputation on it.”
Honestly, the idea that Paige had deliberately planned out our driving route so that she would always know the nearest secret hospital to go to didn't actually surprise me at all. Not with everything else I had experienced with her. And right now, if it saved Bobby's life, she could obsessively over-plan anything she ever wanted to.
We followed the fake mechanics into the garage, which looked a lot more like a hospital on the inside. Everything was sterile, and there wasn't a vehicle in sight. They had a bunch of thick plastic partitions up to create some semblance of privacy, and I saw a man in surgical scrubs flanked by two nurses step out of one of those cordoned off spots. There was a hospital bed and several wheeled tables with a bunch of medical supplies behind them. The doctor waved and called for these guys to bring Bobby that way. As they did so, Paige and I started to follow, but another man in a suit intercepted us with his hands up. “I'm sorry, you'll have to let them work. I know you're worried about your friend, but they need space and quiet.” He beckoned for us to follow. “I'll take you to a place where you can wait. I promise, they're going to do everything they can.”
I wanted to push him out of the way and go after Bobby. I wanted to be right there by the bed just in case. But just in case what? I didn't have any medical knowledge, so it wasn't like I could actually help him. Not now that there were doctors here. No, as terrified as I was about what might happen, I couldn't stand there. All I would do was get in the way.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.
Paige took my hand and pulled me after the guy who was leading us to a waiting room. She gave me a quick, apologetic look, but I just nodded back at her to show it was okay. Let the doctors work, I just had to let the doctors work.
That was easier said than done, as we found ourselves sitting in what looked like a normal doctor’s office waiting room, complete with ancient magazines and a television playing some old football game in the corner. There was a remote to change the channel, but I didn't touch it. I didn't care about the TV, or the magazines. I didn't care about anything but sitting there hoping with everything I had that Bobby would be okay. Paige sat beside me while I laid my head in my hands, not saying anything. She just put her hand on my shoulder and sat there silently. From the corner of my eyes, whenever I opened them, I could see Qwerty quietly reading one of the magazines. He had a crayon and was drawing on one of the activity puzzles. Honestly, I needed to talk to him a lot more too, and figure out some stuff about his origin and all that. But again, I couldn't focus on anything but Bobby.
Except, maybe, for one thing. My head snapped up abruptly as I blurted, “How did they find us?” The words escaped me in a near panic as I snapped my gaze around to stare at Paige. “How the hell did those guys find us? What if they do it again? What if they're already on their way here?!”
Paige, however, squeezed my shoulder and spoke calmly. “It’s okay. First, if those guys come anywhere within a mile of this place, we'll know about it. This isn't these peoples' first rodeo. They have lookouts on three different roofs watching every road leading this way, plus the guys on top of this one. You know those pits where the mechanics in a shop like this are supposed to be able to get under the cars to work? They have a tunnel leading from here all the way to a secondary location, with an electric cart system for moving patients in a hurry. It's safe here, and if it turns out it's not, they know how to evacuate. And second, it wasn’t Breakwater. Those guys were working for my… for Pittman. Not Biolems though, just… mercenaries or something. They must’ve been alerted when we moved the machine, and set up along all the roads in and out of the state. They had goggles to watch for us. Not us, the machine. It's got some sort of special energy signature even while it's unplugged. Something about the fuel he used in it or something. I don't know the details, but they know how to identify it.”
God dammit, of course. Why hadn't I thought of that? The fact that there was no way I logically could have didn't matter in that moment, not when I was too busy being angry at myself. “So they'll find us again! They’ll drive past and find the energy signature--the whatever!” I was already starting to stand up, though I didn't know why. It wasn't like I could drag Bobby out of there in the condition he was still in. He wasn't going to be ready to move anytime soon. Worse, we had just exposed this place to those guys, which sent another wave of guilt washing over me.
“Cassie, stop.” Paige caught my arm and tugged me back down, her voice firm. “I took care of it while I was helping Mr. Parson, I promise. You know the rest of those energy crystals we brought? I arranged them all over the machine parts. The power they give off will mask the energy the drones are looking for. Those guys won’t be able to track it anymore.”
My mouth opened, then shut, then opened again as I slipped back in the seat. I was staring at her imploringly, my voice weak and soft. “You promise?” If she was wrong, if those guys found us again and brought a whole army in to attack this place while Bobby was in surgery…
Staring right back at me, Paige put her hands on either of my shoulders and squeezed a little. “I swear, Cassie, they won't find us here. I took one of the goggles those guys were using and checked after I put the crystals on it. You can’t see the energy field that machine gives off anymore. I promise. It's okay. We're safe here.”
Maybe we were safe, but Bobby wasn't. Not yet. Still, I swallowed hard and nodded to the other girl with a quiet, “Thanks.”
We sat there like that in relative silence for another hour while the doctors out in the main room did their work. There was a lot I wanted to say to the girl sitting beside me, but I couldn't. Not here and not right now. So, we simply stayed quiet, as I took the opportunity to focus on the memories that had been pouring back into my head. I remembered everything now, my whole life with Anthony. How had I ever forgotten him? How could my parents have ripped his memory away from me? He had been my best friend in the world, as had Paige once she joined us. Maybe having two best friends sounded stupid to some people, but we didn't care what they thought. The three of us were supposed to be inseparable. Then… then my family had separated us. First my grandfather’s men had killed Anthony and his family, then my parents’ man had taken away the memory of both him and Paige.
I had thought about that before, of course. Intellectually, I knew it happened. But somehow, it was even more poignant and devastating now that I had those memories back. I realized exactly what had been taken away from me, both by my grandfather and my parents. Yeah, my mom and dad had been trying to help me, misguided as they were. But still.
That was why part of me had known I shouldn't trust them with what I’d found out, I realized while I was sitting there waiting to hear about Bobby. Some part of me, some buried, mostly subconscious part, had remembered seeing Kent Jackson looming over me to take my memories. I had been afraid that if they knew what I had discovered about them, that they would do the same thing again.
And why wouldn't they, after it had worked so well the first time?
The bitter thought made me grimace to myself as I gave a little shudder. Which made Paige ask if I was okay, and I hesitated before shrugging. “Honestly, I don't know right now. It's probably going to take a while before I figure it out.” Not only was it a lot for me to sort through, but I definitely didn't want to get into it right here in the middle of this strange building. Yeah, these guys were helping Bobby, but that didn't mean I wanted them to know all of our secrets. Especially not the big emotional ones.
Paige clearly understood that too. Fortunately, we didn't have to wait that much longer before one of the doctors came into the waiting room. She had blood all over her scrubs, which didn't exactly fill me with confidence. But she offered a very faint, encouraging smile. “Your… friend is going to be okay. Give him another hour and he'll be ready to talk. But it’ll have to be a short visit, and he can't go anywhere for a few days.”
It wasn't perfect, but hearing that he was going to be alright lifted an enormous weight off my shoulders. Well, one of the weights anyway. It wasn't like I had a shortage of them.
After waiting for another hour, we were escorted into the room again. Qwerty rode on my shoulder, with the activity magazine rolled up and held protectively against his chest. The doctor had already said he could keep it, and the little guy was acting like it was a cherished possession. Come to think of it, it might be his only possession after he had thrown that toy car at the guy back in the lot to stop him from shooting me.
Bobby was awake, laying there looking pale and annoyed. He shifted in the bed as we approached, watching us. “You need to get that thing back to Detroit.”
My head shook reflexively. “They said you can't leave here for a few days.”
“I can't, but you can.” His voice was firm and immediately made me want to do anything he said. It was his no-nonsense voice, the one he used back when he was my driver and wanted me to know that I couldn't goof around anymore. He didn't use it that often, only when things were very serious. And right now was the most serious I had ever heard him.
“There's a lot of people in that city who are going to die if you don't get the cure out of that son of a bitch,” he reminded us. “Take it and go. And take this.” Holding out a slightly shaking hand, he passed me a card with a single phone number written on it. “Call that number and tell them who you are. They’ll help with anything you need. Just get the cure. You… you can do that.”
He still didn't know who I really was, I realized in that moment. I knew him, I had all my memories back. I remembered spending hours and hours in the car with Bobby. He was the one who had made me love driving so much. But he didn't know me. He didn't know who I was under this mask. He just thought I was a Biolem who looked like the girl he used to take care of.
So, we walked out. As we reached the van, Paige put one hand in her pocket before coming out with that little toy car. She held it out between two fingers as Qwerty gasped in delight and jumped to grab it before gliding through the open door.
While he was busy introducing his toy car to his activity magazine, Paige looked to me. “You remember all of it.”
“Everything,” I confirmed, meeting her gaze. “You said those things about… about all that stuff because you were trying to remind me. You wanted me to remember how I felt.”
“I couldn’t tell you the truth,” she put in quickly. “I couldn’t do anything that would give me away. But I thought… I thought maybe I could help you and fulfill my programming by making you think about that stuff. I thought if I pushed hard enough, I could…”
“Crack the egg?” I replied with a raised eyebrow. “Or recrack it. I don’t--yeah. I know why you did it.” My voice was still a bit strained though. It was a rough memory. Or a bunch of rough memories.
There was a brief pause before she hesitantly asked, “Do you want me to... uh, call you anything different?”
It was my turn to pause, even longer than she had. Finally, I shrugged. “I dunno. It’s all…” A heavy sigh escaped me. “I don’t know what I am, exactly. Not yet. All I know is I don’t fit in a neat little box.
“But I guess that’s okay. I always did like to color outside the lines.”