Chapter 192
- Evan -
The sharp violet arcs faded in the dust of the collapsed pipes as they settled, blocking the hallway.
Steam exploded outward from the broken sections lying on the flooded floor. It pushed the pressure toward us.
Kaysi turned back toward us, her hair swept around her in the flow from the steam.
Her sword hummed a song faintly in her hand.
I can hear it!? Her sword singing...
Her eyes locked onto mine for a split second.
She brushed past me, a bit cold, but locked in her position. Was she trying to keep face for me?
There was a certainty in the way she didn't wait for an answer or even ask.
Like she already knew, she was taking the lead because no one else chose to walk forward.
It makes my chest tighten hard. She walked as she did once before: alone, taking the burdens of the world on her shoulders.
She stopped being someone we needed to protect; every second, she became the one protecting us. This was like old Kaysi. Even without her memories, her heart still stayed the same. She may have been lost for a while, but that didn't stop her from returning. This must be her natural state.
"Kaysi I th.."
"Move!" Kaysi shouted.
I had been distracted and missed the reality of where we were.
Everyone snapped into order.
The nurses immediately started pushing the incubators throught the opening while parents grabbed their children and moved forward.
Kaysi kept walking in front of the crowd. "We don't have time to overthink. The incubators run on battery; their time is limited. And this building has no mercy to spare for us; we must keep moving and quickly.
Slash - Kaysi cut more pipes out of the way.
Duke stepped into the collapsing section first, grabbing a bent support beam before the ceiling could dip lower.
"Keep the line moving!" He barked.
Frank rushed beside him and caught another section groaning above us.
"Okay," Frank grunted, straining already, "this feels significantly worse than paperwork."
Josh shifted both babies awkwardly in his arms.
"...I hate this city."
Becky laughed.
"You're attached to it now, if you like it or not."
A nurse stepped up. "We have 1 baby breathing freely, so that is one less incubator to push. I can help you with carrying."
Josh looked at the babies. "These 2 have kinda grown on me."
One baby sneezed in his face.
"You can have this one." He handed the baby boy.
Becky and Micah almost died laughing.
The nurse smiled. "You're saving lives nonetheless."
Josh blushed, looking away awkwardly.
"...Don't make it weird.
Once everyone had passed.
Duke rested his hand on his knees for a second before straightening as nothing happened.
"You okay? I asked carefully, not wanting to really stir up a conversation."
"Human bodies can still feel the weakness, but this is more mental strain. As I am only in a temporary form right now."
Frank wiped the water from his face.
We finally made it out of the hospital and on to the streets. Water was beginning to spill into some of the streets beyond the hospital districts. Not catastrophically, but rising slowly and steadily.
Micah looked toward the lower roads.
"The basement levels are probably gone by now. We have to take into consideration if James can't stop the hackers, then what?"
"We need to get to a radio and see if we can reach Cailian and Matilda in Keetowah. Just as a backup." I suggested.
People were used to this route, but now they have moved upward to the incline roads leading deeper into City 5.
Siren echoed endlessly throught the distance.
Kaysi stepped beside me, hair soaked from the busted pipes. Her breathing was still uneven from our final sprint to freedom.
"You okay?" She asked softly.
I looked at her for a second too long.
"...Yeah."
I could tell she didn't believe me. She didn't press, though.
"Thank you for helping all the people and me."
She nodded, then leaned down.
"You're going to go with the nurses to the next city, and they will help you find your family."
The nurse shook her head. "We haven't been able to locate the girl's family since this all started."
Kaysi reached into her pocket and pulled a purple pencil, handing it to the girl.
I gave her that years ago.
"I keep this for good luck. I got it from a friend, but I lost my memory and can't remember everything. I hope one day to meet him again. Until then, you keep it until we meet again, okay?"
She smiled with a nod. "Yes, I hope you meet your special friend one day soon as well." She walked off with the nurse to the incline."
"You said you felt like he was special. How do you know it is a he?"
I didn't tell her it was me. As that would also bring up the day I abandoned her in middle school because I was butthurt over a stupid dance that wasn't even her fault.
"I just do...I really can't explain it. I feel a strong connection to him, as though he is always close and maybe has never truly left me. It is like that feeling you have with a soul tie you are searching for."
"Are you searching for him?"
"I believe when the time is right, he will reveal himself to me."
Duke stepped beside us, his expression shifted sharply toward the upper roadway.
A long convoy of black armored vehicles rolled throught the rain toward the incline gate leading into city 5.
Silent police.
Rows of them.
Blocking the road completely.
My stomach dropped instantly.
Because standing in front of all of them—
was the governor himself.