Awaken

by Linda Harley

  Robert closed the hatch, and together they ran for the stairs.

  Chapter 9

  Chaos reigned in the cryo rehab room. Empty pods lay strewn around the room, the occupants roaming around aimlessly and shocked. The kids could barely stand, and yet they searched for their families. Some were huddled together in the corner by the door, peering out in the hallway, straining their necks to see if their parents were there. Anna and Robert pushed past the children and found James in the middle of the room.

  “Good, you’re here,” James said, pulling yet another pod onto the table, disconnecting wires as he did so, and popping the lid open. “Robert, I need you to carry the kids upstairs. I can’t do it with this confounded rollerball.”

  Robert reached out a steadying hand to keep the most recent pod from toppling off the table. “Careful there, I know we’re in a hurry, but we don’t want to damage the goods.”

  “I can help,” Anna said, heading over to a girl with red braided hair, who was paying close attention to the discussion going on.

  “No, you need to get upstairs and help Nick prepare the medicine. We’ll be all right and do all that we can on this end. Hurry girl.” James bellowed as he picked a boy up out of the pod. The boy had bushy black curly hair and glasses on his face. His skin tone was darker than Anna’s but only slightly. He looked around, his eyes blinking and asked, “Where am I?”

  Anna desperately wanted to stay and help get the kids out of the pods. They all looked so frightened, and she knew she could make things better.

  “Come on, Anna,” Robert said, steering Anna towards the door. “We don’t have all day. They will be fine. I promise.”

  Reluctantly Anna hurried after Robert who had picked up the red-haired girl and was heading into the core. Then up the stairways and out into the medical ward. Anna barely had time to think, her feet rushing to keep up.

  The medical ward looked as bad, if not worse, than the cryo rehab room. Nightshirts were randomly tossed onto the previously made beds. The lights kept flickering on and off, which made the room look even scarier.

  “Nick, where are you?” Anna called out, as Robert plopped the red-haired girl on the nearest bed, and spun around to get the next kid.

  “Over here,” Nick said, shouting from a room off to the side.

  Anna froze at the door to the laboratory. Nick stood huddled over a workbench with machines whirling and turning. Empty tubes stood neatly in a row on trays, and next to it were a tray full of needles and syringes. Anna had no idea what Nick was trying to do, but he looked worried.

  “What took you so long?” Nick barked at her. Anna was about to respond, but Nick interrupted, “Never mind, you’re here now. Where’s Robert?”

  “He’s gone to get the next kid.”

  “Good. Come over here, Anna,” Nick waved her into the room.

  Anna glanced over her shoulder and found Robert placing the boy with the glasses down on the nearest bed to the door before disappearing again. The boy sat dumbfounded. Anna was about to go to him, but Nick said, “Leave them, there’s no time.”

  Anna smiled at the boy and turned to go to Nick. The laboratory was a bit colder than the medical ward, but maybe that was just her mind playing tricks on her. A shiver ran down her spine; everything in the room looked foreign and dangerous.

  Nick shoved a clipboard and pen into her hands. He then pointed to several tubes that were full and stood upright in a wooden tray. There were 3 vials; one was blue, one red, and the third green.

  “Now, listen to me carefully. It’s your job to make sure that the right medicine is given to the right child at the right time. I want you to write down their name, and the time that you give them each the medicine. Here, hold out your hand.” Nick said, and Anna did as instructed. Nick slipped a watch over her wrist and fastened it. “Timing is everything, and you must get it right. When they first come in, you take a cup of water, and you place three drops of the blue liquid in it. You can use this pipette. They must drink the entire cup. Are you taking notes?”

  Anna stared at him, the watch and then at the paper and clipboard in her hands. Hastily she scribbled down what he had just said.

  “It’s important that you keep track of who gets what when and the quantity. If you do this wrong, they’re going to die. Do you understand?”

  Anna gulped and nodded. She didn’t know why Nick was entrusting her with all this, but knew he had a reason, and so kept quiet and paid attention.

  “Good girl. After an hour, you have to inject them with the red liquid.”

  “But, I’ve never injected anyone.”

  “I’m sorry, Anna, but you are going to have to do this. I’ll help you with the first one. If the power goes out, I’ll have to go to my docking station immediately. Otherwise, I won’t be able to shut down, and I’ll lose all my memories. Do you understand?”

  “Yes. But how do I do an injection?”

  Nick held up the syringe and needle. “This has just come out of the autoclave, meaning they are sterilized. You put on those gloves, and you take one needle and one syringe. The needle twists onto the tip of the syringe, right here.” Nick said as he showed her the round tip at the end of the syringe. He turned the needle on, and it was ready. “Next, you stick the point into the liquid and then pull back on the plunger until the liquid reaches the second line. For now, you’ll practice with water.” Nick pulled back slowly on the plunger until the water reached past the number 2 line. “Then you turn it upside down, give it a gentle flick to make sure all the air bubbles rise to the surface, like so. Then you squeeze the plunger softly until a drop of liquid forms at the tip of the needle, and all the air bubbles are gone. You cannot rush this part of the process. There can be absolutely no air bubbles.”

  Nick reached out and grabbed a tomato that stood on the tray. “This is for you to practice with. You gently squeeze the skin and then stick the needle in with one smooth movement, as this will make it less painful. Then depress the plunger at a steady rate. Don’t rush it, or it will be painful and don’t go too slow, or the kids will freak out. Pull out and toss the syringe with the needle in this red bucket. I will take care of it if we ever wake up again.” The sobering thought of his demise caused Nick to pause for a moment, but then he shook himself and got back to work. “It’s going to be easiest to inject them at the top of their arm at the shoulder,” Nick said as he touched her arm where the injection should go.

  “Nick… I can’t do this. What if I make a mistake?” Anna protested as Nick held out the syringe to her.

  “Anna, you must. You’re the only one that can save them. I know you can do it, pumpkin. Come on, give it a try.”

  Anna hesitantly took the syringe and then meticulously followed Nick’s instructions as he ran her through it a few times. Her fingers felt numb and clumsily, and several times, she nearly dropped the syringe, but Nick kept encouraging her. After a few more times, Nick declared her to be ready.

  “Right, the red liquid will make them all sleep, and administer the DNA altering medication. In the morning, you need to mix the green liquid with the food that they eat. It’s important that they take this medicine with food. Use the syringe again to measure off the amount, this time, pull the plunger back to the tenth line. You don’t have to worry about air bubbles when injecting food. You can mix it in their water, but it will probably be better if you injected it into one of the fruits and have everyone eat one. After that, there will be nothing more for you to do. You will have to wait and see if the medicine works. All of you should probably stay around here for at least a month, to make sure that nothing goes wrong. After that, you’ll be able to leave the mountain, and go find us a power source.”

  By the time Nick finished with his speech, Robert had brought up several more children, who were now wandering around up here. Nick and Anna worked quickly to find them all beds and get them settled down. Anna gave them each a cup of water with the blue liquid mixed in it to drink, and the touch of another human
child seemed to ease most of their fears.

  That was until the boy scout showed up, kicking and screaming in Robert’s arms. The kid was strong and by the look of his strong jaw line and pointy chin, always got his way.

  “Put me down, put me down, put me down,” the boy yelled as he kicked and punched at Robert, who of course felt nothing. Anna recognized the boy as the one she had stared at a few days ago, the one with brown hair hanging into his smooth face, and a sense of purpose about him.

  “You can’t do this to me! You have to let me go! I must find my parents at once,” the boy kept shouting, even after Robert had put him down next to his designated bed.

  Anna rushed over, hoping to ease the boy’s concerns. “Hi there, my name is Anna. What is your name?”

  “Why should I tell you? You are the people who locked me in that cage,” the boy said towering over her.

  Anna gave him the warmest smile. “Please, what is your name? I need it for my records.”

  The boy slapped the clipboard out of her hands and shouted in her face. “Where are my parents!”

  “They are dead!” Anna shouted right back into his face. “They died 158 years ago. Now sit down, and tell me your name!”

  The boy blinked a few times, his breathing heavy. “Fine. If you don’t want to tell me the truth, I will find it out eventually myself. I always do.”

  “Sit down,” Anna said, noticing that every eye in the room was on her.

  The boy finally took a seat.

  “Your name?” Anna said, picking up her clipboard.

  “Radnt.”

  “Please to meet you Radnt. Now, are you going to behave, or am I going to have to use those,” Anna said, pointing at the restraints that were attached to the bed.

  “I’ll behave. For now.”

  “Good.” Anna flipped around and hurried back to the laboratory; it was time for the first injection.

  First up was the red-haired girl, Ekiny. Nick walked her through what to do. “Good, the rest is up to you.”

  “But what are you going to do?”

  “I have to make the rest of the medicine before time runs out,” Nick said, heading for the laboratory.

  Anna kept meticulous notes on who had taken what medicine, keeping track of the time on her watch, and giving injections when required. She stood next to one of the beds when a small body slammed into her. Anna looked down to find her little brother had his arms wrapped around her waist.

  Anna bent down and picked Dave up, his petite arms wrapped around her neck and he clung on for dear life. “It’s alright, Dave. Everything’s going to be okay. I promise.”

  “Where’s Mommy? Where’s Daddy? Why can’t I go out? That mean old man didn’t tell me anything. How do you feel? Are you better?”

  Anna patted Dave’s back in an attempt to calm him down while she walked over to one of the empty beds. “Shh now. I’ll tell you everything later. However, there is something I need you to do for me.”

  “Anything,” Dave said as Anna tucked him in.

  “You must tell no one who you are.”

  Dave looked at Anna, his blue innocent eyes staring up at her. “Is it because of the virus?”

  “Yes, Dave, I promise I will tell you everything later. But right now, no one here must know who we are. Okay?”

  “Okay.”

  “Here drink this. It will make you feel better.” Anna said, handing Dave the cup with blue liquid.

  The lights went out and did not come back on again. All the children shrieked.

  “Everything’s going to be alright. It’s only the lights that went out. Try to get some sleep. Tomorrow morning everything will be bright again.”

  The kids settled down a little at Anna’s words, but she knew she was going to be busy tonight trying to keep everyone calm and in bed.

  Nick came over and gave Anna and Dave a hug. “It’s time. I love you both. Take care of Dave and the others, Anna.”

  “Who was that?” Dave asked.

  Anna reached out and squeezed Dave’s hand as her dad left. “I’ll tell you later.”

  Chapter 10

  A cool breeze drifted through the treetops of the enclosed greenhouse garden. High above, there were windows that were letting in the fresh, cold mountain air. Anna picked up the gardening scissors that James had dropped in the apple orchard the day before. Her tears had dried up sometime last night. They were all gone for now, and it was up to her to get them back. All that remained was the task of surviving and finding that power source.

  Anna picked a few of the apples and returned to the kitchen that was partially lit with sunlight. Dave sat on one of the chairs swinging his legs back and forth. Anna peeled the apples since she hated eating the skin. Then she cut them into slices.

  “What are you doing?” Dave asked.

  “Making breakfast. You hungry?” Anna asked, picking up a syringe. She injected each of the slices with ten lines worth of green stuff. Then placed the apples into a bowl. “Here you go,” Anna said, handing Dave an apple slice.

  Dave took it and bit into it. “It taste’s funny,” Dave commented but continued to chew and eventually swallowed.

  Anna sighed in relief, knowing that at least her brother would be saved. “Dave, before I take this to the others, we need to have a little chat. What do you remember of mommy and daddy?”

  Dave quirked his head to the side, imitating the motion their dad always made when he was thinking. The action almost brought tears to Anna’s eyes, and she had to bite on her lip to avoid giving anything away.

  “Mommy got sick. She died. Daddy said I had to go in cryo so he could save me. But he looked awfully sick. Is daddy dead?”

  Now that was a loaded question and one that Anna was not ready to explain to a 6-year-old. “Dave, there is something you must promise me. You must promise never to tell anyone that our last name is McKlendle. Can you do that?”

  “Why?”

  Anna was tempted to say; you will understand when you are older, but knew that he would hate that answer as much as she had as a child. So she settled on a version of the truth. “Dave, the virus that killed everyone was the McKlendle virus. People won’t understand that it wasn’t you or me. They would try to kill us if they knew our last name was McKlendle. Do you understand?”

  Dave sat, staring at Anna with big round blue eyes. “I don’t want to die.”

  “I don’t want to die either,” Anna admitted, “So let’s take care of each other, and hide our last names. All right?”

  “Okay.” Nick eyed the bowl of apple slices. “Can I have some more?”

  Anna smiled and kissed Dave on the head. “I will make you a proper breakfast, as soon as I’ve given everyone an apple slice. Deal?”

  “I suppose.”

  Anna picked up the bowl and headed for the medical ward. It took her eyes only moments now to adjust to the dark. The Cryoplex was eerily quiet, as the constant humming of the power station was gone. She quickened her pace and reached the medical ward in no time.

  During the night, the kids had threatened to overpower her and leave. So she had resorted to using the restraints. Since she was the only one able to see in the dark, it had not been that difficult to slip it around their wrists. She had not dared untie them, out of fear that they would run off into the Cryoplex, get lost, or worse die because they took a wrong step.

  Anna paused at the door. 30 kids had been removed from cryo, but only 7 had made it through the night. The shock of waking up from cryo so abruptly without following standard protocols had been too much for some of them to handle. She would have to deal with their bodies later. First though, she had to continue taking care of the living.

  “Morning,” Anna said, cheerily as she entered the medical ward. “Breakfast is here.”

  The kids were all still groggy and did not say much as Anna quietly fed each of them exactly one slice of apple with their medicine in it. Most of them were afraid of the dark and did not resist her. Except for Radnt of
course. He wrestled against his restraints as she tried to feed him the apple. He even tried spitting out the apple, until she clamped his mouth and nose shut causing him to swallow.

  Finally, they had all eaten, and most were now fully awake. Anna considered undoing all of their restraints but decided against it. They would stampede over each other, and not know where to go in this darkness. Someone could get hurt. No way was anyone else dying if she had a say in it. Some were calling out for their parents at the top of their lungs, while others cried and still others tried to fight their way free from the restraints.

  Things were getting more out of hand by the minute, and she had to do something now. She had had enough. “Please be quiet,” Anna said.

  No one responded.

  “Quiet!” she screamed at the top of her lungs.

  Silence descended, and she immediately felt ashamed for having yelled at them but shoved the feeling aside. “Look, I’m going to undo your bindings, and lead you out of here one at a time. I’m sorry, but that’s the best I can do. Please wait patiently for your turn. I’ll have you outside in the sun soon. I promise.”

  One by one she led them to the kitchen, saving Radnt for last since he was the most troublesome and she had to keep an eye on him. As she approached his bed, she saw that he was already sitting on the edge of the bed in anticipation.

  “You know, things could be a lot easier if you only worked with me,” Anna said.

  “Easier for who? You or me?” Radnt sneered.

  “Both of us.” Anna sat down on the bed across from him.

  “What you’re not going to untie me?”

  “I will, but first we need to get a few things straight.”

  “Such as?”

  “First, you are not the only scared one. We are all afraid, and we are going to have to work together, so get over yourself. Two, everyone is looking for their family, so show a bit of compassion. Third, instead of being so self-absorbed, consider the fact that you are the oldest here, and act your age.” Anna let her words settled.

  “Is that all,” Radnt smirked.