For Kim,
most brilliant of friends
Baku: a robot-animal companion
Moncha Corp: the company that manufactures bakus
Monica Chan: the founder of Moncha Corp and inventor of the baku
Eric Smith: Monica’s business partner and co-founder of Moncha Corp
Companioneers: employees of Moncha Corp responsible for the design and creation of bakus
Monchaville: a district of Toronto funded and maintained by Moncha Corp
Profectus Academy: the elite science, technology, engineering and mathematics school funded by Moncha Corp
BRIGHT SPRK: a rival technology company to Moncha Corp
Halo: the BRIGHTSPRK personal assistant device
Derek Baird: former professor at Profectus Academy and secret corporate spy for BRIGHTSPRK
THE UPDATE
MY FIRST THOUGHT WHEN I wake up is that I am not in my own bed.
Bright lights shine above me, and I lift my hand to shield my eyes. At my movement, a little robotic creature springs to life.
>>Good morning, Lacey. How are you feeling today? asks his soothing electronic voice.
I struggle to sit up, but my head is spinning.
>>Your vital signs are strong, but you might want to take it easy.
The baku hops down the bed, curling its soft body around my wrist. My vision swirls, nausea rising in the back of my throat, so I close my eyes and tilt my head back against the cool metal headboard. Slowly, I come back to myself. When I open my eyes again, my vision is much clearer.
Wrapped around my wrist is a little chinchilla baku, its shiny robotic eyes blinking up at me. ‘Where . . . where am I?’ I try to say, but my throat is bone dry and the sound comes out with a horrendous rattle.
>>I’ll order you some water.
‘Thank you,’ I croak. Then he crawls back up my arm, projecting a keyboard on to my lap. I type out the rest of my questions.
Where am I? I ask.
>>You’re in Toronto Main Hospital. My name is Picchu and I’m your designated hospital-baku.
Suddenly, the nausea is back with a vengeance. I’m in hospital?
My mind feels so muddled.
I check my body, but apart from the IV stuck in my arm, there doesn’t appear to be any serious injury – no casts for broken bones, no mysterious bandages.
I cast my mind back, struggling to find a memory that might explain what’s going on.
There’s nothing.
Fear and shock make my hands shake. It takes me a moment before I can type again.
What happened?
The chinchilla burrows up against me, trying to calm me down.
>>I will call for a nurse.
I shake my head. I don’t want a nurse. I want my mom.
‘Jinx, call Mom,’ I croak. I look around the room, searching for my black cat baku. Bakus are robotic companions, designed to keep us connected to our friends and family, to our social networks and to the outside world. But Jinx is even more than my companion – he’s my friend.
There’s no answer from him.
>>I’m sorry, but all personal bakus are confiscated in this ward, says Picchu.
I frown. I want to argue but I hardly have the energy.
‘Can you open your messaging app?’
>>I’m sorry. We don’t allow access to external messaging or social media apps for hospital patients.
He sounds way too chipper to deliver such a disappointing message.
Picchu might be cute, but he can’t connect me to the outside world. I guess it’s supposed to be for my own benefit – to keep me relaxed and ensure that my stress is low – but I just feel isolated and alone. And scared.
Really, really scared.
I focus on Picchu as he moves around my body, doing his routine checks. I’ve seen one of these chinchilla bakus before, at school.
Bits and pieces of information from my lessons come to me. His super-soft, synthetic fur is totally sterile, and while he is designed to be very affectionate and cuddly, he also takes care of monitoring my vital signs. His soothing vibrations are able to guide me to sleep and help with pain management too.
I frown. How come I can remember class lectures, but I can’t remember what happened to me? Where is Jinx? Did I have an accident?
‘Oh good, you’re awake,’ says a nurse, who bustles in with a poodle baku conveniently trotting at her heels. Picchu immediately heads towards the poodle, his little tail connecting with the poodle’s shiny black nose.
‘What’s he doing?’ I ask, frowning as the chinchilla flashes a blue light.
‘He’s updating me with your vitals.’
‘Oh . . . and there I thought he was just being friendly.’
The nurse laughs. ‘He is. But he’s useful too. And so is Catcher here. He’s able to monitor all the patients on my ward at the same time and – if there’s a crisis – he can move a lot faster than I can. Very helpful, these bakus.’ She hands me a juice box, which I gratefully take a sip of. The liquid soothes my scratchy throat.
‘Oh right, we learned about that at the Academy,’ I say, followed by an embarrassingly loud slurp.
‘A Profectus student, are you?’ She raises an eyebrow.
‘Yeah,’ I reply, feeling a blush rise in my cheeks. Profectus is the top high school in the country, a science and technology-focused academy whose graduates often end up with jobs at Moncha Corp, the company who manufacture the bakus. It’s always been my dream to be a student there.
‘Well, great news, Lacey – Picchu’s data shows a marked improvement. In fact, your vital signs are normal and healthy.’ The nurse pats Catcher on the head. ‘I think we’ll be able to get you out of here in time for the Christmas break.’
I sit bolt upright, a searing pain streaking its way across my forehead.
‘No, no, still not time for any sudden movements,’ she says, gently placing her hands on my shoulders and guiding me back down into a resting position.
‘But . . . but Christmas break? That means I’ve been out for . . .’
‘Almost a whole month. It’s the strangest thing. You’ve been in and out of a coma that we can’t explain. No obvious head injury or other wounds, except a little bruise on your arm.’
My head spins with that information. A whole month out for the count? A coma? What happened to me?
The last thing I remember is . . .
Is . . .
Just a blur.
I squirm in the hospital bed. ‘Where’s Jinx?’ I ask the nurse. ‘Where is my baku?’
Before I know it, Picchu is back, curled up around my throat. I can feel my muscles – which are so tense I feel like an elastic band stretched and about to ping – relax.
‘I know you have a lot of questions, my dear. Visiting hours are coming up and your mom will be here. She’ll be so pleased that you’re awake and healthy. If things continue like this, you’ll be home before you know it – and your baku will be returned to you.’
I calm my breathing. Jinx is okay.
My desire to see Mom is suddenly overwhelming. I want her arms around me.
‘There’s also someone else who’s been visiting almost every day. He’s very devoted to you.’
I frown. ‘He?’
For some reason, that makes the nurse guffaw with laughter. ‘I’ll leave you to figure that one out on your own. For now, I have another dose of medication for you, and then you should get some rest.’
Rest sounds like the absolute last thing that I need. I want to move, to get up and figure out what’s been happening in the month that I’ve been in hospital. My muscles feel thin and wasted, and I want to walk, to run, to do something.
Then the drugs kick in and I end up back in a deep and dreamless sleep.
‘I THOUGHT YOU SAID SHE was awake!’ Mom sounds frustrated; frazzled. ‘This is beyond ridiculous. I want to take my daughter home now!’
I can hear her, but she feels just out of reach. My eyes are glued shut with gritty sleep. I tilt to the side, reaching my hand out in the direction of her voice.
‘Mom?’ I manage to whisper.
‘Lacey!’ She’s by my side in an instant, her warm hands clasping my outstretched one. I instinctively grip back. I’m coming back to myself. I can feel it.
I force my eyes open and wriggle until I’m sitting up. Mom wraps her arms around me, her embrace warm and comforting. ‘Can we go home now?’ I ask, speaking directly into her neck.
‘Yes, honey,’ she says, stroking my hair. She’s holding me so tightly; I don’t think she wants to let me go.
Her tone changes as she addresses the nurse. It’s much sterner. ‘Have you finally figured out what happened to her?’
The nurse makes a show of scrolling through the data on Catcher’s back. ‘We’ve been treating her for mild hypothermia which she has now completely recovered from, which is why she is feeling stronger. And she hasn’t lost consciousness in the past forty-eight hours so we’re hoping this is the end of it, now.’
‘So does that mean I can take her home?’
The nurse nods, and her expression softens into a smile. ‘I think the doctor wants to do one more examination to give her the all-clear, then we can formally discharge her. In the meantime, I should mention that there’s another visitor . . .’
Mom smiles too. ‘Yes, you can let him in.’
The nurse pats my leg and leaves the room, Catcher trotting at her heels.
‘Have I really been in this hospital for almost a month?’ I ask Mom.
‘Twenty-seven days, and I’ve counted every minute of every one of them,’ she replies.
‘Wow,’ I reply. Then my voice drops. ‘I don’t remember anything about why I’m here . . .’
‘That’s okay, sweetie. You’ve been through a lot.’ Petal, Mom’s level 1 butterfly baku, flutters around her head, then connects to the small leash that is looped around her ear to charge. Instinctively, I reach up and touch my leash.
‘Your baku is at home,’ Mom says. ‘I wasn’t allowed to bring him to you while you’re in hospital. I tried to get you transferred to the Moncha hospital, but an old teacher of yours, Mr Baird? He thought it would be a better idea if you stayed here. And then you were so unwell that it seemed silly to move you. No one could explain what was happening . . . you kept slipping in and out of consciousness.’ Tears well up in her eyes, her voice breaking with emotion. A flash of memory comes back to me – of running through twisting hallways away from . . . away from what?
My mind draws a blank. I open my mouth to ask Mom about Mr Baird, when there’s a knock on the hospital room door.
A familiar face pops around the frame and my heart skips several beats. It’s Tobias, his dark brown eyes filled with concern. He’s still wearing his Profectus uniform and in his hands is a tiny box covered in black cat wrapping paper. ‘Can I come in?’ he asks.
‘Please do,’ says my mom.
He grins widely when he sees that I’m awake, and rushes to my bedside. But then he hesitates as he approaches, glancing between my mom and me. A blush rises in my cheeks, and all of a sudden I can’t figure out what to do with my hands. It’s like neither of us knows how to act around each other.
Luckily, his baku breaks the tension. Aero, a beautiful level 5 eagle, follows him into the room, lands on the railing of my bed and squawks loudly. I reach out and brush his smooth golden feathers, and a series of lights ripple down his wing, where I’m touching it. I smile, wider than I have in a long time.
Tobias sits down on the other side of the bed to my mom, and squeezes my hand. I squeeze back. ‘I’m glad you’re awake,’ he says.
‘Me too,’ I whisper back.
‘I’ll give you two a moment,’ Mom says. ‘I’m in dire need of some coffee. Can I get you anything, Tobias?’
Hearing Mom sound so familiar with Tobias threatens to deepen my blush. But he shakes his head and so do I. ‘Thanks, Mom.’
‘See you later.’
There’s an awkward moment of silence as she leaves the room, and then Tobias and I are alone. My eyes dart around, unsure where to look – and I catch sight of my reflection in the window. I bite my lip – my hair is a rat’s nest, and a month of lying down on the bed has done nothing for my complexion.
He grips my fingers again, and I look back at him. He’s smiling. Maybe he doesn’t care what I look like. ‘I brought you something,’ he says. He hands over the wrapped box.
‘Thanks, you didn’t have to do that.’ I gently tear open the paper, revealing an old-fashioned wooden toy maze, with a marble running through it. I immediately begin turning it in my hands, directing the marble down to a small hole in one of the corners.
‘I thought you weren’t the flower-receiving type,’ he says. Then he chuckles. ‘Seeing that look of concentration on your face is exactly what I wanted! And look, you can adjust the maze at the back, so you can build your own by lowering and raising walls. Thought it was the perfect present for my bedbound engineer.’
The marble drops into the hole with a satisfying clink. I look up at him, unable to help the grin on my face. ‘I love it!’
He smiles, then turns more serious and leans forward, his elbows on his knees. ‘So, do you remember anything about what happened?’
I shake my head. ‘I wish that I could . . . can you help me fill in any gaps?’
Tobias nods. ‘The doctors said you had some memory loss that they can’t explain . . .’ He lowers his voice. ‘We were at Moncha headquarters that night. Carter had stolen Jinx from you to give to his dad.’
My breath hitches. Carter Smith. My academic rival. Well, our rivalry is more than just academic – it seems his hatred of me runs so deep, he’s willing to steal from me. ‘So we went to Moncha HQ to get him back,’ I whisper.
‘Yup.’
‘And we got him!’ I remember that. I remember holding Jinx in my arms. Running through hallways away from vicious security panthers.
Then there’s another flash of memory. This time, it’s of Jinx running away. ‘Oh,’ I say, my voice sounding small. ‘He bolted.’
Tobias nods. ‘That’s where we lost you. You ran off after Jinx and got trapped behind some locked doors. I couldn’t follow you.’ His voice sounds strained.
‘It wasn’t your fault, Tobias,’ I say.
His hand leaves mine and his fingers tighten into a fist. ‘Do you remember what happened after you chased Jinx?’
I shake my head.
Tobias studies me, his eyes searching my face. Whatever he was looking for, he doesn’t find any answers, and his shoulders slump. ‘I still have nightmares about that night,’ he continues. ‘When I realized I couldn’t follow you and Jinx, I freaked out. I waited for you in Mr Baird’s car, just around the corner from Moncha HQ. I sent Aero out to scan the streets to try and find you. That’s when we spotted you passed out in the cold, so I ran to get you. I was so scared . . .’
‘You’re the one who found me?’ I ask.
Tobias nods. ‘I brought you to the car, and Mr Baird drove us to the hospital.’
I close my eyes, willing more memories to come. But none do. I feel disappointment settling in my bones. I haven’t been very helpful. I know that Tobias, Mom and the doctors had been waiting for me to wake up so that I could provide some sort of explanation. But I can’t.
When I open my eyes again, I change the subject, unable to bear the disappointment reflected back in Tobias’s eyes. ‘The nurses say that I’ve been in here for almost a month. What . . . what have I missed?’
‘Well, with you in hospital, Mr Baird said we didn’t have enough evidence to go to the authorities about Carter or his dad. I mean, all we know is that his dad was trying to take back your baku and since it was Moncha property to
begin with . . .’ Tobias shrugs.
I nod. ‘And what about at school? How’s Ashley? And Kai? And River! Are they okay?’ They had been with us, fighting off Carter’s security bakus inside the headquarters. I hope none of them were hurt.
‘They’re fine,’ he assures me. ‘They’re worried about you. Ashley has been taking notes in all your classes; she said she’d drop them round as soon as you’re back home. You’ll catch up quickly though, I’m sure of it.’
‘And the Baku Battles?’
His smile slips a little. ‘Gemma and her team . . . they won the final round.’
‘Oh, Tobes, I’m really sorry.’ I know how much Tobias had wanted to win. The Baku Battles were a fiercely competitive Profectus tradition, and an opportunity for students to show off the skills they learned in class. As the captain of the winning team, Tobias would have earned a summer internship at Moncha with Monica Chan herself – the founder of the company. It would have placed him on a par with his older brother. His parents, who also worked for Moncha Corp in high level positions, would have been so proud of him. It was everything he had worked for all through high school. Not only that, but Gemma’s team victory meant Carter Smith had won too.
Tobias is lost in thought. Then he shrugs and smiles again, although this time it feels forced for my benefit. ‘Don’t worry; I have loads of options. I’m not worried.’
‘I know how much you wanted it. I’m so—’
‘Don’t apologize. Nobody’s even seen Monica Chan for weeks.’
Pain spikes in my head at the mention of Monica’s name, and I wince. Tobias’s eyes widen with concern, but I shake my head. ‘I’m okay. I just want to get out of this hospital bed.’
‘It will be good to have you back. Things can go back to normal now, can’t they?’
Images of security panther bakus with snarling, snapping jaws; of Carter Smith with an axe to grind; of Jinx running away from me through the hallways of Moncha HQ, flash in my mind. If that’s what normality is, then maybe I don’t want it. Despite everything, I smile weakly at Tobias. ‘Let’s hope so.’
At a noise by the door, we both look up. Mom arrives back in the room, a backpack slung over her shoulders. ‘I spoke to the doctor outside, Lacey. They still don’t know the exact cause of your black-outs and memory loss, but as long as we keep an eye on you and take it easy, I can bring you home.’
Unleashed Page 1
