by Divya Singh
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11:00 pm: The Plan
ZA-vi: “I have found out that the two assistant doctors with Despondra will not be working today with her because Dr. Klinex (the woman) is on leave and Dr. Wornfeih (The male) has already worked on a different shift. So she is working absolutely alone tonight. So, essentially, we are in a little bit of luck tonight. The ‘Hospital’ gets empty after midnight. The department head office where her room belongs is inaccessible to most except higher ranked staff and doctors. But today is a strange day! Everything fell into place and most doctors are gone, but only junior resident doctors are on duty totaling just 3, are left in the hospital. They do not report to her, except in an emergency. It’s after midnight that we strike her for the best.”
I said: “In precise 1 hour from now! Let’s gather our equipment.”
ZA-vi had brought a device which I interpreted to be like an advanced suction pump, thoroughly sterilized. To the pump was attached a 5-liter glass tank which would be filled up with suctioned out blood. I could not wait to see it filled with Despondra’s blood. But we were not going to leave her to die so we were taking bandages to immediately contain the bleeding if any. Instead, we both would be making sure that we left her on a hospital bed to be able to seek medical attention ASAP (as soon as possible), without the slightest delay. So we were playing the nice guys, just with a little pinch of Bad! The best part was we both coordinated perfectly thanks to the telepathic connection ZA-vi had with my thoughts. We looked at each other and nodded in agreement to get along with the plan ahead of us. ZA-vi carried the suction pump and bandages while I carried an aluminum rod some 2.5 feet long, which was round and clubbed at the front just enough to ensure that it did not create any large open wound.
I walked ahead using my own authorization key to the elevators while ZA-vi used his own at extreme right. ZA-vi followed me to Despondra’s cabin on the floor just above ours. ZA-vi stayed out of the glass hall. Despondra was busy with glass screen facing back towards entrance, about same as last time. The plan was to let her know who did this to her and do it with an addition of surprise element to it.
I walked ahead and reached till I was just 3 feet away from her and called her “Doctor!” She turned towards the direction of my voice. I swayed the rod in my hand to hit her with a heavy momentum, but I then noticed that she had held a device in her hand at which she looked while turning her face at me gazing down, I realized that she wouldn’t now know that who knocked her out but it all happened in the split of the moment, and my right hand with rod hit her because it had gone to an uncontrollable level.
My rod’s round club hit her above her right temple, with the sudden impact her head and body were force moved towards her left, as she fell down, the round screen type device jerked a bit above and hit a tray with knives kept on the counter at my left, a knife flew up in the air, swirled up and down and the force of gravity turned its blade towards the floor where the calf of her left leg had just placed itself, and the knife’s blade impaled through her lower calf and made a 2 inch wide and about the same dimension deep incision. It was now obvious to me that the knife which now stood tilted on her lower calf wound was heavier and sharp for belonging to this era.
Despondra wore a knee length gray pencil skirt and white blouse today leaving her legs open and vulnerable to such an accidental wound. Well, cutting an open wound was certainly not a part of the plan; rather it was a mere accident. I didn’t want the blood to spill out and make a mess, but there was nothing I could do. I didn’t want to tear off mine or her clothes to make a bandage in an attempt to avoid any possibility of accidentally creating evidence, and as I glanced at the dimly lighted room there was not anything to soak the blood in.
But, where was ZA-vi? He must have been here by now, as he is the one who carried bandages and suction pump. Where did he get stuck in, especially when I needed him? I was a little suspicious about somebody coming into this hall belonging to the head of the hospital. I thought I will have to leave that place with her unconscious body right away. Hence, I turned my head back to look at the gates, it was bright and there was nobody around. So I went up to her hands and held her by her arms thereby, rotating her body to face towards the entrance. Then I started dragging her towards the gate, the wound in her left calf started to leave blood trails behind as I dragged her towards the gate.
Then I recalled something about having seen the trails of blood I left behind. Yes, I now correctly remembered that I saw such trails of blood from dragging a woman behind that I saw in my nightmare. Then I gazed at Despondra, she is about 40 or higher, traces of tiniest wrinkles have begun to appear on her face. She is white, but there is an exotic blend of Mediterranean genes in her skin color.
She almost resembled the woman in my dream. But Despondra did not appear weakened by sickness or age as was the woman in my nightmare, although she was slender in shape and tall about 5’6”, just enough to make for an arrogant lady boss. She was muscular with long, slender pins. From her looks, she did not sound so bad to me; despite the fact that she did not appear strikingly beautiful or even slightly innocent.
But I was doing this to her in order to teach her a lesson about starting to value human life more and for hating some humans like me. But that dream caught my attention again. I did see this zig-zag blood trail in my dream too, as her left calf swayed on the way responding to my cautious movements. I now begin to consider this dream as being more of a premonition to me rather than just being a nightmare.
But why would I have such a dreaded premonition? My plan did not include biting her jugular for sucking her blood out, but it did concern itself with suctioning out her blood. Did I get some sort of indication through premonition? They must have some kind of consequence for the future acts that are what premonitions are for. To see the future first so that you have enough time to prevent something evil or to act in a way desired.
But this to me was happening and I was doing it, yet it seemed the right avenue to tread on to. It just felt right. I stopped a little tangled in the lines of thoughts. I looked back at her and the blood trail and reminded myself of the nasty things she puked earlier and my determination to do what I was doing consolidated further.
The door slit-opened; when I approached it, as it was photosensitive. I realized that ZA-vi was still seen nowhere. I decided to move her to the alley to the left of the entrance as it was dark there, enough to hide my prey and the culprit, myself.
As I turned 90 degrees to reach the alley, I saw ZA-vi coming towards me and turned towards him thereby rotating the body a little. I said-
I said: “You know, you were supposed to be here when I knocked her down, now look at the mess that got created!” I flew my right arm up to sway my fingers towards the blood trails.
ZA-vi: “I agree but I had to wait as the Bouncer on the floor is here at the Out Patient Ward. I needed to wait to let him pass.”
I said: ”But, have you seen the mess yet?”
ZA-vi: “It won’t take long to wipe it all out. But we agreed about no cutting wound, yes?”
I was assured by ZA-vi’s words.
I said: “Do it first, hurry up! I will explain later.”
ZA-vi placed the pump to my right and took out some cotton. In a few seconds, he wiped out Despondra’s blood trails, but the glossy white floor was still stained. So he went up and grabbed a water tumbler and splashed its water against the stained floor. He took some more cotton and wiped out the floor clean in a few more moments. It was done till the gate, but rest was still there, though the trails had lessened outside which took lesser time to get wiped out clean, I gestured him to come out and do what we were here for.
ZA-vi: “We will infiltrate at the veins in her hand.” I nodded.
He inserted a cannula in her right hand and fixed the other end of the IV tube at the mouth of the suction pump.
I said: “Let us just get it done!”
He looked at me and started drawing blood out from her body. The red color of the blood looked so enticing to my eyes. It was what made me distinct from the crowd. It is probably why we have to do this to her. It was what made me freak out of my own appearance. It was a shame that my body, my centuries’ old body was not able to produce it.
But above all this, people for reasons unknown and not understandable, would not donate it to me; to the hospital these days. I thought people in my era used to judge others by the color of skin, sex, ethnicity, community etc. it was probably the color of the blood they would judge me by.
………..and, I was a Blue Monster for her. I kept looking at the blood of hers and admiring the red color of the blood as my thoughts sunk me deeper while the container of the suction pump kept getting filled up higher with her blood. So it caught my attention.
I said:”Hey ZA-vi wait! How much blood have you drawn till now?”
ZA-vi: “It reads 2.5 liters, why?”
I baffled: “Stop! Stop! Stop right now……..!”
ZA-vi: “Why? It seems okay to me so far…………”
I screamed: “NO! Just stop it will you, right now!” and he stopped working with the pump.
I asked: “What is the threshold of Exsanguination? We have drawn too much blood! The wound has even stopped bleeding!” I pointed towards the cut that the knife had made in her left calf’s flesh. The blood, which trickled down from the large wound had stopped, indicating a huge blood loss from the suction; although clotting could have also stopped the bleeding.
I said: “How much blood does a human body have? 4-5 liters?? How much? Have we killed her already?” I got jerked to my core.
ZA-vi instantly removed the cannula and held her wrist
“We still have the pulse!” said he. “…and a heartbeat!” as he touched the heart with his flat palm. Now he took his hand towards her nostrils. “Breathing too! She is not dead!” He exclaimed.
I said: “Hurry up!” I screamed; Let us rush her to any emergency room!”
ZA-vi pointed towards the alley in the front-
ZA-vi: “There!”
Although her wound was not cleaned, we rushed towards the Emergency ward as fast as we could. I was strong for carrying her alone by myself, but we did not want to make any possible trail so I carried her by her arms and ZA-vi supported me by carrying her by her legs.
We ran till we made it to the last but one room, which I saw read, ‘Emergency Ward 1207’. I kicked it open and put Despondra’s body on the first bed we saw.
We had to run out immediately, while also alarm somebody hence while returning I hit the red button on the wall in the front of her bed.
The voice began calling the ward number and we ran towards the alley where we had suctioned her blood out. The pump and the cotton were held by ZA-vi, which he handed me over and I took the corridor in front of Despondra’s room straight to the elevators. I took the elevator down to my floor and reached my room.
On the way all the time I wished for her farewell. I just wished that she would be alright. If I had been a believer of God, I would pray for her health and well-being. But I didn’t know about my earlier faith.
As I placed the pump on the counter at the back of my bed, I began thinking that ZA-vi stayed behind to cover me up. If anybody would have seen him, they’d not have suspected me of any such crime and ZA-vi, being an android lacks a motive behind the heinous attempt of killing the head of the hospital.
Soon after, he returned and said that he had wiped clean the last traces of the blood stains.
ZA-vi: “Dr. Shelly had reached there in time to attend Despondra. She I believe is in able hands. She will be fine.”
So, he was not obviously caught. Oh, thank goodness! I whimpered to myself.
I said: “I am not a murderer! I did not want her to die. I only intended her to learn to respect the human person, not the process employed to bring her or him into being. I hope that it works. But I was still not content as I had hoped for some kind of reaction.
Suddenly, KEAH ran in and shut the door from inside. She said-
KEAH: “I saw what you did out there with Dr. Despondra!” She looked aghast and tense, “But what was on your mind then and why?”
ZA-vi looked at me to insist that I explained it to her.
I replied: “You must have heard our conversation the other day KEAH! But I did not see you that time, if you were overhearing then you should have backed me up and she then ridiculed yours and Shelly’s work too in return. Why did you not come to participate in that debate?”
KEAH: “I was not there, but I saw you and your act on the camera on the computer. I was on the security floor i.e. ‘-10’ because two of the Out Patients died yesterday without a sound reason of death. I was assigned to work on their genetic case as research. It was strange that they belonged to the same quarters. I was on the security floor as a witness so I was called there for investigation.”
She stopped for the split of a moment as if trying to remember-
KEAH: “I was in Trample’s office when he asked me to record my statement but he himself stepped away. The camera of Despondra’s hall began showing footage on the screen. Then I saw you guys! But what was more surprising was your killer skills which I saw live on the camera! Why would you do that?”
The next moment, I realized that she had not overheard, but only seen my ‘act’ on the camera. So I needed to explain the reason and background of our little stifle to her, which was far more difficult a part for me.
But, I mustered up all the courage and expelled away the detailed conversation I have had with Despondra. Although KEAH was a clone and not the dead walking, still she had an exact same reaction after I had it explained all to her and she even agreed to the validity of the act itself and said further-
KEAH: “After seeing you two commit the act, I reacted with patience and put a message for Dr. Shelly to rush to the Emergency Ward 1207 as soon as you guys had left Despondra there on the ward’s bed. Your actions of leaving her there and your expressions indicated your intention of saving her behind the act.”
I said: “It is great to have your support KEAH. It means a lot. Thank you. If we are absolved of any crime, if Despondra is saved, it is just because of your courageous attempts. I always have had believed in you since the beginning.”
KEAH: “Oh! It is no problem. Despondra, in my opinion deserves this treatment. She has ordered to kill anybody, patient, person, clone or one like you if their medical records are not perfectly clean. She is the reckless and relentless side of this ship. Most of the doctors, except for her puppet assistants are against her such inhuman orders. She is the most original human being, born from real biological parents. A rare occurrence even some forty years back. Hence, she considers all the others to be a garbage dump. I believe that she must have humiliated you and she is overly proud of herself. So yes, she deserves it.”
I said: “But then, those ordered to kill are actually killed or not?”
KEAH: “This is considered as a secret, something not frequently talked about. Please do not let it out before anyone. There is a cold Mutiny pervading on this ship. Although Despondra’s orders are cruel and absolute, still they are not devoid of reason to them. If this is not done as ordered, then the ‘Defective humans’ will blend with the rest of the normal ones and will further this Contamination.”
“Now, the supporters of Shelly and Von sneak these unclear, but not dangerous bodies into the lower levels of the ship, suspending them for future genetic correction, in the case of further destruction of human race. Because Shelly believes in future possibilities of genetic code correction and improvement, otherwise, as he believes, human procreation may not be even remotely possible in future due to the declination of the resources in the hands of ‘The Exiled’ ones.”
She paused to conclude-
KEAH: “So Shelly and his supporters are believers of the proposition that they can undo the incorrect rather than
make a few more humans in the labs first and then subsequently discover their genetic deformities many years later. So, apart from a few gravely serious cases, not all are being killed. The team of Shelly and Von filters the subjects further after Despondra’s rejection thereof. They consider the further fate of the rejected subjects and do as is appropriate. I am not involved in this all and do not take sides. Rather each of these looks right to me from their point of view.”
I said: “So does to me. Did she order to kill me as well?”
KEAH:; “No! I believe she is not authorized to order, the capital rejection of any person’s body secured in Cryo. Which I have been told has been protected by the realm of present day and past legal systems. The factor holding much importance is the financial support available to the people preserved in Cryo. Though she obviously hates you; despite the fact that your genes are pure.”
I replied: “I see. So is she still alive? I had no intention to kill her at any cost. No.”
KEAH: “Yeah she is, though next 24 hours will be critical to her survival. I wonder how she has still survived such a huge blood loss. 30% of the blood loss is life-threatening; you had suctioned 50% of her blood. It is no exaggeration to call it a miracle, saying medically.”
I said: “It would in my best interest that I am saved from being a murderer. I hope and wish that she survives this.”
KEAH: “Amen! By the way, do not worry about her life, if it is not saved, we will make up a story to hide the action that you committed to inflicting injury upon her body. We have got everything under control. The best part is that we were lucky that I was there to see the footage live and had enough time to react.”
I said: “Oh thank you KEAH! I am absolutely relieved now. Though I don’t want to taint my character by calling myself a killer, because it is not what I do. If she is not saved I will not be able to forgive myself. But thank you” I said to her, who was now leaving my room saying-
KEAH: “Don’t bother that much. Keep hope. Relax now. Night miss!” and she walked out.
ZA-vi was busy in freezing the recently taken out blood and I stretched myself with a sigh on my tiny bed. My vision shifted focus towards the clock. It was just 1:45 am while it had seemed to have taken a long time, since that act.
Chapter 17: DEVON!
