The Rainbow Maker's Tale

by Mel Cusick-Jones

  As I drew nearer I realised that the receptionist was not an adult, as I’d first thought. The biggest giveaway was the fact that she smiled at me as I approached.

  “Hi?” I said as I reached the desk. She was looking at me expectantly – as if we knew each other – and it made my greeting sound unsure, when I hadn’t meant it to.

  “Hello Balik,” she smiled brightly back at me.

  There was something familiar about the girl, but I couldn’t put my finger on it. It wasn’t her face; not the icy blue eyes or dark hair swept up into a high ponytail, showing off bright indigo stripes in her fringe. The girl’s gaze flicked over my features in return, and the curve in her mouth widened further.

  “Erm, hi?” I repeated, unable to remove the question from my tone. When she didn’t offer anything else, I found curiosity got the better of me. “Do we know each other?”

  “No,” she laughed, shaking her head from side to side, making her multi-coloured ponytail flick out. “When you scanned in, your details came up on my screen.” A brief wave of her hand in the direction of the viewing screen reinforced her words, although she didn’t bother looking that way.

  “Oh, right.” I bobbed my head once in understanding.

  “But, I know who you are.”

  My eyebrows twitched upward in an unspoken question. The girl giggled a little, the noise squeaking in her throat.

  “What I meant to say is that you’re on placement with a friend of mine – Olivia – she’s been saying you’re going to meet us nearly every day since she started, but you’re always doing extra work or have plans…”

  Her words trailed off in an odd way: it wasn’t the end of a sentence or a direct question. When she added nothing else, I realised that I would have to say something.

  “I – Olivia – yeah, we’re placement partners.”

  “It must be nice to have someone to talk to while you’re on placement,” the girl pouted. “I’ve been on the night shift for the last two weeks and there is NO ONE to talk to.”

  I struggled not to laugh out loud. How nice would it be not to have Olivia chattering away at my elbow for eight hours a day? I didn’t laugh. Instead I said, “That doesn’t sound like fun at all.”

  “So, how come you’ve never come to meet us? Olivia’s always saying how good friends you two are.”

  I managed to control the surprise I felt, and at the same time something deflated in me. I may not be good with other people, but I could read them well enough. By the sounds of it Olivia did like me. Just as Cassie had said – just as I had suspected.

  “We are, I just – it’s tough being on the Medic rotation – that’s why I came on the extended placement. It’s been even harder than I thought it would be, if I’m honest.”

  “I’m sure you’re doing well,” she smiled.

  “I don’t know about that – I probably forget more than I remember!” I gave her a sheepish grin, hoping I looked honest. “I’ve had to come back now because I’ve forgotten something.”

  “It’s pretty late,” she glanced at the time on her viewing screen, “there’s not many Medics left from the day rotations.”

  “I know. It’s actually Mother I’ve come to see, I’ll probably only be a few minutes.”

  “Oh, OK.” She sounded a bit disappointed, maybe hoping that I’d stay and chat longer to help her pass some time on her shift. Definitely picked the wrong person for that!

  “Do you know where you’re going?”

  “Yes, thanks.” I was confident in both my knowledge of The Clinic and the blueprint I’d looked at. The next part would be the most difficult.

  “Thanks for your help…” I backed away from the counter, heading in the direction of the lifts.

  “Kerry,” she filled in for me.

  “Thanks Kerry, I’ll see you in a few minutes.”

  “Great,” she grinned at me, just before I turned around.

  At the bank of lifts I pressed the number seven for the floor I wanted and waited for the lift to arrive. A few moments later, the white doors swished softly open and I stepped inside.

  As the doors closed behind me a computerised female voice advised: “Destination Level Seven, Biochemistry and Development Ward.”

  It was a bit of a leap, but I knew that Mother worked regularly in Biochemistry and that the labs were usually covered by other Medics during the night, so I was expecting to find someone there with access permissions similar to hers. I just hoped my hunch was right.

  As I entered the lab my mark triggered the scanner at the door. I looked around and at first saw no one, until a quiet cough drew my attention towards the back of the room. A young Medic was working alone at a long white bench, he held a pipette in one hand and a small test tube in the other. The inquisitive cough and the way he was staring at me now made it obvious that I’d disturbed him. He was probably only a couple of years older than me, but his dark blue suit clearly showed that was a fully qualified Medic.

  “Can I help you?”

  I kicked my feet into moving forwards, reminding myself that I had come here for a reason.

  “Yes, hi, I’m Balik.”

  No response. Cassie was right – we do turn into our parents once we start working with them. It was surprising this guy hadn’t already eloped, there weren’t many young people that stayed here for more than a year or so after successfully completing their placements…although it was the ones who left before placement that surprised me more.

  “I was looking for my mother, I needed to ask her something.”

  “You didn’t message her.” It was a statement, not a question.

  “Er, no.” I agreed. Wow, you sound like a real idiot. Get your brain in gear and lie better! I stepped closer. “I was just passing on my way home and thought I would stop in to see her.”

  “It’s quite late – she must have been on the day rotation and finished already.”

  “Yeah,” I nodded, taking another two paces forward to join him at the bench. “What are you doing?”

  “Hormone sampling for some new babies, just checking the levels are all OK. It’s standard stuff.”

  “Interesting,” I noted, leaning forwards to peer into the test tube rack as though it was particularly intriguing.

  “It’s standard stuff.” He repeated.

  “Sure,” I stepped away from the counter, pushing my hands deep into my pockets, disguising the fact that I’d just lifted the man’s Medic pass off the clip on his suit belt. “Well, thanks anyway, I’ll head home now.”

  He didn’t even bother to say goodbye as I walked from the room. My main focus was on trying to keep my steps as normal as possible, even though I wanted to run as fast as I could. When I turned at the door to look back, he had already returned to work.

  I pressed my hand to the panel and the door opened, registering my leaving with a quiet beep. By the time the door slid shut I was already in the emergency stairwell, jumping down the steps.

  I jogged down the stairs until I came to the ground floor. I hadn’t bothered with the lifts, as I already knew from using them a few minutes before there was no option to take you to the basement levels. No doubt there was only a service lift to this area, and I’d never used one in The Clinic before, so it would just have made things harder to look for it now. The stairs were good. I had seen the markings on the blueprint and knew that they went to the lower levels from where I stood now. Taking hold of the handrail, I began my descent more slowly this time.

  As I came to the bottom, the last step opened out into a small square space with blank walls. The lights were dimmer here – not the bright white of the upper levels – and I squinted to try and make out my surroundings. I knew there had to be a door here, but nothing was immediately visible.

  Having stared at the blank walls for a few seconds, I realised that the one place I hadn’t looked was behind me. I dropped down onto the landing and walked back on myself. Through the dim light I saw a doorway, concealed beneath the closed trea
ds of the stairs I had come down. This was it.

  To the left hand side of the door was the standard keypad. I ran my fingers across the panel, navigating to the correct screen and then inputting Father’s maintenance access code. A second later, the light in the panel changed to white and the door slid open. I looked around for a scanner, but there didn’t seem to be anything at all here – perhaps they never expected anyone to tamper with the systems? No scanner, meant no way to trace who had been here. “Perfect,” I grinned and stepped through the opening.

  On the other side of the door was a service corridor. The passage was darker and smaller than the ones in The Clinic above, not much different to the ones I’d seen in areas of the engineering sector – my trips there had also been courtesy of Father’s pass codes. There wasn’t time for comparison though, I needed to get in and out as quickly as possible – I was pretty good at lying, but there would be no way to explain my presence here if I got caught.

  Moving swiftly down the corridor I glanced at the doors and closed rooms either side of me as I passed. The air felt thicker in the narrow passage as I went deeper, and I detected a faint chemical smell to it that felt less pure than I was used to in the station. I recalled that the first three doors on my left were to access the main engineering equipment that ran The Clinic’s air and thermocontrol systems. That would explain some of the smells.

  A dozen more paces along, I stopped. On my right was a door with a sign beside it that read: Room B.19. There was no description alongside, but I knew this was the right place, just like the blueprint had shown. The swipe access was also there – just like on the plans – the other doors I had passed had keypads or no additional security features at all.

  With a slight thrill of excitement and trepidation, I slid the stolen card through the reader and watched in awe as the light turned from red to green. The door clicked very quietly and I turned the handle, swinging it open into darkness. After a moment of hesitation I stepped into the black and waited for the automatic lights to come on.

  * * *

  At the top of the stairs I paused, to wipe my sweaty palms down the outside of my daysuit and re-adjust my bag. I had taken several packages of pain relievers, as well as muscle relaxing injections, before nerves got the better of me and I had found myself bolting for the storeroom door whilst stuffing the contraband into my bag.

  You need to calm down.

  If I walked out into the main entrance hall right now I would look crazy: my heartbeat was erratic and, even though I’d only run up a flight of stairs, I could barely breathe.

  Leaning against the wall, I closed my eyes and forced myself to breathe more slowly. In through the nose, out through the mouth, I intoned silently. It didn’t take long to calm down then, although I was still ridiculously excited with what I’d managed to pull off.

  It’s not over yet, I reminded myself.

  “Let’s go,” I muttered, pushing away from the wall and opening the door. The entrance hall was completely empty this time, except for Olivia’s friend – Kerry, I recalled – at the reception desk. I headed in that direction, fixing a smile on my face as I drew closer and she looked up from the viewing screen.

  “Hi!” Kerry beamed as I drew up to the desk.

  “Hello again.”

  “I was just speaking to Olivia – she couldn’t believe you were back here so late.”

  I gave her a sheepish smile and a shrug. “It was a wasted journey, Mother had already left.”

  “That’s too bad,” her head tilted to the side, as if she was giving me sympathy for some terrible accident.

  “Not to worry, I’ll head home now and see her.”

  “OK.”

  “Oh – I found this on the floor in the corridor.” I pulled the swipe card from my pocket and placed it on the reception counter.

  Kerry picked it up and looked at it for a few moments, and I wasn’t sure she realised what it was.

  “It’s a Medic pass,” I prompted. “Someone must have dropped it – I found it on Level Seven.”

  “Oh, right. Thanks. I’ll hand it in and we’ll get it back to the right person.”

  “Great!” I smiled, genuinely now. Every piece of my plan had fallen into place. “Thanks for your help Kerry, it was nice meeting you.”

  “You too,” she nodded. “I’ll say hi to Olivia for you.”

  “Sure,” I agreed, not really listening now. I was already thinking about getting the medicine to Cassie, and I left The Clinic in my own happy little haze.

  I buzzed the door intercom at Cassie’s apartment and waited. It was hard containing my excitement – I was feeling very proud of myself and wondered what Cassie would make of my present. It felt like I had waited ages, and was just about to press the panel again when the door slid open.

  A slightly dishevelled looking Cassie stood in front of me. Her hair was wet, and looked darker than usual, hanging around her shoulders in thick lines. She had obviously showered and looked better for that, although I could see the lighter scratches on her face more now. I wondered if I had woken her up. She was wearing a long-sleeved sleepsuit and looked a little bleary eyed. I beamed at her.

  “What are you doing here?”

  It wasn’t exactly the greeting I’d been hoping for, but it made me sure that I had just woken her up. After everything she’d been through today Cassie was more than entitled to be a bit grumpy – she was probably in agony with her shoulder.

  “Don’t worry, I’m not staying,” I promised, holding out my hand to show her the small capsule of pink tablets I’d brought from The Clinic. “I just brought you these, I thought they might help.”

  “Thanks,” Cassie murmured, reaching out for the packet.

  I was quite surprised when she didn’t say anything else. Surely she recognised the tablets from our work at The Clinic? Wouldn’t that seem strange to her? She didn’t look at me again, and I wondered perhaps whether my gift had scared her. What if she had recognised them and was worried about what I’d done to get them?

  This wasn’t how I’d planned it at all. I was hoping Cassie might have hugged me or done something so that I might have been able to give her the muscle relaxant injection I’d brought for her.

  Sneak injection?

  At first I couldn’t believe I’d even thought it, but in the next instant I’d already convinced myself it was exactly the right thing to do. Judging by Cassie’s reaction to the tablets she’d be even more concerned with how I’d managed to get a syringe and high-strength, opiate-based drugs.

  Cassie wasn’t even paying attention to what I was doing when I made my decision. I leaned in quickly, dipping beneath the damp curtain of hair she was trying to hide behind. If she was shocked by my sudden closeness, she was even more surprised when I pressed my lips to her cheek a second later. Thankfully, she didn’t move and at that same moment I slid the thin needle into her shoulder and depressed the plunger.

  Colour immediately appeared in two rosy spots on Cassie cheeks and I could almost feel the heat coming from her skin. “I’ll see you tomorrow,” I whispered, leaning into her body for one brief – but fantastic second. My lips were so close to her ear I could have kissed it too, and her neck and…

  Not today, I told myself firmly and snapped away, taking the empty syringe with me, unnoticed. An apartment corridor had never felt so long, as I ran away from Cassie.

  You kissed her!

  I don’t think I’d ever heard my mind scream before – certainly not in that excited, slightly feminine tone, at least. Yes, I’d kissed Cassie; but I’d also injected her with drugs without her knowing. It was for her own good, but I was pretty sure she wouldn’t see it that way if she ever found out.

  I turned as I reached the staircase, wondering if Cassie might actually be angry with my unexpected show of affection, deceitful as it was. The expression on her face – a giddy grin – suggested that she was anything but annoyed. When she got caught watching me her face flamed brighter red than it had when I
kissed her. I couldn’t help but grin myself, and feeling suddenly brave shouted out to her. “You didn’t say goodbye.”

  Cassie bit her lip and I knew she was trying not to giggle. Sucking in a deep breath, she held my gaze as she called back. “Goodbye Balik!”

  I smiled to myself as I dropped out of sight into the staircase. She might have tried to show me otherwise, but I knew my kiss had had an effect on Cassie.

  * * *

  Leaving Cassie was almost unbearable. I turned back on myself several times in the moments after I’d left, thinking I would go back and check on her. I must have looked mad, spinning in small circles every few paces.

  Of course Cassie’s not alright – you idiot! You almost got her killed!

  Yeah – the judgmental inner monologue didn’t do much to make me feel sane either. Inwardly and outwardly crazy, that was me! What would you expect from a guy who spent more time talking to himself, than other people?

  I shook my head trying to unsettle the images that were weighing on me. Over and over I saw Cassie’s terrified features as she fell, morphing into the death-like mask that had fallen over her features while she was unconscious. Eventually, the pictures faded and I was able to move on.

  After the excitement of my trip to The Clinic and interesting – but brief – meeting with Cassie, I just didn’t have the heart to go home. I was finding it harder than ever to deal with uncomfortable silences that punctuated my interactions with my parents, and I hoped that if I took my time going back I might avoid seeing them at all. It felt like my aversion to them was becoming more pronounced, because every minute I spent with Cassie made me feel more alive than I had in years. I smiled as I pictured her embarrassed, grinning face and headed in the direction of Park 23.