013

Ken and I haven’t spoken a word to each other since our fight a few days ago. Judging by the fact that he’s nowhere to be seen, I infer that he’s avoiding me and the hospital feels empty without his warm presence, now cold and relentless.

His selection for the Revive Effect has a knot twisting inside my chest, and I’m so confused and frustrated at him for going into it so willingly. His sudden absence and the constant thoughts swirling inside my head has me visiting N almost every other hour. So patient when he sees me with that gentle smile of his, not the least bit annoyed when he has to clear off the papers littering the bed in order to make room for me to sit.

When I’m not bombarding N with questions, Hyuk, Rebecca and I usually meet up in the cafeteria, although the three of us have started to grow tired of the hospital food.

“I would snap someone’s neck for a burger right ing now.” Hyuk murmurs as he drops his plastic tray on the table and takes his seat next to me.

“Too bad that’s illegal,” Rebecca snorts and throws a pea at him, her sense of humor returning.

Hyuk leans forward on his forearms and his head with every word, retorting back in a childish, sing-song voice.

“Too bad you’re not coming to get some with us.” he pushes off from the table and pulls me to my feet, spinning me around with an arm flung over my shoulder and pretends to start marching us out of the cafeteria.

“Wait!” Rebecca squeals and grabs our wrists.

Hyuk’s face twists with mock repulsion and he tries to shake off her hand.

“Ew, she’s touching me! Save me from Rebecca cooties!”

I shield Hyuk with my body and slap away Rebecca’s arms as a giggle bubbles from my lips.

“Big sister will save you!” I declare and throw a fist into the air. I grab my glass of water, the liquid sloshing around inside the cup as I dodge around Rebecca.

“Disinfect the wound!” I say and toss the water straight into Hyuk’s face.

He freezes immediately, resembling an upset puppy with closed eyes and his lower lip stuck out in a pout as the water drips down his chin, soaking his hoodie. He shakes out his hair and Rebecca and I both howl as we’re sprayed with water. Hyuk’s expression remains a deadpan before his lips crack into a smile and laughter fills the room.

The three of us are the only ones in the cafeteria, which I’m thankful for.

“You,” he manages to say as he continues to chuckle with a finger pointed at Rebecca, “are finding me a new hoodie for me to wear,”

“I didn’t even do it!” she smiles, standing up quickly and spreading her arms in disbelief. Rebecca hangs her head as Hyuk fails to respond.

“Fine,” she says and pretends to roll her eyes.

Rebecca lays a hand on my shoulder with a grin and the two of them head to Ravi’s apartment, leaving me alone. I lean with my head in my hands, a small smile playing at my lips. It felt good to laugh after so long.

A crack of lightning suddenly shatters across the dark sky and thunder rumbles, the vibrations so strong that I can feel the glass windows shudder. I immediately think of Ravi’s eyes flaring orange and my breath catches in my chest as I glance outside to see a fresh downpour of rain, only to remember that the medical staff had hooked him up to several backup generators so that his system wouldn’t crash again.

I exhale slowly, clenching the empty glass tightly in my hand as I close my eyes. Tension locks my shoulders and neck into a rigid line and I concentrate on keeping my breathing even and slow.

“You look worried.” a voice says. My eyes flutter open to see Ken sitting across from me, a mug of tea held between cupped hands.

“I am,” I say truthfully, “I’m worried about Ravi. I’m worried about you, too.”

The corner of his mouth pulls up into a smile, making my pulse stutter and I mentally scold myself for reacting to something so stupid when I’m supposed to be upset with him. Honestly, I have no idea what I’m supposed to feel anymore.

“Don’t be.”

“Easy for you to say,” I snap back. His eyes drop to his hands and he takes a long, drawn out sip from his cup before rolling his tongue over his lips like he’s thinking something over.

“I’m sorry for what I said about N. You were right, I’ve been so distracted with Ravi and reading all these reports that I forgot N had no control over what happened. For that, I’m sorry. I know you two are close, I shouldn’t have said something like that.”

I nod and look up to meet his gaze.

“It’s alright, it just took me by surprise to hear you say that. N and I have known each other since we were little, he would never do something like that on purpose.”

I purse my lips, fidgeting with my fingers as a new thought pops into my mind.

“Do they still have you on file as Subject Zero?”

He takes another drink from his mug.

“Yes. I was chosen mainly because of how close Ravi and I are, and my prior knowledge of Augmenting. They did some psychoanalysis tests on me to make sure I was a good fit and found me to be the overall best candidate for this.”

“And this is something you really want to go through with? Even though you have no idea what could happen?” my voice is hoarse and low, the glass trembling in my grip as fear surges through my body, every possible scenario flashing through my mind.

Ken cradles my hand against his chest, rubbing soothing circles into my skin.

“You worry too much,” he laughs, all breath and smiles.

“I just want you to be safe,”

Heat pools against the backs of my eyes and his fingers brush away the tears spilling over my cheeks. He brings my hand to his lips and kisses my fingertips, his breath washing over my knuckles.

“I will. For your sake, I will.”

With his lips still lingering on my skin, he suddenly tugs on my hand and I’m yanked forward as a quick kiss is pressed to my lips.

“That’s a promise,” I hear him chuckle.

I smile at him and Ken stands, smoothing my hair as he brushes past me. As he leaves the room, my attention focuses on the tv monitor echoing loudly in the now empty cafeteria.

A news anchor stands in front of a crowd of furious looking civilians with their fists waving in the air, faces twisted with rage. The reporter continues to  stare into the camera, the lines on her face pulled tight like she’s trying to keep calm. She touches her earpiece with a trembling hand as she struggles to read out her lines over the roar of obscenities from the people behind her.

“...several weeks have passed since an Augment was reportedly hacked by a Skypeak official. With Skypeak denying all responsibility and opportunities to comment on the current situation, suspicions are now reaching dangerously high levels as riots continue to ravage Seoul, leaving hundreds of innocent civilians dead. Protesters say that with no new information from Skypeak, matters will be forced to be taken into their own hands…”

I hurriedly reach for the remote and switch off the monitor, goosebumps ghosting over my skin as the last sentence resonates inside my skull. I’m on my feet so quickly that the back of the chair clatters against the floor, causing me to flinch at the sound.

My father’s words echo in my ears as I rush out of the cafeteria and I’m pumping my legs as fast as they’ll carry me.

‘If we don’t act soon, people are going to get hurt. Right now, this plan is all we’ve got.’

I sprint down the hallway and catch myself in the doorway of N’s room, breath burning in my lungs. He looks up from his notebook, the pen trembling in his hand as he scribbles something out.

“N,” I rasp, “N, I need to talk to you right now. I’m worried something is going to happen.”

His face is swallowed in shadow, dark bags hanging low beneath his eyes. He parts his lips and draws in a quick breath like he’s about to say something, but quickly closes his mouth, swallowing audibly. Setting his notebook on the bedstand, he grabs his crutches and wobbles to his feet.

“I understand. I have something I need to tell you as well,”

He grimaces as he moves across the room until he’s standing right in front of me, head hanging and eyes peering down into my face, leaning heavily on his crutches for support.

“It’s about the Revive Effect, Ken specifically.” N breathes and shifts his weight.

Before he has a chance to continue, I hear what sounds like a muffled, far-off explosion. The glass windows rattle in their frames and I stumble as the aftershock jolts through my legs. N struggles to stay upright and I catch him by the shoulders as he regains his balance.

“What the hell was that?”

The two of us stand there, completely puzzled as activity in the hallway outside starts to pick up. Doctors and nurses are suddenly running left and right, shouting instructions, moving around spare gurneys and other equipment and I’m reminded of the day when Ravi and N were first brought in.

A member of the medical staff sprints past the doorway with a radioing device wedged between his shoulder and his ear, his voice clear and urgent.

“Code Black, detonation has been confirmed in Skypeak North Tower, blast radius believed to have been approximately four hundred yards. Several casualties involving AIRCE personnel, possibly a pre-meditated terrorist attack. I repeat, Code Black in Skypeak North Tower…”

My blood turns to ice.

Without another word, I tear out of the room, dodging and weaving past the flood of doctors as I turn the corner and race to the skyway connecting the hospital wing to the main building.

The glass doors are jammed. I have to toss a chair in order to shatter the glass and let me through, filling the room with the shrill, high-pitched scream of the security breach alarm that blares throughout the entire floor.

Once I’ve made it through the doors, I’m sprinting again. The smell of burning metal is overwhelming and each hallway I pass looks worse than the last. Debris, smoldering papers, overturned desks. Fires flicker as electrical wires protrude from the cracked floor, showering papers and files with sparks. I pull my shirt up over my nose to keep from inhaling too much smoke and my eyes start to water, a cough rattling inside my lungs.

Several employees lay motionless on the floor, some and clutching at blood-soaked wounds while others stay silent.

I must be near the main offices.

I kneel by a woman who’s gasping, a glass shard slit clean through her upper chest.

“Help is on the way,” I say softly. There was no way people were going to make it to her in time, and the words taste stale in my mouth knowing I’m only saying it out of comfort.

Her hand is clammy, gripping onto mine like a vice and she reaches up to caress my cheek, streaking my face with her own blood.

“Your name is Mari, isn’t it?”

I nod, a bit surprised that she can put a name to a face when I’ve never seen her before in my life.

She smiles weakly, teeth bright red.

“Your father talks about you all the time.”

She laughs, such a sweet and light sound coming from someone on the verge of death. I brush a strand of hair out of her eyes. She’s rather pretty, sloped nose and a petite face, she looks only a few years older than myself.

“Check for the others, please. Make sure they’re ok. The Revive Effect has to work, it has to.”

Her smile suddenly disappears and she starts shaking, her grip on my hand tightening to the point where I almost want to cry out, but I bite my lip to keep from doing so.

“I’m scared,” she whispers, “I’m so scared,” Her eyes hold my gaze and I feel entranced, too frightened to look away. Crimson bubbles up between her lips and she gurgles, choking.

Her fingers slip through my hand, her body stilling and that’s when I know it’s over. I gently close her eyes, touching the space between her eyebrows before I’m on my feet again, my body now heavy with a sudden weight.

The walls around me are charred with pitch, black shadows burned into the walls as I stumble down the hallway. The bomb must have gone off near here. Smoke and flames swirl around me as I continue to check office after office until I find a large chamber which I presume to be some sort of meeting room, the AIRCE insigma flickering and glitching on a hologram that now looked to be short circuiting.

A figure slumped against the far wall catches my eye and that’s when I think I’m going to collapse.

“D-dad?”

He stirs at the sound of my voice and struggles to lift his head, grimacing. I’m at his side in an instant. I hoist his arm over my shoulder and heave, my father hissing through his teeth.

A metal beam protrudes through his lower abdomen, and my hands accidentally brush against it as I struggle to get him on his feet. He howls again, the sound twisting my heart.

His head lolls from side to side with the movements as I set him down slowly. Sweat gleams on his forehead, his skin matching the color of the grey rod piercing his side. Blood spills from between my hands as I try to address the wound, dark red pooling his clothes and I can feel myself starting to slip away.

I hurriedly rip off a piece of the nearby curtain and wind it around his waist, desperate to stop the blood flow. He groans again and it's only a matter of seconds before the fabric is completely soaked.

“We have to get you out of here, we need to get you help”

He stops me by grabbing my wrist and shakes his head slowly, a tired look in his eyes.

“Then you gotta talk me through this.” I whimper and clutch onto his arms, “tell me what I’m supposed to do,”

He motions me closer and his voice fills my ear.

“I love you. I love you so much. I’m sorry.”

“Stop,” I gasp and hot tears spill from my eyes, “d-don’t...don’t say that, you’re going to be fine.”

He doesn’t answer me, a trickle of blood leaking from the corner of his mouth and his eyes start to glaze over.

I shake him again, harder this time.

“Stay with me, please!”

He’s silent, eyes staring blanking skyward and I start screaming, screaming so hard I’m scratching my throat raw. The chamber echoes with my cries and my heart starts hammering inside my chest. Everything starts to spin around me.

I sense movement behind me and I grab the pistol out of my father’s holster, swinging the gun around in one fluid motion to aim at the figures in the doorway.

Ravi stumbles in with N’s arm slung around his shoulders to hold him up, hair sprinkled white with dust. Rebecca and Hyuk stand behind them, looking just as worn down as the two of them.

“There you are,” Ravi says in a relieved voice, that signature smile playing on his lips like everything is ok, “we were looking for you,”

The gun shakes in my hand and I quickly toss it away as I realize who I’m aiming at and the tremors return.

“N, N help me. My dad..he’s...I think h-he’s..he’s..”

The dizziness hits me again with full force as my vision zeros in on the blood on my hands. My lungs struggle to expand and I find myself wheezing as oxygen fails to enter my system.

“She’s going into shock, she’s starting to hyperventilate. We need to get her out of here, she’s breathing in too much smoke.” N’s voice sounds strangely far away and I hear a distant ringing fill my ears.

I suddenly feel myself being lifted up and cradled against someone’s chest.

“I got you,” Hyuk murmures into my hair, tucking my head under his chin as he carries me out with Rebecca at his heels. I twist in his arms just in time to see N fall to his knees in front of my father’s slumped form, Ravi bowing his head as my vision starts to blur.

Darkness swallows me then.