before Josh could do something as drastic as destroying the cure. It had to have been him who was considering it. It was time to try getting the cure released. If she continued letting them test her until Josh was finished, she’d be permanently injured or worse before they released the cure.
Since she didn’t need to get out of the building or coordinate with anyone else, it wouldn’t be as complicated as escaping last time, not really.
Well, except for the fact that she had a GPS tracker in her that may or may not be accurate indoors, she was more heavily guarded, she didn’t have Jack to help, she had a constant and splitting headache that made it hard to think, and her vision was more than a little bit blurry.
She latched on to the fact that she wouldn’t have to get out of the building this time and that Heidi had all but told her she’d let her out of her cell. There were the two biggest obstacles right there. She’d give herself the rest of the day to recover, and then tomorrow, she would go for it.
CHAPTER EIGHT:
Aches
Her pain returned during the night, waking her with a sudden spike of nausea. She rolled over just in time to avoid vomiting on her cot, the sound of the splatter on the floor making her retch again. Whether she’d heard the noise or someone watching the camera had informed her, Heidi entered, the door clicking and clanging loudly enough to send additional spikes of pain through Jemma.
A few minutes after the other woman sat next to her, offering nothing but silent presence, Jemma realized that recognizing Heidi meant her eyesight had recovered enough to make out her features.
She didn’t open her eyes again to figure out how much. Instead, she remained still, unmoving, her eyes closed against any light. She listened while someone else came in and cleaned up, and even after she slipped back into sleep, she was aware that Heidi stayed through the night.
***
When she woke again, the pain had lessened. She could smell a hint of bleach. The edges of her vision were blurry, no longer black, and the center of her eyesight seemed almost clear. As she looked around, Heidi, sitting on the cot with her back against the wall, opened her eyes blinking. She looked at Jemma, raising her eyebrows in question.
Jemma nodded, and Heidi gave her more room to sit up. She did so slowly, not wanting to bring back the nausea or make the pain any worse, and Heidi pulled out her keypad.
“You look a little better, but that’s not really saying all that much.” She hesitated, glancing at the camera, then handed Jemma the keypad and reached into another pocket, retrieving her own cell phone so they wouldn’t have to switch back and forth. “I think they’ll let this go as long as I’m the one with the phone and not you. We’ll know within a minute or two if I’m wrong.”
“Are they listening to what we’re saying?” typed Jemma.
“They never did add audio to that camera. That might be part of why they didn’t give you back your phone privileges. That and everyone being kind of upset with you. Dr. Harris should be coming to check on you soon now that he knows you’re up, though, so choose your words carefully.”
Jemma nodded, looking down at the keypad, making sure it was tilted toward herself instead of toward the camera. “I don’t know exactly how much you know about what’s going on. I know you’re aware of the threats of the Event, obviously, but what about the cause?”
There wasn’t a trace of either confusion or surprise in Heidi’s expression.
She knew Tricorp BioD had caused the Event.
“You know I can’t tell you everything.” Jemma knew the electronic voice wasn’t capable of conveying emotion, but Heidi sounded genuinely remorseful nonetheless. “But I can tell that you didn’t just sit around on your vacation.”
So she was confirming that the information was correct, then, based on wherever she’d found her own
Since she didn’t need to get out of the building or coordinate with anyone else, it wouldn’t be as complicated as escaping last time, not really.
Well, except for the fact that she had a GPS tracker in her that may or may not be accurate indoors, she was more heavily guarded, she didn’t have Jack to help, she had a constant and splitting headache that made it hard to think, and her vision was more than a little bit blurry.
She latched on to the fact that she wouldn’t have to get out of the building this time and that Heidi had all but told her she’d let her out of her cell. There were the two biggest obstacles right there. She’d give herself the rest of the day to recover, and then tomorrow, she would go for it.
CHAPTER EIGHT:
Aches
Her pain returned during the night, waking her with a sudden spike of nausea. She rolled over just in time to avoid vomiting on her cot, the sound of the splatter on the floor making her retch again. Whether she’d heard the noise or someone watching the camera had informed her, Heidi entered, the door clicking and clanging loudly enough to send additional spikes of pain through Jemma.
A few minutes after the other woman sat next to her, offering nothing but silent presence, Jemma realized that recognizing Heidi meant her eyesight had recovered enough to make out her features.
She didn’t open her eyes again to figure out how much. Instead, she remained still, unmoving, her eyes closed against any light. She listened while someone else came in and cleaned up, and even after she slipped back into sleep, she was aware that Heidi stayed through the night.
***
When she woke again, the pain had lessened. She could smell a hint of bleach. The edges of her vision were blurry, no longer black, and the center of her eyesight seemed almost clear. As she looked around, Heidi, sitting on the cot with her back against the wall, opened her eyes blinking. She looked at Jemma, raising her eyebrows in question.
Jemma nodded, and Heidi gave her more room to sit up. She did so slowly, not wanting to bring back the nausea or make the pain any worse, and Heidi pulled out her keypad.
“You look a little better, but that’s not really saying all that much.” She hesitated, glancing at the camera, then handed Jemma the keypad and reached into another pocket, retrieving her own cell phone so they wouldn’t have to switch back and forth. “I think they’ll let this go as long as I’m the one with the phone and not you. We’ll know within a minute or two if I’m wrong.”
“Are they listening to what we’re saying?” typed Jemma.
“They never did add audio to that camera. That might be part of why they didn’t give you back your phone privileges. That and everyone being kind of upset with you. Dr. Harris should be coming to check on you soon now that he knows you’re up, though, so choose your words carefully.”
Jemma nodded, looking down at the keypad, making sure it was tilted toward herself instead of toward the camera. “I don’t know exactly how much you know about what’s going on. I know you’re aware of the threats of the Event, obviously, but what about the cause?”
There wasn’t a trace of either confusion or surprise in Heidi’s expression.
She knew Tricorp BioD had caused the Event.
“You know I can’t tell you everything.” Jemma knew the electronic voice wasn’t capable of conveying emotion, but Heidi sounded genuinely remorseful nonetheless. “But I can tell that you didn’t just sit around on your vacation.”
So she was confirming that the information was correct, then, based on wherever she’d found her own
Similar Books
