* * *
White light blinded me, straining my barely open eyes. My fingers shot to my temples as painful pounding threatened to break my skull. I jumped up, alarmed. My fingers slid over the smooth tape and soft gauze on my head.
I closed my eyes, willing myself to calm, waiting until the thumping subsided to nothing more than a muted annoyance. Slowly, I reopened them, careful to keep my movements slow.
The ceilings were white, matching the walls, and a netted cloth was draped over me, attempting to create a screen of privacy in the open room. A creative ruse designed to instill comfort under the watchful eyes of the doctors and guards.
Not as successful as intended, I thought, noticing the looks I received from around the room.
The severity of the room softened as I saw my friend scrunched into the seat next to me. The majority of Christine’s body lay hidden behind a stack of medical supply boxes, IV stands, and beeping monitors. I pushed myself up, flinching as flames shot up my right hand, overshadowing the pounding in my head.
“Christine?” I croaked.
My friend’s eyes fluttered softly and settled onto me with a smile. “You’re up, and OK,” she said, reaching for my non-bandaged hand. “You scared me.” She offered a gentle squeeze and sad smile.
“What happened? I don’t remember anything,” I admitted, fearfully glancing around me.
The chair squeaked as she pulled it closer to the bedside, leaning in. “You don’t remember anything?” Christine’s fingers trembled as she ran them through her hair, and lowered her voice. “It was that tower. I warned you about it, I told you to forget about it, but you couldn’t… or didn’t.” I heard an edge to her voice beneath her concern.
“The tower?” I questioned, feeling haunted at the familiar words. “I don’t remember anything about it.”
A look of relief washed over Christine, and her eyes softened in an instant. “That’s probably for the best. We don’t need to worry about that now. We’re just lucky the guards were there to find you and take care of you. Everything else will go back to normal. No one will even notice after awhile. And we’ll be busy soon enough with the factory.”
“The factory…” my voice slowly faded as my eyes drifted around the room, noticing a small group of people looking over at me as they walked by. It seemed as if the room slowed, holding its breath to watch me. A crooked smile darkened the guard’s mouth as he checked off his paperwork, and nurses hesitated as they moved past my bed. Everything seemed to slow, except for Christine. Her words tumbled out faster than my mind could comprehend them.
“Wait, no one will notice? Notice what?” My voice quickened as I grabbed her face, feeling other bandages on my hands. “What happened?” I asked, pointing to the gauze covering my forehead, feeling the tender wounds wrapped beneath bandages on my right palm. “Christine? What happened?” I asked again, my voice trembling.
She opened her mouth to answer, but closed it quickly as she looked up. I followed her gaze and saw a doctor approaching in a stiff, pleated white lab coat. He pulled a red pen out from the chest pocket of his lab coat. His eyes twinkled darkly under the florescent lights.
“You gave us a scare, young lady,” he said, checking the vitals on the machines. “Care to tell us what you were doing by that tower?”
A quick glance from Christine warned me. “I’m not sure what you mean,” I answered.
His red pen marked notes in my chart before he continued, without looking up. “Your friend and the guards brought you in a week ago. They found you near the abandoned tower in the woods. If she hadn’t gotten them in time, there’s no telling what might have happened. You were lucky. The contaminate levels in that area are still off the chart. It’s a blessing you made it here when you did and that we still had the old medication.”
His eyebrows lifted at my mumbled words of thanks, barely louder than a whisper.
“If I were you, I would be a bit more grateful. You are lucky the guards were there to protect you, and to protect the rest of us from any contamination. We had to take some drastic measures to save you, and your body may be scarred,” he said, nodding toward my hand. “But, you are alive, and lucky. The boundaries are there to protect us. They are for our own good. It would serve you well in the future to remember that.” He looked at me hard before making the final marks on the chart.
“For our own good,” I agreed, trying to mirror the innocence of my friend. I let his words float in my mind. Something was nagging at the recesses of my consciousness… “If she hadn’t gotten them in time”… What would have happened?
I looked outside, watching the frayed tips of the flag blow in the wind. Everything seemed normal. The streets were bare except for the checkers stacking provisions, and the mayor hammering a poster on the outside of the meeting hall. When the bell rang its familiar chime, I closed my eyes.
My head hit the pillow, and I sighed. “Yes, it’s for our own good,” I repeated the hollow words.
THE END
###
About the Author
Kirstin Pulioff is a storyteller at heart. Born and raised in Southern California, she moved to the Pacific Northwest to follow her dreams and graduated from Oregon State University with a degree in Forest Management. Happily married and a mother of two, she lives in the foothills of Colorado. When she’s not writing an adventure, she’s busy living one.
Published Works
Middle Grade Fantasy
The Princess Madeline Series
The Escape of Princess Madeline
The Battle for Princess Madeline
Princess Madeline and the Dragon
The Princess Madeline Trilogy (box set)
Short Stories
The Ivory Tower
Boone’s Journey
YA Fantasy
Dreamscape: Saving Alex
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