The Gender Game 2 by Bella Forrest (positive books to read txt) 📗

Tentatively, I placed my hand on the wheel, but instead of finding resistance, it seemed to spin eagerly this time. I opened it gently, expecting to see people on the other side. Instead, it opened up to a concrete room about twenty feet wide and ten feet deep, with glass lockers containing white suits in them. There were also metal lockers on one wall, with names posted on them. I looked at them, but they were obviously surnames with no indication as to their gender, giving me no clues as to who owned this place.

This was some sort of research facility. It was unclear if it was a Matrian or Patrian facility, but given that it was on the Matrian side of the river, it seemed most likely to be Matrian.

I looked over at Viggo, who seemed to be bouncing in and out of consciousness. Taking a breath, I reached up and removed the mask with a pop. I took an experimental breath of air, and was rewarded for it.

I immediately pulled Viggo’s mask off, and then Ms. Dale’s. I looked around for Samuel, but he wasn’t with us. I bit my lip, worried for the dog. It was tempting to pull Ms. Dale and Viggo into the chamber and take one of the suits to go look for him.

That was until I realized how much Ms. Dale was bleeding. She had more bites than Viggo and I put together. I needed to tend to them first, and then go look for Samuel. That meant finding medical supplies.

I hesitated—this facility was clearly being used by people, or at least it had been. But where were they? Surely, they had some sort of security presence. Whoever they were—they wouldn’t come to The Green and create this facility only to hide from intruders, right?

It was eerie. I pulled the gun out of my pocket and checked the magazine. The clip was full. I slammed it back into the hilt, and stepped into the secondary chamber. There was a door opposite of me, so I crossed to it and started to open it.

“Violet?” came Viggo’s hoarse voice from behind me.

I paused, and went back to him. His eyes were glazed and he seemed disoriented. I pulled the canteen from his pocket and placed it on his lips, pouring some into his mouth. He took several long sips.

“We’re inside,” I said as he drank. “I’m going to see if I can find any medical supplies for you and Ms. Dale. Wait here.”

I set the canteen in his hand. Viggo reached for me, trying to stop me, but I deftly avoided his grasp, and headed back to the hatch across from the airlock.

It was difficult to ignore my own weakness. I wasn’t even sure how I was still going at this point. The door was heavy, and it took every scrap of effort to open it, but I eventually got it open.

Panting, I leaned against it, feeling it push against me. As I crossed the threshold, it swung closed, sealing me in.

That was an interesting feature—the doors closed themselves. It must be for security purposes. There were similar doors at one of the work camps I had been assigned to. It was in case of fires—the doors were always closed in case of a fire. It would seal people in to die, but it would keep the rest of the facility safe from the flames.

The next room was a hallway. Ensconced lights filled the room with a sickly yellow glow, but the light didn’t hurt my eyes. The hallway stretched for another ten feet, ending at another door. I leaned against the wall heavily as I made my way to it.

The wheel practically turned itself, reminding me that there were likely people about, and I pushed it open slowly, stepping over the threshold and letting it fall closed behind me. This room was another hallway, but with doors and windows lining the walls. Moving forward, I began looking through the windows. The rooms behind them were filled with a mixture of lab equipment and medical equipment.

I didn’t know much about either, but most things seemed to be for scanning or blood samples, though the last room was set up like a hospital ward.

Twisting the hand wheel, I opened it up, the smell of antiseptic flooding my nostrils. There were two massive cabinets off to the side. I focused on them.

I pulled on the cabinet doors, but they were locked. Frowning, I moved over to the desk and began searching through the drawers, looking for keys. Luck seemed to be on my side, because I found several of them on a ring in the second drawer, set neatly in a bowl in the corner. I snatched them up, and began inserting them into the lock.

It took a few keys, but finally I unlocked them. I started grabbing things I recognized, placing them in a bedpan that had been sitting on the bed. Alcohol swabs, blood patches, band aids all went in. I wasn’t sure if the bite from a red fly was venomous as well, and there were several vials of liquids I didn’t recognize.

Viggo would know better than me about those, I figured, as I collected more things. I grabbed a saline bag for Ms. Dale. I wasn’t sure how it worked, I just knew it was something you did at hospitals. I just hoped I could wake Viggo up for long enough to guide me in stabilizing her.

I tucked the keys into my pocket and scooped the bedpan of supplies up from the bed.

For a second, I paused, staring at the bed. It was so tempting to just lay down and close my eyes for a minute. I felt the need to rest like a heavy weight pressing down on me, like a warm blanket.

I shook my head, taking a deep breath. I could rest later, once I had saved everyone’s lives.

Grinning at the thought, I staggered out in