Defiant: Quantic Dreams Book 2 by Elizabeth McLaughlin (reading list txt) 📗

receding. Sensation was starting to come back to me and with it the pain of the fight. My lungs were on fire. Every breath was like a fresh stab wound. I ran my hands over my neck and chest and found that some very large bruises were forming. The inferno in my chest was sadly very familiar.

“Cracked…ribs.” I wheezed and coughed, which set the blaze roaring. Shannon looked up sharply from her inspection of my injuries.

“Yes. Cracked ribs. I understand you’ve got some experience with that.” She stood and held up a single finger. “Follow this with your eyes.” I did so and gripped the sides of the bed as the world swayed and dipped. “Nystagmus.”

“Huh?”

She sighed and pushed me down on the gurney. “Your ears are telling your eyes that you’re moving. It’s temporary and common with patients who have endured multiple concussions. Stay still and try not to vomit.” She left and returned with a large wound kit. “I’ll patch you up as best I can. I’m going to warn you, this is going to suck.”

“‘Kay.” I was feeling too dizzy and too confused to argue. It did suck, a lot. Shannon cleaned the cuts on my face and neck before affixing a patch to my side. “What is that.”

“You’re going to find out in a minute. Try not to scream. Other people are trying to ignore the fact that you’re sitting here covered in blood.”

“Ah-fuck!” I choked back a howl of pain as the patch shot out little appendages that looked like needles and buried them in my skin. The patch tightened up and affixed itself to my ribs, the soft material turning as hard as a rock.

“I told you it was going to be rough.” Shannon stood a couple of steps back from me, just out of reach.

“Had to use that on a couple other patients, have you?” I felt fully sober now.

“No, this is a fairly new invention. Binds the ribs without restricting your breathing. And I’ve just been around enough men to know that when you’re in pain you do one of two things. You didn’t seem like you were going to pass out, so slugging me was the other option.”

“You’re goddamn right I want to slug you!” I hissed.

“Oh Jacob, we haven’t gotten to your lower half yet.”

Attending to my legs was a more simple affair, if just as painful. The lower half of my right leg was bent at a slightly crooked angle. Shannon promised to image it later. For now, it was another cast of death. This one was even larger and I tasted blood in my mouth as I bit through part of my lip to keep from screaming. Which promptly earned me a couple of stitches. Shannon didn’t say anything as she finished her duties, just handed me a wet cloth and a new set of scrubs. I cleaned myself as well as I could without a mirror, taking care to not look too put together. It wasn’t going to help my case if I tried to claim self-defense while looking like I’d had a shower in the interim.

The body was indeed discovered before Shannon and I could make our escape. Worse, it was found by a young teenager on his way to the infirmary to ask for treatment of a stomach ache. His scream woke the few patients recovering in the infirmary alongside me and soon there was a crowd standing around George’s still form. I shut my eyes and readied myself for the worst.

It sounds stupid to say but I had never really considered what would happen after George or I died. Somehow I thought that the few people I had revealed the truth to would have magically disseminated the real story to the rest of the shelter and I would be hailed as a hero. Instead, I may have just won people their freedom—in return for mine.

Fuck.

The remaining ‘higher rank’ people were brought in, neither of whom appeared happy to be woken in the wee hours of the morning. When they came upon George’s body they did the predictable thing; they called for a medic. Shannon gritted her teeth and ran outside as if she had no idea what was happening. Brave girl. If I were her, I would have ratted me out for the murder I was and stepped away as they threw me in restraints.

I wouldn’t throw that possibility out the window just yet, Jakey Boy. Gabriel’s voice echoed in my mind, a second demon to join the one I had become. I stayed stock still on the gurney, waiting for the nice men with the electric shock batons to come take me away. Were those shock batons even still working? I hadn’t seen one in a while. Maybe years. Instead of jailers, Alexander Fang peeked his head inside the curtains surrounding my bed. As calmly as I could, I raised my arms and knitted my fingers behind my head. Surely they wouldn’t send one man anywhere near me without backup.

“It’s all right, Jacob. You can put your hands down.” He patted the end of my bed. “May I sit down?”

“Sure, Alexander. But why are you here? Why haven’t they come to take me away in handcuffs?”

“There are four men surrounding your bed Jacob. They are equipped to deal with such an event should it become necessary. Is it going to become necessary?” He sat on the very edge of the bed, just out of arms reach. I didn’t take it personally. I would do the same in his position.

“No. I intend to fully cooperate with you. I don’t want to cause any more trouble or put anyone in danger.”

A thin smile. “That’s good to hear, my friend. I’ve asked the medical team and some other folks to clear out the infirmary for the moment. Despite the guards outside, I would invite you to think of this as a one-on-one chat. I understand that you have a story to tell me that will help