Elevate | ONC 2021

12. Elevate!

The elevator dinged, slightly waking Sintra as she raised her head to look at the door.

She felt her arms being lifted, her head bobbing up and down as she faded in and out of consciousness.

Suddenly, she was laying on a semi-hard surface, above her, bright lights blinded her temporarily as she turned her head to the side to avoid them.

She caught a glimpse of yellow clothing and her frown deepened as she fought to stay awake.

Was that a hazmat suit?

Sintra wasn't sure as her eyes keeled over, giving into the temptation of darkness.

She awoke to the sound of her name being called over the beeping of machines.

Her eyes fluttered open to reveal more bright lights shining above her and she covered her eyes for protection against them.

"Thank God! You're awake," A man's voice said, Sintra's head immediately turning to the side at the sound of his voice.

"Mr. Kim?!" She asked hopefully.

"Ugh, no sorry. Not that Vante," the man said.

When Sintra's eyes had finally adjusted, she got a proper look at the voice's owner, almost falling of the bed as she stared at him in disbelief.

"I'm Commissioner Stone," He introduced himself.

The man was the splitting image of Vante and his voice was just as similar.

From the charcoal colored slicked back hair and the gorgeously glowing skin, right to the towering frame and body type. There was no way it wasn't him.

"By your expression, I bet I look like someone you know," he laughed a little, the same small dimple sinking in his left cheek just like Vante.

"If you're feeling a bit better I'd like to take you somewhere. You know, explain what's happening. Do you want that?" He asked.

Sintra nodded absentmindedly, her brain going a mile a minute as it tried to fashion a logic to explain this phenomenon.

She was sure she had seen Vante fall to his death so how was he standing right here before her?

Was it all a dream? Had she fallen inside her bathroom that morning and was just now waking up?

It all felt so real to her.

Maybe she had gone insane? That seemed like the likely scenario.

She sat up from the bed, taking in her attire. A black long sleeved jumpsuit zipped up to her neck hugged her body tightly, a white stripe across its sleeve and a thick black belt around her waist with a shining silver buckle. Combat boots were strapped up to her knees and as she placed a hand in her hair she realized it was now in a straightened ponytail.

Her eyes caught the glimmer of the silver crest in the outline of a shield that was pinned across her left breast, the words "MH Sintra" engraved across its surface in italics.

The thought of someone undressing, bathing and then redressing her made Sintra uneasy but she swallowed her protest about indecency for now.

"Let's go then," Vante, or Commissioner Stone or whatever the hell his name was said and she followed him, noticing that he too was wearing the same attire only his stripe was red.

"You must be confused," he said, folding his hands behind him as they walked through the automatic door of a hospital room into a grand corridor.

A polished, beige marble floor shone below them and the pristinely painted walls the color of snow stretched into an arched ceiling above, making Sintra feel like she was in some sort of facility.