Discovery - Bionts Series (Book 1)

8 - Pursued

"Whaaaa....?!? What's going on...!"

I bolted upright.

There was a pounding at the door and Sabeece's hand on my shoulder, roughly shaking me awake.

"We have to go, NOW!"

The determined look on Sab's face boaded no argument, so I rubbed my eyes, looking around and trying to remember where I was and why I was there.

"Sabeece, I don't understand," I whispered. "You said with the shielding turned on, we'd be secure in your office, our thoughts could remain our own and no one could know we were there?"

"I don't know how they found us, but we can't dwell on that now - MOVE!"

I followed Sabeece out the back door as Astrid hurried to wipe the dosage calculations from the console and follow, closing the hidden door with a soft click.

Apparently my 'Calling' as a fugitive was starting a bit ahead of schedule.

* * *

I expected the passage to lead us outside, but instead myself in a narrow corridor.

"Sabs?" I called out softly to the dim outline of the head in front of me, "Where are we going?"

"Shhhhhh..."

I could barely make out what Sabeece whispered next, "Don't. Move!"

With little choice, I crouched in the cramped passageway. The sounds of furniture being scraped across the floor, papers bring riffled through, and cupboards bring slammed came the thin walls as if they weren't even there. I shuddered with every smash of glass and slam of a drawer.

* * *

When we heard no further sounds of rummaging and destruction for several beats, we slowly began making our way down the cramped corridor. I followed the sound of soft footsteps in the dusty passage ahead, hearing the pad of Astrid's little feet following quietly behind me.

Understanding that silence could make the difference between getting out of this alive or not, I muffled my gasps of pain each time I hit my head on the low ceiling. I envied Sabeece's familiarity with the passage and Astrid's smaller stature, which helped them navigate the passage.

We slowly made forward progress, following winding twists and turns. Hopelessly turned around, all I could tell was that we were gradually sloping further down.

As I reflected in the oppressing slience, my memories of the last dark cycle were still hazy. With great reluctance, I had agreed to Astrid's scheme to suspend my biological functions until there was some way to trigger my Blooming. I must have dozed off while Astrid was still working through the dosage calculations. I still had no idea how or even if this plan would work, but it was the only option we'd come up with this far.

* * *

We were far below ground level by the time I saw dim light ahead.

The slightly metalic tang to the air was welcome after the choking mustiness of the passageway. Breathing deeply for the first time in several minutes, I surveyed my surroundings, trying to figure out where we were.

Before I could ask, Sabeece closed and barred the passage behind us, turning to Astrid, "You lead from here."

With a nod of understanding, Astrid cautiously led the way around high metal countertops with all manner of food preparation apparatus.

"I brought you to the only place I could think of, the Elder's residence. Its connected to the Counselor's Office complex by a network of tunnels and passages. They're falling apart and haven't been used regularly in generations. With any luck, whoever was checking my office won't know about them."

I was grateful for the dim lighting in the hallway leading from the industrial kitchen as Sabeece continued, "We'll be exposed to any Counselors nearby until we get to Astrid's lab, so we have to keep moving."

So much I didn't know about our society, so much that wasn't as it seemed. Secret passageways connecting Elders to Counselors, surveillance that had somehow tracked us down. What else went on behind the scenes that the rest of us knew nothing about?

"Medic Quo! NICE TO SEE YOU HERE." Astrid's voice broke into the silence, louder than needed, giving Sabeece and I all the hint to we needed to duck out of sight into a darkened doorway.

"Hi'ya, Youngling Astrid! What are ya doing wandering these halls so late in the cycle?

"Uhhhh..." Astrid stammered, trying to think of a plausible reason for being in the lower levels of an Elders complex in the middle of the dark cycle.

Not waiting for an answer, Quo continued, "I had a late out-patient call to make, then was in my way to drop off some samples in your lab building. I'll walk you over if you're heading back."

With a small sideway glance in our direction, the Youngling fell in step with the Medic. Quo seemed oblivious to Astrid's discomfort with the situation. With shrugs of resignation, Sabeece and I followed. Quo's constant chatter covered any sounds we might have made.

~*~*~*~

Updated: Jul 5, 2018

Heading out on an epic road trip tomorrow... Almost forgot to post this - thank goodness for phone reminders! Uploading this from my reclined seat in the theatre - Finally seeing Deadpool 2!! (No spoilers plz!)

So Quo is back, huh? Coincidence? Maybe... Maybe not ;-)