Symbiota Sapiens - 27. Chapter 27

Chapter 27

The inside of the hospital was a maze. Corridor after corridor, turn after turn.
Signs pointed in one direction and then inexplicably pointed back the way we had come. All
in the same, cinderblock walls painted in the same dingy, pale-yellow, lead-based paint.

The lead wasn't a danger to us, the AI assured me. It had been sealed under by
several coats of some special insulating sealant that kept the dangerous substance locked
away from the air or the occaisonal idle brush of fingers against the wall.

Unfortunately, it did impair my sensors. My implants could penetrate one wall. They
could even gain ghostly readings from behind a second wall. But they couldn't sweep
through the building and find what we were looking for.

The AI was building a map as we wandered. Soon, he assured me, he would know the
layout of the building. That didn't help with the problem of locating the refrigerated
storage where they kept their supply of blood transfusions.

Julian walked beside me, still a bit shaky on his feet. He really should be lying
down somewhere. I kept a firm grip on his elbow and I could feel the fluttering pulse in
the veins on the inside of the joint.

"Easy bro. We're making a map." I muttered so only he could hear me. We kept running
into harried nurses and staff who always gave Julian a worried look but said nothing as
they bustled on about their business.

:Is he going to be okay? Maybe he should lay down on a gurney and I could push him
around.:

::He should be okay. I think I'm starting to make some sense of the signs. You're
going to need to take an elevator down to second sublevel.::

:Where?:

::Keep going the way you are. Just around the next corner.::

There was a corroded-looking door to a service elevator. Obviously not intended for
visitors. There was a sensor there, obviously to pick up a signal from a security pass we
didn't have.

::Got it covered.:: The AI sent out a pulse of something and the light went green.
The door opened.

I guided Julian inside and let him lean against the wall while I pushed 'B2'.

Thirty seconds later, the bell dinged, and I helped Julian hobble out into a
sterile-looking corridor painted a gleaming white, lined with green doors on either side
and bending to the right up ahead.

And...down here there was no lead-based paint. Instead, the rooms around me seemed
crowded with electromagnetic junk - machines upon machines. And all of them were on, and
interfering with my sensors.

::This appears to be the laboratory level. They'll have everything here from frozen
sperm to deadly viruses they're studying. And blood.::

:Lovely. Well where's the blood?:

::Working on it.::

"This looks like area 51." Julian commented faintly, leaning heavily on my shoulder.

"I'll make sure the damn computer doesn't give you any anal probes." I joked. "Hang
in there bro, we're almost there."

:The blood should be easily accessible, right? Sperm...they catalog it, freeze it,
and leave it down here until they need that particular sample and someone comes to get it.
Viruses...have got to have serious security around them. A clean room and airlock and
stuff...:

::Yes. Good point.::

I saw a diagram of the part of the sublevel the sensors reached resolving itself in
the visual space inside my head. The floorplan was ragged and indistinct on the edges,
with all the electrical equipment the sensors could often only piece together a vague
impression of a wall or an open space.

::I think the blood supply is held in two locations. In bulk, deeper inside. But
they keep a ready supply near each elevator access. In...yes, in there.::

I pulled Julian to a stop next to a double-set of green doors, a bit farther spaced
than the others.

"I think this is where we need to be bro."

There was another little sensor pad for a keypass, which we easily bypassed as
before. With a click the door released and I pulled it open, drawing Julian gently into
the room.

On one side of the room were cabinets, and on the other side were four large medical
refrigeration units. Specially made to maintain a precise temperature and a sterile
environment inside.

::There is equipment in the cabinets that we will need. The blood has to be warmed
to body temperature first.::

I opened the left-most cabinet and pulled out an odd contraption, hesitantly set
it on the counter.

::It spins vials to keep the blood from coagulating. Thats for taking donations, we
don't need it. We need...ah, yes that. Get that. And those little packages too.::

I carefully set out the equipment according to the AI's direction, understanding
none of it. Except for one package of needles, and another of clear plastic tubing, whose
functions I had already observed twice now.

"Julian, hey. I need you to sit down on the floor for me okay?" He looked so pale
and weak. I helped him sit down, leaning his back against a wall.

::Keep an eye on him.:: I ordered the AI.

I walked to the nearest refrigerator unit and, using my enhanced vision, quickly
ascertained the combination to enter into the small keypad on the door. A beep, and I
was looking at shelves upon shelves of clear plastic bags of dark red blood.

They were labeled. So to speak. I didn't understand a one of the odd abbreviations
and numerical indicators. The AI apparently did though, and my hands moved as of their
own will, selecting two of the bags and carefully withdrawing them from their places on
the shelf.

Moments later, the little machines were whirring and humming as they circulated the
blood out of the bags on one end, warmed it just a bit and put it back in on the other
end, filtering out any clots. I crouched next to Julian and rubbed at his arms and legs.

"You okay bro?"

"Tired..."

"You're just short on blood. Gonna take care of that right now." I told him.

"Hmm. Remember when you came home that night and said you were a vampire?" Julian
smiled weakly.

"Yeah. I thought you were going to go right out and bring in a virginal sacrifice
to my bloodlust, right then and there." I laughed.

"Actually, I had my own neck in mind." He told me.

"You would have, wouldn't you?" I asked softly.

He looked at me for a minute, shook his head minutely, and leaned into my hand where
I was brushing his hair with my fingers.

"Of course I would. Stupid." He added the pejorative affectionately.

I swallowed, stroking his face.

"I love you, bro." I told him.

"I love you too." He said. Then he gave me a cheeky grin. "Besides. Vampires are
damn sexy."

I patted his leg in reply.

::It's ready now.::

I stood up and carefully disconnected the bag from the machine, hooking up the next
one before I brought it over to where Julian sat.

"Vedy vell my sveet leetle thing. I have some most deeeeleecious bloooood for you
to drink." I said in my best Romanian accent. It was horrible. Julian just gave me the
same weak smile.

I connected the needle to the end of the tube and carefully inserted it in his arm,
raising the bag of blood well above Julian's head.

I looked down at him, concentrating my enhanced vision on the tube where I could see
the blood flowing down towards my brother's arm. Julian was relaxed, eyes closed, and I
could almost see his vessels accepting the influx of blood and spreading it out to his
grateful cells.

For a second I had a vivid flashback of a hallway painted in dingy yellow. A door.
A sliding door opening and closing.

The second bag was ready. I placed a second needle in Julian's other arm and sat
back to watch a flush grow on his warming cheeks. What a wonderful sight.

Julian opened his eyes to look at me and our eyes met.

{{{ ITALICS }}}

I saw myself, suddenly, superimposed over Julian's face as if seeing my own imperfect
reflection in a half-dim window. Towering over him, hovering. My face was finely carved
with the the effects of the Esseren resculpting but it was also drawn in concern. The
image wavered on the edges, then blurred altogether before winking out.

{{{ END ITALICS }}}

I didn't let myself blink, just continued to stroke Julian's forearm as if coaxing
the blood into his body.

:Was that what I think it was?:

::I think so. All the electrical activity is interfering with the signal. With both
signals, actually.::

I sent out a quick message to Rom for help, accompanied by our location. Though, with
his new situation with Elizabeth, I was wary of how helpful he would be.

:So he's only getting bits and pieces too?:

::Possibly enough to figure out where we are.::

I looked down at Julian. He looked much better now. His skin was flushed all over,
I had given him more of the blood than was really necessary, and the Caretakers still in
his system were using the excess to plump up every cell in his body. He was glowing with
health.

I drew the needles out of his arms and licked the wounds shut.

"You're good now. Come on, this place gives me the creeps." I told him. Julian only
looked at me questioningly before jumping to his feet, agile as a cat.

I opened the door and pulled him down the corridor to the elevator. Inside, I pushed
the button for the ground floor and let the doors close.

:Can Damion access him in here?:

::Not in the elevator, no. There is a camera. I can neutralize the camera.::

:Do it.:

I felt the lance of static going towards the camera and talked quick.

"Damion was connected to you, down there. Probably on our way there, too. He probably
knows where we're at. Probably have to fight our way out of here again." I told him.

"How do you-"

"I have a way of spying on Damion. I can't really tell you now because he can hear
what you hear."

Julian blanched at the reminder.

"Okay."

The bell dinged, and the door slid open to reveal a small crowd of doctors, nurses
and orderlies. All autonoids.

"Fuck. Stay close. I mean close. Don't leave the elevator till I say, okay?"

"Okay."

I snatched an orderly by the wrist, using my strength to twist it completely around.
A bone ground directly into a nerve and he fainted, falling to the floor of the elevator.
My other hand was carefully choking a doctor and my foot lashed out to break a knee. I
winced at the feeling of shattering bone, knowing that nurse would never walk normally
again.

:I don't think I can do this.:

My left found the front of a shirt and threw a body so that the head slammed against
the metal jam of the elevator door.

::You have to. They are threats. To you and Julian.::

He was partially right. They couldn't hurt me, I knew. But they weren't trying to.
Every one of them was reaching towards Julian. But still...

The doctor I was choking was struggling weakly. I grabbed a nurse with my other hand
and pounded their heads together. They both dropped in a heap on the floor with serious
concussions.

:I know. But I think I'm hesitating every time I'm about to seriously injure
someone. They're all essentially innocent people.:

Another body sent flying, this time over the other's heads to land tangled up in
a parked gurney.

::You can't hesitate. You have to be quick and ruthless now.::

:You do it. You'll be better at it anyways.:

My hands suddenly doubled their speed, dispatching bodies left and right, some of
them with fatal wounds. I wanted to be sick at the pointless carnage but didn't comment.

The way was suddenly clear.

"Let's go!" I shouted, grabbing Julian's wrist. He started to follow me, then
suddenly jerked to a halt, his eyes wide.

A second later, I saw why.

Just coming around the corner was Damion, followed by another, much bigger crowd
of autonoids.

The AI didn't hesitate.

::LEAVE US THE FUCK ALONE!!!:: He 'screamed' at the immortal, followed by a sharp
spike as the AI launched a sudden electronic attack on the other entity.

In the meantime, I spun around and launched myself into Julian, shoulder in his
stomach and arms clasping around his waist - I basically pile-drived him backwards towards
the elevator. I didn't stop, I picked him up as I used my legs like pistons to propel us
both back, hard and fast, into the elevator. I managed to slow down just at the end but
Julian still hit the back wall hard.

Damion had recovered from the AI's assault quickly - the much older immortal had a
lot more experience with that sort of duel. Fortunately, the Kid had anticipated he would
be no match for him, and had shut down my communications array as soon as his initial
assault was thwarted.

Damion was visible just on the other end of the corridor, striding towards us
swiftly, accompanied by his automatons.

There was a body blocking the elevator door. I threw it at him and pressed the
button for the top floor. It slowed him down a step. The door slowly closed, and the last
thing I saw through them was Damion's sly smirk.

"Julian, you okay?"

"Bro. You play fucking rough." He groaned.

"You got it together?" I asked.

"I'll be fine. But as soon as we're out of this elevator he's going to be trying to
get in my head again."

"As long as we can keep our distance we should be fine. That lead paint is on all
the walls upstairs too. Blessing in disguise. He might be able to see through your eyes,
but at best it'll be intermittent. I think he needs a really solid connection to actually
take over your body." I told him.

"Good. That's fucking creepy." Julian shook his head, as if to remove the ringing
from the knocking I'd given him, and was on his feet again.

"I think there's going to be more of those things when we get upstairs." I told
Julian.

"Yeah. We need to get out of here, basically."

::That may be very difficult for Julian.:: The AI told me.

:What's the situation?:

::There is a parking garage next the hospital. But there's a two-hundred foot gap
between the two buildings.::

:Fuck. Is there any way I could help Julian jump it?:

::Possibly. There's an inflatable dome covering the top level, to protect cars from
the elements. It's another fifty feet, but if you land directly against the angle it will
deflate enough to form a chute down to the edge of the top level.::

:Good. We jumping from the top floor?:

::The roof.::

:Wonderful.:

"So? What's the plan?" Julian asked me anxiously.

"We're gonna jump off the roof onto the next building."

"We?" Julian raised a dubious eyebrow.

"You're right. I'm going to jump. After I throw you."

"Fuck."

Julian turned to face the doors.

"I think we're about to have company." I told him.

We were nearly to the top floor.

"Now we know where Damion is at, I'll help you fight through them. You're way too
gentle." Julian told me.

"Hey. Next time he tries to make you kill yourself, you want me to be gentle or do
you want broken wrists?" I retorted.

"I want you to stop him." He told me confidently.

"Great. I should have known you'd have a masochist streak." I grumbled.

Julian just chuckled and settled into a ready stance as the bell dinged to announce
our arrival.

The doors opened. And...nothing. The corridor was empty except for a few doctors and
nurses bustling around. They weren't autonoids.

"This is too easy."

Julian grunted in agreement.

We walked down the hallway, uncertain. Everyone was going about their business. I
kept a hand around Julian's wrist, pulling him with me. White-coated mortals with no
implants at all looked at us curiously but did nothing to impede our passage.

One nurse was preparing a syringe of something before going into a room. She paused
as we approached. Not an autonoid. I shouldered past her, pulling Julian along.

With a quick flash of movement, her hand whipped downward, the syringe piercing into
Julian's shoulder.

The woman had a tazer in her other hand, under a towel, and the tiny needles sprang
towards me with slender lines trailing behind.

I ignored it, reaching out with super-human speed to immediately remove the needle
from Julian. Her thumb on the stopper had managed to push some of the liquid into Julian's
body before I removed it. The rest spurted out. My finger was nicking a small bit of it
automatically to test in my mouth.

The electric shock of the tazer burned into my muscles, but the Esseren were quite
capable of redirecting and absorbing the energy. I barely felt it.

My hand snicked back to my mouth, deposited the sample of liquid there, and shot out
again, seizing the bottom half of the assassin's face and ripping it off. I had my answer.

Poison. Serious, serious poison. The tiny bit she'd injected was going to be a
serious health threat all on its own.

"C'mon!" I shouted. No time for pretending we were normal citizens on our way to
visit granny in the hospital anymore. The screams behind us showed we'd already blown that
impression already.

I dragged Julian after me, flying through corridors, shouldering ruthlessly past
anyone who got in our way. At one point a pair of cops came around a corner, guns drawn. I
grabbed a metal receptacle for god-knows-what off a rolling tray and threw it, hitting the
foremost cop hard in the face. Blood sprayed, he went down backwards on top of his partner.

We were on them immediately, and I made sure to knee the other cop in the balls so
he would be sure to stay and tend to his wounded partner.

In moments I broke down a door and we charged up a staircase to the roof. Sadly, no
helicopter was waiting to be commandeered.

"Ready?" I asked Julian. He nodded, a grim look on his face. He seemed to be shaking
just a bit. The poison. Fuck.

"Hurry. We're out in the open here. No lead walls." He told me, his teeth chattering.

"Right." I pulled him closer to the edge, and took a careful look at the dome curving
up a bit below us.

:You're going to have to aim.: I told the Kid.

::I was planning on it.::

My hands suddenly snatched Julian's wrists and swung him around in a circle, his legs
flying up into the air like an adult swinging a little kid. Around once, twice, and then my
hands let go and gave a little shove at the same time so he wouldn't spin while he flew,
and Julian went flying out towards the dome.

My body jumped back three quick steps, took a short running start and leapt off after
him.

I landed on something harder than I expected. It wasn't like the inflatables at
fairs. The plastic was thick and tough, built to be a sturdy structure instead of a kid's
playground. Still, it did give substantially, dipping under my weight and forming a sort
of trough - I slid down it the long way and rolled onto the flat concrete.

Julian was laying there, blood all over his face.

"Shit! You're bleeding!" I scrambled over towards him, only to nearly have our heads
collide as he sat up, cursing vehemently.

"Practically landed on my fucking face!" He spat out a mouthful of blood.

"Fuck man, after all that trouble to get some blood in you you're already in a hurry
to get rid of it!" I told him, pulling him to his feet.

"Fuck off. You're the one who threw me like that."

"The AI did it, blame him."

"Let's get out of here." Julian grunted.

I looked around. We were on a ledge of about 30 feet that was between the side of
the dome and the low walls that surrounded the edges of the parking deck.

"Got a knife?" I asked.

"Uh. No. Recently a prisoner, remember?" He looked at me like I was an idiot.

"Fine." I stepped over to the side of the dome. The wall of it was rigid against my
hand. I drew my fist back and pointed a finger, slamming it tip-first into the plastic
with my enhanced strength behind it. It punctured, and I immediately started tearing a
hole open.

We slid through, and jumped in a bit farther as that section of the wall started to
sag.

::It won't collapse. The wall is chambered in case of punctures.::

:Get us a ride.:

There was a chirping noise and moments later we were inside a shiny black sports
car.

I pulled out of the parking spot, wound my way through a couple aisles of parked
vehicles, and found the ramp down.

It was blocked. Seven or eight cars had been crammed into the narrow space, just
about on top of each other. The drivers were slowly crawling out the windows.

"We're going to have to fight them." I told Julian. He didn't answer. I looked at
him just as his hand pressed down the doorlatch and he stepped outside.

"Julian! You idiot, I said stay together!"

I lunged after him, rolling out his door behind him instead of using my own. I
landed hard on the ground behind him, and was stunned to receive a vicious kick in the
face for my efforts. I looked up at Julian, pain blooming from the spot he'd struck.

"What-"

Julian spun away from me to walk back the way we had come. Between his legs I saw
the reason why.

"Damion."