“It’s possible to give powerless people power in the future, but it does come with some risks. It’s about the same risk as someone who’s died from drowning. The longer they’re drowned for, the less experienced the team around them to revive them, the higher the chance of death, but it will be far higher than a coin flip.”
She finished the banana as she tried to toss the peel into the garbage before she answered. “Hmm… Pass.” I wasn’t expecting that, and it had me curious. “Why?” She got up and walked to the fridge as she kept speaking. “Because that sounds like a terrible process, and I won’t have to worry about not having powers because you’re already fucking me. I’m too valuable as a secretary and don’t need powers to be valuable to a leader.”
She hadn’t seen the worst of humanity yet, so I could put a fork in it for later. I would try to convince her to take it, at least keep the drugs on her in case I ever died, so she could gain powers and wouldn’t be treated the same way she was in her first life. “Alright… My plans changed again. I remember how the bedridden patients are treated during the flood… I have to try and save them before the worst happens again. I’ll be back in a few hours… Let’s hope not with a bunch of police chasing me. Wish me luck.”
I could just force the doctor and nurses to treat them better while offering them food, but I would be placing my trust in the same people who made the decision to let them die the first time around. I wasn’t going to try and save everyone, I couldn’t save everyone… I could save some that died in my first life, though. I was going to look for problems like Victor’s daughter. She only went in from a spinal injury, she’d be bedridden for a few months, then she could start walking again. Those were the people I wanted to save, those with a future and a non-terminal disease.
Children, the children they let die. I was so focused on saving, I didn’t put on music and just drove to the hospital in silence. I didn’t know what I was going to do, how did I save a bunch of people? I’d have to do it in a way that would allow me to come back, as I would only be able to transport one, maybe two people at a time. Did… Did people count as animals for my farm?
I’d have to try that out. Making my way through the hospital, I get to the reception. “Hello there! I’m looking for a girl named Alicia Creed.” She didn’t look up at me, instead looking over at her computer and typing her name out. “She’s in room 315.” I move towards the elevator as I don’t like the interaction with her. She seemed like she hated her job.
The ICU was on the third floor of this hospital, it looked like. It meant that everyone here needed around-the-clock care, and Alice would be moved out in a few days… If the world didn’t end. I wasn’t sure when they gave up on their patients, but with Alice almost able to walk in a few days, it meant it was a decision made early on. There was normally a backup power source, but the flooding must have knocked that out as well.
Stepping inside I’m greeted by a thirteen-year-old girl with a scowl on her face. I move to the side of her bed as she asks. “Who are you? You’re not a doctor or any of the nurses that come in here.” I closed the door to let myself talk more openly to her. “I’m a friend of your father… And I’m here to rescue you before they let you die in that bed.”
She squints before asking. “What are you talking about? You’re not crazy like my dad, are you?” I stored her plate of food as I kept talking. “I’m from the future. Tomorrow, when the flood hits, the power goes out, and instead of saving as many patients in the ICU as they can, they give up on all of you. So… Do you know anyone else in this wing that will be able to recover if given enough time, like yourself?”
She was young, but not as young as Alex. She was more skeptical than he was and wanted me to verify. “What did you just do?” I pull back out the food before placing it down on her bed tray again. “I can store objects in a separate space.” She needed me to verify my powers. “Store those flowers.” I did. “And that trash can.” I did. “And-.” I cut her off. “My storage isn’t infinite. What you should know is they leave you for dead here, and I’m here to make sure that doesn’t happen because it’ll hurt your dad after he recovers.”
She looked sickly. Dark bags under her eyes and a help sign that had been on since before I came in showed that she wasn’t really being taken care of that well. The pieces of the puzzle started to come together. “How are they treating you here?” She looked away, not wanting to tell me. I could see her subconsciously reach for a bruise on her arm. “Alright, that answers that. We’ll get you out of here so you can recover in peace.”
I was about to try and store her into my storage, but a nurse finally entered. “Hello, Alicia.” The nurse had a pho cheery personality that many often wore during their rounds. “I see you rang the help button. What do you need?” I got a sense of the uncanny valley when I looked at her. I felt like I had seen her before, but couldn’t place her.
Alicia responded. “I need to pee, and the remote dropped.” The nurse looked at me. “Could you?” I stepped out of the room as she talked to her. I didn’t think Alicia would rat me out, but there was a chance. The police probably had their hands full with other crimes being committed, but the hospital line might have priority if they call. I wasn’t sure.
After ten minutes, she left, and I went back in. The girl just looked defeated, like nothing she could do would ever fix the problem she had. “Tell me what’s bothering you.” I sit down and prepare to listen. She thinks over whether she wants to tell me or not before finally steeling her resolve and speaking the truth. “We’ve been telling people I bruised my spine by falling off a horse. That’s not the truth… My stepfather’s been beating me. I’m not treated well here, but it’s just a breath of fresh air to not be around him for so long.”
Jesus, how the fuck is everyone I’m trying to save in such a shitty situation before I do. I knew something was up, but I didn’t think it was that. “Are the nurses mistreating you as well?” She thought about it before saying. “No… They mostly ignore me, though. It’s fine most of the time, but I…” She looked embarrassed before continuing. “I peed myself once so far, and they were mad I couldn’t hold it for two hours.” The source of thɪs content is novelFɪre.net
I get that they might be busy, but not visiting a patient in the ICU for hours was a clear sign that they were neglecting their workers. She spoke again as I was lost in my own thoughts. “That nurse who came in is the only one who shows up, too. The rest all just sit at that station and gossip while she does all the work.” And there it is. That’s the problem right there.
Things clicked into place for me as my mind finally worked through the question of how I knew her. I stood in silence as my eyes started to widen. What the fuck, she was this close to me from the beginning. She was pretty, but not the level of beautiful she’d be at the ten-year mark in the apocalypse. I couldn’t believe I just stumbled upon Jade before she gained her analysis power.