The Gender Secret Page 13

  I pushed myself to my knees and looked at it. There was a sequence of numbers counting down in flashing yellow. I watched as the numbers counted down from sixty, tension growing in my back. What if there was some sort of passcode I had to enter before the chamber vaporized the gas or something? I looked around for some sort of key pad or panel, running my fingers across the wall for any sign of it, but couldn’t find anything except the button and the timer. I went to the door, struggling against the massive wheel that was there, but it was jammed into place.

  I turned back to the timer as it hit zero. There was a soft hissing sound, and I opened my eyes. The gas that had flooded the chambers was being sucked out. The panel under the button was now counting down again, this time from thirty. I waited this time, watching it closely.

  The white gas had completely dissipated in thirty seconds, and the panel turned green, flashing the word “Clear” across it.

  Tentatively, I placed my hand on the wheel, but instead of finding resistance, it seemed to spin eagerly this time. I opened it gently, expecting to see people on the other side. Instead, it opened up to a concrete room about twenty feet wide and ten feet deep, with glass lockers containing white suits in them. There were also metal lockers on one wall, with names posted on them. I looked at them, but they were obviously surnames with no indication as to their gender, giving me no clues as to who owned this place.

  This was some sort of research facility. It was unclear if it was a Matrian or Patrian facility, but given that it was on the Matrian side of the river, it seemed most likely to be Matrian.

  I looked over at Viggo, who seemed to be bouncing in and out of consciousness. Taking a breath, I reached up and removed the mask with a pop. I took an experimental breath of air, and was rewarded for it.

  I immediately pulled Viggo’s mask off, and then Ms. Dale’s. I looked around for Samuel, but he wasn’t with us. I bit my lip, worried for the dog. It was tempting to pull Ms. Dale and Viggo into the chamber and take one of the suits to go look for him.

  That was until I realized how much Ms. Dale was bleeding. She had more bites then Viggo and I put together. I needed to tend to them first, and then go look for Samuel. That meant finding medical supplies.

  I hesitated—this facility was clearly being used by people, or at least it had been. But where were they? Surely, they had some sort of security presence. Whoever they were—they wouldn’t come to The Green and create this facility only to hide from intruders, right?

  It was eerie. I pulled the gun out of my pocket and checked the magazine. The clip was full. I slammed it back into the hilt, and stepped into the secondary chamber. There was a door opposite of me, so I crossed to it and started to open it.

  “Violet?” came Viggo’s hoarse voice from behind me.

  I paused, and went back to him. His eyes were glazed and he seemed disoriented. I pulled the canteen from his pocket and placed it on his lips, pouring some into his mouth. He took several long sips.

  “We’re inside,” I said as he drank. “I’m going to see if I can find any medical supplies for you and Ms. Dale. Wait here.”

  I set the canteen in his hand. Viggo reached for me, trying to stop me, but I deftly avoided his grasp, and headed back to the hatch across from the airlock.

  It was difficult to ignore my own weakness. I wasn’t even sure how I was still going at this point. The door was heavy, and it took every scrap of effort to open it, but I eventually got it open.

  Panting, I leaned against it, feeling it push against me. As I crossed the threshold, it swung closed, sealing me in.

  That was an interesting feature—the doors closed themselves. It must be for security purposes. There were similar doors at one of the work camps I had been assigned to. It was in case of fires—the doors were always closed in case of a fire. It would seal people in to die, but it would keep the rest of the facility safe from the flames.

  The next room was a hallway. Ensconced lights filled the room with a sickly yellow glow, but the light didn’t hurt my eyes. The hallway stretched for another ten feet, ending at another door. I leaned against the wall heavily as I made my way to it.

  The wheel practically turned itself, reminding me that there were likely people about, and I pushed it open slowly, stepping over the threshold and letting it fall closed behind me. This room was another hallway, but with doors and windows lining the walls. Moving forward, I began looking through the windows. The rooms behind them were filled with a mixture of lab equipment and medical equipment.

  I didn’t know much about either, but most things seemed to be for scanning or blood samples, though the last room was set up like a hospital ward.

  Twisting the hand wheel, I opened it up, the smell of antiseptic flooding my nostrils. There were two massive cabinets off to the side. I focused on them.

  I pulled on the cabinet doors, but they were locked. Frowning, I moved over to the desk and began searching through the drawers, looking for keys. Luck seemed to be on my side, because I found several of them on a ring in the second drawer, set neatly in a bowl in the corner. I snatched them up, and began inserting them into the lock.

  It took a few keys, but finally I unlocked them. I started grabbing things I recognized, placing them in a bedpan that had been sitting on the bed. Alcohol swabs, blood patches, band aids all went in. I wasn’t sure if the bite from a red fly was venomous as well, and there were several vials of liquids I didn’t recognize.

  Viggo would know better than me about those, I figured, as I collected more things. I grabbed a saline bag for Ms. Dale. I wasn’t sure how it worked, I just knew it was something you did at hospitals. I just hoped I could wake Viggo up for long enough to guide me in stabilizing her.

  I tucked the keys into my pocket and scooped the bedpan of supplies up from the bed.

  For a second, I paused, staring at the bed. It was so tempting to just lay down and close my eyes for a minute. I felt the need to rest like a heavy weight pressing down on me, like a warm blanket.

  I shook my head, taking a deep breath. I could rest later, once I had saved everyone’s lives.

  Grinning at the thought, I staggered out in the hallway. I wanted to laugh, it was so preposterous. I was going to save Viggo’s life. I had saved Viggo’s life for once. Now, he couldn’t make his stupid teasing comments about all the times he saved me, because I had saved him too.

  After I actually finished the saving. And got some sleep. And saved Samuel. And explored this strange building. And discovered the secret of the egg. Then I’d do it.

  I started chuckling at my absurd mental checklist—it was impossible—just like the fact that I was alive at this very moment. That I had finally succeeded in saving people, not killing them. I laughed so hard that tears streamed down my eyes, until I realized I was crying.

  My hands were shaking and I was shuddering with each breath. It was all hitting me at once—everything. For the last four days—less than a week—I had endured a trial and a half of pain, betrayal, emotional upheaval, and fought for my life and the lives of others. I was tired beyond words, emotionally drained, and mentally exhausted.

  I deserved the tears that were flooding down my cheeks. I had earned them in blood and sweat, and by defying the odds. I had defied death itself and won, at least for the moment.

  I sat down and cried, well aware that Viggo and Ms. Dale were waiting for me in the air locked room. The thought of it sent waves of panic through me, which in turn made me feel guilty. I rationalized that I wasn’t panicking because they were depending on me, although that didn’t help. No, I was panicking because of how tired I was.

  Sleep deprivation was a difficult thing for the mind to handle. My brain needed sleep so that I could function, and because of the lack of sleep, I was breaking down, and I knew it. I just needed to hold it together until I could get Viggo up. He could take care of Ms. Dale and himself.

  I felt the tears continuing to fall, my eyes raw, but I picked myself up anyway. I felt dead and
empty as I made my way back.

  Viggo was leaning against the wall on the other side of the door, his expression relieved as he looked at me. I tried to feel relieved too, but I couldn’t. Wordlessly, I held out the supplies while hot tears slipped from my eyes and down my cheeks.

  21

  Viggo

  Violet was breaking down, and I didn’t blame her. When she opened the door with tears running down her face, holding out a bedpan of medical supplies, I ignored them completely, and pulled her to my chest, wrapping my arms around her.

  Her shoulders shook as she sobbed, her tears collecting on the front of my chest. I stroked her hair, letting her cry it out. I held her for several minutes, the sounds of her choking sobs filling the small room.

  “I shouldn’t be crying,” Violet breathed against me, as her tears started to subside. “We still have work to do.”

  I placed a finger under her chin, tipping her head back so she was looking at me. Her eyes were like twin storm clouds, threatening to spill over again. Deep dark bags had formed under her eyes, and her face was streaked with blood and grime.

  She had never looked more beautiful. Without thinking, I dipped my head and pressed my mouth against hers. For a second, she was still, frozen under my mouth, and then she softened, her lips parting. She wrapped her arms around my shoulders, pulling her body flush against mine. I cupped her face and her neck, feeling her pulse beating strong under my fingertips.

  After savoring her for a long moment, I broke the kiss, and rested my forehead against hers.

  “We’re alive,” I whispered, using my thumb to stroke away her tears. “You saved us all, Violet. We’re safe.”

  “I lost Samuel,” she wheezed.

  I shook my head. “Samuel is smart, and better equipped to survive. We’ll find him.”

  She nodded, sucking her bottom lip between her teeth. “I’m so tired, Viggo,” she whispered, and I could see the exhaustion was more than just physical. She needed to rest.

  “Okay. Tell you what. Help me move Ms. Dale to a bed. I’ll patch both of us while you get a little sleep, okay?”

  She hesitated, her eyes searching mine. “What about you? You need to sleep too.”

  I nodded. “We’ll sleep in shifts.” I had no intention of waking her up, of course. She could forgive me this one little white lie.

  Violet needed sleep more than I did. She was on the verge of mental breakdown, and we couldn’t afford for her to have one, not at this juncture. Besides, I was worried about her. I wanted her to feel safe and secure, and get some much-needed rest. I didn’t mind suffering for that.

  Violet nodded, and then paused again. “This place… we have no idea where the people are or when they’ll be back. We need to search it. Do you think it’s a Matrian facility, given that it’s on Matrus’ side of the river?” she asked.

  I nodded, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear. “It probably is Matrian, but until we know for sure I’ll secure the floor and barricade the doors. If anyone is here, we’ll know it, and handle it from there. It will be all right, Vi. We’ll handle it as it comes, together. I promise.”

  The look of relief on her face was worth it. She leaned into me, pressing her ear against my chest and wrapping her arms around my waist. I bound my arms around her, and she gave a soft little sigh in response.

  I gave us a moment to just hold each other, because we both needed the comfort the other provided. We shared the knowledge that we had both nearly died, multiple times, and we just needed a moment to feel alive and safe.

  After the embrace was over, we went back for Ms. Dale. I had managed to drag her through the inner airlock door, but my strength wasn’t limitless. Together, Violet and I pulled her onto our shoulders, her legs dragging between us as we took her into the medical suite.

  Violet slapped a blood patch on me, which began working immediately. I noticed things were a little brighter, my focus much clearer. I began inspecting Ms. Dale. I had limited medical knowledge, but luckily the medical supplies made it much easier.

  I put a blood patch on her, and then began cleaning her up, cutting her outfit off of her so I could assess the damage. Of the three of us, she had the most red fly bites. They were everywhere—the flies had even penetrated the rubber soles of her shoes to get to the bottom of her feet.

  “Alejandro told me red fly saliva was an anticoagulant,” I told Violet as she helped me undress the woman. “They bite the victims, leaving a puncture hole no bigger than a needle mark, but blood will continue to flow until the chemical in their saliva is neutralized.”

  Violet nodded, her eyes wide. “So even though we have the blood patches on, it’s only a stop gap measure?”

  I nodded. “In the cabinet, did you see any packets that look similar to this?” I held out the white packet with the yellow diagonal slash running through it. Violet nodded, and went over to grab a few.

  I ripped one open with my teeth, and began pouring the powder over the bites. It immediately foamed when it came into contact with them. Violet stared for a second, then grabbed a packet and began helping me apply it. We started with her back, which was the worst, and then flipped her over to work on her front.

  If Violet was uncomfortable with Ms. Dale’s nudity, she gave no indication of it. She remained focused and professional in her assistance. Eventually, we got all the bites, and I began working on her shoulder. I cleaned it out, making sure that there was nothing in it, and then applied the same paste that I had used on Violet’s thigh. She was going to have a scar, but I didn’t think there would be any long-term damage.

  After she was patched up, I hooked her up to an IV bag. I pumped in a few milligrams of antibiotics. That was all I could do.

  I turned to Violet. “Let me check you over, and then you can get some sleep.”

  She nodded, smoothing some of Ms. Dale’s hair out of her face. “She’ll be okay?”

  I nodded. “I think she’ll pull through, but…” I hesitated, unsure of how Violet would take what I was about to say.

  Violet glanced up at me, her face neutral as she studied me. “You want to lock her up,” she said simply, looking back down at the older woman. Smoothing a lock of hair from her forehead, Violet stared at the older woman for a long moment. “It’s for the best,” she whispered. “Even if she’s not here for me, she’s still dangerous.” I watched as she pulled a blanket over Ms. Dale’s body.

  “Give me the cuffs,” she said, holding out her hand. I pulled them out of my pocket, and handed them to Violet. She slipped one onto the hand without an IV, and then secured the other end to the bedframe. The bed was bolted to the floor, so it was unlikely that she could move it.

  I looked at Violet. “Just until we know why she’s really here,” I said, trying to reassure her. She shrugged and I suppressed a sigh. Violet’s melancholy was deepening, her exhaustion playing havoc with her emotions. We both knew the reason Ms. Dale was there—for Violet.

  “I know. I’m tired. You’re tired. Let’s get patched up and find you somewhere to sleep.”

  She bit her lower lip, and stared over my shoulder out into the hall. “I think we should explore more,” she said finally.

  I sighed, and shifted my weight from one leg to another. “Violet, you need to rest. You’ve been pushing yourself too hard, and so have I, for that matter. After we rest, we can explore.”

  “Aren’t you the least bit curious? What is this facility doing out here—why was it built and when and for what reason?”

  I shrugged. “All good questions, but not important at this moment. The facility will be here when we wake up.”

  “Unless whoever is here finds us and arrests us.”

  “Like I said, I’ll stay awake.”

  “Then we’ll have to run again. The red flies are probably still waiting outside. I am wearing clothes covered in blood. If we have to escape, we’ll probably just run back into them.”

  I processed her logic, and in spite of my exhaustion, I found myself ag
reeing. “Okay,” I relented. “But only after we get this bleeding handled. A few bites can kill you from blood loss, if you don’t stop it.”

  I handed Violet a few packets of the powder and took a few for myself. I watched her disappear into the room across the hall.

  “Call me if you need help with your back,” I said.

  She nodded, and offered me a ghost of a smile as she slowly closed the door between us. I returned it, and then moved to the next suite, uncomfortable with the thought of Ms. Dale waking up to a naked male in the room.

  Blood was still streaming from them, with no sign of abating, so I began to pour the powder over my bites. It stung, but it was tolerable.

  I was able to reach most of the spots, but my back was a problem, and I was guessing Violet’s was as well. I slipped my pants over my hips, buttoning them, and moved out into the hallway. Violet was already there, her shirt clutched to her chest.

  She shuffled nervously, and then turned around, pulling her hair over her shoulder. I sucked in a sharp breath as I took in the curve and shape of her back. It was wrong of me to feel attracted to her in that moment—she had several bites that were leaking blood—but I did. It took me a moment to jerk out of it.

  I grabbed the packet and began pouring it over her wounds. She watched me from the corner of her eye, but I worked quickly, reminding myself she needed medical attention. Then I handed her my packet and turned around.

  I tensed as I felt her finger press against each bite, applying the powder directly. I suddenly recalled the night we had kissed in my cabin, and the bite of her nails and fingers as she dug into my shoulders, our mouths devouring each other.

  I was tired—exhausted, really—and incredibly attracted to her right now. It was difficult to maintain control at that moment.