Conception by Lawrence P. White

Author:Lawrence P. White [White, Lawrence P.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2019-04-02T06:00:00+00:00

Chapter Sixteen

Greg awoke on the floor of the pit. He had no idea how he got there. The lighting around him was barely adequate to see by. He tried raising himself up to a sitting position, but he stopped immediately with a groan. He hurt everywhere, but his midsection was on fire, and the back of his head hurt. He reached up and discovered his head was coated with something. He gingerly felt it, expecting blood, but his hand came away clean. It must be one of those sprayed-on bandages, he thought abstractly. His left wrist had been wrapped, and it hurt almost as much as his head and sides.

Looking around, he discovered debris everywhere. Dim figures hunched over other wounded on the floor. The main screen was blank, and the other stations within his view were dead. Behind him, daylight streamed through an opening where the command center had been. Tendrils of smoke still drifted upward into the light.

Aurita was nowhere to be seen. Was he alive? A medic showed up to examine him, explaining as he worked that the attack was over. They were without communications or power and in the dark as to everything else. He finished his exam and slapped a sleep disc on Greg’s wrist.

* * * * *

The next time Greg awoke, he was back in his old room at the hospital. If anything, his body hurt even more. His room was dark. When Doctor Llambry entered, he was lighting his way with a flashlight.

“Trouble seems to follow you around,” Llambry observed as he ran his fingers over Greg’s body.

“Or else I’m creating it. We have to stop meeting like this. What’s happening out there, Doc?”

“The Atee announced that the Harbok threat is over. She will provide more information as it becomes available. The hospital is without power and swamped with casualties. I don’t know how bad things are elsewhere.”

“She’s okay, then?”

“I presume so. I haven’t seen her.”

“How can the hospital be without power? Don’t you have back-ups?”

Doctor Llambry frowned. “I thought we did. The city has a ring of powerplants. When one goes down for service, the others automatically pick up the load, so we have multiple back-ups that ensure uninterrupted supply under all situations. I don’t believe we ever considered outright attack. I think the Harbok took out the whole ring.”

He finished his exam and stood up with his hands on his hips. “Your injuries are not as bad as they feel,” he said. “Besides bruises, scrapes, and possibly a mild concussion, I believe you have a broken wrist, two broken ribs, and several bruised ribs. I won’t be able to confirm that until our power comes back on, but I’m fairly confident of my assessment. I’m going to keep you here overnight, but you can leave tomorrow.”

“I can do without a private room.”

Doctor Llambry shook his head. “Keep your room for now. I’ll move you if I have to.”

“I’ve had extensive first-aid training,” Greg said. “Can I help?”

Llambry actually considered it, but in the end, he shook his head.

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