The Buried Ark by James Bradley

Author:James Bradley
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Pan Macmillan Australia
Published: 2018-05-09T16:00:00+00:00

16

I regained consciousness in a narrow bed, a sheet pulled up over my arms. At first I had no idea what I was doing there, but then it came back to me and I started upright, only to have the room tilt and spin. Thrown off balance I slid sideways but managed to catch myself and remain still until my dizziness subsided.

I was in a white room, its antiseptic space barely large enough for the bed I was leaning against. By the wall on the far side of the bed were various machines – a monitor of some kind on a stand and wheels; an IV drip with several bags of what looked like saline, one of which was connected to a cannula in my wrist; something I assumed was a scanner for detecting Changed biology – and at the foot of the bed, a windowless door. Dominating the wall in front of me was some kind of observation panel that ran from corner to corner, from waist height to the ceiling.

The glass was dark, reflecting the room back at me. I could make out my own reflection, my face dark and gaunt beneath wild hair, my body thin beneath the blue gown. Uncertain whether I was being watched I slid my hand down and with a sharp yank pulled the cannula free. Then I darted toward the door as quickly and quietly as I could.

The door was locked. I flattened myself against the wall and stared around. There was nothing to indicate where I was or how I had got here. Before I had a chance to investigate further I noticed a red light near the ceiling and realised I was being observed.

The observation panel lit up, revealing a lab of some sort, and at one end, just behind the glass, a woman dressed in a tight black skirt and midnight-blue blouse.

‘You’re awake!’ she said brightly. She was fortyish, with a blonde ponytail and glasses, and looked more like a lawyer than a doctor or a scientist.

I stared back at her. ‘Where am I?’ I demanded. ‘How did I get here?’

She smiled. ‘Don’t worry. We’ll explain everything soon. But you’re safe now.’

‘Safe where? And where’s Ben? What have you done with him?’

‘Sergeant Miller? He’s fine. Being treated elsewhere.’ She touched her ear, as if activating some kind of communication device, and then lifted a finger. ‘Just hold on,’ she said.

‘Hey!’ I said, but she didn’t respond, just touched something on the other side of the wall. The panel went dark again.

‘Hey!’ I shouted, advancing on the glass, but before I could reach it the door slid open with a hiss and the woman entered, followed by a thickset man with a brown beard. He was wearing a lab coat and held a scanner in one hand. I took a step back.

‘Are you Quarantine?’

The woman smiled and shook her head. ‘No, we’re not Quarantine.’

I tensed, ready to fight. ‘Then who are you?’

She stopped and held up a hand to the man in the coat.

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