The Hidden Base by A.E. Warren

Author:A.E. Warren [Warren, A. E.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781473590045
Publisher: Random House
Published: 2021-07-02T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 17

Elise

She was alone when she opened her eyes.

Wincing at the bright electric lights, she tried to sit up. Two wires, running from her forehead to a machine by her bed, caught on a metal slat and pulled her back.

Succumbing, she laid her head back down against the single pillow and shielded her eyes.

Unease started deep in her stomach, a gnawing doubt that grew in intensity until panic washed through her – she couldn’t remember how she had arrived in this room. For a moment, she couldn’t recall a single memory from before this point. She squeezed her eyes shut; the nausea made her head swim.

She. A girl. No, a young woman – that she was sure of.

Without warning, a name surfaced in her mind. Elise.

She knew her name was Elise.

Realising that this was a starting point, she held on to this scrap of knowledge tightly, her eyebrows pinching together as if her name – her self – could be clasped between them.

Elise bit the inside of her cheek as she tried to recover more about herself, the pain focusing her mind.

Her surname came next: Thanton.

Remembering the tattoo on the inside of her wrist, she glanced down at it for reassurance: Elise Cyton, 17 February 2250, Cytosine Base, Sapien.

‘No, no,’ she mumbled, trying to sit up again. She rubbed at her wrist, as if she could erase the error, but the tattoo remained firmly in place.

A wave of nausea hit her. She pulled the wires free from the metal slat – only just in time – and retched over the side of her bed. She stared down at the bucket someone had left there. Nothing had come up. She felt empty.

Elise became aware of a metallic taste in her mouth; she spat into the bucket. Throwing back the light sheet, she tried to place her foot on the polished concrete floor. Her hand automatically reached for the wires snaking their way to her temples. Her fingers traced the edge of the soft pad of plastic that covered most of her forehead. The pad was stuck down; she began to pick at the bottom edge. Slowly at first, then with an urgency when her skin couldn’t be freed.

The sound of a bolt sliding back made her pause. Before the door to her left began to open, she sank back onto the bed again, pulling the sheet back over her. She closed her eyes, but not too tightly.

Steps approached. One person. No, two.

‘She hasn’t come round yet. That’s a relief,’ a female voice said.

‘When did they finish?’ an older man replied.

‘Ah … about two hours ago. We should bring her out of it, really. It’s not good for them to be under for so long.’

‘What do we tell her?’

‘I always set the submersion so that it brings them back over the course of five minutes. Gives me enough time to leave. Best not to be here when they awaken. Too many questions that it’s not my job to answer.’

The man chuckled. ‘That’s clever.

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