XII

Elodie winced against the harsh white light that flooded the elevator as it yawned open and revealed her first glimpse of the MediCenter’s eerily quiet basement. Trepidation quaked within her limbs as she shuffled down the brightly illuminated hallway, following the path Holly had highlighted.

Vi had almost gotten Elodie in trouble. Possibly horrible, life-ending trouble. Maybe that’s why the Key Corp had disposed of so many works of fiction, directing current authors to write tales that actually mattered and inspired today’s citizens, instead of books that planted false and dangerous ideas within their readers. And the corporation was right to do so. Elodie hadn’t even finished Vi’s series of books, and she had already come entirely too close to making a choice she would regret. The rules were there for a reason.

The rules are there for a reason.

The blinking light on Elodie’s vidlink ate up more of the highlighted path as she turned down another barren, light-soaked hallway.

But Violet Royale hadn’t given her the idea to put her life in danger. Elodie was quite capable of coming up with her own original thoughts and making her own decisions. What had reading about Vi made Elodie do, anyway? Nothing! It had simply given her a little more . . . confidence? No, confidence wasn’t exactly the right word. Death by Violet had given her—

Elodie jerked to a stop as a set of white shoes turned the corner and almost smacked into her own. Her gaze traveled up, up, up to mossy green eyes and a curly black mohawk.

“You should watch where you’re going.” The guy grunted and unzipped the top half of his orange suit, tying the arms around the waist of his fitted blue scrub top. “You could’ve run right into me.”

“Sorry. I was thinking about—” She bit back the words before she accidentally spilled her darkest secret. “Stuff. Thinking about stuff and not paying attention.”

“You don’t need to apologize. I’m the one who was just an ass. I wasn’t paying attention either.” He rubbed his hand across his dark brow. “Got a lot of stuff to think about too.”

Elodie brushed a damp curl from her shoulder as the familiar scent of earth and pine swirled around her. “Well, have a good one.” She double checked her map, and, with a quick and awkward wave, resumed her trek to the medi-pump station.

“You didn’t happen to run into a door this morning, did you?”

Elodie stiffened as his words pricked her back. She knew she’d recognized his voice and that evergreen scent. Unfortunately, she couldn’t run away this time. There was nothing in this hallway except for the doors he’d just emerged from, and she didn’t want to go anywhere near room forty-four and its biohazard symbol. Especially if it spit out frazzled employees half-dressed in biohazard gear.

She turned slowly, hoping that in the time it took her to face him, she would somehow disappear into the bright lights of the hallway. “It wasn’t my finest moment.”

His grin lit his entire face. “But it was pretty funny.”

Her cheeks heated. “For you!”

“You’re right.” He cocked his head, a crease forming across his smooth brow. “Your hair is wet.” He dragged his fingers along the shaved side of his mohawk. “Still wet is more accurate. I noticed it, you know, before.” His orange suit crinkled as he crossed his ankles and leaned against the wall. “You took a shower. A real one.”

Elodie’s chin tilted skyward as she folded her arms across her chest. “I did.”

And since she couldn’t go anywhere or do anything without someone commenting, she was never going to do it again.

He picked at one of the orange sleeves tied around his waist. “I thought I was the only one who took water showers.”

“Oh.” She tucked another half-dry strand behind her ear. “It’s a thing I do sometimes.” She stood a little taller, pleased with how nonchalant she seemed.

He practically leapt away from the wall. “Have you ever taken a bath?” he blurted.

Her shoulders relaxed. “Every day. Light baths are practically mandatory.”

“No.” He stepped closer, tightening the suit arms hugging his lean middle. “I mean in water.”

“Of course not.” Her laughter echoed off the sterile walls. “I don’t want to sit in dirty person soup.”

He nodded as if it was his first time considering the fact, which would have made sense. It was the first time for Elodie.

The blinking light flashed in the corner of her vision. “Sorry, but I’m in a bit of a hurry.” She pointed down the hall before resuming her quest.

His sneakers squeaked as he shuffled after her. “Where are we headed?”

She glanced up at him. “You’re coming with me.”

The ends of empty sleeves flopped against his legs with each step. “Unless I’m being uninvited.”

Elodie couldn’t help but grin. “Were you ever invited?”

He tilted his head as he cracked his knuckles. “Technically, no, but you never know when you might need a guy with a biocontainment suit.”

Elodie eyed the shiny orange suit, its arms flapping limply at his waist. “What do you do down here that you need one of those?”

Again, he tightened the arms around his waist. “ELU stuff.”

Reflexively, Elodie widened the distance between them. She’d never met anyone who worked in the End-of-Life Unit. Cerberus was most contagious upon death, when people would collapse, their bodies bursting like raindrops against the pavement. Even though she worked in the MediCenter, she never worked with the deceased. No one did. The second someone was declared, the ELU was called, and everyone else went back to work on people they could actually help. Now that she thought about it, Elodie didn’t even know what a real dead person looked like. Probably like her patients, but deader.

“Gross.” Her brow pinched. “The morgue?”

He clapped his hands. “That’s exactly what I said.”

No wonder he had taken so many water showers. She’d had one VR experience and wished she could shower again. Each day he probably had dozens of real life situations that clung to him like a second skin.

Elodie glanced at the map, transparent across her vision. “I’m going to the medi-pump lab,” she said, changing topics. “Hey, you’re from down here. You wouldn’t happen to know how to change out the tubes, would you? Or is that not part of your job description?”

His dark skin glowed deep brown under the lights. “Not that I know of, but it is my first day. I’m also not from down here, like some mole person living in those sealed up tunnels under the city.” He tapped his chin. “Shanghai Tunnels! Knew I hadn’t forgotten the name.”

Elodie’s lips quirked. “Shanghai Tunnel mole person?”

“Yeah like if some guy got bitten by a radioactive mole and became the world’s first tunneling, night-vision mole man. Or, at least that’s how I assume he would have become a mole man.” He shrugged. “What do you need in the pump lab?”

“Long-Term Care Unit nursing business.” She returned his shrug with one of her own. “It’s kind of a long story.” The map flashed as she closed in on her destination, and Elodie cleared the screen from her field of vision. “But I’m here now, so . . .” She stretched the word as he followed her through the open door and into the narrow room, busy with bots.

He held up his hands as he backed through the Violet Shield that coated every entryway within the MediCenter. “Say no more. I get when I’m not wanted.” He glanced at his cuff. “I’ve gotta go anyway. But I’m always up for a good story, and I’ll be down here for, you know, ever.” He tossed her a sparkling smile before disappearing around the corner.

Elodie nearly tripped over the bot loading color-coded tubes into their corresponding receptacles as she craned her neck to watch him leave. “That was . . . strange.” She glanced at the bot as if it cared about or was even aware of the encounter she’d just had. “Water baths and mole people. Super weird.” Her cheeks heated as a grin lifted her lips.

Elodie dug through the crate of glass tubes the bot had attached to its front until she located the bright yellow cylinder labeled Propofol. She stared at the large grid of boxy receptacles and flashing lights until she located the row of tubes for the eleventh floor and the flashing yellow rectangle. She rolled the glass cylinder of medicine between her hands before reaching up and exchanging the empty tube for the full one. A few mechanical clicks and the yellow light ceased flashing. 

Elodie’s heartbeat ticked up a notch as she made her way back to the elevator. Yes, she was nervous about Patient Ninety-Two’s state when she got back to her unit, but tremors of excited anticipation ran beneath the anxiety.

Maybe she would see the ELU employee and his curly, dark mohawk again. Whoever he was.

The elevator opened and Elodie requested her floor. She clenched her fists by her sides in an attempt to regain control of her nerves as the metal box carried her back to the unknowns of her own unit and Patient Ninety-two. What would she do if Aubrey was still awake, crying, pleading for her mother?

The doors opened and Elodie stepped into the LTCU.

Aubrey’s door was open, her room empty, and the unit ablaze with violet.