District Three was a hotbed of chaos. Bill said nothing as he followed Stephen past injured Indigenes who were being treated for their wounds. They passed by an anxious Gabriel doing his best to calm the agitation in the tunnels.
‘They’ve just found out Pierre didn’t make it,’ said Stephen.
Gabriel said to one of the Indigenes, ‘It’s not my fault. And no, I won’t tell her what to do. Why can’t you accept her? I thought Indigenes were supposed to be more tolerant than humans.’
Stephen pointed to a skittish female. ‘That’s Margaux, Gabriel’s wife. She’s a little eccentric. The others don’t understand her.’
Gabriel glanced at Bill before asking Margaux to help him in the medical bay. They entered the room, the same one Stephen and Laura had been taken to after the explosion in the tunnel. The space no longer looked like a temporary arrangement, but more of a permanent feature for the Indigenes. Pierre and Anton lay on separate beds. Serena, conscious after her ordeal, worked alongside Leon to repair the damage to both Indigenes.
Bill frowned at the scene before him.
‘Yes, technically Pierre’s dead, but we want to make sure we’ve tried everything,’ said Stephen.
Serena injected something into Pierre’s heart.
‘She’s giving him epinephrine,’ said Stephen.
Anton was a different matter, as Bill could see. Machines helped his heart and lungs to work. Electrodes had been attached to the side of his head.
‘The electrodes will try to try to kick-start his brain once we’ve stabilised him.’
Bill remained silent as he observed the activity. He wanted to ask about Laura, but it felt wrong to given what had just happened. Part of him was scared to ask.
‘She makes a good nurse, don’t you think?’ said Stephen.
Bill watched Serena for a moment, a natural influencer, at ease in this environment. ‘Do you think she was a doctor in her human life? She seems to know her way around the facility.’
‘Perhaps, but I wasn’t talking about her.’
Bill frowned and looked around the room. His eyes stopped on a second female figure cloaked in white. She leaned over Anton, and readjusted the electrodes to the side of his head. He didn’t recognise her.
Then a thought almost made his heart stop. Could it be? No. He stepped forward without taking his eyes off the female. She couldn’t see him, not yet; she was more interested in the task at hand than him. But when he stepped into her peripheral vision, her head snapped round and she glared at him.
‘Laura?’ Bill was stuck for words. Her skin, no longer grey, had changed to a semi-translucent state. Her hair had almost gone. But he saw a new light in her eyes that hadn’t existed since he’d found her in her apartment. Did she even know who he was?
Serena gave Laura a nod and she stepped away from the table. She squinted at Bill as though she tried to place him. Bill’s hope vanished and he looked away. That was it, he had lost her. She no longer recognised him. Could she ever love a human in her current form? Would his weak human body ever be enough for her stronger, faster one?
‘Bill?’ Laura finally said. ‘Is that you?’
He grinned and looked back at her.
‘They tell me I have temporary amnesia. The memories come and go,’ she explained. ‘Shit, I didn’t know when I’d see you again.’
Serena stepped back from the table and ran a current through the electrodes attached to the side of Anton’s head. Anton’s body spasmed. Then Margaux placed a hand on Anton’s forehead and muttered something to him.
Laura looked back at the table. ‘I’m sorry. I’m a little busy here. It’s really good to see you.’ She smiled. ‘Can we talk a little later?’
Bill couldn’t keep the smile off his face. ‘Aye, love. Any time you want. I’m not going anywhere without you.’
Stephen motioned for him to walk outside.
‘We had to transform her to Indigene, not all the way, but enough that her body would accept the changes.’
‘How?’
‘As it turned out, Serena’s DNA stabilised her. Her thoughts are still very much human but her mind has regressed a little, which has given her amnesia. When things are quieter, we can look at reversing the effects of what I did to her.’ Stephen shook his head. ‘I had no idea the mutations in the copies of my genetic code would affect her like that.’
But Bill didn’t blame him. He touched Stephen’s arm. ‘She’s alive and for that I’ll be eternally grateful. Can the effect be reversed?’
‘With a little time, we should come up with a solution. But there’s just one thing I can’t figure out yet.’
‘What?’
‘Whether she wants to be changed back.’
Bill would support whatever choice she made. Laura was stuck with him.
‘What about Anton, will he make it?’
‘I don’t know.’ Stephen sighed. ‘It’s too early to tell.’