Sunblind Serpent: The Zodiac Without A House

Medical personnel arrived shortly afterward.

They were not from the university clinic. Their uniforms carried the national government seal, and they entered with two stretchers. One went to the unconscious researcher near the workstation. The other came directly toward Elia.

Marek stood. ”Wait.”

A doctor entered behind them. Like the security officers, he moved with the careful familiarity of someone who had already received instructions for his Mark.

”We are transferring her.”

”Where?”

”Government Medical Unit Four.”

”What is that?”

”A temporary emergency treatment facility.”

”Where?”

”The athletics complex.”

Professor Halden frowned. ”That is not a hospital.”

”It has been converted.”

”When?”

The doctor hesitated. ”It was designated before activation.”

Professor Halden became still. ”Before what activation?”

Instead of answering, the doctor instructed the medical personnel to lift Elia carefully. Marek noticed the refusal. Professor Halden did, too.

The medical team moved beside Elia. As they prepared the transfer board, the dark-red scale beneath Marek’s collarbone pulsed.

The First Motion struck its boundary again.

Movement. Impact. Rupture. Bleeding.

The sequence was still active inside him.

”Step back,” the doctor said.

”Do you know what happened to her?”

”Internal hemorrhage.”

”What caused it?”

The doctor checked his tablet. ”Awakening-related trauma.”

”That is not a cause.”

”It is enough for transfer.”

They slid the board beneath Elia. Her breathing remained shallow, and although her pulse had improved, it was still weak.

”Do not twist her torso,” Marek said.

The medical personnel adjusted their grip.

The doctor studied him. ”Are you a medical student?”

”Forensic health.”

”That is not emergency medicine.”

”No. But I know what happened to her.”

The doctor stopped.

Professor Halden spoke before he could continue. ”The thing that caused the rupture is no longer inside her.”

The doctor’s attention shifted to Marek’s shoulder.

”I was told you have an unclassified manifestation.”

”That is unrelated to the question.”

”You did not ask one.”

Marek considered that.

Fair.

”Does Medical Unit Four understand her condition?”

The doctor paused. ”We have physicians.”

”That was not what I asked.”

”They can manage hemorrhage.”

”She is currently not bleeding.”

”Yes.”

”Why?”

”Because she is stable.”

Marek frowned.

Professor Halden said nothing.

”Do you know why she stopped bleeding?” Marek asked.

The doctor glanced toward the security officer. That answered it.

”You do not know,” Marek said.

”We know the bleeding has stopped.”

”That is not the same thing.”

”We will reassess her at the medical unit.”

”The damaged vessel is still there.”

”We know.”

”The condition that caused it is still active.”

That finally changed the doctor’s expression.

Marek touched the dark-red scale. ”It is inside me.”

Several people nearby stopped what they were doing.

The doctor examined the scale. The security officer did the same.

Professor Halden sighed. ”Do not make that face.”

The doctor turned to him. ”What face?”

”The one people make when they stop seeing a medical problem and start seeing a security problem.”

The doctor had no answer for that.

Marek returned his attention to Elia. Everyone kept using the word stable as though it explained more than it did.

The damaged vessel inside her had not repaired itself. The blood already inside her abdomen was still there. Her body had simply stopped suffering the same rupture because the cause was no longer inside her.

It was inside Marek.

Nobody knew what the First Motion actually was. Nobody knew how long he could contain it or what would happen when it eventually had to leave him.

But Elia was no longer getting worse.

That was what they meant by stable.

It did not mean healed, understood, or safe.

The doctor gestured toward the stretcher. ”Move her.”

The medical personnel continued.

Marek stepped forward, but the security officer blocked him.

”You are not going with her.”

”She is my case.”

Professor Halden turned toward him.

Marek immediately disliked how his reply sounded. Elia was not a case.

”The condition came from her,” he corrected. ”I need to know what happens to her.”

”You are being transferred separately.”

”Where?”

”Unclassified Holding.”

The Aquarius researcher glanced over. ”That sounds worse than a stabilization facility.”

The officer ignored him.

”Can I speak to her when she wakes up?” Marek asked.

”I cannot authorize that.”

”Can the doctor?”

”No.”

”Professor Halden?”

”No.”

”Who can?”

”Emergency Command.”

”And where is Emergency Command?”

The officer did not answer.

Of course. Elia was taken through the door. Marek stayed where he was until the stretcher disappeared into the corridor. The dark-red scale pulsed again.

[CASE 001]

[CURRENT VESSEL: MAREK VALE]

[RESOLUTION STATUS: INCOMPLETE]

Elia was leaving. The condition was not. That was another problem he could not solve yet.

Professor Halden came beside him. ”We will find out where they take her.”

”You are being transferred too.”

”Yes.”

”They may separate us.”

”They probably will.”

”You sound calm about that.”

Professor Halden adjusted his glasses. Across the laboratory, government technicians had begun working on the equipment inside the testing room. ”I am not calm. I simply have several things to be angry about at the same time.”

Marek understood.

Two technicians entered the testing room. One opened the rear panel of the diagnostic toilet while the other checked the serial plate. ”Meridian.”

The second technician turned. ”Confirmed?”

”The serial authenticated.”

Professor Halden immediately approached them. ”What does that mean?”

Neither technician answered. One removed a small module from behind the panel and sealed it inside a container.

Professor Halden turned to the Libra security officer. ”You are confiscating equipment from a project nobody will explain. You have classifications for abilities nobody should understand yet, and you are sending injured people to facilities that were prepared before this happened.”

The officer remained silent.

”You understand why that looks suspicious?”

”Yes.”

Professor Halden stopped. The answer seemed to surprise him more than another refusal would have.

The officer said as he lowered his voice. ”You think we were told everything?”

Professor Halden waited.

The man checked the other security personnel before continuing. ”We received the instructions several hours ago.”

Marek turned to him. ”Before midnight?”

”Yes.”

Professor Halden’s expression hardened. ”What instructions?”

”Enough to stop the worst accidents.”

”From whom?”

The officer hesitated.

His communication device activated before he answered. ”Six-A, complete processing. Unregistered transfers leave in four minutes.”

The officer pressed the receiver. ”Understood.”

Professor Halden remained in front of him. ”Who gave you the instructions?”

The officer was quiet for several seconds. The technicians continued removing components from the testing room behind him.

Finally, he answered, ”A doctor.”

”What doctor? Who?”

Another pause.

”Dr. Elias Mercer.”

Marek did not recognize the name. Professor Halden’s expression told him he did not either.

That was fine.

A few minutes ago, they had only known that somebody had prepared for the Awakening. Now, they had the name of someone who had given instructions before midnight.

Dr. Elias Mercer.