AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Would you behave?” she scolded. “We do not have time to dillydally.” Exasperated, she shoved the empty packet into the briefcase and pointed to the next cot.
How the hell was she able to make me feel like a third grader who’d been caught eating paste? And why was she being so protective of the empty packets?
Kyle continued to shadow me from a distance as I fed the next two patients ordinary protein gel. At patient twelve, I ripped open the packet. Peaches. Vanilla. Brains. And a sharp, chemical scent that reminded me of acetone and burnt sugar. I turned to Kristi. “What the hell is this?”
She consulted her tablet. “Brains and gel.”
“You do remember I have a much better sense of smell than you, right?” I kept my tone low and even. “Tell me what the fuck this is. There’s something in here besides brains and ProSwoleGel. It’s definitely not the same as the blend I gave to patient nine. That one had a different smell.”
“Angel, you’re overreacting,” she said, jaw tense. “Can we please get back to feeding the patients?”
“I thought we were over the lie-to-Angel bullshit.” I narrowed my eyes. She wanted me to shut up and not ask about the ingredients. “I’m feeling a might bit peckish. Maybe I should go ahead and down this packet of brains an
d protein.” I lifted the packet to my lips.
“Stop,” she hissed. “Don’t eat that. I’m testing two possible cures! Use your head and imagine what that might do to your recently recovered parasite.”
My little bluff had worked, and now I knew what she was really doing here. I lowered the packet. “Does Dr. Nikas know you’re testing cures now?”
She hesitated for only an instant, but it was long enough to tell me he didn’t. “Angel, we can discuss this later. Right now, we have work to do.”
There was no way Dr. Nikas would approve tests on live patients sight unseen. I could always refuse to feed any more patients, but that wouldn’t stop her enlisting the help of Dr. Bauer or even Fritz.
In a zombie-speed move, I snatched the briefcase from Fritz and slung the strap over my shoulder. “I’ll meet you at the limo.”
Kristi grabbed my wrist. I stopped, looked down at her hand then up at her face. “You don’t really want me to make a scene, do you?” I said, low and silky. “I’m really good at making scenes, and I have nothing to lose. Wanna try me?”
She released me and muttered to Fritz to stand down. I turned away and strode down the row toward the entrance. I still had the full-yet-open packet in my hand, and since I was tired of holding it, and feeling more than a little ornery, I shoved it into the briefcase and gave it a good squeeze.
Clickety-clickety-click. Her heels behind me. “Angel?” she said sweetly, for everyone else’s benefit. “We need to discuss that procedure a teensy bit more.”
I kept walking. “We can do it on the way back to NuQuesCor.”
Behind me, a mighty voice roared, “BRAAAAAAAAAINS!”
I spun to see Armell Rucker bucking so hard his cot was inching along the gym floor.
“BRAAAAAAAAAINS!” he bellowed, triggering moans and howls and hisses of braaaaaains and hunnnnnngry from what seemed to be every patient in the place.
Kyle angled toward me, and I shoved the briefcase into his hands. “Keep that safe and call Dr. Nikas.”
With smooth efficiency, he grasped the handle and pulled out his phone. “On it.”
Leaving that concern behind, I rushed to the swarm of nurses, doctors, assistants trying to hold Armell and cot in place. Kristi watched from a few yards away, expression a combination of curiosity and shock.
“BRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAINS!”
He fought the restraints, warping the cot frame with every fierce yank. Heart thudding, I shouldered in next to Dr. Bauer, grabbed Armell’s head, and hung on for dear life as he thrashed. I tried talking to him to maybe soothe and calm, but my voice was lost in the racket of the other patients.
The cot frame gave way with a groan of metal and tipped to the side. One arm restraint came loose, and Armell swung the liberated limb, clocking a worker in the side of the head. It would only be a matter of seconds before he ripped completely free of the twisted frame. If that happened, a bullet to the head would be damn near the only way to stop him from hurting others.
No way was I going to let that happen. There had to be a way to calm him without anyone having to die. I scrambled back and looked around in a desperate search for a miracle.
My gaze stopped on patient four. That was it. I tore the face shield from her and hollered, “Status epilepticus!” like it was a magic spell.
Dr. Bauer looked at me as if I was crazy, then her eyes lit up in understanding. “Everyone! On the count of three, grab him and hold tight!”
On three, I dove into the fray. They wouldn’t be able to hold Armell for more than a few seconds, but that was all I needed. With zombie speed, I fixed the shield over his mouth and tightened the strap. He clacked his teeth together hard then let out a bellow worthy of a bull elephant with a rosebush up his ass. A violent twisting move sent three people crashing back on their asses, but before I could rip the shield off as a bad idea, he went limp. A second later his fingers started twitching as his unrestrained forearm moved in a lazy arc.
