Author’s Note: So I have decided that this story is this year’s Nano. I’m only counting what I’m writing in November, of course, but this will be Nano, so I will be posting a part of it each day as I have in the past.
She blinked, confused. What the hell had she just seen? That light? Was that his Talent? But a light… that wasn’t much of anything, so why the kill switch in his neck? Had she completely misunderstood him and he tried to escape so much he got that kill switch? Was that it?
More importantly, was he dead?
“Vershon?”
She moved toward him, kneeling next to him. She checked his pulse, not sure why she was relieved when she felt his heart beating. She watched his chest rise and fall a few times before she continued her examination.
She sat back on her heels. He was… asleep? That was what it looked like now, but who the hell fell asleep like that? It wasn’t natural.
“Vershon? Come on, wake up now. This isn’t—fine, I admit I’m glad you’re not dead, but you need to get up now.”
She shook him, but he didn’t stir. She checked his eyes, and he was definitely under. Damn it. She didn’t seem to be able to wake him with any amount of shaking or even shouting in his ear. She gave up and went to the window, looking down. Wait. Where the hell was the crowd? She didn’t remember seeing them leave.
She looked at Vershon and frowned. Did she really want to stay here until he woke back up?
No. This kind of sleep wasn’t natural, and she’d prefer to have a chance to examine him in a proper infirmary.
She grimaced and forced herself under him, lifting him up on her shoulder. He was not light, not that she expected him to be. With his height, she knew she’d be dealing with plenty of that, even if he was skinny—he was strong enough to where he must be all muscle, and so she wasn’t surprised that he was heavy.
Still, she dragged him down the stairs and out to the car, using his hand to open the biometric locks and get him inside. Dumping him on the passenger seat was a relief, and she got in on the driver’s side, almost too worn out to drive anywhere. She used to enjoy this sort of thing, but that was back before her Talent showed itself and derailed her life’s plans. Underground doctors didn’t really have the luxury of driving off wherever they wanted, and while it seemed like a career that could have meant a lot of money, most of hers went to keeping the government from knowing of her existence.
Not that it helped.
She’d still taken a bullet and ended up arrested for her trouble. She didn’t even know if it had been her patient they wanted or if they were trying to kill her. Would Vershon know? Or maybe their supervisor?
She supposed she could always ask. She also didn’t know what else she was going to do with Vershon right now. She pushed his hand on the ignition and got the car started, backing away from the building and heading back to the SILT compound.