Burning Rose (A Cinder Fall Story)

Chapter 9

I walked out into the cold night. It was snowing lightly and I watched as the ice flakes floated around in the air. I kept my head down while making my way to the facility, in case anyone recognized me.

Just as I was about to head towards the front doors, I heard someone call for me.

"Cinder, if you could, please follow me through this side entrance."

I looked over to my right and saw Watts waiting near the side door of the building. I walked over to him and asked, "Why are we going through this way?"

"It's a quicker way to my office. And I need to do some finishing touches before we can begin your surgery. And I'll need to examine your wounds as well. Now, would you please follow me?"

I followed Watts through the metal door and down the corridor where other doctors and nurses were rushing about.

"You know," I said, walking side by side with Watts, "I didn't expect to see you again after the fight with Salem."

Watts chuckled a little. "I know you have some mild amnesia. But But you do remember that I'm a doctor don't you? After that annoying Branwen twin tried to murder me, I managed to patch myself up quickly. But then that blast of light happened. And I was in Atlas."

I nodded. "That's right. I was the one who found you there. I hear the general isn't very well liked. At least by Roman."

Watts scoffed. "Gods, don't even get me started. He's been weary of me since I've been here. Even after all I've been doing to help him, as well as this kingdom..."

I stayed silent as we continued to walk to Watts's office. Watts closed the door and locked it behind us before heading to his office chair and sitting down.

"There. That should give us some more privacy," he said. "I'll need to have a look at your injuries, Cinder."

I walked up closer and started to removed my bandages. My skin was covered in scratches and scrapes. But other than that, it didn't seem too serious.

I saw Watts bring out something that resembled a scroll. He turned it on and I heard a low hum from it.

"What is that?" I asked him.

"It's a type of medical scanner," he said. "Luckily for you, your injuries don't seem serious. And you don't have much head trauma. So I think you'll be alright for surgery. I'll also be using state of the art Atlesian technology to also heal your wounds with your own aura. With all this being said, are you ready to begin the operation?"

I nodded. "Yes."

Watts smiled and replied, "Excellent. Let's head to the operation room, shall we?"

Watts grabbed some tools, a syringe, and a few mechanical parts and unlocked the door.

"After you," he told me.

I walked back out into the hallway. There were so many of them that the entire place seems like a maze.

"So... where do we go?" I asked.

"Just right this way," Watts said, walking towards the right.

I followed him quickly and we were soon met with a white door with a fingerprint lock. Watts placed his thumb onto it and it clicked open almost instantly.

We both walked into a bright white room. Complete with an operating table, medical equipment like a heart monitor and IV drips. But the thing that caught my attention the most was the huge pod standing in the corner of the room.

"Is this room used a lot? It looks brand new," I said, still looking around.

Watts nodded. "When I started working here, the general was kind enough to let me have my own operation room. Mainly used to operate on cybernetics. Which still isn't really well known to the population yet, so we need to keep this between us."