Unplugged: The Beautiful World (#3, Unplugged Trilogy)

Chapter Twenty Two

Matthew

Danny leads Enna away from me, and I watch her as long as she's in sight. What on Earth is happening to her? I can sense now more than ever the uncertainty with which she moves and speaks. Why does she so hesitantly look me in the eyes, or push away from my embraces? I can't imagine the reason, can't imagine why there's such turmoil beneath her skin. I sigh just before remembering that it hurts to do practically anything now, so it quickly turns into a groan. What's up with this trend of me getting beat up? I lie my head back on my pillow and try to count the amount of helicopters overhead without looking, hoping that the mindless repetition will lull me to sleep. One.
    I'm tired of being treated like a celebrity, like anything but a normal person. Two.
    I want to get out of this hideout and finish this once and for all... Three. Four, five.
    My father plummets down an elevator shaft, small glass particles raining down around him like snow. Six, seven, eight, nine-- And then everything stops. The sounds of distant explosions and spinning rotors ends as abruptly as if someone had muted the skies.
    "Target One is obliterated. There are no survivors. Pack up and move on." A booming voice echoes inside the building that surrounds me, and I can hear people waking up all around the warehouse. Waves of pain travel through my mending ribs, especially pronounced now. Where is Enna? It's my first thought. I start to stand, but then the pain becomes much too unbearable. I punch the mattress and curse.
Overhead, the announcement is repeated. I can see the helicopters start to gather in a large, metallic clump.
    "Matthew!" A voice pierces my panic and I squint my eyes, trying to see through the dark. My mother enters the Medical Quadrant and spins around frantically. "Matt?"
    "I'm over here." My voice isn't strong enough to yell, so I settle for a quiet declaration. Victoria's face flushes and she sprints over towards me as soon as her gaze settles on mine.
    "You're not supposed to be here," I say weakly, without any resolve.
    "And we're not supposed to be getting bombed. To hell with the rules." My mother looks me over and starts to unravel my bandages.
    "Mom... Geez, what are you doing?"
    "Just hold on." She bites her lip on instinct after seeing how bruised I am, then she promptly pulls herself together and starts to wrap new bandages around my torso. "Where's Enna? I thought she might be with you."
    "She was." There's a tenseness behind my words as I try to keep the pain at bay. "Then Danny kicked her out of here."
    "What do you think's happening? Is the city really destroyed completely?"
    "Well, there's no way I'm finding out any time soon," I sigh. Victoria's lip twitches slightly, just enough that I can tell she's either about to laugh or cry. I furrow my brow. "What?"
    She doesn't reply until my new bandages are tightly wrapped. I don't bother to ask how she's qualified to medically take care of me in the first place. "I found something when we were unpacking the supply crates." I stare at her blankly.
    "Mom..?" She lowers her voice and leans in towards me. Her thick, dark hair brushes over my collarbone and I shiver, suddenly tense.
    "Don't tell anyone, but I... took some medicine that came from the Depot. It heals serious injuries in just minutes." Before I can respond or even form a response, she removes a light blue bottle from her jacket. "I want you to take some. I'm sure they were just saving it for someone really important, keeping it guarded from general knowledge, but I'd argue that you're pretty important here. I was going to ask Enna to smuggle some in to you..."
    "Victoria..!" I splutter. "What... What are you thinking..!"
    "Shh!" She leans even closer to me, and I look into her insistent hazel eyes, just like mine. "Do you want to be useful or not?" For a moment two opposing thoughts battle each other in my head, then I decide not to think, too desperate to be up and around. I tilt my head back and take a measured sip of the dark blue liquid inside. My face twists involuntarily upon tasting it. It reminds me of chlorine and metal: basically, over-exaggerated tap water. The medicine settles in my stomach and I grimace.
    "I hope I don't regret this."