Missing Streams

Short-term Recovery - 23

"Scarlet?" I muttered under my breath, stepping into her room. I seemed to visit her in the hospital a lot.

Hidden away in a corner of the third floor, Scarlet was resting in an old cot with an IV shoved into her arm to keep her alive. It was surprising they were still trying to keep her alive, honestly. After her insane escape attempt last night, I would expect them to let her rot away in the hospital.

Scarlet seemed to be in a coma if you didn't look closely, but I could tell she was conscious. At least somewhat. Her eyes hung half open, and she actually looked at me when I walked into the room. It wasn't much though, considering her eyes didn't actually look like she was awake. It was disturbing, to be frank.

But as for everything else, she just sat still. She didn't do anything when I touched her or spoke to her. Scar would just track me with dead eyes whenever I moved.

"I'm glad you're okay." I said as I stroked what little hair she actually had. I was waiting for Simon to show up, since he was busy trying to find out what had happened to Scar. Sometimes he could snag copies of patients' reports, and that's what we were hoping on.

We knew that Scarlet had tried to escape, and was now in the hospital, but that was all we knew. I was really glad, for once, that Simon was a nurse. It allowed him to visit Scar even while he was on shift at times like this, and it made it easier for him to eavesdrop.

Wexler was really lax with our classes, randomly cancelling class or giving us a three hour lunch. We weren't about to complain, but it certainly seemed like he was going against the rules. Nonetheless, I enjoyed the time to visit Scarlet. That was actually one trend he had going on; Wexler would cancel class much more often if there was anyone who couldn't attend. Usually Scar.

But until Simon showed up, all I could do was sit next to this mute version of Scarlet. I didn't even bother speaking to her that much, because I couldn't think of anything to say. I just held her bandaged hand instead.

***

"Attempted to escape the compound." Simon read from the report he had gotten his hands on, "6-6 made it past the fence without major damage from the barbed wire. This has happened before, so this is of no concern. We deployed all-terrain vehicles to follow 6-6 instead of by foot, which proved to be effective. Tranquilizers were deemed the best attempt to subdue 6-6 and I personally gave them permission. The first dart was that of a lower caliber, suited for wolves. It didn't seem to have any effect, as 6-6 continued running after slowing for a moment. The next dart was a higher caliber, typically used for large cats. It proved effective, as 6-6 dropped to the ground almost immediately. 6-6 was brought back to the building and immediately deposited in the medical wing."

"Oh my god." I blinked stupidly at Scar, wishing she could give me more information. But she couldn't.

"This is the next report, from hospital staff." Simon turned to look at a different paper, "Various tests have been conducted, and have produced decent information. While the tranquilizer did not kill 6-6, our readings show that it has the potential to kill depending on various factors, notably body weight and metabolism. This caliber of tranquilizer is being reserved as a last resort considering we cannot determine what effects it will have on each person. I have documented all the tests in the interest of properly developing a tranquilizer for our guns."

"Where the fuck did you find that?" I asked, the weight of the situation starting to weigh down my shoulders.

"In someone's office. Not too high up, probably the one who did the tests. I made a copy as fast as I could then I got out of there. I need to play nice for the rest of the week so nobody gets suspicious." Simon put the papers on the bed as he closed his eyes, "Christ, what the fuck is going on here?"