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Chapter 3

What would life be like without a Lifebook? I find myself obsessed with this even more so than finding the first Lifebook. I yearn for that freedom, but it is impossible. No avatar has survived a broken Lifebond.

Sanya fell through the air in the rain, cool droplets pelting her skin and pummeling her thin shirt. For a single breath that lasted an eternity, she saw the lights of the city spiraling around her like a great whirlpool. She could pick out individual lights shimmering in a sea of colors that ate up the night sky. Then her stomach flipped over as gravity sucked her down. She screamed; she couldn't help it. The speed and wind and color of the fall squeezed the sound out of her.

The roof of the skybridge flew up at her far, and she barely got her feet under her before she hit the reinforced glass. Her knees absorbed most of the impact, but the curved roof was smooth and wet. Her right foot slipped, wrenching her ankle and throwing her towards the side of the bridge. The length of her body hit the glass with a painful crack. Her hands scrabbled for purchase, but there was nothing to hold on to. Her legs dipped into open air, then her hips, then her stomach. As her chest slipped over the edge, she swung the lower half of her body towards the bridge. Her hands slipped off the roof, and she watched as the lights of the walkway flashed past her eyes. Then her hands slapped against the railing, fingers closing around metal bars. Her weight caught, pulling against the muscles of her hands, but she held on.

Before her hands could get tired, she pulled herself up high enough to brace her feet along the edge. She closed her eyes and sucked in lungfuls of cool, moist air. Her body trembled, muscles screaming in pain, but she had to keep moving. She opened her eyes and glanced down the walkway of the skybridge. It was empty. She scanned the protective bars of the open air railing; they were too close together to fit through and rose nearly to the glass roof. She took another look at the gap near the roof. It was not large, but it was that or climb along the outside and hope a nearby window was open. She shimmied up the railing and grabbed the top bar. A minute later, she had squeezed through the gap and slipped down to the inner walkway.

The moment her feet touched the floor, pain shot up her leg and sent her stumbling. She let out a hiss and clutched at the railing for balance. After a few breaths, she pushed away from the bars and limped toward the second hospital skyrise. A set of glass doors at the end of the bridge slid open as she approached, wrapping her in warm air. She slipped inside and peered into the hallway. Like the bridge, it was empty, but a soft blue 'Mag Lift' sign shimmered near the nurses' station. Sanya checked the other direction again, swallowed, then crept out toward the lift.

Her bare feet padded on the tile floor, and she glanced over her shoulder every few seconds. As she neared the lift, she spotted a door to her right. It was a staff supply closet, and someone had left it cracked open. With another glance behind her, she opened the door just enough to slip inside. She shut the door and turned on the light. There were clean scrubs, gloves, trays, syringes, and other supplies for the nurses. Sanya hurried over to the scrubs and found a set about her size. She changed, throwing her wet clothes in a nearby bin. There was some binding gauze on a shelf, which she grabbed and wrapped around her ankle. The tight wrap eased the pain, though she was still walking with a limp. A pair of thin slippers were all the footwear in the room, but she put them on.

She scanned the supplies one last time. A lone med kit lay on a shelf nearby, so she stuffed it into her pocket. It would look suspicious to carry much else, but she didn't turn to leave. The lift was only a few steps down the hall, but the security pad would block her use, and she didn't have time to take the stairs. What then?

The nurse's desk popped back into her mind. She could work with that. She snatched blankets and bandages from the shelves until her arms were full. The stack almost toppled as she shifted it to open the door, but she set it right at the last second.