CHAPTER THREE
1075 Words
The sun rose up early. Sky opened one of his eyes and a ray of sunlight blinded his sight. As he tried tossing, a notification entered.
|[Hospital Bills: Your balance of $97,000 is due.]
He sighed and sat up. He had actually forgotten to pay it off. As he cleared his vision with his hands, he looked around and smiled. It had actually not been a dream; he was really living in a penthouse.
He had recalled packing his little luggage to his newly bought house last night just to make sure he was not dreaming and now it was clear he wasn't.
After some time spent sitting and thinking, he decided to pay a visit to his sister in the hospital. He arrived at the hospital a few minutes later dressed as normally as possible. He had planned not to raise the eyebrows of many, yet.
The hospital was a modern, sleek structure with people rushing in and out. He entered and took a look around. People with white lab coats rushing through the corridor. Patients at the waiting area.
Before he could take another step, a wave of antiseptic hit his nostrils. He covered it quickly and rushed to Talia's ward.
Talia was asleep on the bed, wires connected to her chest and a machine beeping beside her. Sky let out a breath when he heard the sound of her breath, which was the only thing keeping him sane.
He sat beside her, holding her hand with one and caressing her head with the other. “Hey kiddo,” he whispered softly.
But there was no response.
He rose from his seat and bent over her, adjusting the blanket around her chest. As he was about to sit back down, the door opened.
Sky glanced out of the corner of his eye, his heart racing. Were they here for him?
Suddenly, his gaze was drawn to a familiar pair of black shoes, and he heaved a sigh of relief.
“How is she?” Sky asked as he stood up.
The man let out a smile. It was James, his sister's doctor and friend who had always proved to be helpful at times of difficulty.
“Hey Sky,” James said as they shook hands, “Talia is doing very well.”
Sky took a glance at Talia and nodded, “Glad to hear that.”
As James walked towards the little girl, he turned back to Sky and smiled, “I’m glad you're here Sky; I heard some governmental stuff crashed last night. Some people bomb this place and steal something of value to the government.”
Upon hearing that, Sky scratched his head, “Yeah, I h-heard that too. But I'm fine, at least.”
“Oh, that is wonderful, man. Last night must have been a great day for you, right?” the doctor asked.
Sky raised a brow, “Why do you say that?”
“You have paid up your sister's bills, so I am guessing you succeeded in getting lots of delivery gigs.” the man paused then raised his hand to his chin, “but come to think of it, even the delivery job wouldn't let you earn as high as that. Did you get another job?”
Sky sighed, “It is a long story, man.”
James shot him a weird look, then leaned in, “Anyways, there is money out there,” he said and Sky averted his gaze to the doctor, “the government has promised to award $100,000 dollars to whoever finds the culprit behind a stolen biotech component. And right now, the entire city is under lockdown.”
Sky's blood ran cold. What they were actually looking for was hidden in him.
James suddenly nudges him. “So you're in? I can tell you are already thinking about it, and I know how much you need this money for–” he gestured to Talia, “–her.”
Sky sighed once again.
He knew James' pressurizing character and was thinking of what to say. He can not let his friend know what was going on with him.
“Guess what again?” James spoke as he moved closer to Sky.
“What?”
James leaned in again. “Whoever got that stuff is already dead meat,” he added. “That stuff? Black Operations. The most recent invention. Some claim that it interacts with you and even alters your brain.”
Sky let out a nervous laugh.
“No way, that's insane.”
James shrugged. “Everything is insane.”
Instantly, there was a pause, and each person appeared to be lost in thought for a brief moment before Sky glanced at James.
James also averted his gaze back to his friend, waiting for the words to come out of his mouth.
“Can you help me take care of Talia?” Sky blurted out. “I will be gone for some days and I need to make sure she is in safe hands,” he informed James.
James gave him a strange look for a moment before asking, “Where are you going? Traveling? Or is it another job?”
Sky was quiet for a few seconds. Since he was aware that his life was in jeopardy, he was unable to tell anyone where he was at the moment, not even his friend, until he was certain that everything would be alright.
“It hasn't been confirmed, but for the meantime, I need you to help me keep her safe.”
James lets out a light laugh.
“You talk like someone is going to barge in here and take your sister away.”
On hearing this, Sky shot him a look. The latter immediately raised his hands in surrender.
“Fine, fine, don't worry about her. She is definitely in good hands.” he told him.
“Thanks, buddy.” Sky said and turned to leave.
“Do you ever get that feeling that something is inside you? Like controlling and watching you?” James asked before he could take another step.
Sky froze for a second. His heart skipped a beat. Then he sensed the voice in his head stirring once more, but nothing came out of it.
James giggled.
“Get some rest.” Then he walked past him and tapped his back gently, “you sure look like you have seen a ghost.”
- Writer
