Broken Pixels (Broken Realms, #4)

CHAPTER 22-1

CHAPTER 22Thanks to Cam signaling ahead, two attendants met them when the railcar arrived at the repository. They loaded Mara’s counterpart onto a stretcher and rolled her from the platform, through the tunnel and to the repository’s diagnostics lab. As one of them paused to open the doors leading inside, he glanced at the patient on the stretcher and happened to look up at Mara. His eyes bugged out, and his mouth dropped open. He stood frozen in shock long enough for someone to push out the doors from the other side, striking the lead end of the stretcher and causing the attendant to jump.

Dr. Canfield walked through the entryway and glanced at the patient. Her gaze shifted to Mara, and she said, “I take it you’ve had an interesting evening.” She held a stubby cylinder over Mara’s counterpart’s body, emitting a blue light that swept over her body. Lifting a pad in her other hand, she glanced at it and said, “Mara Lantern, Repository 97045. Why did you bring her here?”

“We found her like this in an alley nearby and didn’t want to leave her on the street,” Mara said. “We brought her here because we were on our way to give you this.” She held out Cam’s head.

“Hello, Dr. Canfield,” he said.

The doctor smiled and took the head. “Nice to see you, the rest of you, Cameron.” Turning to Mara, she said, “Given the circumstances downtown, I’m surprised the three of you got back here safely, much less being able to locate Cam’s head and return it to us.”

She handed the head to the startled attendant and said, “Take this to the diagnostics laboratory and tell them to repair that burned dermis. Give it a full checkup before reattaching it to his body.” Pointing to the gurney, she said, “Place her in holding until we can arrange transport to her repository in Oregon City.”

“Your repository numbers are zip codes,” Mara said absently.

The attendants rolled through the doors with the gurney and the head. The doctor did not follow and said, “I beg your pardon?”

“Nothing. Just something I noticed,” Mara said. Pointing to the doors swinging closed, she asked, “Is there anything you can do for her?”

Looking at her pad again, Dr. Canfield said, “It appears the engrams were removed from her cranium, and her core—in her chest—has been completely depolarized. This facility has everything to make repairs except the engrams, which will be harvested from her biological brain. The most efficient thing to do is simply transport her to the appropriate repository and let them complete all the repairs there.”

“So you’ll just stick her in a closet somewhere?” Sam asked.

“I assure you that she is in no pain whatsoever, and we will treat her with the utmost respect. Helping traumatized people is what we do here. She’ll get the care she needs.” Waving a hand forward, Dr. Canfield said, “Why don’t you wait for me in the conference room while I attend to some pressing matters. I need to check on Cameron and a few other patients. With all the trouble outside, we’re a little backed up at the moment. The authorities can’t ascertain the cause of this so-called disease influencing everyone to run amok. The casualties are piling up faster than we can address them.”

“We might be able to help you identify the cause of the affliction,” Ping said.

Dr. Canfield gave him a doubtful look, and eyed Mara and Sam suspiciously. Mara was about to explain when the doctor held up a hand. “I really must get to the lab. Wait for me in the conference room, and I’ll be with you as soon as possible.” She pushed through the doors with her backside and disappeared.

To Ping, Mara said, “She still thinks we’re off our rockers. Maybe it wasn’t such a good idea to get into the whole ‘we’re from another realm’ thing. Now we don’t have any credibility at all.”

She stepped ahead, pushed open the door, and waved for Ping and Sam to enter.

Passing through the door frame, Ping gave her an encouraging pat on the shoulder and said, “She’s a scientist. If we appeal to her with logic and reason, she’ll come around eventually—assuming she has the time and patience to listen.” Shifting his gaze from Mara to the direction in which he walked, he felt the hallway spin. He reached out to steady himself against the wall, lost his balance and staggered forward, crumpling to one knee, where he suddenly found his equilibrium again.

Sam had been directly behind him and reached out. “Are you all right? What happened?”

Ping took Sam’s hand and stood up. “I’m not sure. I got a little disoriented for a moment, but it appears to have passed. Probably just tired from all the excitement and running around.”

Mara gave him a concerned look, but he proceeded down the hall. Pulling her phone from her pocket and scanning the screen, she said, “It’s almost midnight, assuming the time on this thing is correct.”

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