The Eradication Construct

Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"Wake up." An older – looking woman stood over me, shaking me by my shoulders. I slowly open my eyes to the bright lights of an examination room. I panic, unsure of where I am. The metal slab I sit on is cold and hard and the lights that dangled over my head emitted an unsettling buzzing noise. The room was uncomfortably cool and it didn't help that I was in a hospital gown. The woman standing over me is modestly figured and dressed in white. Her pale skin and pinned up bleach blonde hair match perfectly with the rest of her outfit.

"How are we feeling today?" The woman spoke with an inviting smile, made with her pale pink lips. She has a frightening yet enticing persona that I am unsure whether to trust or not.

"Fine –"I say. I don't remember much from the night before, just the short conversation I had with my mother before we were injected.

"So what brings you here to Vanis, Miss Chaplain?"

"President Krimmley assigned us to live here."

"Well lucky you, Vanis is a wonderful place." She explains. She puts gloves on her hands as she talks to me through a facial mask.

"Why am I in a hospital, am I sick?"

"No, Miss Chaplain, you just have to be completely vaccinated and cleaned before you can enter into Vanis, silly. We wouldn't want to bring anything in that we can't take out, now would we?" The woman in white answers me, giggling.

"Just close your eyes and you won't feel a thing." The woman in white explains. She had a small needle, held steady in her hand, motioning to place it in my arm. The needle dripped a clear fluid.

"What is this?" I watch the needle seep slowly into my vein.

"Dissaline fluid." She answers. "I have to test your tolerance of it - if you have any at all. You should feel a slight pressure shoot up your arm; that's the dissaline getting injected into your veins" She explains.

" With the proper amount, it can save your life. If you're anything like your mother you wouldn't have a tolerance for it at all. God her reaction was horrible - all reactions normally are."

"What was her reaction?" I ask.

The woman in white giggles again as she takes the needle out and sets it on a nearby metal tray." Oh nothing to think twice about."

"Well what would some reactions be?"

"Oh, the normal: vomiting, excessive bleeding, sometimes even death. There are all kinds of reactions, let's just hope you don't have any."

I swallow, nervously.

"It will take a few minutes for the Dissaline to set, so you must not move, alright darling. When the Dissaline sets you will feel slight pressure, but it's nothing to worry about."

I nod.

Nurse Jennings to room 180. Nurse Jennings to room 180, please. The Intercom spoke loud with an agitating screech.

"Well that's me, isn't it now. I will be back in a minutes to finish your tests. Remember to keep your arm as stiff as possible." Nurse Jennings left the room leaving ample opportunity for me to find my mother. I walk out of the room after I feel that Nurse Jennings is a safe distance away from the room. The hallway is empty – I would think that it would be crowded, most hospitals in the Americas are; I remember from the time I broke my arm, trying to climb a tree during my harvest. I walk past rooms, looking into their windows to see people laying on beds. I haven't found my mother yet, but in a labyrinth like this, I don't know if I will.