War for Freedom

(Chapter 4)/A Truth Revealed

Chloe's POV:
March 6th, 2093, 05:55:
Reacher's Alliance facility, located in Salem, Oregon:

*Beep-Beep-Beep*

Ow, what happened, where am I? I was laying on a bed of some kind, and still armored, so I wasn't back at homebase. Wait, I remember, that cyber she-wolf, he powers, the mechanical behemoth, Zero!

I then start getting up, slowly opening my eyes, seeing myself in a medical facility of some kind. Looking around, I was in a small corner, surrounded by medical sheets. My weapons were nowhere in sight, making me wonder where they were. Without calling or waiting for anyone, I swung off the bed, slowly standing up as feeling came back to me.

After I stood still, I start pushing the sheets away, my eyes going in shock as I realized what kind of place we were in. In front of me was Zero, laying on a bed connected to a large machine, multiple lines of IV tube's going through a lot of his body. The machine even had a cover around his neck, the hum of electricity going through it. Walking over to him, I maintain a safe distance to not disrupt the equipment.

We were in a Class 4 medical facility, meaning that Zero was suffering from something that would've led to his death otherwise. Thinking back, just as both of our beams combined and struck the she-wolf, his body released a surge of lightning within himself before he fell, and without him, my body soon experienced exhaustion without a secondary holding that attack. Looking at the monitor, his heart rate was dangerously low, barely above 20 bpm.

Looking around the room, it was pretty empty beside my side of it. The door was just a few feet to the left, making me wonder if I should leave Zero. Before I could make a decision, the door opened, revealing multiple human doctors and Ruby, who was helmetless. As soon as she laid her eyes on me, she immediately ran over before asking,

Ruby: "Your awake, how are you feeling?"

Chloe (looks back at Zero): "What happened to him?"

Ruby (sighs): "He suffered serious CNS failure from whatever happened in the crater, it's a miracle he hasn't died with the severity."

Chloe: "Where are we and how long have we been here?"

Ruby: "Reacher's military hospital, we've arrived over eleven hours ago."

So, I was out for that long, and Zero...what exactly is happening within you? Taking a deep breath, I asked,

Chloe: "Am I right to assume the Colonel knows?"

Ruby (nods): "We informed her the second we were back in the States, she should be arriving any minute now."

Alright, that's reassuring, despite the condition Zero is suffering. The human doctors that were with Ruby when they entered started surrounding the table, working with each of the machines connected with Zero. One of the doctors gave Ruby a look and motioned her head at me, telling her something without words. Ruby, soon afterwards, placed her right hand on my left shoulder before saying,

Ruby: "It's best if we leave them to work, he's in good hands."

Taking one last look at Zero, I turned and followed Ruby out of the door, closing it behind me. Afterwards, as I followed Ruby down the hallways of this unfamiliar face, I looked at my hand, thinking about that moment. Zero had been facing that she-wolf for over five minutes before I arrived, but I could tell how tired he was from the overuse of his powers. That last attack must've been the last stretch, his body not being able to handle that long of that use of powers.

If only I arrived sooner, than perhaps I could've saved him more energy so he could have needed to push himself that much. If only I've entrusted my team to be alone with Via, I could've helped him a lot sooner. Clenching my fist, I cursed myself for allowing this to happen to one of my own teammates. I wasn't paying attention to my surroundings before I bumped into Ruby, as she stopped suddenly.