The Rebel (#Wattys2016)

43. Anonymous Messages

That night Adeen cried herself to sleep. She sobbed into the pillow, and if anybody heard her, they must have attributed it to the pain she felt. Partly, they were right, but no amount of painkiller would take the agony away. The next morning she sat up, stumbled to the small mirror in her infirmary room and stared at her reflection. She would need to put up her best act yet, the act of a happy girl. It would almost be impossible.

She started by taking a shower, or at least try to do so. But the moment the electric cables separated from her skin, the machines around her emitted a monotonous beep, which was interrupted a second later by the sound of at least a dozen nurses rushing into her room. For a silent moment, they surveyed each other. Adeen stared at their white clothes, at their neatly cropped hair. The only proof they were part of the resistance was a red bandage curled around their upper arms. The nurses stared at Adeen's red eyes and then at the machines, still emitting the mechanical beep.

"You need to get back to bed, Ms. Orson." A red haired nurse said. She must have been in her early thirties, and took a step forward to force Adeen to lie back down.

"Stop." Adeen said, raising her hand. The nurse stopped, she must have known what Adeen was capable of. "Is my shoulder okay?"

The nurse frowned, taken by surprise by the question. After a moment's hesitation, she took another step forward, deciding Adeen was more confused than rebellious. Adeen took a step back, her thighs colliding to one of the only tables in the white hospital room.

"You were shot, Ms. Orson." The nurse spoke calmly and slowly, the way Adeen spoke to Liz when she was being silly. Liz. Was she okay? Did she like her new home? Adeen shook the thoughts away and gritted her teeth. "Your shoulder is badly hurt."

"What did you do?" Adeen closed her eyes and pushed away the fogginess that was overcoming her. "What's wrong with it?"

"You dislocated it, and the head of your humerus broke from the main bone. We had to set two nails into it that we'll remove surgically in a few months, but otherwise your shoulder is as good as it can be after a gunshot."

Adeen nodded.

"Then I will take a shower."

She turned around to a white oak door to her left and walked to it.

"Ms. Orson." The same nurse spoke again, and Adeen looked back.

"I do not care if you see me naked." Adeen was surprised she could tell such a monumental lie so easily, but she kept going. "I will take a shower and I will return to my normal daily activities, and I will not take no for an answer."

"First time since the Selection that you sound like yourself." A boy said from behind the crowd of nurses.

The nurses parted in the middle, allowing Adeen to see the boy. She recognized Zed by his voice, though, and was rolling her eyes by the time he was finally in her line of sight. He was wearing the standard Freedom Fighter's uniform, black pants and shirt and plastic boots that wanted to pass for leather ones. His hair was neatly combed back, and she thought for a moment he was more handsome since the last time she'd seen him. The food must have helped him.

"Nurses, I think it's okay if you leave her to me." The ginger nurse opened her mouth to complain but he shot her a heart-warming smile. "Trust me, I'm doing you a favor. Now, leave."

The nurses all looked at the ginger, who was flushed, as if they were waiting for her confirmation. Finally she nodded and the nurses left. Before she left, though, she stopped in front of Zed.

"There's a red button in the table besides her bed. Press it if something goes wrong. And if she does take the shower, she'll have to cover her surgical nails with a piece of cloth from the top drawer in her bathroom. Secure it, if she gets water into her wounds, it'll become infected and she'll loose her arm."