Year 6 (First Draft) #Wattys2016

-Chapter 47- Final Chapter

  "Doctor," I say quietly, "am I able to go home today?" I ask, hoping his answer is a resounding yes. No matter what his answer is, I am going to find my way out of this hospital. Kane should be here in a half hour or less, which means I need to start preparing myself to leave.

  "I don't think today would be the best idea. We still need to keep an eye on a few things, but I'm sure that you will be good to go by tomorrow," He says, sounding condescending, "so rest up."

  "Doctor," I say, hoping that some reasonable explanation for asking him to leave my room will come to me. "Did you hear that?"

  "Hear what?" The doctor asks, glancing around the room. Twenty five minutes.

  "I heard someone call your name from down the hall," I say, trying to sound as sincere as possible. "It sounded urgent."

  "I can take a hint," The doctor says, winking. I feel the need to roll my eyes, but I refrain. "I'll leave you to yourself. I'll be back to check on you later."

  The doctor stands and makes his way out of my room, and I notice a small white rectangle fall out of his lab coat. He doesn't seem to notice anything, because he doesn't even turn around to see what fell. I carefully pull myself out of bed, and walk over to the small object lying on the ground. I gasp, surprised to find the doctor's keycard on the cool tile floor.

  I can't quite believe what's in front of me. I have been looking for a way to get out of here unnoticed, and my chance is right here, lying directly in front of me. I palm the flat card, and push it into the pocket on my hospital gown. I hear sneakers squeak in the hall, and I stand up, rushing back over to my bed. A heavyset nurse walks in, and smiles, grabbing a bag from the other side of my room. She nods, then walks right back out without a second glance.

  I feel my heart flutter in my chest with anticipation. I have to get out of here without anyone noticing that I have left, or at least get a good head start.

  I get out of the bed again, and walk cautiously over to the doorway. I look out into the hallway, checking for stray doctors or nurses, but the only nurse I see has her back to me, pushing a patient in a wheelchair down to the elevator.

  I take a hesitant step into the hallway, then take a left, forcing myself to jog. Fifteen minutes. My side already aches, but I ignore it. I come to a small flight of stairs that looks like it hasn't been touched in the past decade. I look to my left and right again, and when I don't notice any passersby, I begin to my descent down the creaky metal staircase.

  I hear a woman's voice behind me, and it propels me forward, making me move even faster for fear of being caught. I let my imagination wander, contemplating how the rest of today will turn out. If all goes as planned, we will have gathered enough information to bring to light everything the Government truly stands for. If things go south, I have no idea what the outcome will look like.

  I come to a stop at the bottom of the staircase, and my stomach lurches at the smell of the hallway I have come to. It's dimly lit and smells of mildew. An old computer sits on a three legged desk in a secluded corner, and everything is silent except for the pounding of my heart. I look down the hall, worried that a doctor or nurse could be in one of these rooms, waiting for me. And that's when a thought strikes me. No alarms have gone off. No commotion has come of my departure. I shake of the uneasy feeling in my gut, and press forward, working my way down the long hallway. Every breath is laborious, and I clutch my side, not sure how much longer I'll be able to keep going without taking a short break.

  I hear voices in a room to the right of me, and I gasp, running into a small supply closet just ahead of me. The voices get louder, but then, the fade, most likely having just been walking by. I sigh, suddenly all too aware of how real this all is. I am in a Government building, and Kane is waiting for me to meet up with them so that we can attack the Government Headquarters. It all has seemed so surreal up until this point. Now, it feels all too real.