Primal Gambit

Chapter 34: Shift Learns of Shuke

Darwin's heels clicked against the tiles as he walked down the recently buffed-floor halls. Stretchers were rushed past him by emergency nurses, the people lying atop them convulsing violently or not moving at all. There was no in between, it was one or the other. He wondered what ailed each patient that was rushed past him – wondered if the rapid influx of admissions was due to the recent onslaught of ashfall.

Perhaps the storms have caught more than usual... He pondered, unsure if each admission shared the same fate commonly linked to ash exposure. No one was sure what to make of the ash storms that had ramped up over the two weeks prior – some thought it was random chance, others connected it to a deity whose prophecy spoke of the end-times, and then there were realists who believed the government was testing new atomic weapons in the west – unbeknownst to the public.

The activist leader already knew in what room he would find a rattled Shift. His hacker had broken through the hospital firewall the night the driver was admitted and found his complete file, which included where he was being kept. Not only did Darwin know where he would find Shift, but he knew what he suffered from and what happened to him the night he trailed the Reaper. If the foreign driver was awake he would not be in the brightest of moods. Darwin was prepared to offer him a proposition he would not be able to derail the conversation from.

He was on the right floor, he just needed to find the right room. 241.

When he neared the doorway, surgeons and security running past him at breakneck speed, he noticed the light was off in the room. Shift shared the room with no one, and as a foreigner, there were no family or friends close enough to visit without running into the restrictions of the travel ban. It was the perfect opportunity for Darwin to get him alone, as he was sure that none of the barflies that Shift spent most of his free time with would spend money on public transportation to the Inner City rather than another round of alcoholic inserts.

The door creaked open as Darwin entered slowly. Shift most likely heard him walking down the hallway with such vigor, but the torn driver didn't as much as turn his head. He peered out the window at the city below, the evening sky scaring most of the civvies back into their nests for another night. Fear for getting mugged had grown exponentially once criminals and addicts learned just how much wealth there was in the Inner City as opposed to The Outskirts. A few particularly heinous incidents on familiarly close, well-lit streets drove the point home.

Darwin was convinced he could talk his way out of any situation that arose on his way home. Had it not worked, there were some tricks up the man's sleeve.

"Shift," whispered Darwin as he slowly shut the door behind him with both hands – locking it. He read the news feeds. In each one newscasters attempted to interview either a wounded Shift, who was being highly medicated on morphine drips, or the authorities that performed his medevac out in The Yard. Only sparse information was released: an attack carried out amongst multiple groups, possibly gang related. Darwin was thankful that the authorities were afraid of saying too much.

The wounded man did not turn his head. Darwin moved across the end of the bed and pulled a chair close, sitting down and glaring into Shift's eyes.

"Look at me, Shift." He warned. The driver did not oblige, his eyes glossed over and staring out the tinted window. Darwin's insides began to boil uncontrollably.

"Luca, look into my eyes. We don't want to lose our heads, here." He got up from the uncomfortable chair and began to draw the curtains shut in the calmest manner, just before losing touch with himself and throwing his chair across the room in a rage. It clacked against tile before exhausting itself. Running a hand through his hair to ensure it was in place, he leaned onto the cot.