wobble, fighting a giggle at the sensation.
She wished Jack were here with her.
Wait, no, she didn’t. And she was worried about him, too. She frowned, trying to wrangle her thoughts. Once she concentrated, she found them falling back into place.
What was that she’d heard about destroying the cure?
“Hey, Jemma, you there?”
“I’m here, April.” She winced at the slur in her mental tone. “They’ve got me all drugged up. Jack isn’t joining us, though.”
“I know. Jasmine said they couldn’t find him this morning when they went to take him to his session.”
Relief, almost as strong as she’d felt when the pain stopped, washed through her. Jack was okay. He’d made it. He’d escaped, yet again.
“I don’t think they want me to know that,” she sent.
“I won’t mention I said anything, then. I kinda made you sound all ditzy the first time Jasmine asked what we talked about, so she stopped asking.”
Jemma felt herself smile, and she opened her eyes to make sure nobody watching could tell she’d find out about Jack.
She blinked.
She could barely see. The edges of her vision were completely black. The center of her vision was blurry, the same level of blurriness she’d been trying to blink away earlier.
She blinked again, then shook her head, fighting panic.
Subject showing signs of distress.
What now?
I can’t do this.
“Jemma, are you okay?” She thought it might have been Dr. Harris asking, but she wasn’t sure anymore. It felt like Heidi had moved to stand between her and Josh, putting all three of the others in the room roughly on the same side of her, which meant all their speakers came from the same direction, too.
She shook her head, pointing to her eyes.
Subject seems to have severe head pain again.
She closed her eyes, refusing to react to what she’d picked up, focusing instead on contacting April as panic cleared the drug’s dulling effects on her mind. “Tell Jasmine I can’t see, that she needs to let Dr. Harris know. I’m almost blind at the edges, blurry in the center.”
“Shit, Jemma. Okay, I’m passing it on.”
Silence. Jemma kept her eyes closed, waiting.
“She’s lost most of her eyesight. Jemma, are you in pain?”
She shook her head.
“Yeah, trust me, I made sure she wasn’t going to be in any pain on that particular formula.” That had to be Josh.
“You put a pain blocker in there?” asked one fuzzy speaker.
“How was she supposed to be aware of further damage to alert us if she was unable to feel pain?” asked another.
“Come on, we kept having to stop because she was passing out from the pain, but the scans weren’t showing any real damage.”
“They might now, Joshua. Leave while I get her scanned again. Ma’am, if you could help me get her there?”
Jemma tried to focus on what she could hear while they escorted her to get her head scanned yet again, trying to ignore the fact that even the number of scans alone couldn’t be healthy for her. Instead of letting herself worry, she just listened. She listened to the workers around her, to Dr. Harris and to Heidi, picking up as much information as she could while the drug was active. The effects continued while she was escorted back to her cell, Dr. Harris promising that, at a glance, she didn’t seem in immediate danger, and that he’d give her more details when he had them, and that, of course, she’d be given at least a few days to recover her eyesight.
He didn’t voice aloud the concern that she might not ever regain it entirely.
Heidi opened the door and helped her to her cot before typing. “If you need to get out to stretch your legs, I’ll be right outside your room, guarding it. You just knock.”
***
If she were ever going to be grateful for a tiny room with a single piece of furniture in it, this would be the time, nearly blind and all alone.
She wasn’t going to just sit here, literally, for long, though. She was going to find a way to get things moving,
She wished Jack were here with her.
Wait, no, she didn’t. And she was worried about him, too. She frowned, trying to wrangle her thoughts. Once she concentrated, she found them falling back into place.
What was that she’d heard about destroying the cure?
“Hey, Jemma, you there?”
“I’m here, April.” She winced at the slur in her mental tone. “They’ve got me all drugged up. Jack isn’t joining us, though.”
“I know. Jasmine said they couldn’t find him this morning when they went to take him to his session.”
Relief, almost as strong as she’d felt when the pain stopped, washed through her. Jack was okay. He’d made it. He’d escaped, yet again.
“I don’t think they want me to know that,” she sent.
“I won’t mention I said anything, then. I kinda made you sound all ditzy the first time Jasmine asked what we talked about, so she stopped asking.”
Jemma felt herself smile, and she opened her eyes to make sure nobody watching could tell she’d find out about Jack.
She blinked.
She could barely see. The edges of her vision were completely black. The center of her vision was blurry, the same level of blurriness she’d been trying to blink away earlier.
She blinked again, then shook her head, fighting panic.
Subject showing signs of distress.
What now?
I can’t do this.
“Jemma, are you okay?” She thought it might have been Dr. Harris asking, but she wasn’t sure anymore. It felt like Heidi had moved to stand between her and Josh, putting all three of the others in the room roughly on the same side of her, which meant all their speakers came from the same direction, too.
She shook her head, pointing to her eyes.
Subject seems to have severe head pain again.
She closed her eyes, refusing to react to what she’d picked up, focusing instead on contacting April as panic cleared the drug’s dulling effects on her mind. “Tell Jasmine I can’t see, that she needs to let Dr. Harris know. I’m almost blind at the edges, blurry in the center.”
“Shit, Jemma. Okay, I’m passing it on.”
Silence. Jemma kept her eyes closed, waiting.
“She’s lost most of her eyesight. Jemma, are you in pain?”
She shook her head.
“Yeah, trust me, I made sure she wasn’t going to be in any pain on that particular formula.” That had to be Josh.
“You put a pain blocker in there?” asked one fuzzy speaker.
“How was she supposed to be aware of further damage to alert us if she was unable to feel pain?” asked another.
“Come on, we kept having to stop because she was passing out from the pain, but the scans weren’t showing any real damage.”
“They might now, Joshua. Leave while I get her scanned again. Ma’am, if you could help me get her there?”
Jemma tried to focus on what she could hear while they escorted her to get her head scanned yet again, trying to ignore the fact that even the number of scans alone couldn’t be healthy for her. Instead of letting herself worry, she just listened. She listened to the workers around her, to Dr. Harris and to Heidi, picking up as much information as she could while the drug was active. The effects continued while she was escorted back to her cell, Dr. Harris promising that, at a glance, she didn’t seem in immediate danger, and that he’d give her more details when he had them, and that, of course, she’d be given at least a few days to recover her eyesight.
He didn’t voice aloud the concern that she might not ever regain it entirely.
Heidi opened the door and helped her to her cot before typing. “If you need to get out to stretch your legs, I’ll be right outside your room, guarding it. You just knock.”
***
If she were ever going to be grateful for a tiny room with a single piece of furniture in it, this would be the time, nearly blind and all alone.
She wasn’t going to just sit here, literally, for long, though. She was going to find a way to get things moving,
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