Before I knew it I was on a gurney being transferred to another part of the hospital for surgery. I had Sona Joel and Cormac with me. They knew it had to be done sooner rather than later so as soon as a place came available off we would go to the room. As they brought me in slight anxiety rose in me and a discomfort settled in my heart. I had been in something like this before and whatever it was it hadn't been good. I resisted the urge to jump off that bed and run as far away as I could. I had to trust nothing bad was going to happen to me at least not here.
The room was rather plain. White and light blue walls that had different tools and equipment resting on them. All stainless steel and beautifully clean almost like they sparkled when the light hit them in a particular way. I was put in the middle of the room. Several machines rested around me and bright lights hung from the ceiling. While I was laying down Sona came over and put on an oxygen mask without any context, I suddenly began freaking out throwing my arms from my sides to grab at this thing on my face. Sona saw how scared I had become and grabbed my arms and looked me in the eyes before speaking in a calm matter " Hey, hey it is okay were just doing this to be able to give you an anesthetic and prep you for surgery, you are in good hands and you're going to be okay."
Only a short time later had Cyra falling asleep.Once Sona checked to make sure she was completely under she pulled out an IV and stuck it in her Cyras arm. A heart monitor was set up to watch her vitals as they prepped the area for surgery. Both Joel and Sona began suiting up and laid out the tools they would need to use for the next few hours. Dealing with the pressure of a life in their hands they take some deep breaths and find the confidence within each other to begin. Sona looks at Joel and speaks
"Ready?"
He responds
"Ready as i'll ever be"
The last thing I remember was counting down from 10 and listening to my breathing slow down and a calm casting over me. For the longest time all I saw was darkness around me. I could feel myself sitting somewhere when suddenly bright lights appeared all around me. I flinched at the sudden light that caused my eyes to hurt. Once they relaxed I looked around, I was somewhere else but I knew the surgery had just begun. Confusion surrounded me when I realized this felt just like it did when I was in my dreams, so did that mean I was dreaming at that time? Possibly. I decide to walk around a bit but then start hearing what sounded like voices off in the distance. They were coming from the western side of me. When I looked I was in a field and down in the valley was a large grey building. It looked out of place but it for some reason reminded me of a place I had once been before. It drew me in so I began walking down the large hills surrounding it.
As I walked I brushed my hands against the long grass, I could feel it as if it were real. Even the warmth of the sun seemed to feel real, but yet it wasn't. As I walked towards the building the grass began getting shorter. Odd, I thought. As I continued though everything slowly began to die around me. Fear slowly filled me causing my heartbeat to become quicker with each step that brought me closer to the building. Soon after I stood in front of the large structure. Everything was dark and dead around it. The sun no longer warmed me, all I felt was a cold chill cast over me and run down the length of my spine. I looked back from where I had come but no longer saw the bright fields, only darkness.
"This can't be good." I say out loud. There was no going back though. The building had large steps leading up to the tall double doors on the front of the building. Small windows lined the walls showing there were several floors among the building. I began walking towards the steps and grabbed on to the cold metal banister and put my foot on the first step. I walk up to the landing and hear whispers around me
"Open it...come find us..... We are waiting inside..."
As the last voice spoke the doors swung open in front of me. I jump at the sudden noise then hear the whispers again.
"Come in....find us... we want to see you again...."
A shiver went down my spine but I had to know. I walk up and touch the door then make my way inside.
As Joel and Sona were making progress on the surgery they suddenly noticed Cyra's heart rate spike. Sona spoke up
"Joel stop we need to get her heart rate to go back to normal or she's going to lose more blood than we anticipated for, we can't let that happen."
Sona looks at the monitor then runs over and grabs a stronger IV bag filled with solution and goes to the IV drip.
"I'm giving her a higher dosage to help the heart slow back down to normal levels."
She says as she pulls out the tube from the old bag and puts it into the new one.
Joel waited as Sona came back to his side. They watch the heart rate go back to normal and Sona breathes a sigh of relief. She looks at Joel then speaks.
"Remind me, what was this chip doing and what's going to happen once it is fully dislodged from her brain?"
Joel looks at her for a moment.
"It seems this was stopping memories from her past so she wouldn't continually relieve them. Usually this is used to block out dark memories, meaning as we take this out they are slowly returning and soon enough she will begin remembering all that has happened in the past 10 years. Usually this does more harm then good to ones psyche"
"So you mean to tell me that she is now going to have to endure these negative memories and responses from the past decade?"
Joel bites his lip.
"Yes that is exactly what I am saying. This could mean that she is seeing them play out almost like a movie in front of her which can cause the heart rate to spike causing more blood loss. What needs to be done is she needs to try and remain calm during this and if she doesn't we could have a mess on our hands. Hopefully she can hear us and understand.
"And what if she can't remain calm?' Sona asks
Joel looks down for a minute then back at Sona.
"Then she doesn't have a chance of dying, she will die due to bleeding out in a matter of minutes. We must continue though as we cant go back it's too late to do so. So, can you please hand me the forceps."
Without another word Sona hands them to him as they return to what they were doing.
On the other side of the two way mirror Cormac sat, stress slowly taking over his body. He clenched his fists together trying to remain calm knowing him being in that state would not help by any means. Tints of green flickered in his eyes as he sat there feeling useless, a feeling he truly hated. Raylee had come a short while ago and sat beside him, she looked at him seeing the stress and concern flowing through him. She remained calm as she looked back into the surgery room.
I had walked into the building. It was quiet and dark, a lot different from outside. A layer of dust rested on the bleak stairs in front of me and atop sheets that covered whatever resided in the building. Rusted wheelchairs laid dormant in corners of the main room. An old desk with broken computers sat in the middle in front of the old stairs. It felt like eyes were always on me even though nobody was here and the old cameras no longer worked. I walk up to the desk and run my finger along the old wood grain that had been worn down over the years. I hear a noise come from the stairs and look up to see a young girl with long blonde hair standing on the landing between the two sets that went to the left and right. The little girl smiles at me before taking off to head up the left set of stairs.
Suddenly the whispers were around me again.
"Join me... let's play a game... I know you want to"
I spin around but see nobody else and then like faint echoes I hear Sona and Joel. Most was mumbled but some words I made out.
"Memories...past...10....more harm...than good.... Losing.....blood....calm ....heart....if not...die."
That was all I could make out. I try filling in the pieces myself. What I believed was being said is if I get scared I could cause more damage to my body then good which could end in me dying. Well that is lovely to hear. Alright let's just remain calm, these are just memories anyway they can't hurt me... well at least I think they cant. I guess I will figure that out soon enough, just gotta keep telling myself that it's just memories, yeah that should help. Okay let's just go." I begin walking towards the stairs to head up and follow the girl I had seen. Maybe she would have answers for me. I make my way up the stairs and come into a hallway lined with doors. The paint was chipping from the walls and the floor creaked with each step I took. I notice the small girl peak her head out from one of the rooms then giggles a bit before heading back in. The tips of her hair being the last thing I saw. I walk a little faster and go to the open door.
I walk in and look around noticing the small girl sitting in the middle of the room looking at me. I go over to her and kneel down infront of her. She looks up at me then speaks.
"Welcome to my memory" confused I look at her then she grabs my arm. I look down and see two small incisions on the outside of her wrist, it looked like openings for something. Before I could get a word out a pulse ran through me from her and then things shifted and changed. The room brightened as some light came through the windows on the far wall and it became cleaner and looked new. I stand up and look around me before looking back to a corner. Two little girls played with some toys they had. They were laughing and having fun. I could feel someone else though staring from the entrance way. When I turned and looked all I saw was a shadow of what looked to be a woman before she turned and walked away. I look back at the two girls realizing one was me and the other was the little girl from moments before.
I walk closer to them confused as to what was going on. The little girl had stopped what she was doing and looked fearful. She stood up and backed away towards the wall. Her breathing got more rapid then she began to cry. She looked like she was in pain then she began to scream. Her fists clenched together as two metal objects began protruding from her wrists. She threw her head back as they extended their full length then brought her head back to normal. Her eyes had darkened and her skin grew pale, hair became lifeless and she smiled a sinister smile. The other young girl, me, began moving away from her, my eyes looking terrified. I try to turn away but as I do the blade slashes across my back. I screamed out in pain as two people ran in and grabbed the other small girl and stabbed something into her neck causing her to collapse on the ground. They dragged her away as two others came in to aid my younger self. The shirt I wore had been ripped open and blood was seeping out of the wound. I noticed that they used something and extracted some of the blood from around the area before applying pressure to try and slow the bleeding. Once it was under control they brought in some stuff to seal up the wound. At the time it was about 8 inches long and 2 inches deep, anymore there could've been a much bigger problem on their hands.
I cover my mouth as the memory ends and the room goes back to how it was before. The little girl looks at me then speaks.
"I didn't mean to hurt you, I couldn't control it, I am sorry, can you forgive me?"
I look at her and nod, showing her that I forgave her.
The little girl's eyes welled up and she came and hugged me.
"Thank you for setting me free."
As she says this I see her body begin to dissipate in my arms, turning into a soft glow. Before disappearing from the room. My arms dropped as I looked around the now vacant room. I bring my hand to my back and touch the scar from that day. The pain still slightly lingered these years later. A tear goes down my cheek as I realize some of the cruel things that happened to these children and maybe even me. I would not give up until each was saved. I stand up and walk to the exit of the room and look back once more before leaving. The air in the room seemed to lighten as if something heavy had been lifted from it. I hear laughter and see two small girls faintly running around in circles with smiles upon their faces, something they didn't have before, then they disappeared again. I turn away and continue down the hall.
It was about two hours later when the surgery was completed. Sona finishes sealing up the wound as Joel writes a few things down on a clipboard before speaking.
"The surgery has been completed and was a success."
Sona lets out a sigh of relief and takes her gloves off before disposing of them in the biohazard disposal unit. Joel had already done this. She walks over and hugs Joel.
"We did it, this is a great success for both of us."
Joel nods in agreement. As he goes to put the clipboard down though suddenly an alarm erupted throughout the room and all other parts of the hospital. They both jump at the sudden sound then hear a voice over the comms
"H1 has been breached, h2 has been breached, h3 is now in lockdown, security systems are online. S1 and 2 have also been breached, security measures are now engaged. This is not a drill, all non admitted personnel evacuate immediately. Floors two three and four are now locked down. Elevators shutting down, please go to your nearest exit.I repeat this is not a drill!"
Everyone looks at each other. Cormac slams open the door into the surgery room and looks at Sona and Joel.
"There have been several breaches and I know who they're here for. Get her into the escape tunnels now and stay with her."
Joel looks at his boss in an alarmed way
"But boss she hasn't woken yet moving her could cause problems."
Cormac looks at them
"We have no choice but to strap her down so the body moves less, we can't sit and chit chat we have to move now so take her!" he says in a commanding tone."
They nod and begin strapping Cyra down to the table.
"But sir what about you?"
He turns his back and looks towards the door.
"I will be fine I can buy you guys some time but you need to move now"
Sona looks at him
"But your injurie-
"Fuck my injuries I can handle this alrIght now GO!"
They say nothing more and begin wheeling her to one of the entrances into the tunnels. Cormac watches them leave then turns the opposite direction. Raylee runs up to him and looks at him.
"You ready? Its now or nothing."
Cormac pulls his jacket off and throws it to the floor
"I was born ready"
Raylee nods and goes beside him and swings one of her guns from her shoulder and cocks it. Cormac smirks
"This is gonna be fun." before walking down the hall.