Want (Numbered #1, YA Scifi Dystopian) Wattpad Featured Story

Chapter Five

"He's going to be okay, right?" Nicholas asked.

"Yeah, he should be fine." Aurelia looked up and saw that Nicholas was bleeding from his cheek. "And what about you?"

"I'll be alright. Better than most from my deck, anyway," he said.

"Hit hard?"

"Deck 31 was almost destroyed. It's pretty much healing film holding the entire ship together around there," he said.

"How did you make it out?" asked Aurelia, wondering how he could have suffered so little damage, and letting the number 31 roll around in her head for a moment. She'd heard that number before, relatively recently, but she couldn't remember where.

Nicholas blushed. "I was in the toilet," he said.

There was no time for further conversation, as the senior med Worker arrived with security.

"Thank Gods," said the large, gruff sec Worker, looking down at Hansen. "We thought he was dead when we didn't find him on his deck. Who found this man?"

"I did, sir," said Nicholas, standing up.
"Sleeves," said the sec Worker.

Nicholas pulled up his sleeves and turned his wrists to show his number.

"Very good. Where did you find him?"

Nicholas cleared his throat and wet his lips before speaking again. "In the stairwell, sir."

"And why were you in the stairwell?"

Again, Nicholas coughed a little. "My deck was destroyed. There were no other survivors. I was looking for someone, anyone, and I found him. I think he'd tried to climb the stairs and passed out, sir."

"Hmmm." The security Worker nodded. "Possible, I suppose. The med Worker assures me that Mr. Hansen is going to be fine, so we'll talk to him when he wakes up and confirm your story."

Aurelia wondered if she was the only one who saw Nicholas's cheek twitch at this.

"For now, stay here on the medical deck. Get that cut seen to as well."

The sec Worker left, and Aurelia and Nicholas were alone again.

"Here," said Aurelia. "Let me look at that cheek."

She grabbed a wound stick and a disinfection pad and got closer. She knew something wasn't right here. There was something that Nicholas either wasn't saying or was lying about, and she didn't know why. It obviously had something to do with Hansen, but what, she couldn't say.

Nicholas drew in his breath and gritted his teeth as she cleaned his wound.

"I thought Clones were supposed to be brave," she chided him.

"I thought med Workers were supposed to be gentle," he said, grimacing.

"Baby. It'll only take a second."

She went back to treating his wound. She was just sealing the cut shut with the wound stick when the senior med Worker came back.

"All okay here?"

Aurelia nodded.

"And what about him? Do I need to inject or not?" He pointed at Michael.

"He's stable, respiration normal and pulse evened out," said Aurelia, looking the Worker in the eye.

"Fine." And he was gone.

"What happened to him?" asked Nicholas.

Sometimes, thought Aurelia, the best way to gain a confidence was to give one. She finished up Nicholas's treatment and put the wound stick down. The she sat back on the floor and quietly told the Clone the whole story about Michael. He listened, saying nothing, but lifting an eyebrow in surprise every now and again.