Phantom Universe

Chapter 19: Institute

16 years old

As they fly over the city, Summer's captivated by the sheer size of it. There are only a few tiny windows for her to peer out, but she plasters herself in front of the closest one, along with Jaden.

"How cool is that?" says Jaden while pointing at the top of a tall building where people are gathered. "And that!" She points at a line of hovering cars. Or at least that's what Summer thinks they are—she has never seen much of cities before, so it's harder for her to tell the difference.

As the hovercraft slows and lowers in the sky, she notices a large line of people being ushered into a gated building. The green and black uniforms of the Canadian League stick out from the crowd, and she can't help but notice the people are being forced forward. Behind her, she finds Gage and pulls him toward the window, pointing questioningly.

"Ah, yeah. Those are Outlanders they've rounded up. They're tagging them and assigning them to their camp," he says.

Jaden and Summer turn to face him and sink into their seats. "Tag us?" asks Jaden.

A dark chuckle comes from Max, though he says nothing. It sends chills down her spine. Gage and Cameron stay decidedly quiet. This only makes the anxiety in Summer tighten until she feels at any second the strings to her nerves will snap and lash out. The memories of how she ended up here, in this hovercraft with people she doesn't know, makes her head spin. Or it could be her head wound. She'd come to terms with her slavery, and then Jaden waltzes back into her life and everything changes. Though she's more comfortable with Gage than is normal for her, she's still incredibly weary of him. To her, everyone is a stranger and a threat.

The hovercraft jolts, and the door to the outside slides open. The whirring engines turn off, and the noises die down. Gage and Cameron stand and start to gather their packs. Summer and Jaden remain seated, wondering what they're supposed to be doing. A woman with bright red hair tied into a knot at the nape of her neck boards the hovercraft. Her cheekbones jut out, and her sharp, black eyes skim the scene like a hawk.

"Doctor Rose, what are you doing on the landing pad?" asks Cameron. "Is everything okay?"

"Not exactly," Doctor Rose says, straightening her white lab coat. "It's chaos on the streets, and guards have been placed at all the entrances and exits to the hospital. You have to provide an official pass to get past the doors, so I'm here to assign you passes."

Cameron and Gage turn sideways, and Doctor Rose pulls out a slim, black, metal slab with a screen on it. A thin piece of metal ejects from the device, and she sticks it into Cameron's ear, waits for a beep, and then removes the long device. She repeats this on Gage. It looks painful, but neither of them shy away.

"These two have been ordered to go home for the day," explains Gage as he points his thumb over his shoulder at Paige and Max. "Neither of them are allowed near our patients."

Max shows his teeth in a snarl, but keeps his mouth shut when Gage shoots him a nasty glare.

"And these two are the patients?" Doctor Rose nods her head at them.

"Yes," says Cameron. "This is Summer and Jaden. Summer needs fluids immediately—I didn't have the right equipment in the field for an IV. She also has a head wound that needs to be attended to."

Suddenly, stretchers roll into view—or float, because there seems to be nothing holding them off the ground—and stop just outside the hovercraft's door. Two men and two women in white scrubs wait with the stretchers and have what appear to be high-tech clipboards in hand. Summer's eyes are wide at the change in atmosphere, and she shakes. Her body is weak, and her nerves are shot. All she wants is to curl up in a corner and sleep for a week. Or two. Gage approaches her carefully, appraising her, and then she can see resolution solidify in his eyes. He leans over and lifts her from the seat with no effort, as if she is a bag of feathers. Stunned, she doesn't even try to struggle with him. Besides, struggling leads to punishment. He places her on one of the stretchers with such tender care her thoughts waver. Gage won't punish me. Right?