O2

7

Coughing, Nym gasped as she cracked her eyes open. The room around her came in and out of focus and the air in her lungs felt cold and sharp, but it was clean.

I'm still breathing...but what's going on?

Last she remembered, she'd been standing in the courtyard of the Shelter with Kirsi and 02. Where was she now? How had she gotten there?

A soft creak attracted her attention and her eyes flickered to the door.  She made out the hazy figure of a woman dressed in a white uniform moving slowly towards her.

"Miss Seaver, how do you feel?" asked a soft voice. It reminded Nym of her mother's voice, quiet and melodious while remaining firm.

Nym parted her lips but found her movements sluggish. She closed her lips after a second and slowly lifted one hand to rub over her eyes.

The woman moved closer, allowing Nym to see she was a nurse. She watched the woman fiddled a with the oxygen and air levels, eventually able to feel some of her fogginess fade. As her vision and mind cleared she realized the nurse wasn't wearing an oxygen tank.

Nym froze up, frowning deeply as her eyes flickered around the room. The woman was a nurse, so they had to be in the hospital, right? Was this a hospital?

Where are Kirsi and 02?

Her mind began to race as her breath caught in her chest.

Am I dead?

She knew she was breathing but was this death? Was this a hallucination, a dream? Her breathing grew shorter, and the nurse put a hand on Nym's shoulder.

"Miss, take deep breaths. You are alright. You're safe here."

The voice sounded like it kept echoing in a large loud chamber a million miles away, but it was soothing and calm. Nym tried to follow it's instructions, forcing her breathing to slow. Reality slowly came back into focus. The grip of fear on her chest also loosened enough for her to breathe normally again.

"...Where am I?" she rasped softly, reaching to touch her face to see if she had on an oxygen mask herself. Her fingers found the plastic curvature of the mask, but it didn't settle her nerves any.

"You're in the hospital. Your friend Kirsi Brooks brought you. You inhaled some poison and we had to flush your system, along with administering an antidote. You should be fine in a few hours. Would you like to see your friend?"

Nym nodded slowly and looked around. So Kirsi was here. Was 02 here?

I guess that means I'm not dead then. But...the thought struck her now as she was reminded of Kirsi. The hospital, it's airtight.

Nym had never spent enough time inside the hospital to know it. Plus, she'd never been treated there, so she'd never taken her oxygen mask off inside. It made sense, though, and having that reasoning to put her mind at ease she let go of the anxiety swirling in her head.

The door creaked open again as the nurse left and a moment later the woman re-entered with Kirsi in tow. 02 wasn't there. Nym worried that one of the doctors or nurses had sent him off to be scrapped. No. They wouldn't send him off, not if he was with Kirsi.

"Hey, Nym," Kirsi said, offering a thin smile as she walked over to the bedside.

Nym pushed herself up onto her elbows and smiled back at her. "Hey," she whispered. "What happened?"

"Remember how you had 02 scan the pump? Well, the doctor said some of that toxin got into your lungs, probably when you went to refill your tank. They gave you the antidote and got it all out of your lungs. They said you need a few days of recovery, though."