A Heaven for Toasters

CHAPTER 20: Xhristinas

00:32 a.m.

I don't know how long I remained unconscious. When I came to, I was lying down on something soft.

"Ah," Ed's voice said. "You're back."

My eyelids fluttered open. "What..." My voice came out gravelly. "What happened?"

"Your cure took longer than expected. You must have been on the cusp of death, if you don't mind me saying so."

I stood upright. I was lying on a bed at the edge of a vast room filled with identical beds. Each of them had a plain nightstand with a simple plastic light on it. Simple white sheets covered each mattress. "Where am I?"

"When the treatment was over, I brought you to my bed to rest."

These are their quarters? The room was devoid of any decoration whatsoever, making even Sergeant's house look opulent. The lack of windows told me we were probably inside a basement. I caught a whiff of disinfectant, the only thing standing out in the spartan room. "How long..." I clicked my tongue to unstick it from my mouth.

"You've been unconscious for almost two hours. The good news is, you should be fine now. All remnants of the toxin have been removed from your body." He leaned in, a worried look on his face. "I hope you don't mind, but I took the liberty of repairing your hololens and metasuit electronics as well. I know it was outside of my work parameters but you said I should fix you and it felt like you meant your electronics as well. I apologize if that was against your wishes."

I swiveled my body and planted my feet on the floor. It was surprisingly warm. "No, you did well. Thank you."

His face lit up. "It was a pleasure. Now, if you don't mind, I have another guest I need to look after."

Leo? Is he a prisoner here? "Guest? What guest?"

"One of Doctor Morgan's guests. We're under strict orders to keep her safe."

Her? Not Leo, then. Or Captain. "Take me to her," I ordered.

His forehead creased. "You need your rest."

"I need to know who else this madman is keeping here."

The lines on his forehead deepened in confusion. "What madman?"

"Never mind. Just take me to her."

"Very well." He led me outside and back into the elevators.

This time we moved upward. When we stopped, the elevator doors slid open into what looked like an artist's studio.

The walls were lined with man-sized glass tanks. I recognized them as clone-growing vats. Half were empty. The rest hosted a Xhristina clone each.

My eye caught on the sad display of the human vase I remembered from the exhibition. She was stuck in an uncomfortable position inside what looked like the unholy marriage between an uplighter and a vase. Her vacant eyes were fixed at the ceiling. My stomach turned. This has to be Xhristina's studio. A memory surfaced in my head. Xhristina had told us that clones don't last for long outside a tank. If this one was outside of her tank...

Xhristina can't be long gone.

I made my way to a makeshift bench, sitting in the middle of the room. A familiar cross lay against the wall opposite to it.

Ed walked to the edge of the room. Hidden in the shadows was a cage. I heard metal scraping and a whimper as he approached.

"It's time to let you out for your walk," he said in a cheerful voice.