Blood - Chapter 6

The transport is still not moving and getting hotter and hotter inside. Nico can feel sweat dripping. It feels like the air is running out. It's more difficult to breathe. He can feel Lara beside him tense as a tight bundle of wire. She's scared like him, she must be.

Denny doesn't look scared. He must be the only one because even the medics look anxious. Nico's never knows a medic to look worried. They are trained to react well to emergencies, to accidents and fights and illnesses. They never flinch at blood or vomit, they do everything calmly but Nico can see the medic nearest to him is fidgeting, chewing his lip, eyes darting to left and right, hands moving in an endless washing movement, over and over one another. The other medic, the woman, looks just as anxious. The two medics look at each other now and again and Nico catches the nervous glances.

He realises that if the medics are worried they they all must be going somewhere that even the medics have never been. It's something to do with the readings on the blood machines. He hasn't known the blood machines to ever pick anyone out like this. He's never known anyone be hurried off from the hall like and Lara and Denny and the other two were.

“What's happening?” he asks the medic nearest to him. The medic's panicky looking eyes turn to him. He knows the medic doesn't know.

“Where are we?” Lara asks. He can feel her leg leaning against his like they are propping each other up.

“Please be quiet,” the medic says but his voice doesn't have any authority. It is husky and whispering. Nico can feel the medic wavering.

“Do you know where we're going?” Nico asks. The medic shakes his head. He touches his forehead with his fingertips as if his head is hurting.

“To the labs!” the other medic calls from the other side of the transport.

“What are the labs?” Nico presses, “Where are they?” The male medic is shaking his head. He looks sorry. Why would he be sorry?

“I don't know,” the medic says.

Just then there is a clunking sound and the transport jerks again. Then stops completely as though it has been turned off. Strange, thinks Nico, how you can be unaware of a sound until it stops and you hear the silence. It's like the silence leaks into everybody beacause nobody speaks or even moves. Slowly the transport doors slide open and the light outside is blinding. Bright, white. Nico is aware of air coming in too. It's a relief to feel the coolness after the baking heat. Nobody moves. They just stare, blinking at the bright doorway.

Suddenly a hatch opens in the wall of the transport, right beside Nico and a man's face peers through.

“You gotta get off now folks!” the man says. Nico stares at the face that is hardly an arms length away from his own. It looks odd. No like a face he's ever seen before. It has hair growing on the chin and dark circles of glass covering the eyes. Sticking out of the corner of the mouth is a little stick. The mouth hardly opens when the man speaks

“Get off, I tell ya!” he says and the medics seem to realise they have to do something. The woman medic begins to get the girls in the other side to stand and move towards the door. They don't want to and she pushes each of them with a hand in the small of their backs.

“That's the spirit!” the strange man says.

“Where are we?” Nico asks him.

“Ultraspace, dummy!” the man replies, but with a smile. Nico watches as the little stick twiddles across the man's mouth into the other corner.

“Is it safe?” Nico stutters.

“Safe as houses!” the man laughs, a harsh sound.

“Who are you?” Nico asks him. Suddenly feeling it would be a good thing to know.

“Friends call me Nim,” the man says and before Nico can ask any more questions the little shutter slams and the medic is pulling him by the arm.

“Come on!” the medic says, sounding irritated. “Follow the others!” and Nico realises that apart from them the transport is empty. All the others having stepped through into the bright light.