The administrator had been prepared. Victor Calaca must have told. The traitor. Gabriel desperately tried to jerk the screen out with his bare hands. When that didn’t work, he tried to tear through it with his fingers.
SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!
The alarm was so loud that he couldn’t think. His hopes and dreams scattered in the wind. Natty would race in at any moment. They’d lock him up for trying to escape. That was exactly why they moved people to Level Five, for “exit-seeking.” And he would be trapped there for the rest of his life.
SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!
He had to find a way out. No matter what it took or how he did it, no matter the risks, escape was his only option. He couldn’t go out the window. The alarm was too loud, and he could already hear footsteps in the corridor.
He raced out into the hallway then ran as fast as an old man with a cane could possibly run, which wasn’t that fast, but it would have to do.
Suddenly, Natty stepped into his path. “Gabe! Stop it. You’re going to fall.”
Despite his best efforts to evade her, she caught him like a football linebacker, encircling his chest with her muscular arms and holding him in place. Her scrubs were rancid with sweat.
“There, there, honey,” she said. “Let’s just go back to your room, okay? It’s about time for a nap, I’d say. Everything’s okay. It’s all okay.”
She took a step back, signaling to the other nurse running toward them with a syringe. She mouthed, “Level Five.”
Before she could seize him again, Gabriel raised his cane and swung it around in a small arc. Crack! The middle of the stick connected with Natty’s head.
SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!
Natty collapsed to her knees, holding her head. Gabriel was frozen, shocked by his own actions. He couldn’t believe that he’d actually struck another human being. It wasn’t like him. He’d never been in a fight in his life. It was the alarm. With all that racket, he couldn’t think straight. The nurse who had been running up with the syringe stopped, gaping at him, and dropped the syringe to the floor.
Natty suddenly rocked forward and wrapped her arms around his legs. She squeezed and pulled, trying to bring him down with her. Trying to stay on his feet, Gabriel brought the cane around, but the angle was awkward.
She ducked her head, and the wood missed her by only an inch or so. “You fucking—”
She hadn’t let go, but she had raised her head again to yell at him. Gabriel swung the cane and connected. He wasn’t sure where he had hit her, but she let go and fell back on the floor.
SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!
Red lights began flashing from the ceiling. Gabriel hobbled away as fast as he could move. His best option for escape was to take the least expected route: the front door.
He rushed past the dining room and cut straight down the main hallway, toward the lobby. Adrenaline kept him going as sweat soaked his skin. He was a liquid, not a solid, and he would rush through the door like a waterfall. Behind him was a blur of shouting voices.
They’ve found me. He had to escape. He had to cure the virus. He had to die.
He entered the lobby. The front door was in sight. Almost there. As Gabriel ran, his leg screamed in searing agony. He pushed the pain to the back of his mind and tried to focus on his goal. Instead of the gloomy corridors of Bright New Day, he pictured sailing across the blue ocean. The sunlight. The waves. The horizon.
Hands gripped him from behind. He twisted sideways, smashing his backpack into the pale face of the prison guard who was trying to hold him. The other two prison guards—no, not guards, nurses—toppled like dominos. He pushed onward, straight to the door. Frenzied voices screamed at him, but he ignored everything. Freedom was a few feet away.
His old motorcycle. Weaving between cars on the 405. The wind rushes through his hair…
He zeroed in on the bronze doorknob. He was almost there. He was Superman. He was— He fell.
Whether he’d been tackled or had simply tripped over his own feet, he didn’t know, and it really didn’t matter. Fiery pain exploded from every bone in his body. As he scrambled to get back on his feet, a dog pile of human bodies fell on top of him. They pinned him to the floor on his belly.
Standing on a stage. A stage in Sweden. Receiving the Nobel Prize. Everyone is cheering. A genius, a hero!
Gabriel went completely still, playing unconscious. The ploy worked. After a few moments, the nurses started to loosen their hold. He rose to his hands and knees, ready to lunge forward and crawl to the door if necessary. Then, he felt a hand on the side of his neck, rubbing cool gel into his skin. Hell. ABH. Ativan, Benadryl, Haldol. They got me with the goddamn ABH.
“No! You can’t do this to me. I’m Gabriel Schist!”
More hands grabbed his trench coat, yanking him away from the door. It felt like a swarm of zombies tearing at his flesh, like thousands of disembodied hands pulling him farther from his freedom.
Lying on the beach with Yvonne, naked. Her warm skin pressed against his. Their lips, sensually combining into a beautiful combination of…
Drowsiness was starting to set in. His stomach ached, and his hip felt like a shattered disco ball. Blood ran down his face. “Get away! You need me! I’m the only one with the cure.”
A warm stream trickled down his leg. He looked up at his attackers in horror. A myriad of tall, dark shadows with glowing eyes glared at the wet spot on the crotch of his pants. They all saw him. They all knew.
Standing in the corridor of Bright New Day… naked… completely naked… calling for Yvonne…
“Let me go.” Gabriel groaned, becoming increasingly drugged with every breath. “Please, I need to… I need to…”
As the ABH turned him into a pile of mush, Gabriel felt the peculiar sensation of his words becoming separate from him. His mouth continued to babble, but it was as if it belonged to someone else, a person who existed on a different plane of reality. Dark figures lifted him onto a stretcher and strapped him down. His vision dimmed, and the world disappeared into a blur of voices.
“Okay, that’s it. He’s out cold. We need to lock this guy up, pronto. We’re—”
“Wait. You don’t mean…?”
“Level Five. ASAP. A room just opened up today.”
“But that’s not fair! The guy is brilliant, just because of one incident you’re going to—”
“Schist has a history of these mental breaks. A room just opened on Level Five, and we’re taking him there.”
