Judgement 8 (Subject Alpha #1) by D. H. Sidebottom

my face. “She’s . . . she’s not good. She’s in a coma.”
    My head fell back and I laughed, loudly and hysterically, my heart surging with excitement. Jonah and Heather stared at me as if I was crazy. Fuck, maybe I was.
    Snatching my clothes from the chair beside me, I slipped out of the gown someone had placed over me and changed quickly. I didn’t care that Heather was in the room, but fuck her, at least she got a glimpse of what she’d been after for so long.
    “Reid, what are you doing?” Jonah barked.
    “I’m going to get Elina.”
    His whole face locked in shock, his skin blanching as he shook his head. “You can’t, she needs the medical . . .”
    “She’s not in a coma, Jo.” I grinned at him when he continued to frown at me. “She’s shut down, gone into sleep mode. She just needs rebooting.”
    “Are you fucking crazy?” Heather asked.
    “Probably.” I chuckled. “Definitely. Come on, we need to go get her.”
    “Reid! You can’t just walk into her room and unplug her then carry her out of a fucking hospital in broad daylight!” Jonah said.
    “That, my friend, is exactly what I’m going to do. It’s too quiet at night. Every fucker and their grandma would notice you carrying a woman through the dark corridors. Day time it’s heaving out there. Lots of people come in carrying people who are hurt. We’re just carrying one out.”
    They both stood completely still, their eyes wide. I sighed. I didn’t have time for their shit. “Are you gonna help or not?”
    Heather stepped forward, her face full of anguish. “Look, Reid, we both know she’s not my favourite person but I’m not saying this out of malice. We have no idea what we’re doing. This has never happened before. How the hell do we reboot her?”
    I swallowed the lump in my throat. “We don’t. But we both know someone who can.”
    “No!” Heather stepped back, her hand in front of her as her eyes widened in horror. “No, Reid. I am not going back there.”
    “You don’t have to, either of you. But Elina deserves to live, and there’s only one person who can give her that.”
    “You’re crazy,” she whispered, her head shaking with sadness as she stood in front of the doorway. “Reid, please.”
    “This is my choice, Heather. You either accept it or get the hell out of my way.”
    She closed her eyes, a tear tumbling from the corner, but she stepped aside.
    “You’ll die in there,” she whispered as I stepped through the door into the corridor.
    “I know,” I whispered back without turning to see the devastation on her face. “But Elina is the only hope we have of putting an end to Judgment. You need her. She’s your future, Heather.”
    “Reid!” Jonah shouted. I turned back to see the utter heartache of my best friend. His face screwed up tight but he nodded. “I’ll find her, Reid. I promise. I’ll take care of her.”
    He saw the gratitude on my face. He blurred through my vision. “Thank you. Tell her . . . tell her I will always love her.”
    He smiled at me, the white of his teeth almost glaring with the huge grin. “She knows. She’s always known.” He gave me a simple firm nod.
    Glancing one last time at them, I nodded in return then turned and left.

 
    5 Months earlier
     
    “DON’T CRY, LETTIE.” HER sobs broke my heart. Her little body jerked every few seconds, her skin hot to touch and her hair crispy under my attempt to soothe her.
    “I’m sorry,” she said with a hiccup.
    “Hey, don’t be sorry. It’s just the salt in your tears will make your skin sore. Your pores are sensitive until the current calms down.”
    I wanted to kill Janice for this. What the fuck was she doing? I accepted my childhood, had come to terms with all the torture she put me through a long time ago, but Lettie didn’t deserve this.
    An idea popped into my head and I shot up, scooping her tiny body into my arms as carefully as possible.
    “Where are we going?” she asked as I stealthily worked