I did not receive much positive feedback but will not let that discourage me! It's a cool AU... I promise...baby steps. I changed the category to sci-fi for obvious reasons. enjoy!
Eliza looked absolutely frazzled as she entered the ICU. Her hair seemed to flatten out with her mood and her usually immaculate curls were on the fritz. Even her factory-issued lab coat was visibly wrinkled; sleeves uneven. The room was silent as per usual. The few inhabitants in unlucky enough to be in attendance were lucky to receive good quality anesthesia. Every once in a while something undoubtedly human would groan or whimper behind the thin privacy veils from the result of tumultuous nightmares-a side effect of the anesthetic.
"Find Alfred F. Jones." She spoke into her commands tablet. The green symbol that indicated that her message went through flashed a few times on her screen. Just a few moments later a round directory bot floated in front of her before speeding off down the room where the stabilizing rooms resided.
Her face broke out into something akin to concern and the bot turned back around with its seeking eye as if in accusation. She straightened out immediately.
Don't pity them, Eliza. The keep's words flashed through her mind, and she could almost physically feel the moderators' eyes on her. But, that was probably paranoia, right?
When she had entered the stability room that hosted Alfred she was surprised to see somehow already there. He wore blue scrubs as opposed to a white lab coat and was hovering over Alfred's battered shoulder touching it in areas every so often and muttering something under his breath. He was highly absorbed in his work and didn't even react to her presence.
"Excuse me, but could you please hand me my analyzer?" A subtle British accent caught in her ears and her eyebrows creased together; unsure of what to do. She fidgeted in place a bit, glancing unsurely at Alfred a few times who seemed to be in a deep sleep and the man in scrubs who had his right hand outstretched and twitching for his device.
"Come on now, it's right over there on the… oh. Who are you?" Angry green eyes abruptly looked over before mellowing out into confusion. The man took off his white surgical mask so it hung under his chin.
"I'm Elizaveta Hedervary. I-"Before she could continue he cut her off with a wave of his hand.
"Oh, alright. I see. I'm Arthur Kirkland, very nice to meet you. You'll be working with me for the time being then. He took off his puffy surgical cap to reveal a messy mop of blonde hair and made a motion to put his surgical mask back on before shaking his head and slipping that off of his eyes as well. "Do me a favor and get that device over there… No, the one with the curved screen… yes that one."
Eliza had looked lost when face with the array of strange devices finally picking the appropriate one after the third try. "You're new aren't you? Thank you." She frowned at him as she handed him his analyzer and decided to stare at Alfred's cut-up face instead. He looked paler than she remembered when he fell from the lab, but she could see some color resurfacing in his cheeks, no doubt with aid from the blood-drip that was attached to his left arm. Dried blood still stained his clothes and was congealing in his sunny blonde locks. An alarming amount of linear cuts littered his body as if someone kept dragging needles along his skin at different angles.
"Alright, Elizaveta. Well I guess he's your responsibility now. He's stable and should be able to be admitted for assessments by tomorrow if his body works with the mending serum. He looked absolutely ghastly when he came in. The moderators must've had their fun with this one." Arthur remarked then snorted. "What's the point of it anyway?" He turned to Elizaveta and stared as if calculating her. She leveled his stare though the corners of her lips twitched occasionally. Whether because of trying to suppress speech or in irritation he couldn't tell. Maybe a nervous tick?
He broke eye contact with her and went over to his patient to carefully pull out the blood drip that had run dry. Alfred's arm muscles shuddered as he did so. His entire body was trembling again and his visage would contort in discomfort before relaxing only to repeat the entire cycle once more.
Nightmares. He'd seen it too often to not realize that this was a part of their punishment; obviously a direct effect of the medication. Attacking them even when they were down like sickly street dogs. His scrunched his face up in disgust. This wasn't what he had had in mind when he went to pursue his career as a medic.
Arthur pivoted on his heels looking away from his patients form. The younger ones always struck something deep within him. This was one of the youngest ones he'd ever had. Were there not lacerations all over him his skin would have still probably been smooth and soft with naivety. In his records he was only 19years of age… not even passed the set-school system. This didn't feel right to him in the slightest.
"It was really nice to meet you Elizaveta; though I think I'll take leave now. Hopefully we'll see each other again in politer circumstances."
"Yes you as well. Good day, Mr. Kirkland."
The doors hissed lowly as they slid shut leaving Eliza alone with her…subject? Patient? Assignment... None of those quite felt right. She looked over the bland room once more before exiting it herself hoping to get a night's rest before tomorrow's activities.
The lights automatically dimmed as she left and strangely enough she felt uneasy leaving things the way they were. She made her way down the corridor to the elevators which would take her up and over to the living quarters.
Halfway down her hallway she realized that her commands tablet was amiss, sighing in exasperation as she recalled putting it down in the stability room. Now she couldn't get into her dorm. In deep resignation she went back to the elevators punching in her destination furiously when she called one.
She walked briskly to the stability rooms once more, the doors straining to try to open fast enough for her on her rampage. The lights turned up with an airy hum and she located her commands tablet on the table next to Arthur's other technologies.
Suddenly she heard heavy breathing and wheezing. She turned and her throat tightened at the awful sight.
So... Whatd'ya think? Please review I appreciate any feedback. Do you like where this is going? Do you not like where this is going? well I won't know. Lest you review. Let that sit in yo mind for a while. I think I might not be able to update again until the weekend because of semester exams... sorry. Will there be pairings? The world may never know.
