Today I almost gave in to the shadows. The were surrounding me, choking out all the light. The only reason I am still here is because of Ronan. Lizzy and Johnson are also reasons, but Ronan is the one who shouted my name, bringing me out of the pit of despair.
I dropped my pen and sighed, my journal falling onto my lap. I was laying on my bunk, unable to sleep after a day of resting. Lizzy was out cold at her desk. I stared out the small window in the door. Ronan walked past the door and went into the basement. I couldn't lay on my bed for any longer, so I quietly got up and went out the door. Johnson was asleep on the floor in his and Ronan's room across the way. I turned to my right and went down the hallway until I reached the already open basement door on my left.
I went down the stairs and found Ronan at the bottom, working at the electrical panel. He jumped when he saw me, the tool he was holding clanging against one of the red pipes on the wall.
"What are you doing?" He asked me. "Aren't you supposed to be resting?"
"Are you kidding?" I said. "I've been laying on a bed all day doing nothing. I need a break from the boredom. Plus… I wanted to thank you."
"For what?"
"For shouting my name when we were in the forest. If you hadn't… let's just say I wouldn't be here right now." I said.
"Oh," he said. "It was the only thing I could do. I couldn't see you through the shadows. I was trying to see if you were all right."
"Well, it saved my life. So, thank you." At the same time, we pulled each other into an embrace, which surprised me, because Ronan isn't as affectionate as the rest of us. But when you're one of the only four left in a building that used to hold twenty, you cling onto each other for as long as you can. After a few seconds, we let go.
"Are you fixing the tower?" I asked.
"Yup. I just need to get this lever…" He raised the lever using quite a lot of force. The lights flickered and dimmed.
"Well, that didn't work." I said.
"I thought that would happen," Ronan grumbled. "We need to completely reboot that tower."
"Should I get the others to help?" I asked. Ronan shook his head.
"We should let them sleep. It's been a long day. I slept while you were unconscious." He added when he saw the amused concern on my face. He grabbed a few tools and went upstairs. I followed him to the tower, turning on the temporary windows so that we wouldn't be eaten by the shadows. Ronan opened the door and we stepped outside.
"I'm going to climb up the tower and secure these conductors. On my signal, pull that lever up as far as you possibly can." He attached the other end of the conductors to a metal ring next to the lever.
"You know that this is a dangerous and kind of stupid thing to do, right?" I asked him.
"Yes, but if we don't get this tower fixed we won't have enough power to last through the next shift." He argued back.
"Fine," I said. "But Lizzy is going to lose it if she catches us doing this." Ronan rolled his eyes and started to climb up the tower. I flicked some switches to turn the lever on, and by the time I was done, Ronan had attached both of the conductors. We locked eyes.
"Now!" He shouted, adjusting his grip on the conductors. I took a deep breath and raised the lever. Electricity immediately shot through the conductors. In the surge of power, Ronan lost his grip on one of the conductors. Instead of charging the tower, it charged Ronan. I ran forward as Ronan fell, electricity still surging through him. I caught him under his arms, and then the lightning took over.
Without thinking about it, I drew the electricity off of Ronan and aimed it at the power cell. The tower sparked furiously, then it supercharged, knocking me off my feet. As soon as I came to my senses, I rushed over to Ronan. His dark brown hair was stuck up everywhere and his left ear was bleeding. He groaned as his eyes fluttered open.
"That was a stupid idea." He mumbled.
"I told you so," I said, fixing his static hair. I shakily stood up, fighting off a headache, and went to grab medical supplies. But before I could reach the door, Lizzy slammed it open, Johnson right behind her, panicked looks on both their faces.
"What just happened?" Lizzy demanded, her voice shaking in fear.
"We got the tower working," I said. "But Ronan's hurt." Lizzy immediately pushed past me and ran to Ronan's side. Johnson turned around and ran back down the hallway to get the medical supplies. I rubbed my temples with my fingers to try to stop the throbbing pain in my head, which was becoming worse every second. A few moments later, Johnson ran back through the door, carrying a large kit. He set it down next to Ronan. Lizzy quickly opened it up and picked out the necessary materials. I steadied my breathing to try and clear my head. When the dizziness subsided, I joined Lizzy and Johnson at Ronan's side. Johnson was putting pressure on the bleeding in Ronan's ear whilst Lizzy checked for any other injuries. She stopped and looked up at me.
"What exactly happened?" She asked, trying to stay calm.
"We tried to fix the tower, but Ronan lost his grip on one of the conductors, which ended up electrocuting him, but I caught him and then the weird lightning stuff kicked in again and I charged the tower." I took a deep breath, finally understanding what just happened.
"It was my idea," Ronan muttered.
"I figured that," Johnson said.
"Why didn't you ask for our help?" Lizzy sighed, exasperated.
"I was going to, but Ronan wanted you two to get some sleep," I explained.
"Can you get me off of this freezing cold concrete?" Ronan asked. We helped him stand and walked him to the main lab, laying him on the bed that I had just been set on a few hours earlier. Lizzy grabbed an X-Ray device, which was attached to one of the computers, and started scanning Ronan. The device beeped and she sighed tiredly.
"What is it?" Ronan groaned.
"It's not too bad," Lizzy said. "But you have two fractured metacarpals in your left hand and a sprained calcaneus in your left foot."
"Well, that's going to be great for running shifts," Johnson muttered under his breath as Lizzy ran down the stairs to the first-floor storage room. Ronan glared at him. A few minutes later, Lizzy came back, holding a hand brace and some stretchy bandages. I helped Ronan fit the brace on his swollen hand while Lizzy and Johnson arranged the bandages on his foot. None of us had anything to say to break the awkward tension surrounding us. Once we finished, we helped Ronan to his and Johnson's room and placed him on his bed. On her way out, Lizzy gave a longing look to the third bunk, empty and against the far wall. She shook it off and the two of us went across the hall to settle in our own beds.
We woke up six hours later to the sound of a computer alarm going off.