Altered Essence
Chapter Two
Whispers in the Flames
Author: Aqua Butterfly
Author's Note: Sorry this chapter took a little bit longer than the others, everyone! This installment really was so much fun to write, especially the ending. I hope you enjoy it! XOXO, AB
Disclaimer: Don't own. Never will.
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Kagome was almost completely conscious.
"Miss Higurashi?"
She just chose to act like she wasn't.
"Kagome…?"
She could hear her name being said over and over again, feel the cool hands on her face; she was even aware of the fact that she was in a hospital. She could tell because her nose was filled with a familiar too-clean smell and she distinctly heard a beeping noise quietly in the background. Kagome had been in a hospital before. Back before she had called The Institution home…
"Kagome Higurashi? Can you hear me!?"
I wish I couldn't… thought Kagome, hoping that whoever it was (She guessed the person was a nurse or something.) that was bothering her would just shut up and leave her alone. She was so tired… and she just wanted sleep. This, however, was quite odd, as she felt like she had been resting for a very long time. She really shouldn't still be sleepy. And though the drowsiness that she felt wasn't the sort she was used to, it still felt as if Kagome had known this feeling before…
"Doctor! Doctor!?" cried the voice, and Kagome heard frantic footsteps, the swoosh of a curtain, and then silence.
Kagome counted to thirty before she opened her eyes, and--sure enough--she was in a hospital. It was obvious by the wires connected from her chest and stomach to the heart monitor positioned some six inches behind her headboard. The décor was also typically hospital-esque; the color of the walls, the curtain that divided the room, and her sheets were all blue. To her extreme delight, Kagome had been lucky enough to receive the bed beside the window. (Though it wasn't doing her much good now, since it was completely dark outside.)
Kagome sighed and stretched broadly. How had she even gotten here? She hadn't been in an accident, had she? She felt perfectly fine. In fact, regardless of feeling so exhausted, she had never felt better.
Instead of having to wear an itchy hospital gown, Kagome was pleasantly surprised to find that her own pajamas had been provided. But what amazed her even more was that her forearms seemed vaguely more sculpted than she had remembered. She marveled at the delicate curve her muscle made under her white skin and couldn't resist flexing a bit. It wasn't only that she felt more healthy, but she also felt alert and focused, even though she had just woken up…
Whoa! The drugs they had been giving her must have been working some kind of miracles…
Glancing around the room once more, Kagome caught sight of a green folder on her bedside table with her name printed in bold letters across the cover. And being the curious teenager that she was, Kagome couldn't resist a peek…
"Let's see what we've got here…" murmured Kagome, snatching the file from it's resting place and flipping through it's contents. She was disappointed to find that there weren't that many interesting things to uncover, only her birth certificate and a few other typical documents. Kagome also came across her hospital admission form, but it was in a weird medical lingo that she couldn't really understand--plus, whoever composed her admittance had God-awful handwriting. The only thing even barely legible were the words "Spanos Gene" and Kagome had no idea what that meant. She wouldn't take Anatomy until next year.
"Jeez," someone grumbled. "I hate that doctor! Always acting like I'm a just a damn errand-running machine… I have feelings too you know!"
Oh, hell! Kagome's stomach dropped. She recognized that voice, she was sure. It was the voice of the frantic nurse, though this time she sounded much more pissed than fearful.
Expertly tossing the folder back onto the table, Kagome settled back into her blankets and closed her eyes in what she hoped was a peaceful, sleeping guise just as the nurse pulled back the curtain.
"Okay, let's see…" said the nurse while clicking her tongue. "Temperature…?"
Kagome felt a cool hand touch her forehead and let her eyes flutter open. This startled the woman, who gave a little scream of terror and jumped back, but Kagome forced herself not to giggle. Instead, she groaned and raised her hand to stifled a fake yawn. It was at this time that she realized her whole body felt unnaturally heavy, and Kagome suddenly remembered the time when she had experienced this feeling before.
"What did I need anesthetic for?" asked Kagome, feeling slightly alarmed.
The nurse, for some odd reason, seemed to be afraid of Kagome. She smiled nervously and said, "The S.D.s don't have any control on who they shoot with the darts, dear."
Kagome's brow furrowed in confusion. "I'm sorry…?"
"The computer inside the Sensory Detectors calculate how many beings are in the off limits area of The Institution," she explained, sounding like a computer herself. "Then, they shoot out darts filled with liquid anesthetic to keep the wrongdoer detained until the required school officials arrive."
"What?" asked Kagome. "An S.D.?"
"Yes." said the nurse.
Kagome blinked, and gently massaged her temples with her forefingers. Try as she might, she couldn't remember anything concerning a Sensory Detector. The last thing she could clearly recall was receiving an invitation to her own birthday party, but that had been Sunday afternoon.
"What day is it?"
The nurse bit her lip and avoided Kagome's eyes. "It's early Friday morning, Miss Higurashi. The ninth of November."
Kagome gasped. "So I've been out for five days?"
"No. Just four. The Sensory Detector caught you and your friend out of bounds Monday morning."
Kagome's heart skipped a few beats. Being in a prohibited area certainly didn't sound like herself or any of her friends… What in the world had they been up to?
"Which friend? Are they alright? Where are they?"
The nurse flinched at Kagome's sudden outburst, but said, "I'm not sure what your friend's name is, but I am aware that she is in good health and that she awoke just thirty minutes after being sedated. She was promptly sent to her second block class after receiving a lecture on the importance of following the Institutions rules."
"Oh…" said Kagome. "W-Well I'm glad she's okay."
The nurse smiled tentatively but kindly, and patted Kagome's arm. "Yes. She's perfectly fine. You, however, will have to stay with us a little while longer. Along with the anesthetic having a bad affect on your body, you also had a head injury and we would like to run a few more tests..."
Kagome smiled back broadly, happy that the lady was finally warming to her. She reasoned that the nurse's previous unfriendliness was due to nervousness. Maybe it was her first day at this particular hospital? She looked quite young…
But she was wrong, for when Kagome asked "What kind of tests?" the nurse's smile dropped from her face faster than one would drop a poisonous snake.
"Uh… I don't think I'm allowed to disclose t-that sort of information t-to the patient--"
"Oh, Ruka," interrupted a female voice. "Don't be so secretive! Kagome is, after all, the one we will be performing the assessments on. She has a right to know!"
A new woman parted the curtain that hid Kagome's bed from view. She was obviously the doctor. She didn't bothering wearing scrubs like the nurse, instead she wore normal clothes underneath a long white lab jacket. She smiled kindly, revealing a set of straight, pearly white teeth.
"Hello Kagome," the woman nodded at her patient. "I am Dr. Oogami, and I apologize for the rudeness of my assistant. Ruka was just leaving."
The nurse took the hint, and she didn't seem sorry to go. She stared at Kagome with fearful eyes as she disappeared behind the blue fabric. The doctor, however, seemed no more afraid of Kagome than she would be with any other patient.
"You must be very tired, Kagome." said the doctor. "You didn't react very well to the sedative…"
"Oh… Why not?" She had never reacted badly to anesthesia before… and she'd be given it twice.
The doctor laughed as she took a seat on the edge of Kagome's bed. "We're still not exactly sure. But don't you worry about it, we fixed the problem."
"Um… the nurse also said that I had a head injury?"
Dr. Oogami gave a little laugh. "Yes, you did. In fact, I relate your mild case of amnesia and your confusion to that bump. Can you remember anything at all from Sunday night or Saturday morning?"
Kagome shook her head slowly and the doctor made a note on her clipboard.
"Quite alright, quite alright…" murmured Dr. Oogami. "I'm sure you'll be perfect in a matter of hours, after we finish the tests."
And before Kagome could restate her question, the doctor continued.
"We'll just be drawing your blood and letting the pathologists in the lab look over it," said Dr. Oogami. "And I might issue a CT scan if your memory doesn't return in a few hours, but that's very unlikely."
Kagome sighed with relief. "So, if everything turns out okay, when will I be able to return to The Institution? I don't want to be too behind with my assignments."
The doctor's eyebrows disappeared behind her bang. "Why, hasn't anyone told you?"
Kagome shrugged. "Uh… If they had then I wouldn't remember…"
"Goodness gracious! I can't believe Ruka didn't--no wonder--my God! I forgot, you missed breakfast at The Institution Monday morning, am I correct? That was when it was announced!" blathered Dr. Oogami, while smiling that shocking smile. And with a slight start, Kagome noticed that the doctor's eyes were a strange shade of brown. In certain light, they almost appeared red…
But the girl dismissed the eerie intuition she now felt. What did the color of your eyes matter, anyway? Why, even Kagome herself had odd eyes!
"But really Kagome, what I'm trying to say is…" said the doctor finally, seeming to struggle with her words. "You've been Chosen."
Kagome found she couldn't speak.
"It was to be expected though, of course." said Dr. Oogami, resembling a proud mother. "I reviewed your records when you were admitted. And, if I may say so, you have wonderful grades and an impressive number of extracurricular activities you participate in. I'm surprised you weren't Chosen sooner, actually."
A great mass of happiness seemed to swell within Kagome. It was a feeling beyond amazing, beyond anything the young girl had felt before. And as her exhilaration grew and grew, she knew she could contain it no longer. She began to weep.
"I-I've dreamed of being Chosen," sobbed Kagome. "I can't believe it! It's so... Just… Wow."
"I know. It must feel amazing," said the doctor, and Kagome didn't even notice the bitter way with which she said the words.
Kagome's mind was forming questions faster than she could ask them, "What's next? What am I going to do? What does being Chosen really mean? Do I still have to wear my Institution uniform?"
Dr. Oogami shrugged. "I'm not sure, Miss Higurashi. I work in the medical field, not in all that Chosen business. All that I am aware of is that you are my patient, and that it is now time for your second dose of medication."
"But I thought I reacted badly to--"
"Oh, no! I'm not giving you anesthetic," laughed the doctor, as she called for Ruka again. "I'm giving you the drugs for your recovery."
"Oh, alright," smiled Kagome. She just couldn't help but grin. This was, most definitely, the best day of her life.
"But while the drugs take affect, I'm afraid you'll have to be put to sleep again. However, this time we will be using another type of sedation method. A odorless, tasteless gas."
Kagome nodded, and watched as Dr. Oogami added a blue-silver opaque liquid to her IV bag and the drug spread and swirled as it settled with the other fluid. Kagome found this oddly beautiful, but forgot about it as soon as the doctor placed the oxygen mask firmly over her mouth and nose.
And almost instantaneously, Kagome knew no more.
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"Higurashi… Higurashi…" someone whispered softly in Kagome's ear. Or so she thought. Could one's dreams be so real that you could actually feel hot breath in your ear? Or the smooth touch of fingertips on your cheek?
Kagome thought not, but she couldn't bring herself to speak or move. She was just so comfortable, and her bed was so warm…
"I know you're awake, Higurashi. You've got to get away--as far away from this place as you possible can!" hissed the voice.
Why? Kagome thought, but when she actually parted her lips to ask all that came out was a quiet sigh.
A hand hit her across the face, but gently. It reminded Kagome her mother's method of awaking her children, only without the water or the screaming.
"Kagome! You've got to get up! There's a fire on the floor above!"
Now that got her attention.
"Fire?" gasped Kagome, bolting up in bed and twisting and turning around like an idiot. But there wasn't a soul to be seen. Not the doctor, or a visitor, or anything at all… This confused her for a moment (Hadn't she just heard a voice?), but then Kagome smelled the smoke--and the next second the alarm was blaring loudly and water was showering down upon her from the sprinklers on the ceiling; she forgot about the mysterious voice, for a large group of people tore through the curtain barely a second later.
"Get her out of here! Move!"
Kagome was suddenly seized by two green-scrubbed nurses who began tearing off the wires that connected her to the heart monitor and her nasal cannula. But when they moved to take out the needle in her wrist a harsh voice screeched, "Don't remove her IV pump, she hasn't finished her third dosage yet!"
"But I thought I was only on my second?" cried Kagome, as the nurses began to wheeled her through the drape and out of the room. The ignored her, however. Just as they ignored the occupant of the additional bed in Kagome's room.
"Help me!" the elderly man sobbed, reaching for Kagome with his knobby, wrinkled hand just as they crossed the threshold into the hallway. Her heart seemed to jerk painfully in her chest.
"Somebody rescue him!" she cried, pounding her fists angrily on her drenched mattress as they rushed past other patients on stretchers. "He needs help more than I do! Save him!"
"The Spanos Gene carrier must be evacuated first!" one of them snarled.
"But--"
"Kagome," said a very familiar voice. It was Dr. Oogami. "You are Chosen. You must be removed first."
Kagome shook her head feebly. "The other patients need help too! Go b-back!"
"No," said the doctor with a new, hard voice. "Our first responsibility is to the Chosen."
And then several things happened at once. A loud explosion thundered from all directions, the ceiling gave a great quiver and water and fire and debris showered upon them, and Kagome was thrown from her bed onto the body of a nurse who's whole entire upper body had been crushed by the wreckage.
Before Kagome could scream, however, the voice she had heard when she had first awoken yelled, "Kagome, get out of here! Get away! They're going to kill you!"
And so she did.
The IV ripping from her vein hurt a bit, but Kagome barely noticed as she tore down the corridor, past the nurses and doctors who where all snatching at her wrists and ankles, and into the separate division where the stairs were positioned.
"P-Please help me, miss!"
Kagome turned to find a boy limping feebly towards the stairway, he was staring at her with tear-filled eyes and his leg was twisted at an odd angle. He must have fallen from the floor above when the ceiling collapsed.
"Are we going to die?" he asked, his voice shaking with fear.
Kagome hoped not, but she thought it very likely.
"No," she said, and threw the boy over her shoulder. He was surprisingly light. Much too light. But Kagome was thankful rather than confused by this as she practically leaped the four flights of stairs down to the main level.
The first floor was completely deserted. And much to Kagome's great surprise, they made it out of the hospital and into the mass of saved-persons surrounding the building just as another great explosion occurred and the third floor caved.
But this wasn't right, Kagome thought, as she set the little boy safely on the ground. These… rescued patients weren't quite normal, somehow; even some of the nurses and doctors looked odd. One man had a large section of his face missing, revealing a complicating maze of wires and gadgets. A woman had had her arm torn off at the elbow, but instead of blood pouring from the wound only a silver-blue liquid was dripping from the wound. And another nurse looked perfectly fine--had it not been for her eyes, which were glowing bright crimson.
"I see you've been reacting well to the evolution drugs, Miss Higurashi. I am pleased with your progress." Kagome shrieked a little in surprise and spun around. Dr. Oogami stood directly behind her, and was staring at her patient with scarlet eyes and a cruel smile.
"W-What kind of drugs?" asked Kagome, taking a step back.
"Who are you working for?" demanded the doctor.
"What?"
"Who. Are. You. Working. For." she raved, advancing on Kagome with what looked to be a long, glowing blade-less spear. "Don't play stupid. You're in alliance with the rebels, aren't you? Aren't you?!"
Kagome opened her mouth to question what they hell Dr. Oogami meant, but before she could even breathe the spear-like weapon was against her neck and a terrible pain shot through her body like a white-hot flame.
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A/N: Reviews? Please?
