{+}+{+}+{+}+{+}+{+}+{+} CH 10
She had to go down the elevator and pass through the main Labyrinth sanctuary and cut over to the private area where the clones had been moved.
As she cut through the main area, she spotted the tiger striped mutate, Claw. He met her eyes, scowled, and turned silently away to storm off in the opposite direction. She tried not to let it hurt, not when she had so many more important things to concentrate on that night. Her hurt feelings could wait, and perhaps once this was all over and done with, if she ever saw him again, maybe she could finally ask him why he seemed to hate her.
For now, she turned from the quarters of the living and into the direction of the dying.
By the time Violet got to the clone's part of the underground sanctuary, not only was the Manhattan clan there, but Dr. James and Margaret had tagged along as well.
"Kiersten wanted to come," Dr. James whispered to her, "but I asked her to stay home with our son."
"She doesn't need to be here," Violet agreed softly. "Neither do you two."
"Maybe not," he said with a nod. "But we weren't going to leave this all to you."
"Thank you," Violet said softly, grateful to these two virtual strangers who had come to her aid, giving up their free time and sleep to try to help her in this impossible situation.
Someone had already taken Delilah aside and explained things, Violet knew. It was in her eyes.
They entered a smaller, more private room than the main area where the clones had been urged to lay down. It hadn't taken much, Delilah admitted to them all softly. They were tired.
Violet knew from her interactions with the Manhattan Clan over the last week, that that in itself was odd, as even Hudson and Lyra as the eldest never seemed to tire out.
Violet had every intention of hanging back until the clan said goodbye, but seeing how a few of them were beginning to struggle breathing, beginning to panic, she changed her mind. Kneeling in a corner, she set down her customized case, and extracted the vials she'd packed there. Evenly distributing the plasma that would ease their breathing troubles with a mild sedative amongst several vials, she motioned Dr. James and Margaret over. She handed them each a pair of the vials and syringes before taking one up on her own. She wasn't a doctor. She could do a blood draw, but administering injections was not her strong suit and this was too important to mess up. After a moment of deliberation, she carefully handed the final vial to Dr. James.
He took the offering, and gave her shoulder a gentle, supportive squeeze.
Violet took a breath, held it, then released it on a silent sigh. She closed her case once more with a soft click.
The effects of the injections were fast, as the clones' breathing became less labored. As they did, their struggles lessened as well.
She stayed near the far wall, watching as the Manhattan clan stopped at each bed and, saying nothing, simply held their arms out to their failing comrades. Once they had made their way through the room, Elisa took a turn, though Violet could see that it was affecting her probably more than she knew.
Once completed, the clan made their way out as silently as they had come, leaving Violet, the doctor, the nurse and Delilah to keep the vigil.