Chapter 70

Maya saw the end of the tunnel. A small blip of light that slowly grew intense. As she reached the entrance of the cave, she covered her eyes with her hand. She had hibernated for so long that her eyes forgot how sunny Pandora was. She walked a few steps ahead of the entrance then stopped. Kharkov and Red walked past her. With a touch of a button, Red decloaked the SUV.

But something felt different. Maya could sense it but she could not pinpoint it.

"Red, give me a secure connection with Keith." Kharkov walked together with Red. "After that, we will send Maya to her friends."

"On it." Red reached into his pocket and wore his electronic eyepiece. "I need 10 minutes to secure a line. You can send an encrypted message right now if you want."

"Keith won't take it seriously. Calling him would get the job done faster, Bratan."

"Got it." Red nodded.

Red glanced to his back to see how Maya was. He realised that she remained still for a whole while. Constantly blinking her eyes.

"Maya, are you alright?" Red asked.

She did not respond.

Kharkov was already close to the SUV. He Heard the conversation that stopped suddenly. He glanced back to see what's going on.

Maya looked at her left arm. Some parts of her Channels were not normal. What was flowing and uninterrupted, now her left arm had small empty blots and traces of gold. Her body temperature was increasing. She stared back at Red and Kharkov, her eyesight becoming less clear.

"Red, Kharkov…." Maya called. "Help…"

Maya collapsed to her knees, her head dropped down.

"What the fuck!" Red sprinted to Maya.

Kharkov arrived at the downed woman first. "What is it now?!?" Kharkov put his hand on her shoulder, shaking her body to keep her awake.

"I don't know." Red arrived a moment later and kneeled to one knee. He put two fingers on her neck and realised her pulse was getting slower. "We're losing her!."

Kharkov pulled her body and laid her down. He made sure her neck was straight, holding on to her head and seeing her eyes. Still responsive but not long.

Maya could hear his voice suddenly dampened. "Maya, be strong. Stay with us!"

"Hold on! Let me check!" Red looked at her left arm and held it.

"Red what is going on!?!"

"I don't know!" Red stood up and sprinted away from Maya sight. "Kharkov, I need you to tear her shirt."

Kharkov tore Maya's shirt with his two hands. "I think we need to hibernate her like Lilith!"

"Her heartbeat is going down! You crazy!?!?"

"We don't have a choice!"

"I'm not going to make that choice!"

"I will!"

"I'm going to pump adrenaline straight to her heart." Red arrived with a syringe, flicking the needle with his finger. "Maya, this is going to hurt."

Red put his palm between her bare breast, then felt the rib cage with his finger. He stretched a part of her skin and took a deep breath. Raising the syringe high, Red stabbed the syringe at an angle. Punctured straight through skin, muscle and bone into the heart. Red pressed the drug in and began to take effect immediately, Maya's vision became purple and orange then slowly appeared normal.

Red checked her pulse again and released a relieved sigh. "She's stable… tha-"

Maya's vision faded even more. Her pulse became even slower.

Red held Maya's arm and looked at the marks. The white spots and traces disappeared, leaving noticeable gaps.

"I think it is because of Akari." Red looked at Kharkov. "She's not gonna make it."

"I'm going to hibernate her." Red moved away and Kharkov moved his body to a suitable position. "At least she won't die immediately."

He looked straight at Maya. One hand held her left arm, the other hand closed to her neck, positioned two fingers. Kharkov took the most space of her vision, Red was behind him looking defeated.

"Maya, listen to me." Kharkov said slowly and loudly. "Stay put and do not move. We will find you.

Stay put and do not move. We will find you. Stay put. Do not move. We will find you."

Instantaneously, the world faded into darkness. Maya closed her eyes, not knowing if she will sleep for a moment or forever.

She opened her eyes. Her pupils moved left and right, up and down to see where she was. A foreign white clean room, blue pendaflour lights that remained to be used longer than expected. She could feel the oxygen mask tied to her mouth. Could not move her body, not even her neck. Her hearing began to recover, she could hear the beeps of the life support machine on her left.

A man came into the room to check. He saw the opened eyes, he took a step back. He pressed his radio. "Kharkov, she opened her eyes!"

The man sprinted to the life support and looked at the monitor. "Everything stable. Looks promising and great."

The man turned to her. "You can blink right?"

She blinked.

"I think you remember me. It's me, Red. Blink twice if you remember me."

She blinked twice.

Red smiled. "This is amazing."

Kharkov entered the room. She looked at him and his face surprised and grateful. "Red, she woke up!"

"I just arrived, we will make a full diagnosis after this. Right now, heartbeat is stable and mentally intact." Red shook his head. "I can't believe it."

Kharkov arrived opposite to Red, also having a grateful smile. He spoke to the woman. "We already planned what would happen next in terms of treatment. I think you want to do it immediately. Blink once if you need time. Blink twice if you want to do it as soon as possible."

She blinked twice again, this time it was clear and determined.

Kharkov turned to Red and nodded. "Tomorrow will be a busy day."

"Time to get to work." Red moved away and walked to the exit.

"You are one determined woman." Kharkov moved closer to the woman and crossed his arms. "Welcome back to the world, Nia Alesia."