Unity by Carl Stubblefield (epub read online books TXT) 📕

few buttons, the small box spat out a rectangular ID with Prime’s picture and credentials on them.

“Kate Mandu? Really, Yuki?” Prime said, putting a hand on her hip. Yuki printed some more of the IDs for the rest of the team and retrieved more scrubs, hiding them in a corner, as she tried not to look Prime in the eyes.

“No one reads these anyways. Besides, I didn’t think you’d look. It is a fully functioning ID though, and we have full access with these.” Her arm disappeared to the elbow as she once again fished around inside the zipper portal. She came up with two clips and tossed one to Prime. Sliding it through the ID, she clipped it to her pocket.

“What does yours say?” Prime pressed.

“It doesn’t matter,” was Yuki’s curt reply.

“Let me see,” Prime slid by gracefully, plucking the ID with a practiced motion that would make any pickpocket envious. “Oh, ho ho!”

“Give that back, we’ve got to go. Stop goofing around.”

“I’m so sorry… Doctor Kasa, head of neurology.” She held the ID out in a deferential bow.

Yuki rolled her eyes and hissed, “Let’s go, already!” She snatched her ID out of Prime’s hand and exited the storage room like she owned the place.

Prime followed, smiling to herself.

“What do you think you’re doing?” a loud voice boomed.

As Prime stepped into the hallway, Yuki was backing away from a large gorilla of a man staring down his brows. A flustered Yuki sputtered and stammered as she looked back at the angry individual she had barreled into inadvertently. In desperation, she looked back at Prime. Her expression said it all.

I blew it!

Chapter Fifty-One

Doctor! Doctor!

“You damn doctors think you can treat us orderlies like crap! Now you’re raiding our scrubs, just because you can? Typical. And watch where you’re going!” He gently pushed Yuki to the side with a beefy hand and continued on his way down the corridor.

As Prime watched him leave, she saw that he definitely was a hybrid—simian, most likely. She could see silver hair on the nape of his neck going down his back, visible on the scrubs’ low neck-line.

Yuki scooped up Prime’s arm with a big grin and she giggled at the release of tension.

“Hoo! I thought that was it for us. Well, you can rest at ease, there’s hybrids working here. Makes sense in Hinansho. This is the main floor; it functions as any regular hospital. What we want is found in the M wing. We’ll wait for the others there.”

Yuki nodded at another doctor passing in the hallway. Her face became serious and stern. “Doctor.”

“Doctor,” he replied, nodding in turn.

“I’ve always wanted to do that!” Prime just rolled her eyes. “My dad always wanted me to be a doctor. Now he can’t say that I was a disappointment. C’mon, it’s this way,” Yuki urged, pulling Prime along with her.

The whirlwind that was around Tempest only increased in size. Within the storm, Gus could see hailstones and chunks of ice.

Grabbing Aurora’s hand he pulled her down an embankment and behind a tree.

“I’ve only heard of him doing this, but we need to take cover!”

An unholy whistling began to sound. There were shouts but nothing could be understood as the cacophony increased.

“Cover your ears!” Gus screamed and then pantomimed when he found he couldn’t even hear his own voice. They both felt a huge pressure wave extend overhead, pushing them down into the soil around the tree. There were loud cracks and icy shrapnel spread outward. Alarms sounded as vehicles in the parking lot hundreds of feet away had their windows smashed as they were pelted with the debris. The silence afterward was eerie.

Aurora followed as Gus scrambled up to the promenade and saw his father down on all fours, shaking his head. The others were blown back in different directions, unconscious but alive.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve nearly bottomed out my MP,” he said, coughing and massaging his temples.

A whirring brought their attention to the drone, as a panel on its center opened and the propellers spun one final time. Bright glittery dust flew out, covering the supers. Gus spit and puffed out a big breath, catching the full brunt of the blast.

“That’s annoying as hell. I’ll be combing this out of my hair for weeks,” Aurora said, holding up some strands of hair trying to remove some of the particles. Tempest raised a wind that blew away a majority of the obnoxious particles. Aurora kicked Black Lotus, and turned on the other Luddite who had released the drone in retaliation and was calculating her next angle for maximum bruising.

“Leave them, Aurora, Yuki needs us,” Tempest gasped, his voice raw like he had been screaming too much.

She gave them one last scowl and growled as she followed Tempest. “Glitter? How stupid can you get!”

They followed the nav-point, finding the door propped open and made their way to the stockroom and found Yuki’s stash.

Gus held up his ID. “Ah yeah, Yuki knows me. Dr. Angus M. Young—Cardiologist at your service! What’s yours say?”

“Paul N. Storm. Hmm. I don’t get it.” Tempest shrugged as he slid into his scrub top.

Gus just chuckled. “You wouldn’t. You’re old. How about you?” He looked at Aurora.

“A. Borealis, RN. Ha-ha. Like I’ve never heard that one in the Academy. Let’s just go already.” Aurora headed out the door when the nav-point was refreshed to show Yuki’s new position.

They followed, trying to walk quickly but had to temper their speed when they started drawing attention.

“Where are you guys, he’s here!” Yuki whispered urgently over the comms.

“We’re coming as fast as we can,” Aurora responded. “People are watching us.”

“I have an idea,” Gus said, grabbing a stretcher alongside a hall. “Aurora, jump up and lay down.”

“Wha—”

“Just do it!” Gus pressed.

Aurora rolled her eyes and crawled onto the stretcher. He threw a sheet over her lower legs and motioned for his father to grab an IV stand. He handed one end of the line to Aurora. “Hold this