《Finding Emma》Chapter 2
Advertisement
As soon as we enter the ship, I hear crying. Then the door closes. The soldier who walked with me sits down in the red netting.
-
-
"Where is she?" I ask. Then, the soldier who took the little girl from me appears from the cockpit. The little girl rests on her hip, tears streaming. She sees me but still cries.
-
-
The soldier hands her to me quickly. Once the little girl is resting upon my shoulder, she quiets down almost immediately. I think she has grown an emotional attachment to me.
-
-
"The kid likes you," Nita says, sitting down next to me as I slowly lower myself onto the red netting, trying not to frighten the little girl.
-
-
"I don't know about that," I reply. The little girl rubs her face against my shoulder and closes her eyes. I feel a rumbling and I know the ship has taken off, heading back to the Bureau.
-
-
"What are they going to do to her?" I ask Nita. I figure she knows the procedure.
-
-
"Well, they, um.. They give her some medicine that innoculates her against the toxins. Then they clean her, and she'll be ready for the Bureau."
-
-
"So I just have to come with and drop her off before the inoculation," I reply.
-
-
"No," a soldier replies. "You're going with. She was hysterical before and it would be easiest if you stayed with her."
-
-
Christina laughs. "Looks like you've found yourself a kid, Four," she says. I roll my eyes.
-
-
Once we arrive at the base, I am led to a building right next to the weapons area; the hospital. Nita, Christina, the soldier and I enter the hospital, and the first thing I notice are Nurses rushing around everywhere. I see a man with a burn on his shoulder, a child crying after receiving a seemingly-painful shot, and a woman nursing a broken arm. Nita and Christina stay in the lobby, while I follow the soldier, the little girl sleeping on my shoulder. The soldier leads me into a private room, where bottles of medicine are stacked up against a wall. A chair is placed in the middle of the room. I gently wake the little girl up and set her down carefully into the chair.
Advertisement
-
-
Her eyes open and she looks at me. This is the first time I get a good full look at her. Her bottom lip is cut, and streaks of dried acid rain are painted across her face, something I almost mistaken for blood. Her tiny toes curl, her feet red from the soil that used to be the floor of her home. Her tiny hand rests on her rag dress. Her eyes are watery.
-
-
"This will help her feel better and will prepare her against toxins," the soldier says, placing a ventilator connected to a tube of orange gas over the little girl's mouth. Her eyes widen and she looks at me, starting to squeal.
-
-
"Shh," I say, looking softly into her eyes. She calms down and slowly closes her eyes. The soldier walks out, explaining that he will return in a minute or two.
-
-
I hear the door creak open a couple seconds later and turn around from looking at the little girl. Christina walks in. The second she sees the little girl, her eyes widen and she runs over towards the girl's side.
-
-
"What's wrong?" I ask Christina, looking at the little girl, whose eyes are closed.
-
-
"Why are you giving her memory serum?" Christina exclaims.
-
-
"Memory serum? It's something to inoculate her from the toxins.." I start. Suddenly, the girl's eyes pop open. It looks like she is having a seizure.
-
-
"No, this is memory serum. It's orange. I know because Tris told me what it looks like, when we were back in the Bureau..."
-
-
They want to take the little girl's memories away from her, so she can start a fresh life. They want to take her life away from her.
Advertisement
-
-
In a rage, I yank the ventilator off of her tiny mouth. She coughs hardly into the air, and starts to cry.
-
-
"Shh," I say, sitting on the chair next to her, lifting her up. She rests her head against my shoulder again, and Christina turns off the ventilator.
-
-
"Dada," she cries, digging her face deeper into my collarbone.
-
-
"I'm not your dad," I say immediately, standing up.
-
-
"Dada," she replies, looking up at me and placing her hand onto my face.
-
-
"Her memories are mixed up," Christina says. "They didn't become fully swiped, so now she thinks that you are her father."
-
-
We hear footsteps heading towards the door and Christina rushes out of here. A second later, the soldier comes back right then, and I straighten up. "Why is the ventilator off?" He asks.
-
-
"She woke up and was confused," I lie. "I just took it off because it was beeping."
-
-
"Oh, alright," the soldier replies. "We need to give her some shots and then clean her up."
-
-
He looks through all of the serums and finally decides on one, after reading through all of the labels. He takes a clean needle out and wipes it with an antiseptic towel.
-
-
"You need to brace her down because it might be painful," he says. "This will also inoculate her from any diseases. After we need to prick her finger for blood to discover her damage percentage. Then you can clean her up."
-
-
I sit down in the chair, the little girl on my lap. "I'm going to hold you still, okay?" I ask her. She doesn't understand.
-
-
The man slowly injects the needle into her arm, and the girl shrieks. I hold onto her tightly so she doesn't move. The soldier quickly removes the needle and then takes another one. "I'm pricking her quickly," he says, gripping onto her hand and then stabbing her finger with a needle.
-
-
She screams even louder, and I squeeze her other hand. "It's okay," I say quickly. "It's just a needle."
-
-
After a couple seconds it's over, but she still cries in my lap. The soldier applies a bandage on her finger and another on her arm. "We're going to go to the cleansing stations near the living quarters now," he says. "I don't need to lead you there, do I?"
-
-
"I'm not five," I say sarcastically.
-
-
"You need to help her. Burn her clothes and take her into the shower. Wash her carefully and then pick up the new clothes, which will be ready for her at the end. Then meet your trainer, Nita, in the weaponry. She will explain what to do with the little girl next," the soldier explains.
-
-
"Will-do," I reply.
Advertisement
- In Serial67 Chapters
Thief Lord
“What is wrong with you!?” That would be what anyone who knows me would say if they knew what I’ve done. They wouldn’t be wrong, as no sane person would ever quit his job the first chance he got when he saw an opening to follow his dream. To become rich and famous by playing video games. What? Did you think my dream wasn’t childish? The best dreams most often are. No? Well, maybe you just don’t dream big enough. Ever think about that? Dreams are never easy to follow, and neither is mine. There are millions of players who want the same as I do, but very few would actually risk their future trying. Following the path of a Villain isn’t easy, and I have a city filled with thousands of players who would love to see me fail. I will show them though. Just you wait and see... ----- This story is currently only posted here on royalroad. The only exception is an up-and-coming narrator names Agro Squerrils who I have given permission to narrate a few of my chapters on his youtube channel. Feel free to check it out if you are interested!https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLcfzFNUhrNS3YUShvr3W9mKwvhpMgmyua Disclaimer: I would advise checking out the story's tags. The story contains a low to medium amount of profanity. Read at your own discretion.
8 107 - In Serial15 Chapters
The World System
James Harbor was on his way home from a night shift when his world and his SUV was turned sideways, literally, by a giant beast. With a dark sense of humor, a fair bit of intelligence, and scorn for his fellow man dont expect our protaginist to be a sefless sacrificing hero out to save the world from itself. Instead join a man driven by his whims and given an unexpected headstart in the race for survival. ------------ This story is going to be refined slowly as I write new chapters, cleaning up grammar, typos, repeats, elements placed wrong, etc, I do my own proof-reading which is far from perfect so expect older chapters to be updated frequently with revisions. Release schedule will probably be at least 1 chapter a week.
8 177 - In Serial74 Chapters
Chain of Ascension
Oftentimes, our suffering plays out in the things we’re drawn to, and out of all of his amazing & powerful friends, Xander was the one stuck in a vicious time loop. Either he’s the most unfortunate soul on the planet or he really is destined for something more. This is the journey of discovery Xander Harris never got.
8 214 - In Serial10 Chapters
Fairy-Elf Enigma
Miles is reluctantly recruited by Elle to be part of her Adventuring Team in hopes that he can speak to the woman he fell in love with. The only problem is that she is dead, but Elle may know a way.
8 153 - In Serial9 Chapters
Plague Time
Plague Time is the new virus killing folks in America. Set in December 2023, Curt Joiner recounts how the Plague was created and, if that wasn't bad enough, now he and his bloodline are stalked by a demon. Well, she wasn't a demon at first; first she was a young girl on a plantaion during the civil war. In 1865, amid the chared ruins of Georgia, she made a deal to get her fancy dresses and sweets back. You know who she made the deal with. All she had to do was stalk the men of Curt's family and pick off one per generation. Plauge Time is when Curt's number comes up. He’s writing to set the record straight, he says, but really he is pouring out the truth in the hopes that his wife will read it and forgive him. Or if not forgive, at least understand that he was an unfaithful husband and a cowardly man all on his own, but had outside help on the road to final damnation.
8 139 - In Serial23 Chapters
Justice League : War of the Motherboxes
8 175

