Inside the Palisade Read Online Free PDF Page A

the mystery of Delta. Who was she and how did he know her? Had she been outside the wall? Did she know what was out there?
    I stare at the door leading to the examination rooms. It’s clearly been painted over many times. Layers of chipped white paint peek out through the latest rough veneer. The door opens with a creak and a tall thin figure in a white tunic glances around the waiting area until her gaze fixes on me.
    “Omega Wye?” She smooths down her gray hair and glances at the datapad propped in the crook of her arm. I raise my hand, not sure why I bother given the lack of other patients.
    “My name is Rho Zee,” she says. “Follow me, please.”
    Hissing against the pain in my knee, I stand up. My leg throbs when I put weight on it. The Med-Tech directs me through the doorway and leads me down a maze of gray and white corridors to a sparsely furnished examination room where she motions for me to sit on a metal bench. Turning her attention to her datapad, she summarizes my stats. “Omega Wye. Age: Eight-hundred-and-forty-three weeks. Mother: Sigma Wye.” She pauses. “Accident at Main Plant. Gash on right forearm.”
    “Yes, ma’am.” The room smells sterile with a hint of the same lemon-scented cleaning agent we use at the factory.
    The Med-Tech tilts her head before approaching. Finally, she rolls up my sleeve to inspect my injured arm. “Your supervisor did this?” She indicates the now-seeping dressing. “What about this?” There’s pressure on my knee, and when I can bear to look again, she’s rolling up my trouser leg to expose the bandage. I realize immediately what has piqued her interest. Under the harsh lights of the examination room, I notice the fabric for the first time. It’s a deep crimson, shot through with fine gold thread. I hadn’t been able to make out the details in the dim light outside.
    Rho Zee examines her datapad. “The report doesn’t say anything about a knee injury.”
    “It happened when I fell,” I say.
    “At the factory?”
    “Mmm-hmm.”
    She runs her fingertips across the
deman’s
handiwork. “This fabric is unusual.” She glances up at me and I try to keep my expression stony. “And it looks familiar. I’ve seen it on a friend of mine.” She leans closer. “You wouldn’t happen to have come across a Delta Jaye, would you?” The words sound casual, conversational, but her lower lip quivers.
    My pulse quickens, but before I can respond, the Med-Tech’s communicator buzzes at her wrist. She presses a button to open the comm-channel.
    “Everything alright in there? Do you require assistance?” Anunfamiliar voice crackles into the room.
    “Everything’s fine. Re-dressing a wound,” Rho Zee answers.
    “Carry on then.” The communications channel snaps off, disconnected at the other end.
    The Med-Tech locks eyes with me, her face ashen.
    “Do you know Del—?” The Med-Tech presses a hand over my mouth to stop my words before holding a finger to her lips. I nod that I understand. She steps back and turns her attention in an exaggerated professional manner to my knee.
    When she speaks again her voice sounds a little too loud. “Let’s take a look, shall we?” She strains to untie the
deman’s
knot before unraveling the bandage and rolling it into a tiny ball. She slips it into her pocket and then she starts to manipulate my joint. A spasm shoots through my leg.
    “I’ll need to replace this dressing but we also need to see to that arm.” Hoisting my sleeve higher, she loosens Tau’s bandage. Flakes of dried blood drift to the bench around me. She moves to a nearby drawer to retrieve a syringe and a vial of clear fluid. I shrink back. Her movements become stilted, her voice more forced.
    “I’ll need to stitch this up.” She indicates the gash on my arm. “But first I’ll give you something to help you relax.” She advances on me with her thumb poised over the hypodermic. I back away, but my shoulder wrenches against the wall. “This