Stewards of the Flame Read Online Free PDF Page A

judged unstable. . . .
    “I’ve never been caught,” she assured him, smiling, “and I’ve done worse things, by Hospital standards, then restore clothes to a diagnosed substance abuser. I’ve gotten people out who were doomed to the Vaults.”
    “The Vaults?” Jesse was chilled, not merely by the ominous-sounding term but by the tone in which Carla spoke it.
    “Forget I said that,” she said hastily. “We’ve got to leave now, if you want to. The shift’s about to change.” She rose to retrieve a sack that she had set by the curtained entrance to his cubicle.
    It contained his Fleet uniform. Jesse sat up; she was already committed, had come prepared, and he certainly did want to get out of the place. “What happens to you if we do get caught?” he asked.
    “Never mind about me. Attempted escape will count against you ,” Carla said soberly. “You’re under Dr. Kelstrom’s care, so normally I wouldn’t worry—but he’s not himself right now. I can’t predict. All the same, I’ve got strong reasons to trust him. I’m sure the worst that can happen is that the implants will proceed as scheduled.”
    Jesse pulled himself out of bed and dressed quickly, ignoring his various aches, which seemed to have lessened considerably during the past half hour. Attempted escape, she’d said, as if this were a true prison—did Carla herself view the hospital that way? Why had the colonists here given it so much autonomous power?
    They ventured into the corridor. Carla gripped his arm, steadying him. “Walk normally, head up,” she said. “We won’t be noticed until we reach the checkpoint at the lobby entrance. The security officer coming on duty there is my friend.”
    As she’d said, the shift was changing; the hallways and elevators were crowded. Uniformed hospital personnel mingled with people in street clothes. A black silver-trimmed Fleet uniform was a bit conspicuous, Jesse felt, yet no one paid any attention to him. Probably there were hospital visitors mixed with the employees. Like colonists everywhere, they seemed healthy, and neither happier or unhappier than average. They didn’t have the look of citizens repressed by force.
    As they left the elevator at ground level, Carla held back, waiting for the tall redheaded security officer to take her seat. People were thumbing a plate at the exit barrier; there was an ID check! Jesse, fighting panic, glanced at Carla in dismay. Surely she must have known . . .
    “Put in your thumbprint as if you expected the computer to pass it,” she said, in a low but calm voice. “Anne will hit the alarm override. She knows what to do.”
    Carla moved forward and joined the line, Jesse close behind her. She smiled at the redhead. “Hello, Anne,” she said. “Will we be seeing you on the Island next offshift?”
    “Wait just a minute, will you, Carla?” Anne replied, motioning Carla back. The man in front of her had gone through. Jesse had no choice but to press his thumb firmly against the plate, holding his breath while the computer scanned its print.
    The alarm began to scream.
    The gate locked. Jesse stumbled back, almost colliding with the people in line behind him. Carla, beside the desk, had frozen in shock. If for an instant he’d thought she had betrayed him, he knew better when he saw her face. It was pale with dismay and bewilderment. Anne was evidently not as good a friend as she’d believed.
    “I’m sorry, Carla,” Anne said smoothly. “Dr. Kelstrom called me. He warned me to watch for you two. You’re to report to his office now, before you leave for the night.”
    “Both of us?” Carla asked, as if doubting what she heard.
    “Of course not. The patient will be taken back to his ward.”
    Orderlies were waiting; they must have been called in advance. Despairingly, Jesse left Carla to her fate and went with them.
     
     
    ~   5   ~
     
    The first time he was made sick, they used low dosage. His heart raced, but did not falter,