[The Tempest trilogy: Book 2] After the incident in Ostrava's Neoclash arena, Zoya faces dangerous challenges. Nightingale's uprising threatens to destroy the whole Europe, the racist Yeomen movement steps up their campaing against Castaways and Rya...
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The doctors allow us to spend the night in the hospital. Before I go to sleep, I call Ryan and briefly explain what happened. When I tell him the formula is safe again, he starts to cheer so loudly I have to move the pentop away from my ear.
"Zoya, I don't know how to thank you guys!" he shouts. "I'm sorry about the religious girl and her leg, but it will be worth it, I promise."
"What should we do now?"
"Bring me the computer here. With it, I will finally be able to make more samples of the cure, the one which was already proven to be working, and the first few doses of the vaccine. You will be the first one to receive it - no worries about Flicker any more."
That sounds almost too good to be true.
"Then, I will bring the data and the samples to Europe's Headquarters of Medical Science in DIANA. They have the means to start mass-producing both the cure and the vaccine. And then, everything will be alright. Flicker will be no more."
Everything will be alright. That's still far from the truth since both Nightingale and Yeomen are still active and dangerous. But at least we could deliver a crushing defeat to one of the enemy factions. And countless ill Castaways who already gave up hope will be born again thanks to Ryan's cure.
"We'll be on our way tomorrow," I say, but the last part of the sentence is interrupted by a yawn. "Okay, maybe I need some rest for now. It has been a rough day and everything."
After Ryan ends the call, I snuggle down in the surprisingly comfortable blanket and fall asleep within seconds. I have a long, refreshing sleep, but after I wake up, everything hurts. The adrenaline overdose and the painkiller's effects ended and my body can now feel all the pain it's supposed to.
I stumble out of the bed and buy a sandwich from a vending machine. Then, I meet Sasha on one of the hospital hallways, finally dressed casually. "An early bird, uh?" he speaks to me. "Well, I don't usually get up this early, but I feel like I should visit Maria."
I'm surprised Sasha is the first one to care about her. They seem to be polar opposites - Maria is reserved and uptight while Sasha is wild and also quite nutty. However, this morning, he appears more serious than I've ever seen him. He seems to sincerely care about his injured teammate.
"You're right. We should see her to make sure she's okay," I say.
One of the doctors gives us the directions. We find the room where Maria is supposed to be, knock on it and open. Maria is here - dressed in a hospital gown, with her face still ghastly pale, creating a rather scary contrast to her pitch-black hair and dark pigment scars on her face.
She's asleep. The missing leg is hidden underneath the blankets, but we can see that her artificial hand has been detached - her arm now ends at the elbow. It is probably stored in a wardrobe next to the bed.
