Botanicaust

allowing Levi access to the door.
    Levi looked between the card he held in one sweaty palm and the pad next to the door. Rosalee had called this a key, but it was nothing like the few keys he ’ d seen back home, where locks were only used to keep children out of dangerous areas.
    On the pad near the door handle, a red light gleamed above a slot sized the same as the card. With trembling hands, he guided the card into the slot. Nothing happened. He pushed harder, but it hit a stop at the back. He took two tries to pull the card back out. Looking over the card, he saw a triangle that might be considered an arrow.
    Next to him, the struggle between the three Fosselites was over. Rosalee lay on the cement floor, unconscious, while Michael held the guard in a bear hug. The big man ’ s face contorted in pain as the guard kicked and bucked against him, roaring unintelligible words.
    Trying the card again, Levi breathed a sigh of relief as the red light toggled to green and the door clicked. He twisted the knob and pushed. Inside, the scent of chemicals and evergreen burned his eyes. The room was empty. Another door across the way had a lock with a red light. Levi didn ’ t hesitate. He yanked the key from the pad and rushed to the next door, swinging it open so hard it slammed against the wall.
    An arm ’ s length away, a third doorway didn ’ t have a lock. Thrusting open the door, Levi threw an arm over his eyes at the sudden brilliance, then blinked to clear his tearful vision. His heart stopped at the sight before him. Green bodies sprouted tubes and wires like grotesque vines.
    “ Tula! ” He rushed to her side. Was this the treatment she ’ d been seeking? It looked beyond painful. Through slitted lids, all that showed were the whites of her eyes, and her mouth stretched in a rictus of pain. He put his hands on her face, trying to get her to look at him. Her skin burned with the heat of a hundred fevers. None of the numbers or words on the screens meant anything.
    He jerked the restraints free. Her muscles spasmed and she nearly fell off the table. He caught her in his arms and settled her to the floor. In the other room, he heard arguing, but no one appeared at the door. Tula ’ s scalp diodes slid off easy enough. The IV lines in her arms were trickier, but he loosed her from them, as well.
    “ Tula, are you awake? ”
    She didn ’ t respond. Her shuddering and twitching reminded him of caring for her at the lake, before he knew what sun and plants did to her. These lights must be causing a reaction in her body. And not a good one. She needed shelter.
    He pulled the knife from his pack and bashed the handle against the overhead bulb. But light still flooded the room from the other fixtures. What about these other poor people? He moved between the gurneys, smashing bulbs, one after another, plummeting the room into darkness except for the blinking lights on the monitors.
    He hurried to release the others ’ restraints. Never in his life had he imagined he would be aiding the escape of abominations. But he was no longer sure the color of someone ’ s skin meant anything.
    Without warning, the monitor lights went out, along with every other device in the room. From the open door, only blackness.
    “ Levi. ” Dr. Kaneka ’ s voice called from the outer room, not through the speaker system.
    Scrounging in his pack, Levi located the flame rod and clicked it to life. Skirting the other beds, he found Tula ’ s prone figure and squatted. “ Tula, can you hear me? Please, wake up. ” One of the other Blattvolk groaned and thrashed.
    He had no idea what they ’ d been doing to her, but this could not be the medicine she ’ d expected. He had to get her out of here. Away from these Fosselites. He could not leave her to this. Lifting her over his shoulder, he strode to the door. Dr. Kaneka stood waiting, wielding a weak flashlight. Behind him, another man held a gun at the ready.
    Levi hesitated. “ Let us by. ” Farther back, shadows of more people stood in the corridor.
    Dr. Kaneka pushed up his glasses and shone the flashlight directly into Levi ’ s eyes. “ No. ”
    “ I mean it. ” Feeling sick to his stomach, Levi realized if he wanted to escape this place, if he wanted to save Tula, he ’ d have to use force. But how could he fight a man with a gun? Levi moved a step forward.
    The armed man raised the weapon to aim it directly at Levi. Dr. Kaneka barked at the man. Something about a