Bücher online kostenlos Kostenlos Online Lesen
Reached

Reached

Titel: Reached Kostenlos Bücher Online Lesen
Autoren: Ally Condie
Vom Netzwerk:
demands. “Colin told me there’s someone here who went down within the hour.”
    “Here,” Leyna says, pointing to Ky.
    “It’s about time,” the man says, hurrying over to us. “What have I been telling the Pilot all along? Bring them to me when they’re still fresh and I might have a chance of getting them back.”
    Cassia doesn’t move away from Ky. She stays there, looking protective.
    “I’m Oker,” the man says to us, but he doesn’t offer to shake hands. He carries a plastic bag full of liquid and his knotted hands grip it so tightly that it bulges and seems as if it might burst. “Damn it,” he says, noticing, and he holds it out to Sylvie. “Take it from me,” he says. “I’m seizing up. Don’t break my fingers.”
    Sylvie pries the bag out of his grip.
    “Hook it up now,” he says, nodding toward Ky. “I just made this. It’s fresh. As fresh as he is.” Then he laughs.
    “Wait,” Cassia says. “What is it?”
    “Better stuff than what the Rising gives them,” Oker says. “Go on,” he tells Sylvie. “Hurry up.”
    “But what’s in it?” Cassia asks.
    Oker huffs and glares at Sylvie. “Take care of this. I don’t have time to go through all the ingredients.” He pushes the door open with his shoulder and leaves the infirmary. I hear his shoes on the path outside as the door squeaks shut. He moves fast. His hands might be twisted, but there’s nothing wrong with his legs.
    “He’s right,” Sylvie says. “At first, we used the nutrient bags the Pilot brought in from the Provinces, but then we ran out before the Pilot could deliver more. Oker made his own mixture to keep the patients alive and it seemed to work better, so we’ve been using it ever since.”
    “But won’t that compromise the cure?” I ask. “This isn’t what the patients back in the Provinces are getting.”
    “That may change,” Sylvie says. “Oker recently gave the Pilot the formula for the solution in the bags. If the Pilot can, he’s going to try to change what they use in the Provinces.”
    “What do you think?” Cassia asks me quietly.
    “They do look better,” I say. “Their color is good. Hold on.” I listen to one of the patients breathe. His lungs sound clear of fluid. I feel near his ribs—the spleen seems to be normal size.
    “I think Oker’s telling the truth,” I say. I wish we’d had this formula earlier. Maybe it would have made a difference for our patients.
    Cassia kneels down next to Ky. He looks ashier than the others, though he’s the most recently still. She sees it. “All right,” she says.
    Sylvie nods and hooks up the bag that Oker brought in. Cassia and I watch Ky’s face to see if there is any change, which is stupid. Not many things work that fast.
    But Oker’s stuff does. After only a few minutes, Ky does look a little bit better. It reminds me of the way the cure worked on the first Plague.
    “It seems too good to be true,” Cassia breathes. She looks worried. “What if it is?”
    “We don’t have a lot to lose,” I say. “What the Rising is doing in the Provinces isn’t working.”
    “You’ve never seen anyone come back?” Cassia asks.
    “No,” I say. “Not from the mutation.”
    We both stand there for a moment longer, watching the liquid drip into Ky’s line. We avoid each other’s eyes.
    Cassia draws in a deep breath and I wonder if she’s going to cry. But then she smiles. “Xander,” she says.
    I don’t even try to stop myself. I reach out and pull her close and she lets me. It feels good and for a moment I don’t say anything. Her arms go around me and I can feel her breathing.
    “Are you all right?” she asks.
    “I’m fine,” I say.
    “Xander,” Cassia asks. “Where have
you
been? While I was in the canyons and in Central, what happened to you?”
    I’m not really sure how to tell her.
Well, I didn’t go through any canyons
,
but I gave tablets to babies on their Welcoming Days. And, I took tissue samples from old people at their Final Banquets. I did make one real friend, but I couldn’t keep her from going still. No one I took care of came back.
    “We need to go,” Leyna says. “Colin’s gathering together people to question you. I don’t want to keep them waiting.”
    “I’ll tell you later,” I say, smiling at Cassia. “Right now, we have to find a cure.”
    She nods. I don’t mean to seem like I’m trying to get even with her for all the times she left me in the dark about what was

Weitere Kostenlose Bücher