Before there is time to process Turon’s last statement he continues, “We can stabilize her and safely store her here until I figure out what to do next.”
“Store her?” In blind hysteria I trip on a thick cord and topple on top of one of the hundreds of containers evenly spaced throughout the length of the cavernous room.
“I’m sorry, there isn’t proper time to explain.”
“Xoxochueyi! They’re people!” I roll off the polished container onto hands and knees. I blink in effort to erase the haunting eyes I had seen staring back at me from beneath a glass barrier.
Jumping to my feet, I spin to take in their sheer number. “Hundreds of people!”
“There are thousands, Ms. Bluehair. Be careful not to unplug one of them!”
Overcoming my initial shock, I focus again on Zorrah. Across the room, I watch with horror as Turon opens one of the metallic sarcophaguses and places her inside.
Mindful of the chords, I sprint toward him. “What are you doing?”
“Each of these stasis pods serves as a medical monitoring devise capable of diagnosing and remedying a myriad of maladies and injuries. Short of a medical expert, they represent Zorrah’s best chance of survival.”
I reach Turon’s side as the lid to the pod containing Zorrah seals shut. “But wait. You can’t.”
“I can, and I will. And if you care for Zorrah, you’ll shut up and watch me.” Turon types a series of commands on the pod interface.
I bite my lip, overwhelmed with hopelessness. Through the square of glass, I watch as a swirling gas obscures Zorrah’s face. “At least explain to me what’s happening.”
“The gasses are inert. So far I’ve sealed the pod and insured the absence of foreign entities.”
“Like germs?”
“Exactly. Now she’s ready for the initial scan.”
A brilliant blue light strobes from inside the pod, forcing me to shield my eyes.
“Sorry about that. I should have warned you to look away.” Turon grips me by the shoulders. “If healing her is beyond the pod’s ability, at the very least it will stabilize her condition. She’ll be safe here.”
“She’s alone.”
Turon tries to laugh. The sound comes out as half-sneeze and half-burp. “Well, not exactly.”
I follow his gaze along the length of the room. The far wall is over a hundred meters distant with pillars running from floor to ceiling every dozen meters. The entire room is filled with stasis pods. “You know what I mean. I can’t leave her.”
The pod beeps, and Turon turns his attention toward the readout. After a long few seconds, he exhales.
“What? How is she?”
He grimaces. “She’ll make it.”
“What does that mean?” I want to punch him in his enigmatic face.
“The pod can fix her, but it will take time. She’s been electrocuted badly, but I suppose you knew that much. The majority of her burns are internal, focused around the lungs and heart. By the looks of it, her heart should have burst. She should be dead.”
He turns toward me slowly. “You had something to do with that, didn’t you?”
“I don’t know.” The directness of the question alerts me to the dangerous waters I’m navigating. For all I know, Turon could be the same man who tried to kill Zorrah. Having failed, he’s storing her in a dusty basement. “I tried to help her.”
Turon nods while stroking his chin. “I would say you succeeded. In time, her scar tissue will regenerate.”
“How much time?” I watch Zorrah’s sleeping face through the glass as Turon finishes his routine at the keypad.
“Days, maybe weeks.”
“Weeks!”
“In the meantime, as I said before, she’ll be safe here. Remember, she’s supposed to be dead.” He intensifies his gaze.
After a deep breath, I understand his meaning. “Your superior, the one who instructed you to meet me, thinks she’s dead.”
Turon nods. “That means no one will look for her here.”
I can’t make the pieces fit. Maybe Turon isn’t the mystery man. Even so, he obviously works for him. The only question is where his loyalties lie. To find the answer, I need to keep him talking.
“Earlier, you were going to tell me about this place, weren’t you? You were going to tell me what the immortals spend their hundreds of years doing.” I take a seat on the stasis pod behind me. “If this room is the gateway, then what’s this Nirvana?”
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