Sun Rose (Rose of the Dawn Series Book 1) (2 page)

When
I open my eyes the room is dark. The blinds are drawn. I’m still in the
hospital. My arms are still tied to the bed. My monitor–

“It’s
off. My monitor is off.” I fight back the panic that rises in my chest. “Help!
Someone? Anyone?” The taste in my mouth is metallic. Like copper. Or iron.

Am
I dead?

“You’re
not dead,” someone answers. A male voice.

If
I could move, I would run. It would be the automatic response. With my wrists
still secured, there is nowhere for me to go.

“Who’s
there?” I can’t see anyone, but can hear his breathing. “Why are you in my
room?” I try not to look afraid. I’m in danger.

“My
name is Pike Pelli. Hara told me about you.” A boy my age steps out of the
shadows in the corner of my room. He is tall and thin, but not skinny.
Athletic. Handsome. I try to discern if he is alone, but I can’t tell. No one
else steps forward.

“My
nurse?”

“She’s
a good friend.” As he approaches the bed, I can see that he hasn’t been
artificially replaced. No one with any sort of internal, or external, surgical
replacement would still have even these slight creases in his forehead or
around his eyes like this boy does. He’s too young for anything yet.

“Are
you going to hurt me?”

“Now
why would I want to hurt you?” His hands are on the rung at the bottom of the
bed. He lingers there for a moment, then makes his way closer to me.

“Why
are you here?”

“I’m
not here for that.” He unties the restraints around one ankle and then the
other. I didn’t realize my legs were tied to the bed, too. Someone must have
done that while I slept.

“How
old are you then?” I ask.

“I’m
twenty.”

Dory’s
age.

“I
unplugged you from your machines. I don’t think you need them right now. How do
you feel?”

“Fine.”
The beeping has stopped. “How come the alarm isn’t going off like it did
before?”

“Hara
disabled it. She’s on Rosamund-watch right now.”

“How
do you know who I am? Why are you here in my room?”

“I
told you–” Pike stands at the edge of my bed. Even with my eyes adjusting to
this lack of light, I can tell his skin is a beautiful golden color and his
eyes seem deep-blue like the ocean. He unnerves me. I’ve never been this close
to a boy my age before. I try to think about what I’ve read in books, but
nothing comes fast enough.

“Hara
told me you were going to be here. She said you’ve got an unnecessary AR
scheduled for this morning,” Pike continues.

“Unnecessary?
My liver is failing. And what business is it of hers anyway?”

“Liver
failure may not be the problem,” he says.

“How
would you know?”
Does he know something that I don’t?

He
waits before answering. Then he unstraps my wrists. I pull them close and rub.
It’s automatic. Instinct.

“There
are a bunch of us that don’t believe in artificial replacement or any sort of
unnecessary operation like this one. I thought if you could sustain life
without being connected to these monitors,” he holds up a cable he’s just
unplugged. “You could come with us and maybe help.”

“Help
what?” I still have no idea why he’s here, but I know that I feel fine without
whatever I’m supposed to be plugged into. Maybe he wants to kidnap me. I’ve
read about that kind of thing before.

“Well,
our cause.” He states. Like I would know what that means.

“What
cause is that? What do you want me for?”

“If
you come with me, it would be a start. I can tell you along the way. But it
wouldn’t require any sort of operation that you didn’t need now or ever. Do you
have any money?”

“Oh,
you mean fund your cause.” My eyebrows raise and I look him over. Having money
is the reason I was pulled out of school in the first place when I was eleven:
Too many threats. It’s not unknown that people who artificially replace have money.
Based on the rough-around-the-edges look of him, I doubt that Pike Pelli would
be able to afford a facial peel let alone an entire body overhaul. “I’m not
going with you.”

“No.
It’s more than that. We don’t need your money,” he almost growls at me, ignoring
my protest. “But we may need money to get back.”

“Back
where?” I ask. “Am I going somewhere?”

For
a second I think I may have pegged him wrong.
What does he really want? From
me for that matter?
The door opens and Nurse Hara rushes in. She doesn’t
leave any space between her body and Pike’s as she speaks.

“Dr.
Castrol is making the rounds. I have to reactivate the body alarm. Either
reconnect her or get her out of here.” Hara’s face lingers close to Pike’s
before she flees from the room. She smells like flowers.

“I
want you to come with us.” His outstretched hand is large and looks rough. My
hand would be lost in his.

“Us?
You and Nurse Hara? Are there are more of you?” Sweat beads on the back of my
neck. I wipe it off and notice the red marks on my wrists from the restraints.
What
am I doing? I should scream for help, shouldn’t I?

“Lots
more.”

“I’m
not going to go with you,” I repeat.

“We
need you, Rose,” he pleads. His eyes turn down a bit at the edges.

“What
if I go with you and then want to come back? What about my family? Will I see
them again?” My neck still sweats.

“You
have nothing to lose by coming with me. You are in a very precarious situation
if you stay, however. If in fact you change your mind along the way, I will
bring you back myself.”

His
hand remains open.

“I
don’t want to go and you can’t make me.” I fold my arms across my chest and
pout. I’m acting like a baby.
I am a baby.
“I don’t know you. I’m safe
here.”

“I
don’t want to make you, Rose,” he steps closer. “But–”

“But
you will if you have to.” Butterflies flutter up in my stomach.

“But
you are not safe here,” he extends his hand and I take it. I have no reason to
go with him other than the fear of being forced.

I
jump as his touch electrifies me. A current rushes through my entire body. His
hand is strong, but soft, and it doesn’t let go of mine despite me trying to
get away. His grasp only tightens as he pulls me up and out of bed.

I
can come back if I change my mind.

Then
he lets me go, the flow of energy broken. It no longer runs through me. My body
droops in exhaustion.

“Grab
your clothes, Rose. You can change on the way.”

“Where’re
we going?” I stand behind Pike. My arm automatically rests on my hip. My legs
feel weak.
Can I touch him again?
It was energizing.

Pike
pockets the vial of pills beside my bed before cracking open the door and
peeking out. He closes it.

“We
have to find another way.”

“Another
way?” I look around the room. Dim lights shine up from the baseboards.

“Over
here.” Pike opens the closet and feels around inside it. I’m not completely
surprised at the clothes within. Duplicates of my mother’s own wardrobe, down
to the lingerie. I redden with embarrassment.

“There’s
always an emergency exit out of these rooms.” Pike pushes on the back of the
closet and it slides out of the way. “Come on.”

He
retakes my hand and we jump through this open space at the back of the closet,
landing on a small platform. He pushes the wall back into place like one of
those old-fashioned dumbwaiters. Pike pulls on a cord, lowering us down a
number of feet. We fall quickly at first, my stomach lurches into my throat.
Then he slows our motion down, skidding the platform to a stop with both hands
around the rope.

“Doesn’t
that hurt?” I ask, surprised that his hands aren’t burned or bloody.

“We
can get out through here.” He doesn’t answer my question, but stops us at the
number 19. Our suite was number 59. Pike pushes us through another closet and
we tumble into the room. A musty odor overpowers me and my hand covers my nose.
Dried out and dead plants and flowers are on a tall bedside table that we pass
on our way out of the room. It surprises me that they aren’t synthetic. I
didn’t know anyone made organic flowers anymore. They look greyer than green
and smell sickly sweet. Decay.

“Is
this how you got in? I want to go back.” The room is empty and the air is even
more stale as we reach the door. I sneeze.

Pike
laughs and shakes his head, ignoring my request. He unlocks the door from the
inside and drags me into the low-lit corridor. The woman at the nurse’s station
barely notices me, though she does glance at Pike. He nods to her. My head
swirls in this whirlwind of activity.

“Where’re
we going?” I ask again. I’m still weak and a little scared.

“Once
we get outta here, I’ll explain.” He rubs his hands on his pants.

We
hurry down the vacant hallway, passing room after room. These look much smaller
than my own. All of them are the same, or at least not different enough to
tell. Pike’s pace has slowed down as we approach a set of double doors. It is
dark on the other side except for an illuminated red exit sign.

“Are
we lost?” I ask, glad for this momentary break, but nervous about going any
further.

“No.”
Pike shakes his head. The doors open and I jump behind him. A large, dark man
steps out of the shadows and waves us through. Pike doesn’t hesitate.

No
one says anything and the doors close behind us. This isn’t a man, but another
boy around Pike’s age. He wears the same kind of clothes that Pike wears – army
green cargo pants, a black T-shirt, and combat boots.

Pike
nods his head once.

“Are
you military?” This doesn’t feel right. My stomach flips and the copper taste
reaches the back of my mouth. I swallow it down. My throat burns.
Should I
have stayed in my room and gone through with the surgery?
What’s the big
deal if everyone does it, eventually?

“Naw.
We’re not military,” the new person answers, breaking my contemplation. “Did
you tell her anything about us, Pike?”

“Just
what she needs to know right now. We’ll tell her more later.” He takes my hand
and I get another surge of electricity. We’ve taken the stairs down to the
underground.

“Are
we taking a car?”
How are we going to avoid being seen?
Unless it’s
still so early that no one will be out.
What time is it?

“We’re
going to blend in. Next car that comes down these rails, we hop onto,” the other
guy answers. I don’t know his name, but I can’t take my eyes off him. There’s
just something about him that makes me want to stare. Pike has released my
hand. I’m not even looking for the train car that should be arriving at any
time.

“Wait,
I dropped my clothes somewhere back there.” I point behind us, though I don’t
remember grabbing my clothes like I was instructed in the first place. My
designer hospital gown would be sure to get us caught. I must look like a
headcase in this getup.

“Here,
put these on.” The boy tosses a camo rucksack at my feet. I unzip it and look
inside. The same cargo pants, black shirt, and boots are within, but all in my
size.

“Who
are you? Some kind of cult?” I demand, regaining my strength. “I won’t wear
these.” I hear a car in the distance.

“You
will.” The boy steps closer. He isn’t much taller than Pike, but much stronger
with bulging arm muscles. His arms are covered in tattoos that have lightened
to blend in with his skin.

I
do as he says. The boys turn away as I dress. I don’t get an answer. We are the
only ones underground and there are no cameras where we stand. I wonder why;
there are cameras everywhere.

“Rosamund,
this is Ezekiel,” Pike introduces. “He’s one of us.”

“I
can tell,” I grumble wearing these disgusting clothes. I look like one of them
now.
What synthetic materials are these made from?
Not synthetic, but
organic. Something decomposing and plant-based. Like the flowers in Suite 19. I
smell like them, too. Sour.
Can these clothes be animal based?
I don’t
like it and I don’t know that this will help us to blend in.

“Here
one comes,” Pike points down the tunnel. Two small beams of light shoot through
at lightning speed, stopping before us. My hair blows back with a gust of hot,
fetid air and then settles over my shoulders. The car must have come from one
of the public platforms. At least it’s empty, though I had kind of hoped it
would be full.

Ezekiel
opens the door and holds it as Pike and I get in. The air in here is warm and
stuffy and nothing like the hospital. Is this what fresh is supposed to smell
like?

Once
inside, Ezekiel lets it slide shut with a soft shushing sound. He types our
destination in on the keypad inside the door and waves his wrist in front of a
scanner imbedded on a wall panel. The door locks and the car accelerates. We
pass through a tunnel and then into the open. It’s light outside.

“I’m
surprised the hospital hasn’t gone into lock-down mode.” Ezekiel states
matter-of-fact.

“Lock
down?” I ask.

“They
will soon,” he continues. “If the hospital had gone into lock-down, all cars
would have stopped and there would be a red-light alert throughout these
tunnels blaring announcements and flashing lights. It’s been too long and this
was too easy.”

“I
hope nothing’s happened to Hara,” Pike adds more in thoughtful reverie.

“The
nurse? What could happen to her?” I look from Ezekiel to Pike. Bigger and way
more rugged, Ezekiel isn’t nearly as handsome as Pike. I wonder about Dory and
my family. Would they know by now that I’m gone? I hope they aren’t too
worried.
Would they be?

Pike
looks out the window. “Zeke, change our destination.”

“We
can’t risk getting caught,” Ezekiel says.

“If
something happened to her–” Pike begins.

Still,
no one answers what could happen and I’m left wondering.

Without
another word, Ezekiel gets up and moves toward the keypad at the door. “Where
to?”

“To
see Tithonus.”