Page 8 of Hello, Nurse!
“He went to the records room. We’re supposed to meet him out front once we get everyone else out.”
“Fuck,” I say, tossing what I find onto the table. Encephalon had walked me through this before we left, saying that almost every room in the lab would have the ingredients we would need. It was always supposed to be a last resort, only used in case of emergencies, but if this isn’t the time, then I don’t know when is.
“Lina, we need to go,” Absurdo says.
“He’s not planning on leaving.” I focus on my task, pouring ingredients into two bottles. “He’ll make sure we get out, but the idiot will sacrifice himself. Not this time.” I start rifling through drawers.
Absurdo runs his hands up and down his arms. “Okay, so what do we do? Hepromised this wasn’t it for us. I can’t leave him, Lina.”
“We’re not leaving him. Find me a match or something.”
He holds up a lighter with a grin. “Pinched this off a guard.”
“Let’s get Blabbo.”
Chapter ten
What are We?
Blabbo
Itry not to think about Absurdo as I make my way down the long corridor. He’s always been impulsive, bordering on reckless, but I’ve never before seen him look hopeless like he did today. I need to get him out. So, I will. There’s no other option.
I quietly sneak past a few occupied rooms, eventually making it to the records office. I want to erase any trace of Absurdo and Angelina from this lab. It won’t erase them from the doctor’s memory, but it’s a start. The room is bigger than I realized. This program has been going on for decades. They’ve gotten more refined as technologyadvanced, but they’ve been creating hybrids and chimeras for generations. I flip through the files, trying to understand our purpose. Were we supposed to be some sort of weapon? A superior race? What is the fucking point of all this?
The door clicks shut. “Does it hurt? Knowing you’re not special?” Doctor Sinister asks with a sneer.
Well, fuck. I didn’t hear him come in. I lost myself flipping through the files. The plan was to destroy the files and get out. But this is fine. I can still destroy their records. The getting out part was always optional for me. If he’s in here, then he is not with the others. Angelina and Absurdo can still escape. That’s what matters.
I slide the filing cabinet closed, lifting a shoulder in a nonchalant shrug.
“Where are the other two, Blabbo?” he asks in a calm voice, as if I’m a child caught stealing candy.
I shrug again, outwardly indifferent to it all. They spent years “training” me, sayingI spoke too much. I can now admit I was a bit of a chatterbox as a pup, but I was a child. I used to hate my nickname. It was given to me as an insult, but I grew to own it. I learned when to speak, how to use my voice most effectively. I smirk, thinking just how effective my words were last night with Rebecca. Probably not the best time for my mind to wander, but if I’m going down, I might as well enjoy myself.
“Why are you smiling? Where are they?” Doctor Sinister’s tone gets harsher, patience running thin.
I shrug again, crossing my arms in front of my chest. Watching him get so angry, I finally realize what little power he has over us. We’re stronger, faster, and more powerful in almost every way. He must realize this too. Why have we been so scared of this little man for so long?
“Speak, damn it!”
I smile fully now. A large, ridiculous, toothy grin. The only thing more annoying to the doctor than my constant speakinghas always been my silence. He takes a step closer, fists clenched. I see a dark shadow move across the doorway window, then a set of large bright eyes.No. Fuck!They were supposed to meet me outside.
Doctor Sinister senses my change in posture, tensing. Absurdo holds up two items in his hands, waggling them back and forth with a crazy grin. Fuck. This is a horrible idea. Not the plan. But since my plan isn’t working… well, it will definitely destroy the records, at least.
Confident I can take the doctor one on one, I dart, making a move toward the side door. Doctor Sinister follows, trying to block my path. Right where I want him, I barrel into his chest, sending him sprawling to the floor. I run toward the main door, where Absurdo is waiting with Angelina and a pair of Molotov cocktails. Angelina flicks a lighter, the rags catch, and Absurdo tosses them into the room before I slam the door and yank the others down the hall.
The corridors of the lab are empty as we tear down the hallways, making for the main entrance. Thank fuck they enhanced our speed, because the building goes up way faster than expected. Outside, I see acrid black smoke curling out the windows.
Finally stopping to catch my breath, I grab onto Angelina and Absurdo, holding them in my arms, almost not quite sure whether they’re really here. There are a myriad of creatures dispersing into the forest near us.
“Did you get them all?” I ask Absurdo. He nods.
Headlights blaze across the dark parking lot as tires screech, a vehicle skidding to a stop a dozen feet in front of us. Rebecca throws open the door of the car, Peanut and Encephalon perched on her shoulders.
Absurdo breaks into a wild grin. “Hello, nurse!”
“I came to rescue you, but it seems I’m a little late?” She looks at the burning building with combined horror and awe.
