Artificial Heart

And just like that everything was different.

She couldn’t stay here. Not anymore. She must escape. For little Alf or Alfa. For Alf and herself. She didn’t trust these doctors. And certainly not Tobias. She didn’t even trust Embry. Where was he?

Tobias was lying. He had to be lying. There was no way he would allow her to keep her baby. She could see it in the men’s eyes right now—that greedy look. They would take it away from her.

She watched, outwardly calm, as the two men packed up their equipment.

‘What’s going to happen now?’ Prisha asked.

She didn’t expect an answer—and she didn’t get one. All three ignoring her as they left, wheeling their equipment out with them.

Prisha glanced at the camera. She turned towards the window. She got up and went over, her heart leaping with hope. Her hope was short lived. It was a straight down drop. Two levels. Too high to jump down. No drain pipes. No ledges. Not that she would ever attempt such a feat.

Then she looked towards the park.

‘Ouch!’ She slapped her hand to the back of her neck. ‘I’m trying, Alf. They won’t let me out.’

She studied the park but could see nothing against the streetlights. What had happened to Tobias’s promise? Rubbing the back of her neck, she entered the bathroom. She splashed her neck with water.

Clutching at the sink, she stared at herself. Lines creased her mouth. Her eyes were red. Her cheeks drawn. She pulled up her shirt. Her belly button was sticking out. Her belly hung out over her pants. She shook her head. Impossible. Impossible.

She went back to bed but stayed awake, hoping for something. Anything. A surprise visitor. Hopefully Embry. Even Tobias. Perhaps even Scott. Definitely Alf. But nobody came and she fell asleep.

She woke late. Usually she was up before Lucy entered for her routine morning assessment. The nurse’s grey hair was combed stiffly back. She was wearing plain grey scrubs. Professional and efficient.

‘Tired today?’ she asked, lifting Prisha’s arm to wrap around the blood pressure cuff.

Prisha yawned. ‘Yeah. Did you hear the news?’

‘What news?’

Prisha yanked up her shirt. The nurse stepped back, dropping the cuff to the floor. She bent to pick it up. Her hands were trembling as she wrapped it around Prisha’s arm.

‘O-oh,’ she grunted. ‘That must have been a surprise.’

‘Nah shit. Where’s Embry? Have you seen him?’

The nurse shook her head as she set up for another blood test.

‘I really want to see him. Can you let him know that please?’

The woman nodded and said nothing. Prisha sighed.

Once the nurse had finished, Prisha paced the room, folding her arms, raking her fingers through her hair. The back of her neck wouldn’t stop burning. Twice she went to the bathroom to ease it with cool water.

She couldn’t take it anymore.

‘You promised me, Tobias! I want to see him!’ she yelled at the camera.

She waited and she waited but there was no response. At least she was feeling better—no thanks to those doctors. The pain was gone. The nausea non-existent. In fact, she felt good. Really good. Like she could jump tall buildings. Like she could dog paddle across the Torres Strait. Like she could break through the window and drop to the ground without breaking a single bone.

Prisha stared through the window, contemplating.

She turned at the sound of a thud somewhere outside the door. Her eyes widened and she stepped back at the sound of a grunt and a faint yell. Prisha pressed herself up against the wall as the door opened.

It was Embry. The mystery man who usually accompanied him was behind him, wiping blood from his hands with a handkerchief. Prisha stared. Embry wasn’t dressed in his usual white coat, just plain casual clothes. He looked different. His eyes were the brightest they’d ever been. They dropped to her belly, aghast.

He held out his hand. ‘We’d better go.’

Prisha hurried across the room. She slid her hand into his. And then they were walking quickly down the corridor, the mystery man following at a discreet distance. She wondered what they had done with the guard.

‘I’m glad you’re back. I thought you were gone for good,’ Prisha said.

The corridor was empty. Carpeted. Brightly lit. There were numbers on the doors.

‘They tried to get rid of me,’ he said. They hit a T-section. He pulled her down the corridor towards the left, his big hand firm around hers.

‘Where are you taking me?’

‘Anywhere but here.’

Prisha glanced over her shoulder at the man behind. ‘Who is he?’

‘A friend.’

They reached a familiar corridor. This time it was empty. No man or woman. The lights were dimmer.

‘What is this place anyway?’ Prisha said.

‘It’s best you don’t know.’

They picked up the pace, Embry taking long strides that were difficult to keep up with.

‘There’s a car waiting outside. Parked on the curb at the opposite end of the park. A yellow sedan with the licence plate WRG126. The driver is someone I trust. He will help you.’

‘You’re not coming?’ Prisha said.

‘I may not be able to.’

They reached an elevator, bypassed it, and took the stairs, their footsteps echoing loudly around them. They only descended one flight before Embry took her through another door.

Prisha’s throat was dry. Ahead, two people turned the corner. They nodded at Embry. Their eyes swept over Prisha. They wore name tags and suits. FBI? CIA? Secret Service? Who the fuck knew.

‘Move!’ growled the man from behind.

Prisha and Embry looked over their shoulders. Prisha gasped. Embry’s grip on her hand was like steel. Two men in dark clothes were following them.

‘Run,’ Embry hissed in her ear.

Then they were flying down the corridor. All pretence given up. The mystery man stayed behind. Prisha heard shouting, then a heavy thud like someone was thrown up against a wall.

‘Jesus!’

Two women leapt out of their way as Embry and Prisha threw themselves down the next corridor. Embry took a sharp turn into a room to his right, swinging her through the doorway. He shoved her towards a window.

A small room. Desks and chairs. Simple office space. Thankfully it was empty, though she saw a briefcase and a coat hanging over the back of a chair. A folder with the label “confidential” rested on the desk.

Embry picked up the lamp from the desk and smashed it into the window. Prisha jumped, clutching at her chest. ‘Fuck!’

He grabbed the coat and used it to sweep away the jagged glass. Still, there was gash on his wrist that sprayed blood.

‘Shit, Embry!’

‘No time.’ Sweat beaded his bald head. ‘Do you see the car?’

Prisha squinted out onto the field and streets beyond. ‘Maybe. I can’t see. It’s too far.’

‘Can you get through?’

‘I’ll have to. Why are you helping me?’

‘Some of us are worth saving, Prisha.’ His eyes were bright. ‘Tell him that.’ He looked over his shoulder at the sound of thundering footsteps. ‘Go!’

He dragged over the chair. Prisha stood on it and carefully climbed through the window. She found herself out on a narrow ledge, shoes crunching upon the glass. She was one level up from the bottom now. But it was still high!

Her heart beat rapidly as she sidled along the wall, chest and belly squashed up against the brick, arms widespread, fingernails digging hard into the surface. She didn’t dare look down.

‘I can’t believe I’m doing this. I can’t believe I’m doing this.’ She gasped and panted. Her heart was knocking against her ribs. ‘Jesus. Fuck. Hell. Embry. Fucking Embry.’

And it really was unbelievable. How was she managing? It was as though her feet were finding purchase instinctively. The strength of her arms kept her clamped to the wall like a spider. Her back was tight and hard. She felt strong. Unbelievably strong. She could keep going. She could keep going all the way to the end.

The sun was very bright and it was beating down upon her shoulders and head. Were there people watching from down below? She didn’t dare look.

‘Hey! Be careful out there!’

Prisha froze.

‘You need to stop. We’ll come get you!’

She couldn’t turn to look but it was someone calling from the broken window. Embry. What had they done with him? What had they done to her mystery defender?

Fingers clawed into the brick, Prisha slowly looked down below. The ground wasn’t far. There were bushes. Carefully swivelling her feet, she managed to crouch. She dropped to her knees, then gripped the edge of the ledge. With a strength that was shocking, she managed to slowly lower herself down. Bit by unbelievable bit.

Both your oestrogen and testosterone are higher than they should be.

She dangled. Then she dropped. Sticks cracked against her weight but the bushes were as thick and strong as they looked and broke the harshest of her fall. She was cut up, though. She was bleeding from her arms and her pants were torn. Prisha glanced above. The window was empty, the men gone.

She was running. Sprinting. She leapt over a low fence and dashed across a road. A car blasted past her. A nearby water fountain sprayed her with cool water. It was a warm day and she was quickly getting hot.

She glanced back to see a tall white building that glared against the brightness of the sun. Then she saw people. They were running after her. Black sedans roared along the road.

Prisha raced harder. She reached the field. Grass crunched beneath her shoes. Was he here? Was Alf waiting? She couldn’t see him. Her neck wasn’t itching.

‘Damn it, Alf!’ she gasped.

But there was the car. It was right there! Standing out like a little sun itself. A beautiful yellow. Beautiful and safe and wonderful!

‘I’m coming,’ she panted.

She reached the end of the field. She could feel herself slowing down, her body getting tired but she kept her eyes fixed on the car.

Push. Push. Push.

She reached a gutter, leapt over it. There was a person in the front seat. He looked over as sheripped open the back door.

‘Go! Go! Go!’ Prisha gasped.

Prisha slammed the door shut and they were speeding ahead—somewhere.

Anywhere but here.