Treasure of the Dead

Chapter 35

Fabi had no intentions of waiting around to see what Avila had in store for her. Although she had no access to tools of any kind, her pockets having been searched and everything taken by Avila’s guards, she worked at her bonds by wriggling her slender wrists back and forth. A stifled cry of pain escaped her lips as she wrenched her joints in ways they were never designed. But at last her hands came sliding free of the restraints.

She heard footsteps approaching from outside the room, hard-soled shoes on stone and stuck her freed hands behind her back as if she was still bound. She tried to sit still and calm her breathing so as not to show signs of her recent exertion.

A lab worker she did not recognize entered holding a leather case of some kind. He made brief eye contact with her from behind clear plastic safety goggles, then walked behind Fabi toward a counter. She heard him unzip the case, followed by the clatter of unknown instruments on the counter. He spoke soon after that.

“I’m going to administer you something that should make you feel more comfortable, more relaxed and open to discussion. It won’t hurt a bit.”

Fabi heard the man step back toward her chair. She prayed he wouldn’t notice her unbound hand but a second later he was leaning over in front of her, eyeing a bare spot on her right arm.

“What do you think you’re doing? What is that? I don’t want it!”

He held up an alcohol swab in one hand, lowering the syringe a bit in the other. “Now, now. Just relax. Here you go.” The lab tech bent down to administer the shot and sprang into motion. The tech reared up as the arm he was about to shoot moved, but he was far too late.

She grabbed him by his curly mop of hair, yanked his head down, and drove her knee up to meet him. He slumped to the ground, stunned by the blow. He began to groan, and she kicked him in the temple, hard, but not hard enough to be lethal, and he fell silent.

“I guess they forgot to tell you some girls know how to fight.”

Fabi stripped him of his lab coat and donned it. She figured it might distract some people for a few seconds, at least, and sometimes that was all she needed. She looked around the room briefly to see if there was anything she could use as a weapon, but saw nothing and hurried on. She had to find Cassandra. Where was she now?

Fabi slipped into the next room, where half a dozen people lay strapped to beds, each receiving intravenous treatment of some sort. A couple of them looked at her with glassy eyes but the rest were sleeping or heavily medicated. Another thought she didn’t have time for flashed through her mind — what was Dr. Avila doing here with these people? They didn’t appear to be regular patients. Many of the more common machines were missing altogether, although there was no shortage of equipment in general; it was just that most of it was unidentifiable to Fabi.

She hurried through this eerie space to a closed door at the end of the room. She reached out to open it and then felt someone grab her from behind. Instinctively, she snapped her head back, cracking her unseen assailant across the bridge of the nose. She heard a cry of pain and shook the man off. Whirling around to finish the job, Fabi was instantly deflated to find herself facing, in addition to her attacker, an armed guard with a pistol aimed at her chest… and Avila himself.

The physician’s expression was stern as he stared down Fabi while her bloody-faced attacker backed away from her with a hateful glare. Avila wagged his head side to side while making clucking noises.

“Fabiola… I am growing impatient by the minute. If you continue to refuse cooperation, you leave me no choice but to take more rigorous measures, measures that you will not find palatable in the least, I can assure you.” Having slunk back to the corner, the guard who had attacked Fabi licked his lips.

Fabi ignored him and focused on Avila. “I’ve been extensively trained to resist torture, Dr. Avila.” She put on a brave front but her insides threatened to turn to water at the thought.

Avila smiled and turned to his armed guard. “Enough nonsense. Take that lab coat off her and then bring her back to her bed. I think it's time we used the formula.”