The Facility

“Report.”

“Sir, lab 3b has severe structural damage. The three smallest weights totally penetrated upwards and moderately damaged the ceiling on the floor above. The twenty-five, fifty- and hundred-pound weights significantly damaged the ceiling above where they were. The floor took the brunt of the impact with no real structural damage from the two- and five hundred-pound weights. The half-ton and ton weights were not lifted, so they caused no damage.”

“Not lifted?”

“No, sir,” Doctor Tanaka said hesitantly.

“But? I sense a but in your voice. What are you not saying doctor?” Hugo Forrester pressed.

“B-but, sir, the girl… S-she pushed the two weights horizontally, not vertically. The half-ton weight was moved approximately a foot,” the doctor told him.

“And the ton?”

“The psionic energy she generated was enormous. Usually the subject can force objects about twice their weight to move with extreme concentration. For her, this would be maybe around two hundred pounds.

“To move two thousand pounds, along with another 1900 pounds total is incredible. This subject’s potential is off the charts.”

“We must be very careful with her, not only in care but in our own protection. I know personally she can penetrate our precautions, as she was able to exert force on me outside the psionic barrier. I want you to begin testing so we can improve it. If she can penetrate it, it is useless as a protection.”

“Yes Mr. Forrester.”

“Set up another lab and begin testing as soon as it’s possible. What is Ms. Hawkins assessment of the girl?”

“There were… complications. But she said the subject should only need a few days rest. She has some cosmetic damage and something of a personal nature that Ms. Hawkins would not discuss with me, but she assured me it is being investigated and monitored.

“You could press her for more if – “

“I don’t think that will be necessary,” Hugo interrupted. “She will see to the subject’s health. Keep me informed of the progress.”

***

The first threads of consciousness came back to Cassidy. It was quiet. Her body was giving her conflicting sensation.

Her body was burning up, while her skin was cold. Vision seemed to be nearly impossible as her eyes felt weighted closed.

Managing to force an eye open slightly, she was not surprised to see bright lights and a white ceiling.

Her head turned slightly and then pounded like a great drum. Boom, boom, boom, went her head in time with her pulse.

The light dimmed some and her eyes focused better. A face, freckled, topped by short red hair waivered before steadying.

“Easy,” Peg said, “you need rest.”

“W-where am I?” Cass asked.

“Back in your room. You over-exerted yourself. You caused quite a bit of… well, it doesn’t matter.”

“I got gassed? I did only what they asked of me,” Cass said in half anger, half panic.

“No sweety,” Peg said wiping a damp cloth across her forehead. “You weren’t punished. As least not by us. By your own body, perhaps.”

Cass had trouble telling where she was. Whatever she was lying on was not as soft as her bed; it was actually hard and hurt her back. And it was cold – no, actually cool, she amended.

It must be the exam table.

Ignoring her bodies protests, she sat up. She had a fraction of a second to register she had nothing on as she sheet covering her slid down, but that thought quickly vanished as the noise in her head thundered like crashing waves in a typhoon and the room started violently spinning in her vision.

The extreme vertigo caused her to retch and she closed her eyes trying not to vomit, all the while flailing about for stability.

Peg put one hand on Cass’s chest and the other behind her head and laid her back, then pulled up the sheet covering her back up.

“Okay, well you just saved me a lot of time asking what symptoms you have.

“For you, you now know that it’s not always wise to act quickly before knowing the extent of your problems.

“Give me a second while you breathe deeply, and we’ll talk about what’s next.”

Cass heard Peg move and a few seconds later she felt the nurse’s hands on her arm, and then the inner part of her elbow burned.

“As you can probably tell, I just gave you some medication. Some pain medication, something for the vertigo and something for the nausea. So, stay still while we talk and keep your eyes closed and soon, you should start to feel better.”

“Okay,” Cassidy said in a near whimper.

“Your body seemed to react badly to your excessive use of your ability.”

Peg ran a hand along Cass’s covered arm. “Your internal body temperature rose dangerously high. I stripped you and covered you with cool sheets. If that had not worked, net was an ice bath.”

“Yeah and a sad wet t-shirt contest for whoever is watching,” Cass said dejectedly.

“No sweety, the video feed is off, and the wall is blacked out. I told you, I would not cause you any embarrassment.

“Now, your temp has come down, just not enough yet. So, once you are able, a cool shower is in order. Plus, you need to wash the sticky out of your hair.

“My guess is that you’ll feel fatigued for a few days, so a rest is in order. The nausea and vertigo should stop by themselves as your head clears.

“The medicine will help for now. There are two things I need to warn you about.

“First, so it is no surprise and second so you know that in the future, if you ever over do it, you could possibly cause permanent damage. Your strain has caused what is called petechial hemorrhaging. What that is, is basically you have ruptured several blood vessels in your eyes, turning the whites of your eyes red. Blood red to be exact.

“It’s quite a sight. No pun intended. Like a demon from the movies. Do not be alarmed, however. As the blood vessels repair themselves and your body absorbs the excess blood, they will go back to white.

“Think of it as a bruise. Except that instead of turning purple, blue, then yellow before going away, it goes red, then pink, then away,” Peg said in a calm, teaching voice.

“And the second?” Cass asked, concerned.

“I’ve already run a CAT scan on you while you were unconscious. With what you had previously told me, I wanted to make absolutely sure you did not have any internal bleeding. It seems that something – my guess is the stress – started your menses early.”

“My what? Oh!” Cass exclaimed, cheeks burning in embarrassment.

Squeezing her thighs together, she felt the bulk of a pad and her fingers at her side brushed the material of her underwear.

“Oh my God, you didn’t…” She could not finish; she was too mortified.

“Cassidy, I’m a nurse. Blood is blood, regardless of where it comes from. You are not the first person I have ever cleaned up. Pick a body fluid, I have cleaned it up. Or solid,” she said with a grin.

“Ick,” Cass replied.

“Trust me hon, you get use to it. Anyway, I cannot tell you what to expect. This could be your normal amount, just early, or extra and you will get your regular period like you normally would.

“If it continues longer than normal, please tell me so I can have you checked more thoroughly. You could get something like anemia, so I will at least want blood work done to make sure.

“The CAT scan was just to make sure you didn’t have any internal bleeding.

“You have a supply of pads next to the toilet and I’ll make sure you have more just in case.

“So, now how are you feeling?”

Cassidy opened her eyes. The pounding of her head had subsided somewhat. “Better I think.”

“Okay, let’s sit you up slowly,” Peg told her. She put a hand under Cass’s neck and hooked a hand under her arm, then helped slowly raise Cass, who held the sheet up with one hand.

Her vision swam for a few seconds before stabilizing and this time she had no urge to vomit.

“So far, so good?” the nurse asked.

Cassidy nodded slightly.

“Okay. We still need to cool you down, so let us try to have you stand up. If you can, we will walk to the shower and get you in. I will carry you if necessary, but not unless I must.

“Swing your legs over toward me and stay up on the table for now.”

Cass pivoted her button the smooth table easily and dangled her legs over the side.

“Good so far?” Peg asked. “Any dizziness?”

“No, it seemed to have passed.”

“Good. Grab the edge with your right hand so you do not fall while I remove the IV from your arm. Then we will try standing. Ready?”

Cass nodded and took the edge in her hand while Peg held out her other arm.

She pulled out tape and a cotton ball from her pocket and set the cotton down, pulled a strip of tape off the roll, sticking it to the table.

Holding the cannula in place while she pulled the tape holding it up, she then placed the cotton over it before pulling it out. Peg did all with the practical ease of someone who had done this a thousand times.

She put the tape across the cotton ball, sticking it down snugly. “Bend your arm and squeeze. Make believe you’re trying to show off your muscles,” she said to Cass with a grin.

Cass followed her instructions.

“Okay, now try standing,” Peg said, starting to move the damp sheet aside, but Cassidy hung on to it, looked at the camera.

Peg stopped pulling and said, “Security? Verify audio on demand only. Video has been disabled.”

“Ma’am. Video is disabled and audio is on-demand only. Do you want this changed?” the voice from the speakers asked.

“No. Just verifying. Please go back offline. I’ll contact you if necessary and will advise when to return to normal feed.”

“Understood. Security out.”

Peg looked at Cassidy. “No one is watching except me, and it’s too late to hide anything from me. Everything I have told you is also just between us, so your privacy has not been violated, again except by me.

“However, it is my job to care for you so I did what I had to do and will continue to do so. Others know that something happened to you but not specifics. There is no need for them to know, as it does not pertain to their work, except now to not make you over-exert yourself again.

“Now, let’s get you up, unless you’d like me to undress as well to show you no one is watching?”

Cass gave a small shake of her head and Peg pulled the sheet gently from Cass, who let her draw it aside.

Moving in front of Cass, Peg took her arms and pulled them up to her shoulders. “Take hold of my shoulders. I will hold you up if your legs give out.

“On three, slide forward onto the floor. Ready?”

Cass nodded and Peg put her hands under Cass’s arms and around her small torso. She counted to three and Cass slid forward and down until her bare feet touched the floor.

Cass’s knees started to buckle, but Cass gripped Peg and steadied herself.

“You doing okay?” Peg asked.

Cass replied, “Yeah.”

The nurse gave her charge a reassuring squeeze before removing her hands and Cass lowered hers as well.

“Okay, now we’ll go to the shower and I’ll be behind you. If you have any problems, I’ve got you.”

“Got it,” Cass said and started to take slow steps towards the shower.

Peg moved behind her and put her hands around Cass’s sides, holding loosely to her ribs. She kept in contact with Cass, but lightly and only so if the girl fell, she could grip, keeping her from falling.

Both moved at Cass’s speed and made their wat into the shower where Peg extended the bench and say Cassidy down.

Peg took the soap and shampoo and set them next to the girl.

“The water needs to be cool. You are still warm to the touch. Leave your used things and Ill take care of them. I’ll get your clothes and a towel.”

“Two,” Cassidy interjected.

“Two towels then. I will set it all on the shelf. While you are cleaning up, I will clean up your room in case you need me. Just call out.

“Once you are done, if you feel you can dry and dress yourself, go ahead, but carefully. You are already tired and sore, so no need to add more injuries.

“If you need help, just ask. No pressure, no embarrassment. Okay?”

“Okay,” Cass replied.

Peg opened the near door and stepped out, turning on the water and adjusting it so it was cool while Cass just sat there under the water silent.

Sliding the door shut, Peg went to clean up and gather clothes and towels.

Cass sat under the water, letting it cascade over her while she pulled her braid over her shoulder, undoing the band, putting it over her hand, around her wrist.

Peg reappeared holding a washcloth out for Cass to take, unconcerned with the water wetting her arm.

With a sigh Cass took it and Peg vanished again.

Cass slipped off her underwear, letting them fall around her feet and watched the water turn pink around them. She had not said anything to Peg, but this was not right. She was always regular and now she was over a week early. This had never happened before, even when she had used her special ability.

Right now, she decided to deal with it and hope for the best and vowed not to overdo it again.

Still sitting down, she washed her hair twice to get rid of the stickiness of the now removed electrodes, then washed her body and just sat under the water when she had finished, until Peg returned.

She did not come in this time, only asking if Cass was okay from outside.

Cass’s reply of yes was enough to ease the nurse.

Carefully Cass stood and felt pretty much normal again, so she shut off the water and opened the door enough to reach for the towels.

Grabbing them, she dried her hair and wrapped the towel around it, then took the other towel and dried off her body.

Seeing a pink stain on the towel, she held on to it, take the underwear and pad, then used the towel to clean herself off again before putting them on.

Checking herself to make sure she was still clean, she got the rest of the clothes and got dressed before stepping out of the shower.

Peg had removed the table, along with the wet sheet and IV and was standing at the sink. She motioned the girl to come over to her.

Cass walked to her and the nurse put her hand along Cassidy’s neck and jaw. “Still warm, but closer to normal. If you start to feel worse, call out and say so. I will make sure someone is monitoring the audio closely.

“I imagine after this you’ll sleep, so when you wake and want food, say so and I’ll bring you something.

“Now, remember what I told you about your eyes?”

Cass nodded.

Peg lightly pushed her chin to the side until Cass was looking into the mirror and the girl winced.

“Holy…” she started. “My eyes.”

“Exactly. Pretty blue surrounded by blood red. Now you understand why you cannot overdo it? You would possibly injure yourself permanently. I don’t think you’d want to be blind, right?”

Cass could only shake her head, speechless.

“Good,” Peg said removing the towel from Cass’s head. Taking the brush, she started brushing out the girl’s hair.

Since Peg was a few inches taller than Cassidy, the girl was able to look at the nurse in the mirror as she brushed out Cass’s long hair.

Peg pulled the girl’s hair back when she was done, then split it in two. “Band?” she prompted.

“I only have one,” Cass told her, raising her hand, showing her the one around her wrist.

Peg pulled it off the girl’s wrist and bound one of the pigtails, then pulled the other side together and put something around it as well.

Cass looked at her over the top of her own head in the mirror and when Peg looked up, their eyes met.

A kindly look fell over Peg’s face and having finished, she put her hand over Cass’s shoulder.

Cass tried to focus on it in the mirror but her head began to hurt, so she turned her head to look at Peg’s hand directly and saw it held a white cardboard rectangle that held a dozen elastic bands on it.

“I figured you’d need them eventually,” Peg told her. “Now let us get you to bed and I’ll finish tidying up here.

“Are you hungry? Maybe a snack and something to drink?”

“Maybe,” Cassidy said turning around and walking to her bed as Peg followed.

The girl sat on the edge of the bed and swung her bare feet back and forth.

Peg tsk’ed and opened the drawer, pulling out a pair of socks. “Looks like I missed something,” she said squatting down and quickly putting socks on Cass’s feet. “There. Now lay down and relax and I’ll be right back with your snack and finish up.”

She stood and helped Cass under the blanket, feeling her forehead to make sure she was not too warm to cover up.

Peg walked towards the door and said, “Security… resume normal monitoring, this room.”

“Acknowledged,” replied the disembodied voice. “Normal monitoring protocol resumed, this room,” it said as Peg walked out.

When Peg returned, Cassidy was lightly snoring, so she put the juice and cookies on the table net to Cass’s book, cleaned up quietly, and left the girl to sleep, dimming the lights as she left.