NOVEL WEB Chapter 2
It felt like an eternity that Kyle was kneeling there, his grandfather’s body cradled in his arms. It all felt so… surreal. The old man was as tough as they came, and Kyle wasn’t prepared for the wave of emotions that assaulted him. To lose a patient was rare, and while there was no healing for the ravages of time, he couldn’t help but think if anybody could have made it through it would have been his grandfather. The silence was eerie, punctuated only by the occasional sound of rubble cracking and falling. As he knelt, a battered drone floated up and around him.
[PATIENT CLARK MAYHEW – DECEASED. TIME OF DEATH - 10:17AM, OCTOBER 9TH, 2252. CAUSE OF DEATH – BLUNT FORCE TRAUMA, BLOOD LOSS, HEART FAILURE, MANA OVERLOAD. UPLOADING TO CENTRAL HEALTH RECORDS. ERROR, NETWORK CONNECTION LOST. RESUBMITTING… ERROR, NETWORK CONNECTION LOST. RUNNING DIAGNOSTICS… NETWORK CONNECTIVITY ERROR IDENTIFIED. MOST RECENT NETWORK CONNECTION INTERRUPTED 10:14AM. DR. MAYHEW ADVISE, ATTEMPT RECONNECTION?]
As odd as it was, this mundane network connectivity message was what snapped Kyle out of his stupor. “C.H.A.D.D., what was the time of the network connectivity drop?”
[10:14AM] the drone responded.
“What time did… this happen?” He knew it was a dumb question, but he wasn’t sure how to phrase it in a way that the drone would process. Surprisingly the drone had a quick answer.
[CATACLYSMIC EVENT IDENTIFIED AT 10:12AM. DISRUPTION OF MANA NETWORK ENSUED, RECONNECTED AT 10:13AM. CONNECTION LOST AT 10:14, YET TO BE REESTABLISHED.]
Kyle paused for a moment to consider the implications, but it made sense. Just because this area was in ruins, that didn’t mean the entire planet was destroyed. He surveyed the rubble around him and once again took in the scene of destruction.
Buildings had been blown off their foundations, the ground littered with debris spreading west from what he assumed was the center of the series of explosions. The developing city skyline was gone, and the mountains that had dominated the horizon had been broken and changed. The sky was darkened by dust particles in the air, and the mana his body passively drew in felt… different somehow.
“C.H.A.D.D., do you have any captures or messages from the last moments of connection?”
[YES DR. MAYHEW. EMERGENCY NOTICES FROM CENTRAL HEALTH BRANCHES TO THE WEST, APPEARED TO BE MID-TRANSMISSION BY THE TIME THE MANA NETWORK HERE WAS DISRUPTED.]
That would track with Kyle’s observations. The farther east he looked the more significant the destruction. While he was still getting his bearings, it was clear that going that direction would be unwise.
[DR. MAYHEW ADVISE, ATTEMPT RECONNECTION TO UPLOAD DEATH NOTICE?] Again, C.H.A.D.D.’s question brought Kyle back to reality. His grandfather’s body was still nearby, and he was alone. Clark’s last words repeated in his head, and he made a decision.
“C.H.A.D.D., attempt a reconnection and upload every 10 minutes. Note any connections that come through and try to send an emergency signal before uploading the death notice.
[DR. MAYHEW, THERE IS CURRENTLY NO MEDICAL EMERGENCY. THE PATIENT HAS DIED…] the drone began, but Kyle snapped back.
“C.H.A.D.D., this is an exceptional circumstance. This isn’t an operating room emergency or call light, please broadcast as soon as you can connect.”
[UNDERSTOOD DR. MAYHEW.]
Several hours later, Kyle stood before a piled mound of rubble and stone. He wished he could do more, but this was the best burial he could give under the circumstances. He ached all over, but knew he wouldn’t have been able to do what came next if he didn’t at least do this. Teardrops hit the ground and he felt a deep hurt in his chest.
A lifetime of smiles, laughter, and care ran through his mind as he looked at the makeshift cairn. Thank you, for everything were the only words he could muster before turning and walking away. C.H.A.D.D. followed him, and finally Kyle composed himself enough to ask:
“C.H.A.D.D., I know the main network is down; are you able to detect any active devices using a local connection?” C.H.A.D.D. hovered in the air before responding.
[YES DR. MAYHEW. CAFETERIA WALK-IN AND OVERFLOW MEDICAL SUPPLY PROGAMS STILL FUNCTIONAL.]
On one side, Kyle couldn’t believe his luck that both of those units were operational. On the other, it meant that the rest of the clinic’s myriad programs were now non-functional, likely completely destroyed by the blast. Kyle made his way to where C.H.A.D.D. indicated the programs were broadcasting. On the way he tried to ignore the bodies of fallen colleagues and patients. He knew that it was a miracle that he survived the blast, and that was thanks to the D Grade shield surrounding him.
The sight of those who didn’t share that protection… wasn’t pretty. Kyle made it to a twisted heap of metal and concrete that C.H.A.D.D. indicated was the entrance to the walk-in storage for the cafeteria, and began looking around for a way in. Unable to see much, and afraid of accidentally collapsing what was there, Kyle had an idea.
“C.H.A.D.D., can you scan and provide a diagnostic of the area in front of us?” C.H.A.D.D. paused for a moment to process the request, and then responded
[THAT IS POSSIBLE. PROCESSING…]
Moments later, C.H.A.D.D. projected a scan of the rubble. From there it was a matter of effort to move the pieces that he could, and before long he was able to get to the door of the storage area. He flashed his credentials and the door slid open about halfway before jamming, leaving just enough space for Kyle to get in. It was a utilitarian room with no decoration, and now a significant portion was collapsed in. Fortunately for Kyle he was able to see a few shelves still standing an intact, mostly packed with breads, prepacked crisps, and various breakfast bars.
He began the work of collecting what he could, leaving most of the breads that would spoil in favor of the sealed, packaged food. As the pile outside the rubble grew, Kyle realized quickly he would need something to carry the food. Looking around the room, he saw some towels and aprons in one of the corners and grabbed them.
As he did so, he looked down at his scrubs, still covered in his grandfather’s blood. He shuddered involuntarily before looking away, turning his attention to the towels. He tied several together at the corners to make rough cloth bags, put what he could inside, and tied them off. It wasn’t perfect, but it would do.
The medical supplies were housed on the opposite side of the building, and unsurprisingly there was debris to navigate through the door. The same process repeated, with C.HA.D.D. scanning and Kyle moving objects where he could to clear a path. They weren’t as fortunate with this room. When Kyle scanned his credentials, the door barely opened far enough for Kyle to get through, with the majority of the room completely collapsed.
Instead of having access to a wide variety of medical supplies, Kyle was only able to grab a small first-aid kit that was just inside the door, as well as two sets of fresh scrubs, one of which he quickly put on. It wasn’t everything he had planned on, but it was something. Kyle held onto some hope that as he moved farther and farther away from the center of the destruction that he’d find others who survived.
Looking at his bundles of food and small first aid kit, he felt a pit of despair growing in his stomach. He had gone camping with his grandfather many times, even investing some of his attribute points into Endurance and Vitality to be able to keep up a little better, but this was still so far beyond anything he’d thought about before. He closed his eyes and forced himself to take a deep breath. He had to treat this clinically, just like he would a patient brought into the emergency room. Step one of emergency triage – gather information as completely and quickly as possible.
“C.H.A.D.D., have you had any success reconnecting to the network?”
[NO, DR. MAYHEW.]
“Can you tell in what direction the most recent uploads came from before connection dropped?” [MOST RECENT UPLOADS FROM CENTRAL HEALTH CORWYN, NIERBURG, PROST.] That confirmed a lot of what Kyle expected, all of those hospitals were west. Unfortunately, it also confirmed a fear he had – while these cities were west, they were hundreds of kilometers away. Whatever had happened knocked out a lot more than he’d thought.
Stay focused, next question: “C.H.A.D.D., do you have any map overlays or other data saved?”
[DATA FOR AMBULATORY TRANSPORT IS ON FILE. WOULD YOU LIKE TO CALL AN AMBULANCE?]
“No, C.H.A.D.D., please don’t call for an ambulance.”
[EXCELLENT, UNABLE TO CALL AMBULANCE WITHOUT MANA NETWORK CONNECTION.]
“Then why did you offer?” Kyle sighed with exasperation. “Are you able to project ambulance routes between here and Central Health Nierburg?”
[WOULD YOU LIKE TO CALL AN AMBULANCE? AMBULATORY TRANSPORT DATA CANNOT BE ACCESSED WITHOUT AN EMERGENCY REQUIRING AN AMBULANCE.]
Kyle was about to throw the drone into a wall. “C.H.A.D.D., I am the ambulance! The network just isn’t working. Please just project the route.” This appeared to satisfy the little drone, who used its projection to show the routes an ambulance would take from their current position to the hospital in Nierburg. Kyle understood this would be less reliable the farther they went, but it at least pointed them in the right direction.
Step two of emergency triage – analyze the information you have and make a decision. Kyle unfortunately knew precious little. Something had destroyed the hospital and most of Newton. Whatever it is disrupted the ambient mana connections that flowed between cities. Kyle was the only survivor in this area that he had seen. He had maybe two weeks of food and some very basic medical supplies. Hiking to the nearest cities would take weeks at least, and there was no guarantee that they fared any better than Newton had. . Still, with this information the decision was clear: head away from the center of the blast. No matter what happened, his odds of finding other survivors increased if he got away from this area.
Kyle took a deep breath and affirmed his decision – if he was going to survive, he was going to have to leave. His whole body ached, his mind was still numb, but he dragged himself to his feet and started moving. “C.H.A.D.D., are you able to leave the hospital grounds?” The little drone floated silently for a moment before replying.
[NO ANCHORING PROGRAM DETECTED; GPS OFFLINE. THIS UNIT IS CURRENTLY UNRESTRICTED.] Kyle breathed a sigh of relief, at least this resource was still available for him.
“Please come with me, C.H.A.D.D.” The drone floated alongside as they departed, leaving the ruins of their home behind them.
~~~
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