Coughing, Nym gasped as she cracked her eyes open. The room around her came in and out of focus and the air in her lungs felt cold and sharp, but it was clean.

I'm still breathing...but what's going on?

Last she remembered, she'd been standing in the courtyard of the Shelter with Kirsi and 02. Where was she now? How had she gotten there?

A soft creak attracted her attention and her eyes flickered to the door.  She made out the hazy figure of a woman dressed in a white uniform moving slowly towards her.

"Miss Seaver, how do you feel?" asked a soft voice. It reminded Nym of her mother's voice, quiet and melodious while remaining firm.

Nym parted her lips but found her movements sluggish. She closed her lips after a second and slowly lifted one hand to rub over her eyes.

The woman moved closer, allowing Nym to see she was a nurse. She watched the woman fiddled a with the oxygen and air levels, eventually able to feel some of her fogginess fade. As her vision and mind cleared she realized the nurse wasn't wearing an oxygen tank.

Nym froze up, frowning deeply as her eyes flickered around the room. The woman was a nurse, so they had to be in the hospital, right? Was this a hospital?

Where are Kirsi and 02?

Her mind began to race as her breath caught in her chest.

Am I dead?

She knew she was breathing but was this death? Was this a hallucination, a dream? Her breathing grew shorter, and the nurse put a hand on Nym's shoulder.

"Miss, take deep breaths. You are alright. You're safe here."

The voice sounded like it kept echoing in a large loud chamber a million miles away, but it was soothing and calm. Nym tried to follow it's instructions, forcing her breathing to slow. Reality slowly came back into focus. The grip of fear on her chest also loosened enough for her to breathe normally again.

"...Where am I?" she rasped softly, reaching to touch her face to see if she had on an oxygen mask herself. Her fingers found the plastic curvature of the mask, but it didn't settle her nerves any.

"You're in the hospital. Your friend Kirsi Brooks brought you. You inhaled some poison and we had to flush your system, along with administering an antidote. You should be fine in a few hours. Would you like to see your friend?"

Nym nodded slowly and looked around. So Kirsi was here. Was 02 here?

I guess that means I'm not dead then. But...the thought struck her now as she was reminded of Kirsi. The hospital, it's airtight.

Nym had never spent enough time inside the hospital to know it. Plus, she'd never been treated there, so she'd never taken her oxygen mask off inside. It made sense, though, and having that reasoning to put her mind at ease she let go of the anxiety swirling in her head.

The door creaked open again as the nurse left and a moment later the woman re-entered with Kirsi in tow. 02 wasn't there. Nym worried that one of the doctors or nurses had sent him off to be scrapped. No. They wouldn't send him off, not if he was with Kirsi.

"Hey, Nym," Kirsi said, offering a thin smile as she walked over to the bedside.

Nym pushed herself up onto her elbows and smiled back at her. "Hey," she whispered. "What happened?"

"Remember how you had 02 scan the pump? Well, the doctor said some of that toxin got into your lungs, probably when you went to refill your tank. They gave you the antidote and got it all out of your lungs. They said you need a few days of recovery, though."

Nym nodded, shifting over so Kirsi could sit on the bed. She noticed Kirsi didn't have a mask on either and decided that confirmed her theory.

"Where is 02?

"He's outside. The doctors didn't want him coming in here. I dunno why but they look kinda wary. Maybe cause he's metal and I guess that might not be the most sterile. He's sitting outside the waiting room. He looks kinda lost...poor thing," Krisi plopped herself down on the bed beside Nym, crossing her legs. "Are you okay?"

Nym nodded with a bit of a smile. "Yeah, I feel better. Do you know if anyone plans to do something about the refill station? A lot of people could get hurt," Nym said, twisting her hands in the blanket. Was this what had happened to Cormac? Poison? Who put it there? Her mind reeled with questions again and she sighed. She hated not having the answers.

I'll record them all in my journal later, she told herself, knowing writing them down would at least get them out of her head.

"Um, well, the nurse said they reported it, but I don't know if it'll get fixed or what they'll do. They...they found the same poison in the reservoir tank too," Kirsi looked down at her hands, her expression falling. "Nym, does this mean they're all dead?"

Nym chewed her lip, swirling her fingers in the blanket. Could they all be dead? If it was in the reservoir tank, then everyone living in the Shelter and using those tanks for air could be dead. She felt her skin go cold at the thought and hugged her knees to her chest. "I don't know..." she whispered.

Kirsi nodded and touched her shoulder. Neither girl had the words. Nym thought of Cormac, and how he'd looked like he was suffocating. He'd been disoriented.

Did he hear the birds too? she wondered absently.

The more she thought back the more she could remember the silent cold embrace that had gripped her back in the courtyard. A deathly silent hug that had threatened to take her away. There was something about it that felt comforting, and that scared her.

Did Cormac feel it too?

A chill ran down her spine and she shuddered, shaking her head. She had to stop thinking about this. She needed to calm down and think clearly.

Reaching over to Kirsi she touched her friend's free hand, looking up at her. "Can you see if they'll let 02 in here? I need to ask him something. Also, will you get a nurse?"

Kirsi nodded and slowly got up. "Yup, be right back."

She disappeared out the door and Nym waited for the few eternal seconds that passed before a nurse entered the room. She walked back over with a small smile plastered on her face. "Hi, are you feeling alright?"

"Yeah, I'm doing okay. I was wondering how long I'd need to stay here. Can I take off the respirator?"

The nurse moved to adjust a few dials. "If you feel like you can breathe on your own you're welcome to remove the mask, but if you have difficulty breathing or feel light-headed call a nurse and put it back on," she said. "You should only be here for a few days. We just need to monitor your condition carefully to make sure you don't still have any trace amounts of the toxin in your system, but you should be free to go in about three days."

Nym nodded and slipped the respirator off. She sucked in a deep breath and found the air in the room to be rather stale, but clean. "Thank you. Would there be any chance the android outside could come in here?"

The nurse looked back, cocking one eyebrow as she furrowed her brow. "The android?"

Nym nodded firmly. "His name is 02. He's been...helping me figure some things out."

It was vague but it was the best she could do. Normal people didn't exactly befriend androids, but he was a source of information and she liked having him around.

"I'll talk to the doctor..." the nurse said, turning to leave.

Sighing, Nym laid down and twisted onto her side. It would probably be a few minutes until the doctor gave his decision. At least now she had time to write down all those questions.