Chapter Ten Noah

Noah's heart pounded as he approached the doors to Helen's ward. He hadn't seen her since she'd been brought to the hospital. Too long, when he'd decided his role was to watch over her. After waiting almost two days for a chore that would take him in her specific direction, he'd finally taken matters into his own hands. Grabbing a fresh bale of sheets, he'd headed off, praying no one would question his behaviour.

When he reached his destination, a technician was on the way out. Timing it just right, Noah held back to let the woman pass, then slipped through the doors just before they swung shut. Inside, as he slowed his breathing, he noted the lack of noise. It should have been a comfort that so few people were about in the evenings. But as he ventured further in, he was trembling.

Most of the patients were sleeping. After checking the ward was empty, Noah headed towards the private room at the far end, where Liam had told him Helen was. He passed the technician's office, where there was a low hum of chatter. Rounds were completed by this time of day, and staff were usually taking a well-deserved break. It was the reason Noah felt able to risk a slight detour from his usual duties.

As he approached Helen's door, voices floated from within. He froze. Leaning closer, he caught a snatch of the conversation. First, Helen's voice, her tone far more positive than it had been the previous day. And then, another female voice, one which was even more familiar.

At first, he couldn't place it. And then, it hit him. Inching closer, he peered inside. Sure enough, seated on the edge of Helen's bed was Ella.

Checking the ward was still empty of people, Noah ducked inside. Both girls spun to face him. He kept his head low, but imagined their faces were emblazoned with panic.

"It's Noah." Thinking quickly, he pushed the door closed with his hip, then placed the bale of sheets on the dresser. "Aren't there cameras in here?"

Ella recovered first. "I've taken care of it."

Noah's head jerked up and their eyes met. Hers were gleaming.

"But how–?"

She reached into her pocket and pulled out a small device which looked a little like a pen. "One of Blake's creations. It scrambles the signal within a five-metre radius." Grinning broadly, she put it away. "No one can see into this room via the camera right now."

Noah didn't add that a real-life technician or medic could come in at any moment.

He jerked his mask down. "When did–"

"She just got here." Helen didn't seem to be able to take her eyes off Ella. "Seems like she's becoming quite the undercover expert."

Ella chuckled. "Not sure about that."

"I am." Helen's eyes were bright. "You're fitting into Resistance life really well."

"What are you doing here?" Noah stared at his fellow Eremus citizen. "I mean, it's good to see you, but…" He moved a little closer to the bed, keeping his voice low. "Did Madeleine send you? Are you here on a rescue mission?"

"Not exactly." A flush crept up Ella's cheeks. "I asked Madeleine if I could try to get inside the hospital today… see Helen." She gritted her teeth. "She said no."

Noah could well imagine the Resistance leader refusing such a request, which was purely personal and served no practical purpose. But he kept quiet.

"But she did send me on a mission. Which I completed." Ella looked up, meeting his eyes. "Figured it would be acceptable to make a stop on the way back."

Helen's eyes were saucers. "She doesn't know you're here?"

"I needed to see you." Ella tilted her chin upwards. "She refused to let me come. So I made my own arrangements."

Noah finally took in Ella's hospital gown. "Are you a patient?"

"For now." The older girl pulled the neck of the gown to reveal a circular pad stuck to her chest. A wire trailed from it.

"What's that?"

"It's called an electrode, apparently." Ella shrugged. "It's a sensor, attached to a little monitor which is measuring my heartrate. It's strapped to me. Here." She pointed at a slight bulge at her waist. Catching Noah's look of concern, she smiled. "Don't worry. There's nothing wrong with me. I had to give them something real when I came to the Emergency Department."

For a moment, Noah couldn't form words. When he did, they burst from him more loudly than he'd intended. "What did you–?"

"Shh!" For the first time, Ella shot a nervous look at the door. "Are we likely to get a technician visiting at some point?"

Helen shook her head. "Not unless we attract their attention. In my experience, unless there's an emergency, the technicians on duty drink coffee, watch TV, and do as little work as possible." She glanced at Noah. "Keep your voice down and we should be fine."

Noah breathed in deeply, steadying himself. "How did you make them believe you had a heart issue?"

Ella scuffed a foot along the floor. "Took some of Blake's pills on the way here. She takes them to keep her awake. They're mostly caffeine, but I took more than I should have." She shot out a hand at his horrified expression. "It was a means to an end."

"A dangerous means to an end," Helen muttered.

Ella squeezed Helen's hand, then turned back to Noah. "When I arrived here, I told them I had severe chest pains." She shrugged. "The caffeine pills I'd taken made me pretty convincing. They put this thing on my chest… stuck me in a bed overnight for observation. Once they stopped watching me, I swiped one of the technician's schedules. I figured out where they were keeping Helen and," she swept a hand across the room, "here I am."

"So you're here all night?" Noah looked between them. "You don't think the Resistance will worry when you don't report in?"

"I'm sure they will." Ella dropped her gaze to her wrist. "I've turned my clip off for now. Didn't want any of the techs to get curious if it keeps buzzing away." She sighed. "I didn't intend to be here overnight, but it seemed to be the only way…" Her tone was defensive. "Look, it was important to me to see that Helen was okay." She relinquished her hold on Helen's hand. "And now I have. When my heart rate is normal in the morning, they'll let me out. I'll be back at the library before anyone gets too concerned."

"You'd better apologise when you get back," Helen said. "I get why you're here, but causing them all even more worry when they've only just got you back after the bombing…"

Ella nudged Helen's shoulder. "Madeleine should've let me come and see you. If she didn't want me taking matters into my own hands." She broke off, concern settling on her features. "It's a good job I did. If they're talking about sending you back to the academy soon, we have to do something about it."

Noah glanced at Helen. "Any news on that?"

She shrugged. "My initial scan was clear, but they're still waiting on some blood results. Apparently, the lab is backed up. All the extra patients from the bombing."

"So you're okay until…"

She nodded. "Until the results come back. But I'm not sure when that will be."

Noah turned back to Ella. "Any news on Flynn?"

"None." Her face fell. "Madeleine has people out scouring the city for him, but they've had no luck so far. Danforth's put him somewhere very secure."

"So Madeleine doesn't know where he is?"

Ella shrugged. "Not so far."

"And is there a plan to try and rescue him?" Noah fought for breath.

"How can there be, if they don't know where he is?" Helen's eyes were wide.

"They're going to keep looking." Ella admitted begrudgingly. "I know Madeleine has a lot on her plate, but she did sound like she'd do everything she could to get him back."

"I really hope that's true." Noah glanced back at the pile of sheets he'd left on the dresser. "I'd better go soon. Don't want to get caught up here." He turned back to Ella. "You said you were on a mission. What did Madeleine have you doing?"

"She sent me back to Matriarch House." Ella's face darkened. "Not that I particularly wanted to go, but…"

Noah understood. Back in Eremus, he still struggled with passing through the section of tunnel where they had attacked the Bellator guards. "Did youdiscover anything useful?"

"Not really." Ella shook her head. "The canteen was completely destroyed, but some of the offices survived. One of Danforth's senior advisors assigned a group of employees to help with the clean-up, before we move to our new placements. I managed to wrangle myself a spot. We were asked to retrieve any resources which had survived the blast. I was there for hours today, but I didn't find anything implicating the chancellor." She turned to Helen. "I did come across a stack of old papers about the academy though, in one of the waste bins outside."

"Really?" Helen sat forward. "What were they?"

"Not sure." Ella shrugged. "I haven't had a chance to look at them yet. They're a little smoke-damaged."

"They'll be throwing them away because they have digital copies now," Helen mused.

"They could be useful to the Resistance, though." Noah glanced at the door. How much longer could he stay?

"That's what I thought when I stashed them in my bag. I'll pass them to Madeleine tomorrow." She turned back to Noah. "And I'll go back, keep working on the clean-up, accept a job wherever they move us to. There has to be hard evidence somewhere of what Danforth is doing to the girls at the academy. If I'm working inside the new government building, I'll be best placed to find it."

A shadow crossed Helen's face. "You think you could find something before they send me back to the academy?"

"I'll do my best."

Leaning forward, Ella put her arms around Helen. Noah glanced away as they held each other.

Eventually, Ella pulled away. "I won't let them send you back. I'll break you out of here myself, if I have to."

Helen smiled, but the expression didn't quite reach her eyes. Her future was still uncertain, and she knew it. Ella's declarations were useless without the Resistance to back her up.

"I'll do my best to watch out for you," Noah picked up the bale of sheets. "Come up here as often as I can. For now, I'd better go though." He looked at Ella as he moved towards the door. "Wait a while before you go back to your own ward, okay? Give me a chance to get clear."

Ella nodded. "Will do."

He hesitated. "Don't fall asleep in here, will you?" He turned to Helen, who was blushing. " I'll try and check on you again tomorrow."

"Thanks."

He turned to Ella. "Safe journey back to the library. Tell them I'll keep an eye on Helen." He nodded at Ella. "Keep looking for damning evidence against Danforth. I'll keep my ear to the ground here for the same reason."

As he retraced his steps through the ward, he felt a renewed determination. There had to be something they could use to take the chancellor down. They just had to find it. And soon.