The Final Six (The Final Six #1) - Alexandra Monir Page 0,51
She stirs but doesn’t wake, and I pull the covers up around her.
“Goodnight, Naomi,” I whisper.
I look at her one last time. Her expression is so peaceful as she sleeps, as though the trauma we witnessed with Suki never happened.
I step out of the room, feeling my way through the dark back to the boys’ dorm. All the while, her face remains imprinted in my mind.
I wake up a zombie the next morning, half delirious from barely any sleep. Asher and I get ready in a hurry, both of us anxious to see if, by some miracle, Suki will be waiting for us at our team table for breakfast. But when we walk into the cafeteria, we find her seat empty. Lark and Dr. Takumi are missing, too.
“I guess she’s still getting treatment,” I tell Asher. “God, I hope she’s okay.”
I lock eyes with Naomi across the room, and I am suddenly wide awake. Asher and I slide into our seats, with me beside her.
“Hey,” I say, giving her a small smile. “How are you doing?”
“Hi. I’m . . .” She shakes her head. “I don’t know. I just want to find out what happened to my roommate.”
As if on cue, Lark dashes into the cafeteria, followed by Dr. Takumi at a slower pace. Before Lark even makes it to her seat, Naomi, Asher, and I pounce on her with questions, while Katerina and Beckett listen curiously, the two of them still in the dark about Suki.
“Dr. Takumi will explain everything” is all Lark says. But from the look on her face, I have the sinking feeling that it’s not good news.
Dr. Takumi strides to his perch at the front of the room and holds up his hands for silence. “I have an unfortunate announcement to make. As you may have noticed, one of our Twenty-Four is absent today. Regrettably, Suki Chuan had to be cut early, due to her suffering an adverse reaction to the RRB. She is no longer a finalist for the Europa Mission.”
The news hits me like a blow. I turn to Naomi just as her expression crumbles. Gasps and exclamations of shock ripple through the cafeteria, and my stomach lurches at the realization that Suki is gone, her chance at a future ruined in one night.
“Where is she?” Naomi whispers to Lark, her lower lip quivering.
“Still at the medical center. It’ll be some time before she’s back to her old self, but don’t worry,” Lark says. “She’s getting the best care.”
“To anyone concerned this might happen to you: the good news is that the odds of an allergic reaction to the RRB are still very slim. If you haven’t experienced symptoms yet, chances are that your body is accepting the serum. However, what happened to Suki is the precise reason we monitor your reactions before you leave Earth.” Dr. Takumi pauses, intensifying his gaze on all of us. “If you feel anything out of the ordinary, I expect you to come directly to me, or to your team leader. The last thing you want is a medical complication to arise on Europa—when you’re largely on your own.” He clears his throat. “And now, let’s try to move beyond this unfortunate circumstance and start today on the right foot.”
He gives the signal for us to line up at the buffet counter, but no one at our table moves. Even Beckett looks uncertain.
“Damn. One down already,” he says, breaking the silence.
“She didn’t deserve this.” Naomi’s voice breaks as she turns back to Lark. “When can we see her? We should at least go visit.”
“Um, I’m not sure about that,” Lark says, glancing away. “The medical center doesn’t allow visitors at this acute stage, outside of immediate family.”
“She told me she doesn’t have any living family, though, except a stepdad she doesn’t get along with,” Katerina objects. “Naomi’s right. We have to go visit her.”
Asher and I nod, and Lark leans forward, lowering her voice.
“I know it’s hard, but you need to let this go. Trust me—nothing good can come from pressing the issue. You can’t do anything for Suki now, but the five of you are still in the running to make the Final Six. That has to be your focus. Nothing else.”
She’s right, I know. None of us can afford to get distracted and lose our grasp on this opportunity, least of all me. And yet . . . why do I get the feeling that her words contain a veiled threat?