Sophia's Date

Sophia's Date
Sophia's POV

The fire alarm screamed through the hospital hallway as I dragged my limp brother toward the nearest exit. His body felt like dead weight in my arms, and I could barely keep him standing.
"Come on, Marcus," I whispered, tears running down my face. "Please wake up."
The blue glow in his eyes had finally faded ten minutes ago, but he hadn't moved since then. I'd been hiding in a supply closet, looking through the crack in the door as Reed's robot patients marched through the halls like an army. When the alarm went off and everything went crazy, I saw my chance to leave.
But Marcus was too heavy, and I was running out of power.
"Help!" I screamed down the empty hallway. "Somebody help me!"
That's when I heard footsteps behind me. I spun around, expecting to see one of Reed's robot people. Instead, I saw someone I never expected to see again.
"Jasmine?" I gasped.
She was running toward me, her curly hair flying behind her. "Sophia! Thank god you're alive!"
"What are you doing here?" I asked as she grabbed Marcus's other arm and helped me carry him.
"Looking for you and Marcus. Alex told me what happened at the college. I knew Reed would bring you both here." She looked at my brother's pale face. "Is he okay?"
"I don't know. He's been asleep for ten minutes. The nanobots stopped working, but he won't wake up."
We reached the escape exit, but the door was locked. Jasmine pulled out some kind of tech device and held it against the lock. After a few seconds, it clicked open.
"Where did you get that?" I asked.
"Liam gave it to me. Long story." She helped me carry Marcus outside into the cold night air. "We need to get him to a different hospital. This whole place is crawling with Reed's people."
"How do you know about Reed?"
Jasmine looked at me with sad eyes. "Because I've been working with him for the past three months."
I almost dropped Marcus. "What?"
"I'm so sorry, Sophia. I never wanted any of this to happen. Reed promised he would only use the nanobots to help people with sadness and anxiety. He said it would make the world a better place."
My hands started shaking with anger. "You helped him turn my brother into a robot!"
"I didn't know! He lied to me about everything!" Jasmine's voice cracked. "When I found out what he was really doing, I tried to stop him. But it was too late. He already had Marcus and hundreds of other kids."
I wanted to hit her. I wanted to scream at her and tell her she was the worst person in the world. But Marcus made a small sound, and I remembered he needed help more than I needed to be angry.
"Why should I trust you?" I asked.
"Because I love you," Jasmine said quietly. "I've loved you since the day we met in Professor Chen's psychology class. And I know you probably hate me now, but I had to try to save you."
My heart felt like it was breaking and healing at the same time. "You love me?"
"I've wanted to tell you for months, but you were always talking about some guy you liked. I thought you weren't into girls."
"The guy I liked was made up," I revealed. "I was too scared to tell anyone I was gay. Especially after what happened with my dad when Marcus came out last year."
Jasmine stared at me. "You're gay?"
"Yeah. And I've had a crush on you since forever."
Even in the middle of all this chaos, with my brother asleep and Reed's robot army somewhere behind us, I felt a tiny spark of happiness. But it only lasted a second before I remembered how much trouble we were all in.
"We can talk about this later," I said. "Right now we need to help Marcus."
Jasmine nodded and pulled out her phone. "I'm calling an ambulance from City General Hospital. Reed doesn't have people there."
While she made the call, I knelt down next to Marcus and held his hand. "Please be okay," I whispered. "I can't lose you too."
That's when his eyes opened.
"Sophia?" His voice was weak, but it was really him. Not Reed directing him. Just my brother.
"Marcus! Oh my god, you're awake!" I hugged him so tight I probably hurt him, but I didn't care.
"What happened? Where are we?" He tried to sit up, but I pushed him back down softly.
"We're outside Regional Hospital. Reed had you under mind control for three days, but you're free now."
Marcus looked confused and scared. "I remember some of it. Like I was watching everything happen but couldn't control my body. It was horrible."
"It's over now," I promised him. "You're safe."
"The ambulance is coming," Jasmine said, kneeling down next to us. "They'll be here in five minutes."
Marcus looked at her suspiciously. "Who's she?"
"This is Jasmine. She's my..." I looked at her, not sure what to call her. We'd just admitted we liked each other, but we weren't officially dating or anything.
"I'm her girlfriend," Jasmine said with a small smile. "If she wants me to be."
"Yes," I said without thinking. "I want you to be."
Marcus raised an eyebrow. "Well, this is news. But I like her already. Anyone who helps rescue me from evil mind control scientists gets my approval."
We all laughed, and for a moment, things felt almost normal. But then we heard sirens in the distance, and I remembered we were still in danger.
"Those aren't the ambulance sirens," Jasmine said, looking worried. "They're coming from the wrong direction."
The sirens got louder, and suddenly three black SUVs pulled into the hospital parking lot. Men in dark clothes got out and started walking toward us.
"Government agents," Jasmine whispered. "Reed must have called them."
"Can we run?" I asked.
Marcus tried to stand up but fell back down. "I can't. My legs aren't working right yet."
The men in suits were getting closer. One of them was talking into a radio, and I could hear him saying our names.
"This is bad," Jasmine said. "Really bad."
That's when I made a choice that changed everything.
"Take Marcus and run," I told Jasmine. "I'll distract them."
"No way. I'm not leaving you."
"You have to. Marcus needs medical help, and you're the only one who knows how to call Alex and the others." I stood up and faced the coming agents. "Go. Now."
"Sophia, don't do this," Marcus begged.
But I was already walking toward the men in suits. Behind me, I could hear Jasmine helping Marcus to his feet and half-carrying him toward the street.
"Are you Sophia Martinez?" the head agent asked when I got close enough.
"Yes," I said, trying to sound stronger than I felt.
"You need to come with us. There are some people who want to ask you a few questions."
"What if I don't want to?"
The agent smiled, but it wasn't a nice smile. "That's not really an option."
He reached for my arm, but before he could grab me, something unexpected happened. All the lights in the hospital behind us suddenly went out. Then the lighting went dark too. The whole area was thrown into darkness.
In the confusion, I heard Jasmine's voice screaming from somewhere nearby: "Sophia! The nanobots in your system! Use them!"
What was she talking about? I didn't have nanobots. Reed had never gotten to me.
But then I felt something strange happening in my head. Like a computer starting up. And suddenly, I could see perfectly in the dark. I could hear the agents' heartbeats. I could sense exactly where everyone was standing.
That's when I realized the horrible truth.
I did have nanobots. I'd had them all along.
And they were just now waking up.