Free Fixed by Beth Goobie

scattering everywhere. As the crash resounded, the fury at the base of Nellie’s brain exploded, surging in a mass of energy through the top of her head. For a second she could see it, a brilliantly condensed star zooming through the air, and then it passed directly into Tana’s chest. Without a sound, the girl crumpled to the floor.
    Several feet above Nellie’s head the security alarm went off, but she remained crouched on her dresser, staring at her roommate’s body. Blood trickled from several cuts on Tana’s arms and face, but that was from broken glass and didn’t explain why she was out cold. Was she dead? But how? Nellie hadn’t been within striking distance. Was it possible to kill someone just by being angry at her?
    Stupid with fear, Nellie clung to her dresser, not even blinking as Duikstra came rushing through the doorway, followed by two men in Detta uniform. Dropping to his knees beside Tana, one of the men slipped a Flesh Healer from his belt and began running it over her cuts as the other used a small device to scan her body for vital signs. Abruptly the second man nodded at Duikstra and a look of relief crossed the woman’s face. As she saw it, Nellie’s terror collapsed so intensely that she almost blacked out. So Tana wasn’t dead. That meant she would be fine — the Flesh Healer would take care of the cuts. A huge sigh heaved through Nellie and her thoughts began to move again. Well, okay, if it was clear the snot-nosed bitch was going to make it, why didn’t Duikstra turn off the bloody alarm? She was just standing there as if she was on some kind of holiday, and the sound was almost peeling off the top of Nellie’s head. How was anyone supposed to—?
    The alarm shut off. In the sudden dense silence Nellie slid, dribbled, half-fainted her way from the dresser to the floor. Never again was she going to get into an argument with her roommate. Never again would she raise her voice. No, she would be as long-suffering and generous as the Goddess, overlooking all snooty bitchy ...
    “What happened here?” asked the first man, slipping the Flesh Healer into his belt.
    “I dunno.” Still a bit wobbly, Nellie leaned against her dresser. “She was fine, and then she just ... fell over.”
    The man glanced pointedly at the broken glass, then back at her.
    “It’s true,” Nellie protested. “I didn’t touch her.” How was she supposed to explain the sensation of rage that had lifted clean andclear from the back of her head, then shot directly toward Tana? And the way Tana had stumbled back as if physically shoved, before crumpling to the floor?
    “I saw it happen on the monitor,” Duikstra said crisply, giving the man a meaningful look. “Code 59F. Just leave it.”
    The man’s eyebrows went up and he glanced at Nellie. “Gotcha,” he said, then turned back to Tana. “What d’you think?” he asked the other man.
    “Her vital signs are steady,” the second man replied. “We’ll take her down to the clinic for observation until she comes to.” Turning to Duikstra, he asked. “Have you got a stretcher?”
    With a nod, Duikstra left the room. For a moment the two men and Nellie stood as if in limbo, staring at Tana’s unconscious body, while the alarm beeped faintly overhead. Then Duikstra wheeled a stretcher through the doorway and the men lifted Tana onto it. Still stunned, Nellie walked to the end of the barricade and watched the men roll the stretcher out of the room.
    At the last minute, one of the men turned to face her. “Code MK10,” he said, tapping the center of his forehead. “File it.”
    Dully Nellie stared at him, her brain on overload and unable to process his command.
    “Cabinet fifty-two,” added Duikstra, stepping around him and thrusting her thin face into Nellie’s. “Drawer one, file one. Now.”
    Nellie’s eyes glazed, and she stood blinking as filing cabinet fiftytwo surfaced into her mind and the memory of what had happened disappeared into it. Then