CHAPTER 11

Jayne kept one hand on Tyler’s shoulder as they navigated the fourth floor hallways, creating the illusion that he was leading Tyler towards an exam room… or away. Jayne made note of every nook and cranny where he could take cover, every holstered gun, every orderly that looked like he could put up a fight, and every kid that could potentially go crazy. The whole floor was unsettling, and Jayne clutched Vera more tightly, ready to spring into action at a moments notice. Tyler led him down a side hallway and Jayne tipped the blinds on the various rooms, looking for Wash or Inara. The needles and the screams from inside the rooms made him flinch. Tyler’s posture slumped a little and his head hung as though it were only loosely pinned to his shoulders. This place sucked the youth right out of his face and Jayne couldn’t imagine him being led behind one of those disquieting doors.

“What did they do to you here?”

Tyler looked so tired that Jayne feared he would fall over. “Please don’t make me go in there. If I sing for you today, will you let me leave early?”

Jayne jerked Tyler to a stop and pulled him into a lavatory.

“Please…” Tyler whimpered.

“Fidget, listen to me,” Jayne commanded, shaking Tyler’s shoulders. He pulled the Mateba out of his boot and tucked it into Tyler’s belt. “You ain’t some gorram lab rat. Anyone thinks otherwise, you shoot ‘em, hear?”

Tyler nodded, light slowly returning to his eyes as Jayne’s words anchored him to the present. Jayne steeled his nerves, getting ready to face the medical hell outside the door. But no matter how many windows they peaked through, Inara and Wash were not on this level.

Finding a staircase, they went to the third floor, which contained mostly labs. There were no subjects on this floor, no narrow hallways, and no exam rooms. Here they were out of place. Jayne retreated quickly to the stairwell, but not fast enough.

“Hey!” a pipsqueak guard called after them. “You are not authorized to be here.”

Rather than running, Jayne turned and c