Deseter: Chapter Fourteen-The Hospital
Pounding. Loud, insistent, annoying. Rain twitched and groaned, turning and
trying to ignore the pounding. Pounding. Louder, more insistent, annoying,
warranting death to whoever was causing it.
Rain planted her hands on the floor and stood up, drawing her blade before
starting to the hatch. She slammed her palm against the button and it opened
slowly. A group of curious natives stared at her and she snarled, brandishing
the blade. Her back burned and she wasn’t even sure if Ven and Brand were even
alive anymore.
“Get me a doctor!” she bellowed. Someone was projecting strong emotion and
now her head ached as she forced up a mental wall to block it. They all stared
at her wide-eyed and she leapt forward menacingly, ignoring the burning pain in
her back. “I said, GET ME A DOCTOR!”
A young woman jumped to attention and ran off in the direction of the settlement
Rain could see beyond the rubbernecking crowd.
The curious crowd watched as Rain disappeared back into the ship. Inside Brand
was sitting up over Ven, clasping the bandage around his shoulder tightly. Blood
leaked down his arm steadily and his face was deathly white. Ven looked worse.
Rain rushed over to them and knelt next to Brand. He looked up at her, tears in
his golden eyes.
“Is she going to die?” he questioned in a throaty whisper.
Rain shook her head. “I don’t know, kiddo. There’s a doctor on the way. I
only hope I did the right thing when I removed the bullet last night.”
Brand nodded and turned to look back at his sister, a single tear escaping his
tight control and slipping down his cheek to splash on the floor next to his
other hand.
At that moment Rain realized that despite everything Brand was and everything
she felt he’d done in his short life, he was still a little boy who would be
very alone without his big sister. Rain set her hand on Brand’s good shoulder
and he turned to look at her. “I’m going to do everything I can to make sure
she lives, Brand. All right?”
He nodded again and suddenly there was a man standing in the doorway. “I’m
the doctor,” he stated quietly as Rain rose to her feet, once again
brandishing her knife and standing between him and Brand.
“Can you fix her?” Brand asked, standing next to Rain, his good hand resting
unconsciously on the handle of his own blade, his stance defensive.
“You got a hell of a bleeder there, kid,” the doctor answered, avoiding
Brand’s question.
Brand’s hand tightened on the knife. “Don’t patronize me, Doc. I’ll
live, she might not be so lucky. Now I’ll ask you again. Can you fix her?”
The man’s eyes narrowed and he shot a questioning look at Rain. “You better
answer the boy, Mister. He’ll kill you as soon as look at you.”
“I’ll take a look at her.” The doctor stepped forward and Brand stepped
between him and Ven. “Kid, I can’t help her if you won’t move.” Brand
didn’t budge, still grasping the knife handle at his hip. The man shoved an
impatient hand through his hair. “My names Sam. What’s your name, kid?”
Brand relaxed visibly, although Rain didn’t understand what had changed.
“Brand. And I don’t trust anyone until the offer their name.” He paused.
“Sam,” he tacked on finally.
The man nodded, patted Brand on the shoulder and stepped around him to kneel
next to Ven’s prone form. He checked the tight stitches Rain had made and shot
her a look. “You did this?” he asked.
Rain nodded. “She was dying,” she answered quietly. “It was all I could
think of to do.”
“Did you get the bullet out?” Rain nodded again. “Internal bleeding?” he
questioned.
“I don’t think so, but I had to break her rib to get the bullet out. It was
embedded deep.”
Sam nodded then gestured over Brand’s shoulder to another man who entered
holding a stretcher. They carefully loaded Ven onto it and carried her out,
Brand and Rain close behind.
Brand shielded his eyes from the extremely bright sun, growling as it seared his
eyes. Someone noticed his reaction to it and handed him a pair of dark glasses
which he donned gladly.
The two men carried Ven into a stark white structure with cool white walls and a
sterile smell. Brand bared his teeth slightly and Rain heard the growl in his
throat and for once picked up on some of what he was feeling. It was frustration
and a panicky fear. She laid a comforting hand on his shoulder and he jerked his
head around to look at her. Rain shot him soothing feelings and images and he
relaxed beneath her hand.
“Thank you,” he said quietly looking up at her, and Rain felt a warmth
spread through her she’d never felt for any other living thing. She felt
human.
Rain shrank away from the feeling of letting someone touch that part of her, but
hid it from Brand. He didn’t need to know he’d just scared the crap out of
her. Rain shook the feeling off and followed the ever silence Ven on her white
stretcher into a medical room.
“We’re gonna give her some X-rays to see if anything’s still in there, all
right, Brand?” Sam was asking Brand, who nodded numbly and slumped into a
chair, once again clasping the wounded shoulder.
A young female doctor approached Brand and laid a hand on his shoulder. He
jerked away and snarled at her forbiddingly, causing her to jump back in
surprise and fear. “Sorry,” he mumbled and she stepped closer cautiously.
“How’s your shoulder?” she asked him. Rain watched as Brand answered her
questions and the young woman tried to persuade him into going into another room
to have his shoulder looked at.
Brand bared his teeth at her and his threatening demeanor rolled off him in
waves as she tried to placate him into going. “I will NOT leave Ven, lady. And
if you try and make me, you’ll regret it. You wanna help me? You do it right
here.” His hand rested on his knife lightly, and Rain felt the tension he kept
tightly in check. If that lady tried to get him to leave his post she was dead.
Rain wouldn’t interfere. The woman had been warned.
“All right,” the woman answered, stepping back, her hands held in front of
her. She made to head for supplies and Rain reached out mentally to see what the
woman was really doing. Something didn’t feel quite right.
“... that boy... cooperate. Should bring... that room to get patched...
Won’t move...” was all Rain could pick up at that distance and with so much
interference. The woman was going to force Brand to move, though. Rain gathered
that.
Brand’s eyes were closed lightly and his hand still rested on his knife. Blood
was flowing freely from the wound again, dripping to form a small crimson puddle
on the floor.
The woman returned with a two large men in white uniforms in tow. Rain found a
comfortable spot to watch. This was going to be ugly and not for Brand. Rain
felt that even she wouldn’t want to mess with that kid.
The two men flanked Brand and Rain felt the conscious effort of his will to stay
still as the reached for his arms. Just as the man to his right reached out and
his fingers brushed Brand’s arm, Brand launched himself forward and down,
rolling on his good shoulder. He drew his knife and he rolled to his feet and
turned on the woman who stood stock still. He wrapped his bad arm around her
waist and pressed the blade into her throat.
“What did I tell you, lady?” he hissed into her ear and she grasped at the
arm holding the knife to her throat vainly. “I should kill you right now.”
The woman shook against him. Although Brand was only thirteen he was a head
taller than the woman and much stronger. “I said I’ll stay here.” He
pushed the woman away from him one of the men advanced on him. Brand crouched
into a pouncing position and waited for the man to make his move.
The man leapt at him, reaching for Brand’s blade and cried out and Brand
ducked beneath and slashed out, rasping the blade expertly against the man’s
ribs. “Leave me now and you’ll live. Jump me again, and I’ll rip out your
throat.” The words were a promise, not a threat, but the man was stupid,
taking no heed of Brand’s low words. He leapt again, and he dropped to the
floor, clasping his throat, dead within seconds.
Brand stared numbly at his hands and his kill and shook his head. “And you?”
he asked the woman and the man still standing. They dashed away and ten minutes
later Sam was towing Ven out of the x-ray room, the other man close behind.
“What happened here?” Sam demanded to know. Rain was surprised a group of
people hadn’t showed up to lock her and Brand up, but no one had come and the
dead man lay in a puddle of blood on the floor.
“They tried to make me move,” Brand answered. “I told them not to. That
I’d kill them. He didn’t listen. He was warned.”
Sam stared at Brand, mouth agape and then shot a panicked look at Rain.
“He’s tellin’ the truth, Sam,” Rain said quietly. “If you try to do
anything to him for it, I’ll wipe out this town.” With that she left to go
back to the ship. She needed some weapons in case anyone messed with Brand.
~~~
Gyn Wolf stared at her prisoner, watching him absently. He was beginning to
smell. She told him.
“Well, lady, what do you want me to do about it? You’ve had me locked up for
three days. I suppose I’m lucky you let me use the bathroom,” Kris Jacobs
snarled back.
“No need to get your panties in a twist, Jacobs,” she answered calmly,
flipping through the pages of the paperback book in her hands.
Kris shook his head. “When my boys find out who you are, you’re dead. And
it’ll be slow.” He leered at her suggestively.
Gyn shrugged a single shoulder and lifted her dark brows at him. “Honny, I’m
only half your trip. I have to drop you off. I have other leads to follow.”
He shook his head again. “Don’t worry. You’ll both get yours.”
***