by ID Johnson
The eruption of briskly moving water cut through her raspy breaths as Rain realized they were nearing what had to be a large river in front of them. She imagined it had to be the River Red, but there was no capacity left in her lungs for words. Running at full speed for hours had taken away all conscious thought, all ability to speak or think or pray. The only thing she was capable of at the moment was putting one foot in front of the other as rapidly as humanly possible. And judging by the pain in her muscles and the spasming in her feet, that possibility was about to dry up.
They were back in the forest now and had been for several hours. Behind them, the sound of explosions had faded away as they’d put more distance between themselves and Dafo, but every once in a while a light would reflect off of the shiny rifle slung over Mist’s shoulder, and Rain would get the notion that it was another bomb being hurled at their friends in Dafo. She hoped it was actually Dal’s forces taking down a heliobird or putting an end to a transporter, but in her heart, she had a feeling the Mothers were taking out their anger on the citizens who had given them refuge for only one night. She prayed Dal and his beautiful family were all right but didn’t let her mind linger on their faces, especially not the sweet face of his little daughter, Lyna.
Ahead of her, the noises from the river became even louder. Mist made it out of the forested area first, slowing as she ran down a steep embankment. Rain saw a ribbon of black cutting through the solid green in front of her, illuminated by Mist’s flashtube. It didn’t look red at all at this time of night--or was it morning?--but she had to assume this was it, that they’d made it to the River Red, and on the other side, they’d find the nation of Oklasaw, a country pieced together from remnants of what used to be the United States. Unorganized and wielding no power to speak of, they wouldn’t be much safer there, but at least they’d be out of no-man’s land and further away from Michaelanburg.
“This is it,” Mist said, sucking in air as she tried to slow her heart rate. She stopped a few feet from a steep drop off. “This is the River Red.”
The others came to a stop behind her. “It’s about damn time,” Walt said, his breathing also labored.
“How do we get across?” Adam asked. He didn’t sound quite as winded as the other two. Rain wasn’t even prepared to attempt to speak unless she had to.
“We don’t. Not right now, anyway,” Mist said, turning to face them.
“What do you mean?” Walt asked. “We have to.”
Mist shook her head. “It’s too dangerous to try to cross right now. It’s moving too fast. It must be swollen from the rain. If we try to cross now, we’ll end up drowning, and all of this will have been for nothing.”
“What do you supposed we do then?” Adam asked. “If we stay here with our backs up against the river, we’re sitting ducks for the Mothers, and they’re obviously coming. Dal has done a great job of slowing them down, but we all know he’s no match for them. He said as much.”
Mist was nodding. “We need to find a place to hide for the rest of the night. Tomorrow morning, we’ll assess the situation, see where we can cross, find a safe place, and work our way across.”
“In the daylight?” Rain had found her voice now. “Won’t that be dangerous? They’ll be able to see us?”
Mist looked at the river and then back at her. “Hopefully, they won’t be here yet.” She pulled out her tracker pad. “I don’t see any dots anywhere close to us.”
“For all we know, they are aware that you have that and have turned their trackers off,” Adam pointed out.
“Listen, you guys can see the river as clearly as I can,” Mist said, turning her light up. “It’s moving so fast, there’s no way we can get over it.” She shoved her tablet back inside of her backpack and zipped it up.
“So let’s go down stream a bit and see if there’s a better location there,” Walt suggested. “We can’t just bunk down for the night and hope we aren’t found.”
For the first time since this journey had begun, Mist looked flustered. She glanced from the river, to Walt, and back again, and then dropped her arms down to her sides in frustration. Rain was about to make a suggestion when the roar of an engine caught all of their attention. Immediately, the four of them ducked down beneath the closest trees, and Mist killed her light.
Rain peered out between the leaves of the tree she was cowering behind, Adam next to her behind a shrub. The sound seemed to be coming from in front of them, from the river, but she couldn’t be sure. Maybe they were hiding on the wrong side of the trees, though. The Mothers might be sneaking up on them as they took shelter. She turned the other direction but saw nothing but forest.
The whirring sound grew louder. It was clearly coming from the river then. Rain narrowed her eyes and looked up and down the ribbon of darkness. If it was a boat, she thought it would’ve been louder, but then, she’d never heard a boat in real life before and had no idea what one might truly sound like.
“There it is!” Walt whispered, pointing off to the left. Rain couldn’t see anything at first. She was too far to his right, but eventually a small dark form came into her view. It was a boat, a small one, maybe large enough for five or six people at best, slowly trolling along the riverbank.
“Is it the Mothers?” Adam asked, likely talking to Mist.
“I don’t think so,” she said, shaking her head. “I’ve heard that Oklasaw has some defense measures. It might be one of theirs. They might’ve seen the bombs going off and decided they needed to step up some security.”
“Should we flag them down then?” Rain asked. If they were as friendly as the folks from Dafo, maybe they’d help them get across the river.
“No,” Mist said, putting her arm out. “We can’t take the chance. They might not be kind to us.”
“I thought everyone hated the Mothers,” Walt whispered back.
“They might not give us a chance to explain. No, I think the other idea was better. Let’s let them pass, and then we can start looking for a place to cross.”
Rain was about to protest when a loud popping sound caught her attention. The initial burst was followed by several others. She turned to see where the sound was coming from, and then a sharp sting in her shoulder sent her flying into the trees. Confusion washed over her. She peered through the darkness, looking for a face to assign blame to. It had to be a Mother who’d shot her, but where were they?
Pain began to radiate through her arm. Her friends reacted more quickly than Rain could, firing back in the direction from which the bullet that had struck her had come before they all took off running in that direction, facing the enemy head on. Blood was beginning to gush out of her shoulder. Her hand over the wound was doing nothing as the sticky substance squirted between her fingers. If she had a few minutes, she could get the medical kit out of her bag and fix it. She’d be fine. But she didn’t have that kind of time. Instead, she slung her gun around and pointed it into the darkness, praying that whoever had shot her had just been a lone wolf and not the entire military or else that bullet wouldn’t be the last to pierce her skin that night.
Chapter Fifty-Two
Reality began to blur around her as the initial adrenaline rush faded, and the pain in Rain’s wounded shoulder began to radiate throughout her body. Whatever size caliber this bullet had been, it had caused some major damage. She tried to picture exactly where it was in her body and imagined if it were an inch or two lower, she wouldn't still be breathing.
The pop, pop, pop of gunfire rang out in front of her. Rain struggled to keep her eyes open so she could fire her gun if need be, but when her friends came back in a rush, she dropped her weapon. Mist and Walt grabbed hold of her, attempting to move her. She cooperated the best she could, not sure what was happening and only slightly aware that Adam was gone. Where he’d disappeared to, she couldn’t say. The strain of lifting off of her bottom, of wrapping her arms around her friends’ necks, especially her left shoulder where the wound was, took her breath away.
In the distance, she heard Adam’s voice and tried to turn her head to see who he was speaking to, but she couldn’t see past Mist’s face as they hurried toward the River Red. “Please, ma’am,” Adam was saying. “My friend’s been shot, and the Mothers are closing in. You’ve got to help us.”
“How do I know you are who you say you are?” The woman who responded had a thick accent. If Rain had been even slightly less aware of the world around her, she wouldn’t have caught what she was saying. It had a twang to it, the way Rain had always imagined what used to be known as a Southern accent would sound, though none of the Mothers sounded that way, and Michaelanburg was about as far south as one could go and still be in what used to be the United States.
Adam was pleading now. “I’m telling you, we escaped from Gretchintown. Walt and I were enslaved there. We’ll tell you anything you need to know if you’ll just get us across the river.”
Rather than the woman’s voice, she heard what sounded like a male much younger than the female, speak next. His accent wasn’t nearly as thick. “Come on, Mama. He seems to be telling the truth. And look, that lady’s been shot.”
Rain lifted her head in the direction of the voice and made out the form of a man who looked to be about Adam’s age with a similar build, though the details were lost in her blurry vision and the dark.
A loud sigh followed, and then the woman’s voice. “Fine. But hand your weapons to Seth before you get on the boat.”
“Thank you. Thank you so much,” Adam said.
Rain was propped in Walt’s grasp as her gun was removed, and then she was handed off across the shoreline to the watercraft they’d seen earlier. She had to assume the man who took her was Seth, but the pain was so great now, she couldn’t lift her head to look at him. “You’ll be okay,” he whispered, lowering her to the ground. She leaned back against the wall of the boat, relieved when she saw Mist’s face again.
“My bag,” Rain managed to get out.
“I’ll get the first aid kit,” Mist said. Then, turning and looking over her shoulder, she called, “I need to get the medical bag out of her backpack.”
“How do I know you’re not digging for another gun?” the woman called as the boat lurched away from the shoreline.
Rain turned her head to find Adam and Walt. They were there, standing near this Seth person and another, shorter, male form, all of them holding onto the side of the boat as it started off across the way. Rain braced herself, trying to keep sitting upright. She’d never been on a boat before, and with the water moving this quickly and her head already swimming, she thought she might be sick to her stomach.
“She’s a medical student and will be able to patch herself up if I can get the kit,” Mist was explaining.
“I’ll get it.” Seth’s voice bounced around in Rain’s head again. She was gently leaned forward, and then heard the familiar sound of her backpack being unzipped. “What does it look like?”
“That’s it--that black bag,” Mist was saying. Rain shifted as it was pulled out and her backpack rezipped. “Thank you,” Mist said to the man who didn’t move away just yet. Rain got a glimpse of his blurry face. He had bright green eyes, a similar shade to hers. That’s all she noticed before she moved her focus to Mist. “What do you need?”
Rain couldn’t explain everything that would be necessary, so she reached for the bag herself. Mist opened it wide for her, and Rain pulled out the same sort of healing wand she’d used on Walt when he’d gotten shot as they were first leaving Gretchintown. “Is there an exit wound?” she managed, her voice so weak, she hardly recognized it herself.
“I don’t know,” Mist admitted. She huffed slightly as she leaned forward, trying to give Mist access to her shoulder. “How can I tell?”
Rain wished there was an easy way to explain, but the words escaped her. Her head felt fuzzy, and when Mist called her name a few times, she couldn’t respond.
Next to her, she heard a rustling and realized Seth was moving again. “Mama, let me drive. She needs your help. You have more experience with medicine than I do.”
The woman swore underneath her breath, but she must’ve consented to her son’s request because a few moments later, Rain felt rough hands on her shoulders. “What is it she needs?” the woman asked.
“She asked if there was an exit wound. How do I tell?”
Again, the woman said what had to be a swear word, though Rain didn’t think she’d ever heard it before. “Let me look.” She leaned Rain forward, but it wasn’t as rough as she’d expected, considering how tightly the woman had latched onto her to begin with. A ripping sound and the feeling of cool air touching her bare shoulder mingled with a fresh pain as Rain was poked and prodded. “I don’t see one.”
Now it was Rain’s turn to swear, though she didn’t do so aloud. “You’ll need the wand,” she said, breathing deeply between each word.
Mist let out a loud breath and took the device from Rain’s blood coated hand. “What do I do?” she asked.
The boat jerked slightly, sending them all sliding. Rain reached to steady herself, the pain causing her to curse. Adam was there, then, on her other side, holding onto her, whispering words of comfort that did little to make the pain lessen, though she did feel slightly better just hearing his voice.
Once the ride smoothed out a little, Rain bared her teeth and said, “It’ll have to go into the wound, but not all the way. If the bullet is still in there, it’ll have to be removed before it can be completely healed, or we’ll never get it out.”
“Removed?” Mist repeated, a look of disgust on her face. “How the hell do I do that?”
“I can do that once we get back to our place,” the woman said, “but it’ll be a few minutes. In the meantime, we need to get a handle on this bleedin’. Can that thingamajig do that?”
“Yes,” Rain answered, even though it was clear the woman was speaking to Mist. “Put it in, but not all the way,” she said to her friend. “Turn it on, and twist it slightly from side to side.”
Mist looked at the wand as if it were a dangerous weapon. It was obvious she was hesitant to do as Rain had instructed.
“I’ll do it,” the woman said, taking the wand out of Mist’s hand. She let it go willingly enough. “Seth, hold the boat steady now,” she continued, steadying the wound. “No reason to shove this blang dang thing in further than necessary. You gotta light?”
Mist’s beam was attached to her backpack strap at the moment, pointing at the ground. She pulled it up and turned it slightly. The woman muttered something about it being too bright, and Mist adjusted it. Then, Rain felt cold fingers prying at the hole in the front of her shirt, poking into her flesh. She took a deep breath as pain radiated through her shoulder.
“I’ve got you,” Adam said quietly. “You’re all right.”
Rather than looking at the face of the strange woman digging in her shoulder, Rain focused on him. A second later, the wand was inserted into the wound. Rain couldn’t help but screech at the pain, but then warmth began to replace the sharp prickles of agony as the wand did its job, closing blood vessels and healing nerves.
“That deep enough?” the woman asked.
“Yes,” Rain said. “Don’t go any deeper.”
Just then, the boat hit a rough patch, causing the woman’s hand to jar, straining against the inside of Rain’s shoulder. She bit down on her lip to try to keep from screaming, but the pain was almost as bad as being shot in the first place.
Quickly, the woman pulled the wand out. “You okay?” she asked. “Sorry ‘bout that.”
Rain nodded, tears in her eyes. As soon as the wand was removed, the pain was manageable again. Her shoulder still ached, especially toward the back where the wand hadn’t done anything to help, but until the bullet was removed, there wouldn’t be much she could do to help that, not and keep a level head anyway.
“You have pain medicine,” Mist reminded her, just as Rain was thinking of that herself.
“I
know,” Rain muttered. “But not yet.”
“Are you sure?” her friend asked.
Rain nodded, grateful that Adam still had his arms around her. “I’ll be fine.” She closed her eyes, thinking maybe she could take a little nap before the bullet was cut out of her flesh.
“Rain? Are you okay?” Mist asked, but she didn’t open her eyes.
“Let her be,” the woman suggested, and Rain heard the sound of her standing up next to her. “She’ll be all right now. Soon as we get her home, I’ll take out the bullet. Then you can give her some of that medicine.”
“Okay.” Mist’s voice was as weak as Rain had ever heard it. She had no idea where home was, but she did feel as if she could trust these people, even if she had no reason to believe they were trustworthy. At the very least, she had to trust that her friends would keep her safe. Because at the moment, there was no more holding on to reality. Rain let sleep overcome her, hoping that the removal of the bullet wouldn’t hurt as much as the healing process had.
Chapter Fifty-Three
Being on a boat for the first time would’ve been an adventure Adam could really sink his teeth into, if he’d been able to pull his eyes away from Rain. She was out now, unconscious from either the pain or the exertion of being moved to the unfamiliar vehicle while she was wounded, he wasn’t sure, but either way, he was concerned.
“Let’s lay her down,” the woman who owned the boat said quietly. “It’s better if she rests now.”
“Is she okay?” Mist asked from next to Rain’s knee. Adam didn’t pull his eyes off of the beautiful redhead to read the concern in her face, but he could hear it in the quiver in Mist’s voice.
“She will be,” the woman assured them. “I’ve seen many a wound worse than this. With less medicine to fix it.” She moved Rain so that her head was resting on her backpack. “I’m Esther Green, by the way. Those are my sons. The younger one is called Peter, and the oldest is Seth.”