by Beth Reason
**
Hark cackled again. “You crack me up, kid. I'll give you that.”
Tenet frowned and tried to ignore him, working furiously on closing up the wound across Scarab's chest.
“Dontcha know you ain't supposed to help the one that caught you?” He laughed again, as if it was the funniest thing in the world.
Enna sighed. “More gauze?”
Tenet shook his head. “Not yet. It's not bleeding anymore.” He worked the needle into Scarab's skin again and pulled another tight stitch together. Ten so far, about as many left to go and it would be done.
They were camped for the day in a large storage barn on the outskirts of the meat farm sectors. As he understood it, the vehicle wouldn't make it far during the heat of the day. They were obviously familiar with this particular barn, as it was easily large enough to house not only them, but the vehicle itself. Once inside, Tenet hadn't even waited for the doors to close before he took Scarab out and laid her on a table. Enna had been a step ahead and had the supplies ready as the last of Scarab's gear was hitting the floor.
No one uttered a word as they looked at her, naked and scarred and dangerously pale on the table before them. The gash was worse than Tenet had expected, and he was worried that it was beyond his skill. Half of it turned out to be dried blood, and by the time Enna had Scarab rinsed off, Tenet went into doctor mode and had a plan.
“Almost done,” he said when the last stitch was going in. He pulled it tight and Enna wiped the whole thing down with an antiseptic. He looked at the work critically, then nodded. “It'll scar, but it wasn't as deep as it looked right off.” Enna nodded her agreement, then applied the salve and bandages.
“This here's good stuff. She'll be right as rain in a matter of days.”
The fact that this farmer, at least, was responsible enough to have a good medical supply was a big relief to Tenet. Scarab still had a burn on one arm where one of the seemingly harmless slashes in her suit had actually managed to go through all the layers. At some point, perhaps in the final drop to the ground when the bot hit, sand got in and scorched her on contact. While Enna finished bandaging the chest wound, Tenet focused on that. “Silver compound!” he said with a grin. “Something's going right!”
Hark cackled again. “Quick, boy! Knock on wood before you jinx us all!”
Tenet allowed himself a smile. He knew Hark's chuckling was a way to relieve tension. No one had been more frightened for Scarab when the suit came off than Hark. To please the old man, Tenet knocked on the table quickly.
“Carbon. But it'll have to do.”
The old man cackled again and began puttering around, getting together the supplies for a real bath for their patient. He didn't have to stand watch. The boy was actually fairly competent in his skills, and he wouldn't have to kill him after all.
Tenet gently wiped the burn, drained it, then applied the ointment. After that, he carefully applied a bandage, and checked her over one last time before announcing it was all they could do.
Enna nodded, then tossed her head in the direction of the vehicle. “Go on now, boys. I've got to wash her up properly and get her dressed.”
The two men looked at each other and shrugged. They had just been looking at all that nature gave Scarab for the last hour. By now, they'd seen everything. But if Enna said to go, they figured it was probably a good idea. They walked over to the vehicle and let Enna take over with Scarab.
“You did a fine job there, boy,” said Hark, the compliment said honestly, if not grudgingly.
“Thanks. My mother...heals.”
Hark nodded. “Yep. Figgers. You had to pick it up somewhere.”
Tenet looked at the vehicle in front of them. Covered in dust, and mostly a series of slapped on patches, it didn't look like any transport he'd ever seen. And it had wheels! Wheels, just like the work carts on the farm. “What is this, anyway?”
Apparently that was the question Hark was waiting for. “Well, I'm glad you asked that, boy. First off, this here machine is a she, not a it.”
“She. Gotcha.”
“What you're lookin' at is a 2012 series army issue jeep...” And with that, he was off and running, filling Tenet in on every spec, every alteration, every nook and cranny of the hundred year old beast until Tenet's head was swimming with information he doubted he'd ever need. As the lesson in antiquated technology continued, the weight of the night slammed into him, and it was all Tenet could do to keep his eyes open and remain on his feet. It came as a great relief when Enna called them back over.
“Your turn, boy.”
“My turn?”
She motioned to him with her hand. “Off with the suit.”
Hark cackled again. “I'd do it, boy. Trust me. You don't wanna get on her bad side.”
“Been there yourself?”
“You have no idea,” said Enna. “Now strip.”
For some reason, Tenet wasn't embarrassed to take his suit off. He was so exhausted that he really didn't care anymore. Let them see it. If it meant that he could get a meal and a nap, he'd let them see it all.
Enna gasped when he took his arm out of his suit. The gash made by the wraith earlier in the day (had it only been one day?) looked angry and swollen, pus already starting to ooze. “What did this?” she asked.
“Wraith,” he said distractedly, poking at the wound he had forgotten was even there.
“Shit,” said Hark.
“What?”
Enna clucked her tongue. “Filthy beasts. Covered in germs from head to foot. Sit there,” she pointed to a chair near the table, “and get your arm up next to our other patient.”
“This ER's fillin' fast,” said Hark, grabbing a handful of towels and passing them to Enna.
“Now, this might hurt a bit,” said Enna as she poured antiseptic over the wound.
Tenet didn't even feel it. The chair, the cool air of the barn, their safety in the competent hands of their rescuers...it settled around him and gave him a welcome sense of peace. He looked at Scarab on the table before him. Her breathing seemed normal now. She might just make it. His good hand lifted of its own accord, and without even realizing what he was doing, he slid it into Scarab's limp hand. That was all it took. That small amount of comfort was all that was needed to drift to sleep.
Enna looked to Hark, who nodded. He helped her finish cleaning and bandaging the cut, then he picked the boy up and eased him onto a pile of blankets on the floor. He stood up and stretched, his back popping with the effort. “I'm getting' too old for this shit.”
“Oh, hush. You're fresh as the day I met you.”
Hark rolled his eyes, but gave her a loving smile. “Flattery goes right to my head, ya know.”
Enna sighed and slumped down in the chair. “What are we going to do?”
Hark pulled up a chair next to hers. “Sleep. Drive. Get em home. Same as always.”
Enna shook her head. “Oh no it's not, and you know it. Can't take them to base camp.”
Hark sighed heavily. “No. Guess we can't. Everyone's gonna be gunnin' for us.”
“It's not us I'm worried about.”
“You and your damned soft spot for hopeless causes.”
Enna laughed. “And you're lucky I have it!”
“I say we get 'em Borderland, leave em with the Cons.”
Enna gasped. “Oh, Hark! No! We can't do that and you know it.”
“What else can we do?” He knew it was a bad idea, for the two of them, anyway. But that wasn't his concern. He needed to keep Enna safe. The fact remained that the entire world was searching for this boy, and, because of that, Scarab. The sooner they dumped the boy, the better, and the Cons were the only ones dumb enough to house him. Shit, they'd house Satan himself if the coin was there. “Hon, listen to me...”
“Oh don't you go sweet talking me on this one, Hark! Look at them. Kids. Both of them.”
Hark slammed his fist on the table. “They ain't kids, Enna! That one's a fugitive,” he sa
id pointing to the snoring lump on the floor. “And that one's a seasoned bounty hunter. I ain't havin' you killed just because they can't get their shit together!”
Enna patted Hark's arm lovingly. “Honey, I know you want to protect me. I love you for it. But I'm also a bounty hunter, in case you've forgotten. I'm not a child. I can decide my own fate. And right now, my heart is screaming that we have to help these kids out.”
Hark snorted and shook his head, but held his tongue. She knew she was getting through.
“Let me ask you this. What would have happened all those years ago when we met if Old Nan hadn't put herself on the line?”
Hark held his hands up. “Hold up now, woman. Big difference.”
“How?”
“First off, I weren't your bounty, and you weren't mine.”
“True, but she went out of her way at great personal risk...”
“Second thing,” he said, not letting her make the point he knew damned well to be reasonable and true. “We were in love. You couldn't stop makin' those moony eyes at me.”
Enna smiled and rolled her eyes. “Well, dear, has it ever crossed your mind that these two kids are in love?”
Hark frowned. No, in fact, it hadn't. “Impossible. He's her bounty.”
“She didn't kill him.”
“Doesn't seem like her style to kill just for a few more bucks.”
“A lot more bucks,” Enna corrected.
He shook his head. “Love. You need more than her lettin' him live to make me believe it was love that done it. Seems to me she ain't got it in her to join up with anyone.”
Enna gasped. “Hark! What a horrible thing to say! Of course she has it in her. If you, the prickly old goat that you are, can love, well so can she! You take that back right now!”
Hark's eyes went wide. “Whoa. Where'd that come from?”
Enna wiped away honest tears. “It's not fair, Hark. Don't be one of them saying those things about her. I've known her seven years now, since she was a young pup first on the field and I've never seen anything but compassion. Don't you be like the rest of them and hang her for being a hunter. Don't you ever be like that.”
Hark squirmed in his seat. Damn it, but he didn't remember. The years together had erased the harsh words and wild rumors he'd heard about Enna before he met her. The years of happiness made that all fade from his memory, but apparently not hers. Not many women were hunters, and most of the ones that were only started hunting to try and escape themselves. Bitter women, driven by a hatred of their lot in life. The things said about Scarab echoed the words that still rang in Enna's ears all these years later. “Enna,” he said, taking her hand. “Love. You're a rare duck, and you know it.”
“Am I?” Instead of calming her down, the words turned her pain into outright anger. “Am I really, Hark? How do you know? You men. You're all the same. You look at a woman doing a man's job and you condemn them without ever taking a minute to see them for what they really are!”
Hark sighed. He really stepped in it. “Enna, I ain't sayin' nothin' against Scarab. You know how much I like the girl. But even you gotta admit that she's tough. Tough as nails. Has been since we met her, probably long before that. I'm just sayin' it's gonna take the words outta her own mouth for me to believe it. Especially with a bounty.”
Enna sniffed, somewhat mollified. “Fine, then. When she wakes up, we'll ask her.”
Hark sighed, knowing full well what a bad idea that was, but not having any other plan himself. He glanced around the barn to plan out his hiding spot in advance.