In the Blood

by French, Jackie

  I held her down, tried to keep the blankets around her. ‘Please, it’s all right. It’s all right!’ You fool, I thought to myself, of course it isn’t all right. She’s been mutilated, escaped from Lord knows what, she’s in a house she doesn’t know, with a stranger, and no one remotely qualified to help. But, despite all this, she stopped struggling and stared at me vaguely. ‘He sucked at my neck,’ she whispered. ‘He sucked my wrists. He took it all! He said he’d drain me dry.’

  For a moment I thought I would be sick. But now she began tossing again and muttering incoherently and it was all I could do to keep her still. By the time she was quiet again my nausea had eased.

  ‘Who did this to you?’ I whispered urgently.

  There was no answer. Her breathing was even fainter than before, as though her struggles had worn her out. I looked at her uncertainly. Would it be safe to leave her for a few minutes to heat up something sweet? I decided to take the risk and, tucking her more firmly into the bedclothes, I slipped out to the kitchen and mixed some sugar and water with a pinch of salt, warmed it in the ultrawave and brought it out to her.

  She was still deeply unconscious. Her breath sounded shallow and much too fast. I felt her forehead. It was even colder to touch than before, or perhaps my hand was warmer from the drink. I wondered if I could spoon it between her lips, then decided not to risk it, in case she choked.

  I glanced at my watch again. Forty minutes—either the Wombat had forgotten or else Neil had misunderstood. Maybe even now he was feeding the Wombat bread and carrots, assuming I had grown tired of his pestering and had sent him down to the community to get some peace.

  I had to have help. At the very least the girl needed a blood transfusion. Perhaps there were more injuries too.

  I’d have to take the risk and leave her. For the millionth time I longed for a Terminal, longed for a few minutes Linkage so I could retrieve the data I so desperately needed to keep this child alive. Even a manual Terminal would be better than nothing. Even a button to call for help.

  I gave the girl a final glance and ran for the door, grabbing the torch from the hallstand as I passed.

  It was quite dark now. The trees loomed above the house. For a moment the dark terrified me. I flicked the torch on. A fat thread of gold burrowed into the night. I shut the door behind me, hesitated, then locked it and ran out the gate.

  I saw the lights as soon as I reached the top of the hill, heard the putter of an engine heading up from the community. Neil…I stopped to catch my breath, then ran down to the house again. I had just unlocked the door when the dikdik stopped at the gate, with Neil astride.

  ‘Danielle! Are you all right?’ He shoved the dikdik against a tree and headed towards me, his shadow massive and wavering in the light from my torch, his face as clear and innocent as a pet Labrador who is worried that his master is home late.

  ‘Neil! Thank God. I didn’t know if you’d understand.’

  ‘Understand what?’ He blinked in the shaking glare. ‘Would you mind turning that thing off?’

  ‘What? Oh, the torch, I’m sorry…’

  ‘The Wombat arrived, muttering something about coming up here and getting carrots. I gave him some but he still kept on about my coming up here.’

  ‘Oh, he did understand! I didn’t think he had. Neil, I’m sorry, someone’s had an accident. A child, a young girl. She needs medical help urgently. Can you call Elaine?’

  ‘Why didn’t you call her yourself?’

  ‘I don’t have a Terminal!’ I cried, humiliated.

  ‘Why not…?’ He broke off. ‘Oh, shit, I forgot. Look, Elaine’s not here. She’s visiting her sister for a few days.’

  ‘Isn’t there anyone else?’

  ‘Nancy’s in the City. There’s Rahni over at the Temple. It’ll take a while for her to get here though.’

  ‘How long? Neil, the girl needs help desperately.’

  ‘An hour maybe. They don’t have a floater at the Temple. Only dikdiks. God, I’m stupid, I can send one of ours over for her. I’ll see if I can get hold of someone to unlock it.’ Neil shut his eyes. His lips began to move as he subvocalised.

  ‘Tell Rahni the girl needs a blood transfusion. Tell her there may be internal injuries too. Tell her she’s unconscious.’

  Neil nodded without opening his eyes. His lips continued to move. I saw his face suddenly relax and longed to listen in. Then he nodded, muttered something more, and opened his eyes. ‘I got onto Theo,’ he explained. ‘Elaine’s just got back. She’s coming over at once.’

  ‘Can she give her a transfusion?’

  ‘Yes, don’t worry. She always keeps a good stock on hand. As long as your girl doesn’t have a rare blood group.’ He glanced up the stairs. ‘Is she up in the bedroom?’

  ‘No. I put her in the living room.’ I led him inside. ‘Oh, Neil, it’s horrible.’

  ‘Christ almighty.’ Neil stared at the small still figure on the sofa. ‘What in hell’s name happened to her?’ He knelt beside the sofa and traced the medi-seal on her neck and then on her wrist.

  ‘I don’t know. I found her by my front gate when I went out for a walk. I think she’d lost a terrible amount of blood. She said…she said someone drank her blood, sucked at her throat, sucked her wrist…’

  He stared at me. ‘She must have been delirious.’

  ‘No, she wasn’t…well, yes, she was, but it wasn’t like that. Neil, if you’d only seen her…Do you know who she is? Is she from your community?’

  Neil shook his head slowly, his brown eyes wide. ‘No. She’s not from any of the places around here. I’ve never seen her before.’

  ‘You’re sure? Maybe she’s a visitor? What do you call them—a wanderer.’

  ‘We’re pretty much off the beaten track for wanderers around here. They mostly stick to the coast route or the old highways, where the places are closer together. If there was a wanderer visiting around here I’d have heard of her.’

  The girl’s eyes flickered open again. She stared at us unseeingly, then focussed for just a second on Neil’s face. For a moment I thought she was going to scream again. Then blankness took over and her head fell back on the pillow.

  Neil stroked the medi-seal at her throat, absently smoothing out the creases. ‘Has she said anything else?’ he asked. ‘Her name? Who did this to her?’

  ‘No. Nothing more. Neil she’s…she’s so very young.’

  Neil hesitated, then put his arm around me. He hugged me briefly, then moved away. ‘You look pretty shocked yourself,’ he said. ‘Better get yourself a hot drink. A sweet one.’

  ‘I don’t want to leave her.’

  ‘I’ll watch her,’ said Neil. ‘Elaine will be here soon. Go and make some tea. Go on.’

  I went.

  He was right. I sat and sipped my hot sweet tea and watched the girl and Neil kneeling beside her and felt my mind clear and my hands stop shaking. I hadn’t even known they were.

  A door slammed outside. ‘That’ll be Elaine,’ said Neil. ‘I’ll give her a hand with the stuff. No, you stay here.’ He was gone before I could protest. I heard the door open, a few words of greeting and then Elaine was in the room, with Neil behind her—looking even larger in comparison to her—carrying a metal box and a small bag.

  Elaine stopped, then stared.

  ‘I…I tried to get rid of all the blood,’ I said apologetically. ‘But I was afraid to scrub too hard.’

  ‘Oh my sweet Lord,’ whispered Elaine. Her face was blank and white with shock.

  ‘I found her outside my gate, about an hour ago now.’

  ‘An hour ago?’ Elaine seemed to pull herself together. She crossed the room swiftly and pressed her fingers over the uninjured wrist, feeling the pulse.

  She glanced up at Neil. ‘Bring the bag over will you? Thanks.’

  She opened it and picked out a small blunt probe and pressed it to the girl’s inner arm. ‘I need to check her blood type.’ The probe beeped. Elaine held it up to the light to
read the screen. ‘AB positive,’ she said. ‘The same as mine. Neil, you’ll have to help me hook up. Do you remember the procedure?’

  Neil nodded. ‘Do you need a City backup Link?’

  ‘No,’ said Elaine quickly. ‘No. I can handle this.’

  ‘Maybe I should get the camera out of the floater just in case. Did you bring it?’

  ‘Yes, I brought it.’ Elaine considered as she attached a broad plasticuff around the girl’s uninjured arm, with a flat metal cylinder attached to a catheter in the centre. She pressed the cylinder down. ‘All right, bring it in. At least it’ll be set up if I do need it quickly.’

  ‘How long does it take to get City backup?’ I asked.

  ‘In emergency medical? About two seconds.’

  The pressure on her arm must have woken the girl. Her eyes opened, flat and unseeing. She began to scream. The screams grew louder, louder. Suddenly she jerked her arm away, tearing the tubing out of the plasticuff.

  ‘Shit,’ said Elaine softly. She bent down and opened the metal box. It was neatly divided into metal sections, each with unfamiliar controls. She selected one, and pressed. A red light began to pulse slowly in one section. It speeded up, then suddenly it was flashing green. ‘I may as well get the rest set up before I try to reattach her,’ she muttered. ‘In case she moves again.’

  She opened the box, and took out a transparent container, squashy and full of blood.

  ‘Here, take this,’ she ordered.

  I didn’t move. She glanced at me. ‘Don’t worry, it’s sealed. You don’t have to be sterile. I’m not either for that matter.’

  ‘It’s not that. It’s…’

  I had never worried about the sight of blood before. But I had never seen it ooze from neck and wrist before either. I had never realised the power blood has. It’s our life, and our death.

  ‘For goodness sake,’ said Elaine impatiently. ‘I don’t have time to set up the stand. Just take it and stand up slowly.’

  I took the container and stood up. My hand was trembling again, but Elaine didn’t seem to notice so I supposed the shaking didn’t matter.

  The tubes—catheters?—were attached now. The girl lay still, her face blue against the white of the sheet. The blood on her skin was darkening, gaining shades of brown and purple.

  Elaine pressed the metal cylinder onto the plasticuff just as Neil came in. He set his load down by the door and came over to us. ‘Will I set up the stand?’ he asked.

  Elaine nodded without taking her eyes off the girl.

  Neil bent down behind us. I heard half a dozen clicks, then his large hand took the container of blood from mine. He dangled it professionally from the metal framework, then sat down beside Elaine.

  I sat down too. I don’t think I could have kept standing much longer.

  ‘Is she going to be all right?’ I asked after a while.

  Elaine shrugged. Neil said nothing.

  ‘You mean she might die?’ My voice was so high it was hard to recognise it as my own.

  ‘Yes,’ said Elaine.

  ‘But…but isn’t there anything else you can do? Can’t you Link her up to the City doctors? Surely they could do something more?’

  ‘There’s no point,’ said Elaine tiredly. ‘No matter what else they suggest there’s nothing else I can do. I’m just MediTech, my dear, not a doctor. I don’t even have any oxygen, much less biostasis.’

  ‘But isn’t there more they can do in the City?’

  ‘Yes,’ said Elaine shortly.

  ‘Can’t you take her there then? You could go in the floater with her and monitor her…’

  ‘It doesn’t work like that,’ said Neil gently. ‘Remember? You have to have residency or at least a temp to enter the City.’

  ‘But for an emergency…?’

  ‘The City doesn’t recognise emergencies in the Outlands,’ said Elaine. ‘Didn’t you know that?’

  ‘No,’ I said. ‘I just assumed that…’

  ‘I suppose most people in the City just do assume,’ said Elaine wearily. ‘How do you think I got my training?’

  ‘Well, on the Web.’

  ‘You can only get to MediTech level D on the Open Web,’ said Elaine. ‘For anything more you have to do prac work in the City. I didn’t get a permit. Thank goodness Nancy did. Shush for a moment. I want to check her pulse again.’

  I watched silently. Was it my imagination, or did she have a more normal colour?

  ‘Stronger pulse,’ said Elaine softly.

  The girl opened her eyes. For a moment they were unfocussed and then she seemed to see us. She glanced down at her arm on the bed, and the tubing snaking out. ‘Am I going to die?’ she whispered.

  ‘No,’ said Elaine gently. She laid her hand on the girl’s. ‘It’s all right. Danielle found you in time.’

  ‘He…he kept on drinking…’ The girl’s eyes were wide with horror now. ‘I told him to stop! He wouldn’t, so I tried to run. I tried to…’

  ‘Hush,’ said Elaine firmly. ‘Hush now. Try to rest. You can tell us later. Just be quiet now.’ She laid her hand on the girl’s forehead.

  It may have been the touch, or the tone of voice, but the girl did relax. Her eyes flickered shut, then opened again. ‘I’m thirsty,’ she said childishly.

  ‘It’s all right. You don’t need to drink,’ said Elaine soothingly. She patted the tube. ‘This is doing it all for you.’

  ‘I’m thirsty,’ complained the girl again.

  Elaine hesitated. ‘She can sip something,’ she said at last. ‘I don’t think there are any other injuries.’ The words ‘or if there are, I can’t do anything about them’ seemed to hang in the air, but she didn’t say them aloud. ‘Some tea might help to warm her up.’

  ‘I should reheat the heatpacs too,’ I said.

  Elaine nodded. She glanced down at the girl. She seemed to be sleeping again. Was I imagining it or did her skin look warmer? The damp cold look had faded. ‘Poor child,’ Elaine whispered. ‘I wonder who she is? I think we’d better wait until tomorrow to ask her any questions though.’

  ‘What about…what about whoever did this?’

  Elaine started, as though she didn’t know what I meant. ‘Whoever did this?’ she repeated.

  ‘Yes. They might still be around. Shouldn’t we ask her?’

  ‘No,’ interrupted Elaine. ‘No questions at all until she’s stronger. If she gets upset she might start thrashing around again and then who knows what might happen.’

  ‘But if the person is still out there.’ I wondered suddenly if Neil had locked the front door behind him.

  ‘There’s no one out there,’ said Elaine firmly. ‘I passed a dikdik as I came up here. She must have come on that. It’s just down towards the creek. I’m surprised you didn’t see it.’

  ‘You think this happened a long way away?’

  ‘She’s not a local, my dear,’ said Elaine gently. She stood up. ‘You rest for a moment. I’ll get the tea and warm the heatpacs.’

  ‘No, I can do it,’ I said.

  ‘Sit,’ commanded Elaine.

  ‘Elaine? What if…what if the person who did this was on the dikdik with her?’

  ‘My dear, why would he let her go then?’ said Elaine, even more gently. ‘He would have made sure she was dead and unable to identify him. No, she escaped from whoever it was, whatever it was, and came as far as she could, away from the horror and hoping for help.’

  ‘But why to this house? Why not to the Utopia?’

  ‘I don’t suppose she’d programmed any particular direction,’ offered Neil. ‘She would have just been trying to get as far away as possible, and then she knew she couldn’t make it much further, and there was your house.’

  ‘But why park down by the creek? Why not come right to the door?’

  ‘She must have been almost unconscious,’ said Elaine. ‘I don’t suppose she really knew what she was doing.’ She touched the girl’s wrist again, then nodded as though the pulse reassured her. ‘
Call me if she wakes again,’ she said to Neil, and went out to the kitchen.

  ‘You look cold,’ said Neil softly.

  ‘Me? No, I’m all right.’

  ‘You’re shivering. Go and get a jacket or something.’

  ‘I’m—’

  ‘Go on,’ said Neil.

  ‘All right.’ I stood up. I did feel cold. But not skin-cold—bone-deep cold, as though part of me would never warm up again.

  ‘She’s going to be fine,’ said Neil. ‘You saved her life. I would never have thought of using the Wombat.’

  ‘I…I’ve sort of got to know him,’ I said. ‘He’s different from what I thought Animals were like.’

  ‘What did you think they were like?’

  ‘I don’t think I really thought at all,’ I said tiredly.

  ‘Go and get that jacket,’ said Neil.

  I walked out to the corridor, up the stairs. I was halfway to my room when I heard Neil yell: ‘Elaine!

  I ran downstairs.

  Elaine was already kneeling over her. ‘Heart attack,’ she said crisply. ‘Shock from loss of blood. Can you do the mouth to mouth,’ she said to Neil, ‘while I do the heart?’

  Neil nodded, already bending over her. He began to count ‘one and two and…’ then pressed his mouth to the pale lips of the girl.

  They had obviously worked together often. I wondered how many other accidents they’d attended together. Of course Elaine would have trained her foster son in first-aid. They would have practised this together many times.

  There was nothing I could do to help. I sat and watched as Neil blew and Elaine pressed and counted, and checked the girl’s neck for a pulse and then her watch, and the minutes dragged heavy fingers through my heart as I watched the time pass too, until finally Elaine stood up and laid a hand on Neil’s shoulder. ‘No more,’ she said quietly.

  Neil nodded without speaking. There was blood on his face now too. Elaine straightened and lifted the sheet over the girl’s face. It should have looked peaceful, but it didn’t. The sheet was bloodstained, and there was a brown red stain I hadn’t noticed on the sofa. Neil hesitated, then lifted the blanket over the sheet, so stains as well as girl were covered.