File 2.4 - The Devil's Price

The ride on the transport finally evened out from the rough escape that they made. It still made it difficult to treat the Commander. Once he secured the Peng into the deck Wells already scrambled up to the shoulder of the machine forcing the hatch open manually. The rest of the team had gathered around at the feet of the Skin waiting for their Commander to be safe.

Inside a transport carrier, they had no proper medical facilities for Callein. He rested on the line of seats used by the team while Noinae and Lellecausua tended to injuries. Noinae was the closest they had to a field medic and even he had only a few extra classes than the rest. They didn’t have the proper tools to tend to all of his injuries. A medic kit only took them so far.

The tension and waiting for the team became too much to take. Schir sat in her own Skin trying to feel useful by staying warmed up for any new attack. After the treatment that they managed to give Nionae and Lellecausua sat on the opposite side of the transport staring in no particular direction. Wells went into the cockpit and sat down in the co-pilot seat that Callein kept during most of the flight.

“Damn it! We lost Rivers to those demons!” Wells crossed his arms and pressed deep into the seat not feeling comfortable. “I’m not about to see us lose the Commander too!”

“What’re you planning on doing to prevent it?” questioned Rinn. He flipped through screens on the monitor. The old maps of the Earth surface helped him plot a route, but all of the cities that used to exist centuries before made it useless for trying to avoid getting spotted. He relied more on his sight than the computer. Unfortunately, the noise the transport made worried him even being careful.

The question forced Wells to be silent for a moment. “There must be a hospital or clinic around here somewhere. We can just take the supplies we need.”

“Does that include a doctor?”

Wells turned his head to look over at Rinn in disgust for a poor joke. “Why would I want help from one of those demons?!”

“Are you willing to swallow your pride?”

“What sort of question is that?”

Rinn focused on the ground out of the window rather than bother with a debate with Wells. Each person had a right to their own religious opinions. He had no plans on getting into such an argument. It never resolved anytime anyone attempted it, regardless of the individual.