Her Second Skin

Sedona stopped her trike and climbed off. She would go no further on foot until she did a check her tox-suit readouts. Before leaving the protective dome she always did a spot check on the integrity of the suit itself. Now that she was at a distance from the dome, she ran her instrument checks also. As she automatically went through the routine, Sedona wondered if it was possible to actually love a tox-suit. She smiled at the thought.

Not only did it fit her like a glove, having been made specifically to follow her body’s every contour, but she knew she looked good in it too. From head-to-toe she was well-protected from the extreme heat and the fluctuating UV rays. Thanks to those rays, and the sudden solar storms, the communication gear inside her protective helmet didn’t always work. So without a reliable way to contact the city, the tox-suit was her only guarantee of survival.

Goggles guarded her eyes from grit kicked up by sudden windstorms and were firmly attached to the helmet. The body of the suit kept out UV rays, had heat reduction elements, and protected her from random viruses and bacteria. The mask and air filtration pack protected her lungs from toxic fumes. Extra padding on her shoulders, knees, and buttocks let her kneel safely and move comfortably under the hot sky. 

And, last, but not least, her boots had extra thick soles to protect her from sharp objects underfoot as well as the hot surface of the ground. Every piece of the suit had controls that helped maintain her health and safety. So, yeah, she loved it.

Equipment controls checked out and she took a minute to look around. Behind her rose the huge dome, secure and serene under the hot sky. Sedona stood right at the edge of the wasteland, almost at the end of the gigantic barren space that ringed the city. Ahead lay the ruins, a mountainous pile of old steel beams, desolate chunks of concrete, pieces of crushed buildings.

The scouts usually avoided the ruins, where they could be easily ambushed. There was no way to know where sub-humans were hiding, or if they had laid traps for an unwary scout. And the wreckage itself was not safe, it could shift and fall at any time. Occasionally, someone disappeared while on patrol. Sedona did not like being this close.

“But you really don’t have a choice, do you?” she asked herself. She had been given a job to do and she didn't want to let her mentor down. She sighed. 

“I’ve got to look for a wastrel and this is the only place to find them,” she grumbled. “Let’s just get this over with.”

She started walking toward the desolate shell of a building. “I'm really uncomfortable doing this,” she continued. “It feels strange, taking a child from its home, no matter how awful that home is. But I must admit, any sub-human children we find will have a better chance at survival.”

She surveyed the wreckage in front of her, shaking her head. “I don’t understand how the sub-humans could have survived here this long. What could they possibly find out here to live on?" For the first time, Sedona wondered if the scouts had ever attempted to survey the ruins. She’d have to ask Merida to check the scout’s records, maybe there was … 

A sudden flash of movement got her attention, pushing idle questions out of her head. She darted ahead, following the movement which looked like a piece of cloth waving in the air. Whatever it was, it was moving fast.

Sedona ran swiftly down an alley between two piles of twisted junk. As she ran, she activated her communication device, leaving a terse message to say she was now entering the ruins in pursuit of a wastrel. At least she hoped that’s what she was chasing! She clicked the device off to prevent any sounds coming from it that could give her position away.

Ah! There was a quick flap of something off to the left. She swerved in that direction, dodging around a mound of crushed metal rods as she ran. Wait… there … it was a child. She could see a mass of long ratty hair, making her think it was a girl-child. She seemed small, and was clothed in loose rags, but she was fast! As Sedona followed around the corner of what was left of a building, she saw the child glance back over her shoulder. Sedona caught a flash of startling blue eyes as the wastrel sped up.

She ran around yet another corner. Sedona was hot on her heels, but turning the corner, she had to come to a full stop. There was nothing ahead of her but a blank wall. She now found herself in a U-shaped space with four or five floors of an old building towering overhead. Taking a step back, she could see there were some openings above her. Did the child climb up there? Sedona took a step to the left so the light angled into the opening. She saw movement in the space above.

Sedona was now pressed up against an opening in the wall to her left, holding onto the edge to balance herself as she leaned backward to see better. She was rewarded by the sight of a little face looking down at her. 

“Hello,” Sedona said softly. “Please come down, I won’t hurt you.” She had no idea if the child understood what she said but hoped the tone of her voice was reassuring.

Sedona opened her mouth to call to the child again. Suddenly she felt a prick in her upper arm, the arm that was holding onto the edge of the opening. She turned her head to see what caused the pain, there was a quick movement in the space beyond the opening, then nothing.

Sedona was overtaken by total blackness.