Bloodstained Rose

Chapter 11

Kismet and Kona had both become acquainted in a very short time. Despite the sleep deprivation, she had no problem keeping awake with a pet on board. It was the first time in her life she had seen a dog like this—or any animal of the sort. Owning a companion in Kashmir was a rarity. As she continued to give the dog its needed attention, Rowan stared towards the display by the Mobile Carrier’s control panel.

The only thing going through her mind now was a looming fear of the Guard Chief making a surprise round in the middle of the night. Megumi and Nomad walking into a trap had been on her mind. However, getting in trouble with the brass would be worse than anything Liberation or the forces of the One World Order could dish out.

“Isn’t she so pretty,” Kismet said to Rowan, who had yet to say a word since Nomad and Megumi had left. She had yet to even take her eyes off the display. Likewise, Kismet had remained glued in place with Kona still sitting in her lap as she continued to pet the animal. She asked again, “Isn’t she so cute?”

Rowan could not bear dealing with the insubordination. She had always been very rambunctious and arrogant since she enlisted—something that would regularly get her in trouble.

“I’m going to call the guard chief.” Rowan said before turning back to face her.

“Come on, give them time,” Kismet shouted to her, causing Kona’s ears to perk up. Before she could move away, Kismet shifted her full attention toward the dog, quickly saying, “It’s ok!”

“What if they aren’t coming back?”

“Then I get to keep the dog!” Kismet exclaimed, feeling entranced as she pressed her cheek against Kona.

The fur against her bare flesh only provoked her to show more affection for the Shiba. Rowan let out a long-winded sigh before rolling her eyes. Once she turned back towards the monitor, she could see the UAZ had parked out front.

“They’re back!” Rowan chirped.

She could already see the group inside of the UAZ beginning to make their way towards the entrance. Further across the inside of the Mobile Carrier, the side hatch started to open. Nomad started to make his way inside while Tetsu followed closely with Tomo cradled in his arms. Her breathing had slowed down quite a bit in the last few hours, now she was barely able to keep her eyes open.

“Come on, just a little more.” Tetsu said to her as he lifted Tomo up to his chest.

Tomo reached back out and grabbed hold of him as tightly as she could. Nomad led the two back inside towards the medical bay and past the others without acknowledging their presence.

“We’re you two followed?” Rowan asked them.

“No, there were hardly any people even awake now.” Nomad replied.

He had taken a short time getting the bench cleared off for Tomo. Tetsu slowly carried her over and gently laid her into the cushions, only causing the child to become alarmed as the surface of the bench let out a squeak.

“Where’s mommy?” Tomo asked upon opening her eyes to the inside of the bay. The metallic interior and artificial lighting had been overwhelming.

“She’s back home.” Tetsu said as he leaned into her. He grabbed hold of her hands, giving her some sense of reassurance.

“I wanna go home.” she mumbled before letting out a dry cough. Megumi approached the two and slowly began to bend forward to get down to Tomo’s level.

“It’s going to be ok. I’m going to introduce you to my friend so we can get you all better,” Megumi said to her before placing her hand on Tomo’s shoulder. “How does that sound?”

Tomo froze as Megumi leaned in. She had been too young to understand what was happening. A few tears started to roll down her face before hacking once more.

“What’s your name?” Megumi asked.

“Tomo.” she replied hesitantly.

“That’s pretty, how old are you?”

Tomo lifted her hand and slowly started to count to four. As she raised them to her, Megumi smiled and quickly started to clap her hands together in approval.

“You’re so smart! My name is Megumi, and I’m here to help you,” She gently rubbed Tomo’s small and soft hands, trying her best to present herself as calm and caring. It was one of the many emotions she had hardly had a chance to express in this field. “I’m going to let Control look at you. We are going to see what is wrong and as soon as that’s done, you can go home to mommy. How does that sound?”

Tetsu stepped forward and asked, “Doesn’t that sound good?”

Tomo gently nodded while Nomad started to make his way to the control panel by the side of the bench. He looked back towards the entrance of the medical bay to see that the rest of the crew had already gathered with them.

“Alright, we need you lay back,” Nomad said to Tomo. After turning once more towards the door, he had stared over towards Kismet who had watched on with Kona by her side. “You might wanna get the dog out of here before we boot up Control.”

Kismet was quick to respond. Slowly but surely, the medical bay had whittled down to just Megumi, Tomo, and Nomad. The equipment inside the bay started to let out a hum. Just like before, a translucent panel had started to emerge from the floor after Nomad delivered a few keystrokes. Next, a cube started to form from it like before, followed by Control.

“Good evening, Nomad.” Control greeted them.

Tomo glanced up to her only to have her jaw drop at the sight. As Control’s hair began to color-shift, Tomo started to feel dizzy trying to comprehend the projection. While she sat mesmerized, Nomad walked over to Control and cleared his throat.

“Good evening, we have a patient we need you to look at,” he said. He pointed over to Tomo who had already begun to lift her own locks of hair up over her face. The child had already been captivated and continued to shift her eyes between her black strands of hair and Control’s. “She’s been having a little trouble breathing. Would you say that is right?”

Tomo looked back to him, giving a quick dip of her chin. Control stared over towards the young girl with her usual bright smirk.

“I understand, please relax while I initiate the physical scan.” Control said calmly.

Megumi leaned into Tomo, quickly saying, “This might feel weird, but you’re going to be ok!”

Tomo nodded again. The machinery overhead had started to lower into the bench, surrounding the child. She closed her eyes as the equipment began to react. Within moments, the electromagnetic radiation had started to flow through her.

“We’re gonna stand back for just a bit.” Nomad said once more, this time reaching over to Megumi to pull her away.

“You’re so brave!” Megumi exclaimed, trying to keep positive.

The machine continued to let out a hum while Tomo stayed locked in place. After a few minutes of constant ambient noise and buzzing, the room began to quiet down.

“Detecting internal temperature at 101 degrees Fahrenheit,” Control said finally. “All vitals are above average for your age. Shall I conduct a mental evaluation as well?”

“I’m fairly certain that will not be necessary. She seems plenty brave enough to be on the team, but she’s a little on the young side.” Nomad replied to Control. He looked back over to Tomo, giving her a quick wink.

“Very well, I am detecting that the root cause is a pneumonia. I can synthesize a steroid treatment in the meantime. Shall I proceed?”

Nomad went on ahead and gave her confirmation to continue with the procedure. Control nodded back before slowly disintegrating into a splash of pixels. The translucent cube started lower back down into the floor, only causing Tomo more shock with the sudden display.

“Where did she go?” Tomo asked before letting out another cough.

“She’s just gonna make some medicine. You did good kid.” Nomad said as he raised his fist to her. Predictably, the child had not understood the gesture. Megumi stepped over towards her and leaned in again.

“You just make a fist and give him a bump!” She exclaimed. Tomo lifted her chin, still confused as Nomad continued to hold his fist in front of her.

“Are you gonna leave me hanging,” Nomad asked. Tomo had balled her hand into a fist and swung it into his, giving him a very rough punch instead of a gentle tap. He pulled his hand back and blurted out, “She’s got one hell of a punch, we gotta work on that.”

Tetsu leaned into the doorway, seeing the fanfare taking place before them. It had not taken Tomo very long at all to get warmed up to Megumi and the others. Her Eurasian features were vastly different from the people of her village. Seeing new people and getting to meet Control had been a fantastic sight for such a child to behold. A few feet to Tetsu’s left, the dispensary had started to power itself on. The sound of the mechanisms inside of the wall continued to blare.

“That should be the medicine.” Megumi said aloud as the machinery inside continued to move.

The wall on the edge of the medical bay began to light up. Nomad made his way over to the panel and reached inside a small plexiglas door to retrieve a small inhaler from within. He started to examine the cartridge before turning back towards the crew.

“Alright Control, how does this work?” Nomad asked her.

“Gently place the inhaler into your mouth, press on the canister, and then inhale.” Control’s voice buzzed over the speakers.

Tomo shifted her head around trying to locate the sound of her voice. At the same time, Megumi gently tapped her on the shoulder, trying not to alarm her.

“She’s still here, you just can’t see her now.” Megumi said as she reached out towards Nomad to retrieve the inhaler.

She reached over towards Tomo and prompted her to place her lips onto the mouthpiece. After pressing into the canister, Tomo began slowly inhaling the mist being released. The substance filled her lungs, causing the stabbing pain that had once consumed her to subside. A cooling sensation started to fill her chest, slowly bringing a smile to her face.

“This should be repeated once every two hours or as necessary.” Control said once more.

“That’s it?” Tetsu spoke.

“Yeah, that’s it,” Nomad replied as he brushed his thumb across his nose. He made another scan of the medical bay and asked, “So, what’s the game plan now?”

Megumi had administered another dosage for Tomo before pulling the inhaler from her lips. She started to wipe the saliva from the mouthpiece onto her blouse before carefully tucking the inhaler into her breast pocket.

“I’ll go ahead and get the UAZ started. I’m sorry we can’t let you both stay the night. The Guard Chief will discipline us if he finds out you were here.” Megumi replied.

“Will I see you again?” Tomo quickly asked her.

“Of course,” She assured Tomo.

“Tomorrow?”

“I’m not sure about that,” Megumi laughed, nervously rubbing the back of her head. Tomo’s face had started to droop as a frown started to stretch across face. Quickly, Megumi lifted her hand to her, extending her pinky. Tomo had been puzzled by the gesture. “I’ll come back and visit when everything winds down, pinky promise.”

“What’s that?”

“It means that no matter what, I can’t break this promise.”

Tomo lifted her pinky to her. The two locked their fingers together, sharing a smile. Tetsu’s mind had started to clear itself of worry for the first time in days. With Tomo finally getting treatment, he would be able to focus on solving the issue with the supply line. Before getting too far into thought, Nomad reached over and gave him a nudge.

“Ready to go?” Nomad asked him.

“Yeah, I’m ready.” Tetsu replied.

The UAZ had never been fuller as they went to drop off the two. It had been a short drive to the Temple. Nomad and Megumi did not say much on the ride back. A collection of dander from Kona’s coat had made its way into Nomad’s face—most of the UAZ had been covered with it. He found himself continuously scratching his face while his sinuses swelled. Megumi had kept the vehicle centered on the dirt path while Nomad had begun to give in. She came over another bump, causing the two to rise off the seat. Nomad roared as he let out a loud sneeze. He groaned as the allergies started to pester him further.

“Are you gonna make it?” Megumi asked him.

“I don’t know how allergic I am to dogs, so I guess.” Nomad said with a sniffle. His face had become puffier with each passing minute.

“We can boot up Control and have her synthesize an antihistamine or something.”

“Yeah, I guess,” Nomad said, taking another snort to clear his nose. His head had started to ache. The pressure inside of his sinus cavity continued to build, only causing his speech to become muffled. “That’s what I get for helping.”

“You did a good thing.”

“Yeah, yeah. It’s second nature to me.” Nomad groaned as he tried to form a smile.

He leaned his face up against the door, pressing it against the cold glass. The swollen flesh on his face had stopped burning for just long enough for him to catch his breath. Megumi looked over once more. She cracked, slowly starting to laugh as he began to rub his face across the window.

“I’m trying to drive here.” Megumi said, snickering as he continued.

“This feels nice,” He replied, refusing to turn back to her. “For the allergies, I don’t think this was worth it.”

“Oh now, don’t say that.” Megumi started to pull in towards the front of the Mobile Carrier.

“I was kidding,” he said, pulling his face away from the door. The few seconds against the cold glass had been soothing. “We did a good thing. It was worth it, you think?”

“Yeah,” Megumi replied as she gave him a warm smile. “That was really sweet what you did.”

Nomad grinned back, or at least as far as his face would let him. The swelling was still getting worse, but he was happy to impress her.

“Hey, you helped too.” He said the very moment he gathered himself.

Megumi laughed, “Just take the compliment, you dork.”

She smirked at him, turning the charm on for just a moment. Nomad’s eyes traced their way up towards her, trying to keep his bearing. The vehicle gently rocked forward as Megumi pressed down on the brakes. As the truck idled on, she looked over to him to see him still staring at her. For a moment, she had started to feel embarrassed by the attention.

“Why not get the hatch so I can park this bad boy?” She asked, breaking the silence.

Nomad lit up, trying to keep calm, and replied, “Right, one second.”