In Praetor

Chapter 11

Rise exited the tunnels to find himself in a cave. Walking out of the cave, his attention was drawn to the air base a ways away by a loud sound and he watched in horror as it exploded into a mass of flames and falling debris right before his eyes. Panicking, he subconsciously followed where the map was leading him and found Zulu's Hover-Cycle in another cave. Before he could do anything more, the map hologram changed to a holographic image of Zulu. 

"Ah, if you have this Rise, that means I gave my hologram drive to you. I'm not used to doing these kinds of things, so I'll make it quick. You probably just witnessed an explosion, which means I started the timer as soon as I was sure you were on your way to safety. Guess I can't continue protecting you, but at least I took a bunch of those military dogs with me. See you in the next life." 

Rise felt tears burning in the back of his eyes as he listened to the recording. The expression of Zulu in the hologram was an uncharacteristic smile clearly hiding tears and the fear of dying. Suddenly a rush went through Rise and images of memories from the past few months starting with his first meeting with Zulu flashed through his mind. 

"Hang on Zulu, I won't let you leave this world yet," Rise promised, adrenaline pulsing through his body. He pushed the Hover-Cycle out of the cave, started it up, and got on. Speeding towards the air base, it came as no surprise to him to see debris raining from the sky as he got closer. Going through a part of the wall that had been blown away, he made his way to where he had last seen Zulu. Getting off the Hover-Cycle, he looked around. Making his way around the area, he sifted through debris and pushed heavier pieces out of his way. After looking around for a few minutes, he pulled Zulu's hologram drive out of his pocket. 'I wonder if I could use this to track her?' 

"Maybe if I do this," he muttered to himself, fiddling with the hologram drive. After he messed with it a bit, it popped open. He rearranged the wires until it beeped and started flashing. Walking further away from where the abandoned hangar had been, he heard a faint beeping noise and followed the sound to a pile of debris and rubble. Moving the debris out of the way, Rise saw Zulu's face. He moved away more of the debris and pulled her out from under the rubble. Laying her down, he checked her pulse, relieved to find her alive but unconscious. Glancing around, he spotted her helmet and went over to grab it. Coming back, he gently lifted Zulu off the ground and carried her to the Hover-Cycle. Getting on, he strapped her to him and left the air base, heading for home. 

Carrying Zulu into the cabin, Rise took her down to his lab in the basement. Brushing past the hidden scanner, he turned the holograph off. Placing Zulu on the hospital bed he had, Rise took off her light armor. He wondered what it was made of, since there was no visible damage to the protective suit. Checking her body for any wounds, he found bruises from the impact and a couple of cuts on her face and hands. Again, he felt sickened by the number of scars her body held, hatred for whoever had done that to her bubbling inside him. 

"I don't know what your past was like, but it must've been pretty rough." Rise moved his hands over Zulu's body, feeling for any broken bones. Not finding anything, he knew he should have felt relief, but instead there was a strange sense of dread, as if something worse than he could imagine would happen. 

Zulu opened her eyes, blinking away the blur. She saw Rise enter her room as she tried to sit up. Flopping back down, her voice hoarse, she mumbled, "Ouch, my body hurts. What happened?" 

"You almost blew yourself up, idiot," Rise reminded her. He carried a tray of food over to her bed. Setting it down, he helped her sit up. 

"Oh yeah, that was fun," Zulu said, her expression serious. She poked at the food he had set down, twirling it around with her fork. 

"You have one messed up definition of fun," Rise muttered. He smacked her hand, "Stop playing with your food." 

"My definition of fun is the same as anyone else," she retorted, sticking her tongue out at him. Taking a bite, she made a weird face. 

"Is something wrong with the food?" he asked, worried. 

"Yeah, it tastes funny," she told him. 

"Are you sure?" He ate the bit on her fork. "It tastes fine to me." 

"No, this tastes better than I recall it tasting before," she murmured under her breath. Louder, she said, "Maybe it's just my imagination." 

Rise shook his head, not catching the first part. Feeling Zulu's forehead, he sighed. "Well, you don't have a fever." 

"Why would I?" Zulu questioned, her eyes narrowed. 

"Woman, you do realize that usually people don't come out almost completely unscathed after being that close to an explosion, right?" Rise asked in exasperation. 

"I'm not people, so of course I'd be barely bruised," she stated pointedly. 

"Of course you're not," he agreed, feeling tired. Slumping down to the floor, he rested his head in his hands. 

"What's wrong?" Zulu asked, starting to get up. 

"Nothing, I'm alright. You were unconscious for a couple days and I didn't sleep much," Rise admitted, waving a hand dismissively. 

"You need to get to bed," she ordered, getting up. 

"I need to take care of you," he said, standing up and catching her as she stumbled. 

"I'm fine." She leaned against him a moment, resting her head on his shoulder. 

"Says you." He took her moment of weakness as a sign that she wasn't as strong as she made herself out to be. 

"Really, I'm fine," Zulu repeated herself, pushing away from Rise. Breaking into a coughing fit, she covered her mouth with her hand. Seeing the blood when she glanced at her hand, she quickly hid it behind her. "Just a fuzz in my throat." 

Rise raised an eyebrow at her, but didn't say anything.