Rustles

Part 2

Shooter went first, others followed.

“Did you get him?” one of the jumper guys asked. There were at least two grey same- looking jumpers and she guessed they had to be part of the uniforms.

“No, he attacked.”

The grave silence was devastating. He had been their friend. She tried to say him in her head, forcing her mind to accept it had been a man. Close friend.

“And who is she?”

She woke from her thoughts and startled, seeing all the eyes peering in her and her overly short dress.

“Judith should take a look at her leg.”

“Oh, really?” the bald man in the jumper lifted his eyebrows to meet the hair he probably had a decade ago.

“I’ll explain you in a minute.”

Twin and the woman soldier stayed in the front room while she was led to a room in the back. It wasn’t much, only a table, four chairs and a loveseat and TV that hadn’t played since Jimmy Carter was president. Not one of them had a mach in others. More to drive her crazy, she thought. The two windows were covered up with flower patterns one would expect from a grandmother’s place and in all the place looked like there lived an old lady. It had to be their hiding place, she decided, looking around. Why else would they put up with such surroundings?

Shooter showed her to sit on the loveseat. “The doctor will be with you in a minute.”

“May I ask something?”

“Ask.” he encouraged.

She sat down and began to sooth the shoes off. “Who are you?”

His arms folded defensively on his chest. “Soldier.”

“I meant, who you work for, but ok.”

He frowned, but didn’t argue further and left. She watched his back disappear to the front room and listened him join in with the talk.

If the man wasn’t telling, he must have had his reasons. Perhaps he wasn’t allowed to talk with aliens – work ethics or they had special person picked out to deal with anyone outside military world. Whatever the thing was on the street there – they had to have someone special to deal with her. Hopefully by not drugging her or forcing her to strip and go through quarantine. She chuckled on the last thought.

“Nice to see you in a good mood, miss.” A young soft voiced woman appeared on the doorway. She was wearing the same jumper, but also a small bag and holding some bandages.

“Hi, perhaps shock kicking in?” she offered with smile.

“Hi. I’m Judith Hagen, I came to look that leg of yours. Sergeant tells me you’ve got some nasty bruising on it.”

If that’s how he explains it, she nodded. She didn’t care how she got it, as long as someone would put something on it to ease the throbbing pain crawling up her calf.

Judith kneeled before her and pulled the leg in her lap. It had swollen a bit and purple from the hit, but otherwise okay. She cleaned the bruise and patched it up before laying a ice bag on top of everything.

“Hold it in place, please.” She took her hand and put it on top of the bag. “The swelling should go back in few days and then you’ll make a full recovery.”

She rose and put the left over bandage back in her bag.

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”