FORESIGHT and SCOPE: BOOK TWO

C H A P T E R E I G H T Y

"Tick..." My teasing nickname slipped from my lips when I called to him weakly. I had to maneuver around the remnants to reach his upper body; once I laid eyes on him, a distressing shudder escaped my ash-caked lips.

Tech's body was sprawled on his back, his pelvis pinned down by the debris. His chestplate was cracked across his shoulder to his side—a pool of blood seeped from his ribs. My trembling fingers reached up and grazed over his jawline...his signature spectacles were gone—the bridge of his nose was broken and there was a deep cut just above his left brow. The crimson mixed with the layer of dust and ash as it trickled down his temple. My eyes glanced just above his tousled hair, where I found his unique helmet...split in two...each half lying on either side of his head. The yellow-orange computer visor was shattered into tiny shards.

"Tech, it's Fern." I breathed, my lungs pumping in overdrive. "I'll get you out."

Another wave of adrenaline gushed through my muscle tissue as I exerted myself to my staggering feet. The instant I stood upright, I nearly fainted—I detected a concussion was imminent. Oh, so this is why they wear armor... Shaking away my vertigo, I hooked my hands under my friend's arms and heaved his body from the wreckage. His chin dipped in dead weight; I received no signs of assistance in his weakened state. At one point, his boot snagged the grate, in which I had to set him down, free him, and resume the grind—I did not stop until I cleared the wreckage.

I crashed at the treeline of the encompassing forest. Tech's head dropped in my lap.

Not yet. We need to get farther. Out of sight. Away from here.

Dragging my knees across the ground, I hauled Tech by his torso. One crawl after the other. His neck arched back. At some point, his fractured chestplate crumbled off his body; I had to adjust my clutch underneath his shoulder blades, digging my fingers into his black, skin-tight undershirt. The blood from his punctured wound spewed, smeared, and stained the dirt and grass, betraying our tracks.

Dank ferrik... Everything hurt. My body wanted to secede...to admit defeat and crumble. However, my heart and mind were resilient. They joined forces to propel the rest of me forward—my blood pumped through its arteries until they exhausted themselves, then exceeded its limitations and persisted. Alas, I knew I was overexerting myself... after all, it wasn't just Tech's limp body that was heavy—my own bones weighed me down like they'd been infused with iron.

Suddenly and involuntarily, I collapsed, my cheek colliding into his sternum. My teeth sank into my bottom lip and warm blood filled my mouth and spilled down my bruised chin.

Pop! Boom!

Something within the wreckage, perhaps an electrical box, exploded and scattered chunks of metal shrapnel. Viscerally, I jumped and swallowed Tech's head against my chest to protect him. The blood from my lip soaked into his hair. My breath began to hyperventilate through my nose. My heart palpitated so rapidly, I figured it burst any second.

"Okay. O—okay." I stammered, when the pounding in my ears subsided. I ejected the blood gorging inside my mouth into the thin grass, spitting away any excess. After I wiped my chin with the back of my hand, I struggled to tuck my knees underneath me, inevitably shifting down onto my upper thigh. I then lowered Tech's head, cradling it gently in the crook of my right arm, and hovered my face over his. Articulating every word through my shaky exhales, I huffed, "I need you to get up. I need you to wake up." My left arm numbed from locking and supporting the full weight of my torso. The sting in my corneas hindered my ability to examine his condition; as a result, tears welled up in fear and frustration. I hung my head in defeat and carefully placed his head on the ground.