My eyes flutter open, revealing a slightly tilted world. A trail of crimson leads its way over to the door. I close my eyes, trying to remember what happened. A flash of pain shoots through my skull. A memory makes its way into my mind, starting with a voice.
"We can't just leave her here,".
"You don't think I don't know"! A new voice sounds, and a thud echoes right near me. "She stands a better chance if she stays here". Some rustling away from me causes another flash of pain to shoot through my skull. Suddenly, a third voice interjects.
"It's no use, that shrapnel's not coming out without causing major internal bleeding. She's not moving soon,". A slight pause follows that. Then the silence is broken by the third voice again.
"So, we have two options. We call for a medivac in this storm, on Earth, by an Insek nest. Or, we leave, and-" The second voice interrupts, his tone, aggressive.
"What! Leave her for the Yamasseki to find? You know what they'll do if they find her"! A single set of footsteps move around me. Left to right. Right to left. The headache becomes searing, increasing in intensity. A sigh comes from my... right? The headache is making it hard to think. A second voice speaks quietly, shaking. Almost as if he's crying.
"You and I both know those rumors probably aren't true. Her best shot of survival, and ours as well, is for her to stay here. And we'll just hope that the Yamasseki find her and have the resources to help her,". The first voice protests again.
"But-" another interruption. This time, by that second voice.
"That is an order". The second voice sounds more firm this time. I recognize that voice from somewhere, but whenever I try to recall it, my head hurts even more. At this point the pain in my head becomes almost unbearable. The third voice distracts me from my misery.
"We should at least remove all Lunarian insignias, so the Yamasseki don't see her as an enemy" Mutters of agreement echo around the room. "And wipe her-" the searing sensation finally overwhelms me, and I am brought out of the memory.
Who were those people? Did I know them? I'm trying to recall the answers to these questions when a crunch interrupts my train of thought. I listen intently and try to sit up. As I move my back, I notice a large rebar protruding from my abdomen. For some reason, I can't feel the pain.
Crunch.
Another crunch.
The crunching gets louder and louder until it stops right outside a ruined doorway. Whispers can be heard. More accurately, a single whisper is heard.
"Is it an Insek"? Some rustling can be heard, then the same voice speaks. "Really? What else would be here?" The legs of two people approach me, tilted like the world around them. Wait, it's probably me that's tilted. One pair of legs has brown leather boots with- are those slasher teeth? Holy crap those are! At least 15 or 20 of the large incisors, wrapped around the lower shin of the brown boots. When the pair of people reached me, the silent one bent over, looking me in the eyes before I have the chance to shut them. He looks up at his partner, who has moved out of my field of vision by now. The man near me makes some gesture.
"Still alive? With that kind of injury, she must be on heavy stims". The voice comes across as feminine and clear this time, and not just a whisper. "If you can hear me, my name is Teskhen, and this is Aeto. Welcome to the Yamasseki". Suddenly, I'm picked up off the ground, and the rebar dislodged from my abdomen. For some reason, I'm not experiencing any discomfort. I look up, seeing the man, his face covered in a hood, casting shadows over his face. I struggle to get words out.
