Unseen Things

10 Vail

Matt sank in stages to the ground, most of his shirt now soaked in blood, as another chorus of howls rose from the dark city, and Vail knew this was what he'd dreaded for so long. That they'd win, yet still lose.

Angry light from the burning prison painted their little group with dull colored shadows. Torie knelt by Matt, her face streaked and hair flying wild as she held her wadded hat over his ribs.

"Do something!" She looked up at Vail, who held his own bleeding arm.

"We can't stay here," the other girl, Kit, said, still supporting the young man they'd found in the cells. 

"No we can't." Vail took hold of Matt's shirt and pulled it up away from the wound. He ran his fingers over the curve of his rips, though he couldn't feel much beneath the muscle. His second sight—the perception that so often showed him truth and hidden things, brought him a glimmer of insight as to the injuries. There was a feeling of not rightness as he touched two of the ribs. They were definitely cracked, but the lung underneath remained undamaged. He was losing blood though, from the gash in his ribcage and from his leg.

Torie dug in her pack for the first aid supplies Miranda had sent. The small wad of clean bandages and ointment seemed pitiful compared to the red pooling under Matt and running down Vail's arm.

"No time for stitches," He muttered, swiping at his face. He spun on his heel, grabbed Torie's stun stick, and strode across the parking lot to a smashed and burning desk that had landed there. The end of the stick was capped in silver to conduct electricity, but it would also heat up fast. He thrust the end into the flames, ducking as it started to spark and flare. The electrical components blew out with a pop.

"Hey!" Torie protested.

In another moment he came back with the end of the stick glowing. "Is he waking up yet?" he asked.

"No."

"That's good." Vail shoved the heated end of the stun stick into the stab wound.

Torie scrambled backward, gagging, just in time to avoid Matt's fist as he woke up flailing. He grabbed the stun stick out of Vail's hand and flung it. "What the...!" His hand went to the cauterized wound, then flinched away. "Vail!"

"You're welcome." Vail shrugged off his jacket and stood still for Torie to wrap his arm. The crossbow bolt had cut clear through the muscle, in one side and out the other. Thankfully without hitting the artery. He flinched as she cinched the bandage tight. "I hope you can walk," he said as Kit finished tying off the bandage on Matt's leg.

"Walk? Maybe." Matt took his time getting his knees under him. "Run? Huh uh. Breathe? Not so well." He hugged himself, shivering, and looked up at Vail, firelight flickering over his tortured face. "You should go. Take them to Miranda, or wherever you were going to."

"Nope. You're coming. Maybe we'll all die together.

"Merry ending," Matt said as Vail and Torie hauled him up. He swayed on his feet for a second, then steadied. "What are we waiting for?"

"You, mostly."

* * * * *

They started out for Miranda's, and with every step Vail's dread burned hotter. He tried to think of anywhere else they could go. Anywhere they'd be able to hide or get help, rather than leading a chase right to the doorstep of the one secret haven within a hundred miles. With each step his thoughts came up empty.

The howls behind them faded after a while, but he didn't find that encouraging. He could think of any number of bad things it could mean.

"Hey! Wait. Please." The man's voice came so unexpectedly from behind them that Vail jumped and almost ran into a tree as he whirled around. None of them had heard anyone following them, nor seen the beam of the flashlight that the stranger now shone on his own face.