Practicing Medicine // Complete

Chapter Seventeen: The Fallout

2075 ROBCO(R)

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STATUS

Battery Level: 87% (CHARGING)

Wireless Signal: (?)

Operating Temperature: 92F

HEALTH

BP: 120/90

SPO2: 100%

Temp: 98.5F

RR: 12

HR: 70

TIME

Day: 30 SEP. 2279

Time: 14:24

CLIMATE

Current Temperature: 60F

Atmospheric Pressure: 762 mmHG

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...Nothins' the matter with your head, baby, find it- come on and find it!

Heyyyy, with it baby, cause you're fine,

and you're mine and you, look-so-divine... oh-

"COME AND GET YOUR LOVE!" We shouted, our unpracticed voices crying out together in glorious unison. The song on the radio rolled on, with me and Savanna's cackling pervading over the staticky audio. Seemed like everyone was in a better mood since we left the village.

Up at the front of the cart, Gram took a drag of his cigar, and Tandi, who was already way ahead of us, lifted up her helmet to take a swig of some nasty green stuff in a dirty glass bottle. The clicking of Hebe and Flebe's hooves on the cracked concrete gave it all a pleasant backdrop, adding a quiet, consistent sort of rhythm to the chaos. And then it got filtered through my noisy comtacs, and washed out by the rim of my fire-helmet, which gave it all a real surreal feeling. If it weren't for the slight chill in the air, it would have felt like a dream.

"Hey, Isaac- Get over here! Need to talk to you!" shouted Tandi, suddenly breaking the atmosphere with her heavily filtered voice. She sounded less enthusiastically American than usual, which I took to be a bad omen.

"... I'll be right over!" I replied. I blanched at the way the words came out my mouth; I couldn't quite hide the fear in my voice. Tandi didn't say anything in response. She just stared at me through her shiny red visor, standing completely still as I trotted up to her like a spurned toddler. My loose fire helmet bounced with each step. Gradually, the protection that I felt from being near Savanna and Gram faded, and I was left with only the long, cold shadow of our resident desert ranger, looming over me.

I'm gonna be honest- She was a lot less scary before I watched her kill people.

"What did you want to ask about?" I asked, smiling like a stroke victim. Tandi crossed her arms at me.

"We're walking- keep up, or I drag you with me," she replied. Her voice was cool but authoritative, and much deeper than the one that she usually liked to wear. It gave me the creeps.

"So... Is this about the surgery? Because, I've thought a lot about the decisions I made that day, and I- I..." I trailed off. Tandi's lack of any discernible response was far clearer than any words she could have said. We walked in silence for a moment, both of our coats blowing in the cool wind of the valley pass. After deciding that it was safe to speak again, I cleared my throat.