The Last Ranger

Chapter 6: The Cabin

His heart was racing unlike ever before, beating a hole in his chest. "Claudia!" Monroe's voice caught in his throat. His word came as a croak. By the Creator...No... Please No... Above on the walkway, the guard was trying to stem the bleeding from the wound Monroe gave him. Blood poured from his stomach. He was trying to crawl away or trying to reach for his weapon. Monroe did not care. He rushed to the cargo container. Both his daughter and the chained girl lay motionless inside the dark chamber. He hurried in, holding his breath as best he could from the stench inside.

The chained girl was on top. She was dead. The bullet hit her chest, exploding her heart and killing her instantly. Monroe pushed her off his daughter. Claudia's eyes were closed. Her chest lifted with each breath. Weak breaths. The gunshot wound was near her shoulder and bleeding viciously. She is losing blood. By the Creator... He wanted to cry and scream. Holding back tears, he applied pressure to the wound with one hand while his other desperately felt its way across his belt until he found his second STIM Injector.

He found himself shaking as he removed it from his belt, fumbling and dropping it. The Injector rolled deeper into the container. From outside came an ear-deafening boom. The other shuttle...No... Claudia first... He ripped a piece of her shirt sleeve off and used it to stem the bleeding. Then he entered the container, searching for the Injector. He found it underneath a dead girl's hand. The entire container was filled with the dead. And dying.

His mind raced as he tried to calm himself and steady his hands. The injector in hand, Monroe stabbed Claudia near the wound. Seconds later, the blood stopped, and Claudia's breathing eased.

"By the Creator." Came a familiar voice. Monroe turned to face him, revolver in hand.

"Sax." The Detective was standing on his own two feet. Colour had returned to his face. He stood tall and strong, just as the broadcasts had depicted him. Sax pointed his weapon towards Monroe but lowered it as he approached.

"Is she alive?" The Detective asked, holstering his gun. Monroe did the same.

"Yes." His attention turned to Claudia. The STIM injector would only stem the bleeding for so long. She would need a doctor. Removing the piece of cloth from the wound, Monroe studied it. No burn marks... Good... Gently, he lifted her to check for an exit wound. There were none.

"Damn," Monroe said.

"Damn, what?"

"The bullet is still inside. She needs a doctor." Monroe studied Sax. The man was dying in his office not two days ago, but now he was walking as if nothing had happened. "Who healed you?"

Sax sighed. "An old friend."

Monroe recalled the conversation between the slavers and the late lord Elln. Aurora Crawley... The Wanderer's Whore.

"Take me to her."

There was a second, Sax hesitated, but after a second of doubt, the Detective nodded. "Come, I think I can fly that other shuttle." Monroe carried his daughter, following Sax. The other slaver's shuttle stood idle outside. A Turtle, it was called. Its hull was shaped like a shell and built like one too. Ground troops were deployed in these shuttles during battles because of their resilience. It did not occur to Monroe how slavers could get their hands on military-grade shuttles until he climbed onboard, slowly resting Claudia on the shuttle floor. Sax hurried past him, entering the small vessel's cockpit. Although the Detective said he knew how to fly, it did not mean he was proficient in a cockpit. The Turtle shook violently during take-off and even hit a few air pockets once in the air, causing turbulence. They flew under the radar, away from the city, deeper into the frontier. Monroe was not on his usual edge, not paying attention to where the Detective flew.