Lost In Lucidity

Lonesome

"Oh man... Six is gonna kill us."

"If I don't bleed out first."

"Hey, don't say that. It's not even that bad."

"Ow! For cryin' out- Don't touch it, Val!"

Val sighs behind me as she leans back and runs a hand through her hair, "Come on. We need to get you to Kaphila."

"Yeah, okay," I grunt, standing up. Now that the adrenaline has worn off, the pain from the gash in my back finally sets in, and the septic scratches from the garrote burn fiercely. I hang my backpack from one shoulder to cover the wound, then the two of us start through the neighborhood.

As we walk, my eyes dart nervously around from house to house, trying to make sure that nobody is looking outside. Val trails behind me, practically stepping on my heels as she tries to block any view of my blood-soaked jacket. Just as we're about to round the corner toward the military trailers, somebody makes the turn in front of us. Having just almost died moments ago, I can safely say that my heart stops more now than it did then.

"Shoot..."

Val peaks around my head, then instantly darts out in front of me the second she sees who I'm reacting to.

"Mr. Neyome!" She nervously calls out to my father. "Long time no see!"

"Hey, Valentine! And son." He says with a smile. "Good to see you too. Although, we did just see each other at the meeting last night."

"Oh, yeah, heh, duh. I guess I just meant, like, long time since I've gotten to really talk with you."

"Oh, well, there's time now. How have you been? What are you two up to today?"

'Damn it, Val.'

"Oh, I've been good. And not much; we're just on our way to see Lyle. I ran into the Doc this morning, and she said he wasn't doing too well with the move. Thought we'd go cheer him up."

Dad's face falters at the mention of Lyle's name, "Oh, well, that's nice of you. Tell him I said hi and hope he's doing well."

"For sure! We'll do that. What are you up to?" Val asks. I hear her slowly inhale after asking the question as if kicking herself for the instinct.

"Oh, not much. I was just helping Ron with some house maintenance, and now I gotta' get ready to head back to the dam tomorrow morning. Speaking of which, I thought we could have dinner together tonight, Wes. Before I go."

I feel a steady trickle of blood creeping down my back, but I adjust my bag to stamp it into my coat instead. Pain shivers through my body. "Um, yeah, no, that'd be nice." I smile.

"Good. Well, I'll let you two get on with your day. It was good to talk with you, Val."

"You too, Mr. Nayome. Have a good night, and be safe at the dam!"

My dad nods with a smile, then turns and heads down the sidewalk. Val pivots behind me as he does, and we continue walking until we're around the corner. Once we are, she grabs my arm and squeezes it tight.

"Sorry! Sorry! I am so sorry!" She frantically tells me.

"If I die in the next few minutes, now it's on you."

She goes from hugging my arm to slapping it.

We reach the med bay door and ring the buzzer while I tap my foot rapidly. After a while, Kaphila peers through the window and makes a confused face.

She opens the door and speaks, "What are you two doing back so soon?"

"Hi, doc," Val says, rushing me in. "We've got a bit of an emergency." She peels back my backpack and reveals the bloody gash to Kaphila.