The Marked People

A Quick operation then off we go

Indigo

Phoenix gives a hiss as I slice into his skin. Immediately blood begins to flow and I quickly wipe it away with some sterilised cloth to make sure I can still see where I'm cutting. Biting my lip I look at his face "That was nothing, this next cut is going to be the tough one."

Phoenix just nods and as I cut into his muscle he shoves his fist into his mouth, muffling any screams he might make. The thing is, I'm not a doctor. Even when I was living deep in the tunnels I never had to cut into someone or perform any sort of surgery. Sure I've bandaged myself up after being injured but this is different.

Focusing on my eyesight I let my eyes pick out every detail. I want to make every cut as clean as possible; otherwise Phoenix's muscle tissue might not heal properly. As it is, I've probably killed him already from not having sterilised my hands. The muscle has incorporated the tracker into itself and for a moment I scrutinise the tiny lump in the muscle that is the only indication that the tracker is there. Positioning the scalpel I push down on one edge of the lump and am rewarded with a flash of metal. After a few more cuts I'm finally able to separate it from his body.

Grabbing Phoenix's hand I press it down onto the wound "Put pressure on, I'll find something to stich it up."

Phoenix is half shaking "No, that will take too long, just get the medical staples."

Looking around I rummage through a draw and find what he's talking about. Without giving him a chance to prepare for the pain I shoot several staples into his skin, resealing the incision I made.

Wrapping a bandage around him I pull his shirt back down. I have to admire his stubbornness as he swings his legs off the table, as if he's about to get up and start walking. Shaking my head I clamp a hand on his shoulder. "If you run you'll tear those staples out. I can get us out, but not if you're bleeding out everywhere."

Phoenix is half shaking his head. "Look I'm probably going to die of infection anyway, I doubt it's going to matter if my staples tear out." It seems I wasn't the only one thinking this surgery might become a problem later on; that's if we live long enough.

Outside the window I can see lights flashing about as men start searching the grounds. Phoenix follows my gaze. "Maybe you should leave me, Aradonious won't kill me until he's got you back and there is no way you're getting past all those guards with me in tow. Even without an injury I'm much slower than you are."

Rolling my eyes I grab him. "Which is why I'm carrying you," I shoot him a glare "And don't you dare complain about being carried or I will rip those staples out myself."

Phoenix winces as I jostle his wound but manages to say "Well when we get caught I'm blaming your stubbornness for it." His words are meant to ease the tension but his joke falls flat.

Opening the door I run down the hallway. Turning a corner Phoenix hisses, halfway between yelling and swearing as we run straight into two guards. I'm as surprised as they are but I recover much faster and instead of slowing I speed up, ramming into them both.

We all fall in a tangle of limbs and I wince wondering how well Phoenix's wound is holding up. Knowing that we're fine until one of the guards manages to alert the others to our position I stagger to my feet and before either of the guards can shove Phoenix off, who is sprawled over the top of them, I kick one in the head breaking his nose in the process. While the one with the broken nose cries out I grab the other guard and drag him to his feet.

Slamming his head into the wall he slumps back down and turning to the guard who is now scrambling for his communicator I stomp on his outstretched hand before kicking him again in the head. His cries of pain stop, and the hallway is suddenly quiet once more.