Diamond and Jet ran through the desert, past the diner, to the side of the road where the figure had fallen. They slowed to a jog before reaching it, stopping to inspect it.
Diamond could see it was a boy dressed in a plain shirt and jeans, face down in the dusty ground. There was a wound in his back, but it didn't look deadly. Gently she bent down and turned him over, her mouth dropping open in shock.
Bright red blood bloomed from a wound in the boy's chest, staining his white t-shirt. His dusty face, or what was visible of it through his long black hair, was contorted in agony, his eyes closed. His arm had its own wound, and that too was leaking blood onto the dry ground.
Jet stepped around her, placing his jacket over the boy's chest and gathering him into his arms.
"Go," he said quickly, "We'll take him to your room. Just get the bed ready or tell Dr. D or...something." His voice shook slightly.
She nodded silently and got up, ignoring the dusty blood coating the knees of her jeans, turning around to run to the diner. Missile was sitting at a table, her radio and a can of Power Pup in front of her. She looked up as Diamond entered, smiling wide until she saw the blood.
"What-"
"No time," Diamond said frantically, "Where's Dr D?"
"Broadcasting." Missile answered quickly, "He only lets himself be bothered if someone's dying."
"Well that might happen soon. Come on, we need to get all the sheets off this bed." Missile followed Diamond to the room they shared, hurriedly stripping the mattress bare. The last thing they wanted to do was ruin sheets. Blankets of any kind were pretty rare, unless you went into Battery City and stole them from someone's closet. In other words, if you could avoid staining them, you did.
"Where's Show Pony?" Diamond asked as Jet came in, laying the boy on the mattress.
"God only knows," Missile said, "He's always running somewhere or other on those roller skates."
Diamond pulled off her jacket, hurriedly throwing it into a corner of the room, glad she'd worn a black t shirt underneath it instead of her favorite purple one.
"Ugh!" Diamond yelled as she pulled the boy's shirt up, exposing the bright red and very ugly wound just under his ribcage. Blood bubbled out of it and she frantically covered it with her hands, soaking her arms and torso in the process.
There was a bang as the main door was flung open. Jet hurried out to alert the others of what was going on. Diamond continued to work on covering the wound, eventually ending up using the boy's t shirt and pressing down hard. Missile tended to the wound on his arm, covering it with a pillowcase that they figured they could sacrifice.
Ghoul and Kobra hurried in with Jet. Diamond met Ghoul's eyes, relieved more people had shown up. Kobra and Jet left to find a first aid kit.
"Who the hell is that?" Ghoul managed to say through his shock.
"I have no clue," Diamond raised a hand to brush hair away from her forehead with her arm, and that ended up smearing blood on her face. Ghoul stepped forward to the side of the bed.
"What can I do to help?"
Kobra and Jet came back, Party trailing behind, all bearing different bandages, bandage tape, or anti-bacterial products. Diamond stepped back and let them get to work.
"Nothing," she sighed as Missile joined her at Ghoul's other side. The three stepped back to the corner of the room.
"You're a mess," Ghoul commented. Both girls examined themselves. Their hands, arms, and faces were streaked and spotted with blood.
