The Pariah

"That's the thing about pain, it demands to be felt." ---John Green

Soon, the two of them arrived at the edge of some trees which led into a whole bigger portion of trees. Standing at the edge was Sam, with Liam in his arms and a pained expression on his face. Mia moved faster as her heart picked up in pace. If anyone should be shot, it should be her, not Liam. Liam had never been mean to anyone. He was so sweet and gentle, he was too good for the treatment he received. It wasn't fair, but Mia found out that life is rarely kind to the people who need it most.

"What happened?" Mia asked peering into Sam's arms to see Liam was bleeding through the stupid blue shirt the Barbatos family made them wear.

Liam's eyes were shut tight and his face was pale, she knew those were not good signs. Mia had seen enough deep wounds that she knew when someone was untreatable. Luckily, there was still hope for Liam, but not much. She was going to have to work fast if she wanted him to live, and Mia wanted him to live.

"He got shot," Sam said, clearing his throat as if he was trying to keep the worry out of it. "The bastard guards on the edge of the Jewel Sector got him in the shoulder. I don't know where in the shoulder though."

Mia felt Liam's head as her brother said something behind her. She didn't pay attention to the words that were coming out of his mouth, she had a new project. Liam's forehead was hot to the touch which meant he had a fever and that made the time Mia had a lot shorter. She also didn't really have any tools but she would have to make do. Nick and Sam were talking back and forth, but she paid them no mind as she gently got Sam to set Liam down beneath a tall tree. She had work to do.

She had someone to save and now she was in her comfort zone. She was in the woods, everything she should need should be out here. Mia turned to her brother and Liam who were talking in hushed voices and made a noise to get both of their attention. Amber and brown eyes snapped over to her, both of their shoulders were tensed. She mentally rolled her eyes, they were so alike it hurt.

"I need Yarrow, Goldenrod, Willow Bark, two sticks, and water. A lot of water." Mia demanded looking at the two boys. "Nick, you should know what the herbs look like and for the ones that you don't, figure it out. Sam, I need your shirt so I can dress Liam's wound once I find out if there is a bullet in his shoulder. Now, I wish we had a knife to make this easy, but we don't so I'm making this work."

The two boys looked at each other and then back to Mia. Nick cleared his throat as he processed the information on everything she needed. "Anything else?" He asked her.

"Stay out of my way, and he should be fine." Mia said easily as she began to gently peel the shirt off of Liam.

As the boys rushed off, she could swear she heard Sam say, "your sister is something else". That caused a small smile to come onto Mia's face because she knew she was something else. She had knowledge other people could only hope to gain. At least her brain was good for something. It was one thing to have a high I.Q, but it was another thing to use that knowledge. She liked helping people, and hopefully one day she could cure all of those diseases no one could cure. For now though, she was just going to focus on keeping Nick, Liam, and Sam alive.

Liam coughed as his eyes opened and connected with Mia's. "Mia?" Liam coughed as he stared up at her. "What's going on?"

Mia smiled gently at him. "Well, our idiot brothers decided to plan an escape without telling either of us and they got you shot. But, what else is new?" She said with a shrug of her shoulders. Liam tried to move but Mia gently shoved him back against the tree. "Stay still, Li. I need to treat your wound."

Liam shook his head as he coughed again. "Where's Sam? Nick? Are they okay?" He asked with deep concern etched into his face.

Mia sighed, he was a much better person than she was. He cared deeply for people, while she saw them as puzzles to be solved. She loved her brother, don't get Mia wrong, but with other people she found it hard to care. Was there something wrong with her? Probably, but look at her upbringing, it wasn't exactly fantastic even though Nick did what he could.