11

 

My breath catches and my blood freezes when Fischer steps into the room behind the doctor. His eyes are swollen and ringed with black. I’m not sure, but I think his nose is slightly crooked. His left arm is bandaged from wrist to elbow.

I shouldn’t be surprised to see him here since it’s where he came from, but I haven’t seen him since I left him behind at the prison outside of Greater City. What happened to him there? By the looks of him, it wasn’t anything good.

Looking down, I clasp my hands in my lap in an attempt to hide the fact we know each other. The doctor doesn’t know it. Isabel doesn’t know it. And Tucker sure doesn’t need to know it.

“If you’ll get her fixed up, I’ll write up the paperwork,” the doctor says.

Fischer nods and moves to do his work. I peek at him but he hasn’t made any indication he even knows I’m alive. He is good at keeping composure, but this detachment is different. He seems—cold, somehow.

His hands are as gentle as ever, though. He wipes as much blood away as he can, while holding a towel against the cut on my arm.

“Dr. Hines said you cut it on a rusty fence?” His voice is quiet and concentrated.

I swallow, my throat suddenly swollen. “Yes, that’s right.”

He turns and pulls a brown bottle from a cabinet. This hospital is sparsely stocked compared to the hospital in Middle City 3, but it appears clean. I don’t remember what it looked like when I visited with Professor Higgins. I was never deep enough inside to pay attention.

I do remember what Fischer looked like the last time I saw him, though. He looked mostly healthy and in good condition, and now it’s obvious he took a pounding. Was it the prisoners? Did they catch him during the riot? Or did the guards do this once he was captured?

Regardless, he ended up demoted and in terrible condition.

And it’s all my fault.

I swallow again. Stupid tears clogging up my head. Is he here because of me? If I hadn’t tried to get inside the prison, I would still be in Greater City furthering the cause, and he would still be a medic at the prison, alive and well.

No wonder he won’t look me in the eye. That and the fact I left him behind.

He removes the towel and a gaping wound stares back at me. Isabel gasps and turns around, but the thud surprises us all.

Tucker lies on the ground, moaning, and Dr. Hines moves from his seat where he’d been writing out a report. “Let’s get you out of here,” he says.

Tucker struggles to his feet and Dr. Hines manages to get the giant out of the room.

I can’t help giggling, but Isabel is still wincing and looking away.

“I’m going to have to put in stitches,” Fischer says, “but I don’t have any numbing medication.”

“That’s OK,” I say.

At last, he meets my eyes. “It’s going to hurt.”

“I’ve gathered that.”

He nods and moves to collect whatever supplies he’ll need, and I glance at Isabel. “You can sit in the doctor’s chair.”

She hesitates and glances at Fischer.

He turns around long enough to give her a nod. “Hana’s right. You can sit there.”

Isabel frowns, but she doesn’t say whatever’s bothering her. She sinks into the chair and turns her frown on me.

Fischer moves my arm to lay flat on the counter next to my chair, and he rubs it down with an orange liquid.

“You don’t have any wood to bite down on, do you?” I ask.

His gaze flies to mine, and I think I see a ghost of a smile, but then it’s gone. “Sorry, fresh out. Try to think of something else—anything else.”

I nod and turn away as he sews. The stinging barely burns, but tears spring to my eyes. I blink them away, but they only start running down my cheeks. Annoying, betraying tears. It has to be Fischer’s presence.

“You ran away from Lesser 4?” he asks softly.

I nod.

“Where were you going?”

I hesitate and glance at Isabel. She watches us with interest, and it’s clear she suspects something is up.

“Here, actually. We saw a flying transporter.”

He frowns and continues sewing. The pain is less when I’m thinking about the mission. “Where were you going before you saw the flier?”

“I don’t know. Anywhere but where we were.”

He doesn’t respond as he finishes up. A dull ache throbs the length of my arm, and he quickly wraps it in clean bandages. “You’re probably not going to have a way to keep that sanitary. Get as much water as you can manage.” He turns to Isabel. “Can I trust you to help her get those out in a few weeks?”

Isabel’s eyes widen. “Me?”

“She won’t get any medical treatment back in 4.”

Isabel stares for a few minutes but finally returns to her normal, assured self. “OK. I can do it.”

He points to another area on my neck, one I haven’t seen. “What happened here? It looks like a burn.”

I shrug, but Isabel speaks up. “She was caught in electro-grass. Got electrocuted.”

His mouth falls open an inch, then he shakes his head and turns away. He moves to clean up his mess, but I grab his arm.

“Fischer, what happened to you?”

He pauses, not looking me in the eye. Finally, he turns away. “I got caught.”

His words feel like Tasers stinging every part of my body, electrifying and painful. Whatever they did to him, it’s like he’s broken now. Not the Fischer I know.

Icy fear slides up my back. I need Fischer. I need the him I’ve known. The one who got me involved in this fight in the first place. Who else can I trust in this bizarre world?

Dr. Hines will return any minute, then Tucker will haul us back to the holding station. It’s now or never.

“Tell me what you need. How to get you out of here.”

“There’s nothing we can do, Hana. We’re stuck here, at least for now.”

“No, Fischer!” I move toward him quickly. “There has to be something we can do. A way out of here. What are the flying transporters for?”

He frowns and shakes his head. “I don’t know. It’s the second one they filled up and took away just in the few days I’ve been here. But Hana, you have to stop. Frost Moon isn’t going to keep letting you go.”

I grind my teeth and turn away. “Fine, then I’ll do it without your help.”

He grabs me and spins me back toward him. “Look at me, Hana. Do you think these bruises are a joke? They’re not, and they’ll do the same to you eventually. I’m begging you. Stop now.” He chokes up and looks away, and my anger melts into a puddle at my feet.

My hands move to his face, and I gently finger his bruised skin. “I can get away, if you’ll help me. I can find Guard Nev in the west. I can find the other cities again, and get the Free to help.”

He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. “Maybe we’ve been too idealistic.”

“No, Fischer.” He can’t believe that. The only way to win is to stand up and fight. “You don’t know the things Frost Moon told me. You didn’t hear the things he said to me before sending me away. A war is coming, and being locked up in a Lesser City is no place to be.”

I’ve piqued his interest, but he glances at the door. Time is too short, and there’s no way to lengthen our stay.

“They’ve likely already reported you as having been caught. Frost Moon has got to be keeping close tabs on you. That means he knows you’ve escaped. He’s probably going to be waiting for you back in Lesser 4, and it isn’t going to be pretty.”

I glance at Isabel. She watches us, still with interest, but quiet.

Disregarding her, I step closer to Fischer and stare into his eyes. “Don’t give up, Fischer. We can find help. There are others.”

He looks down at me, so close, and inhales. I want him to kiss me. I want him to hold me, to show me he hasn’t totally surrendered.

But he moves away. “I’ll see what I can do.”

The door opens and Dr. Hines steps in. “Looks like Medic Brown got you all cleaned up.”

I attempt a smile. We must look strange, me standing in the middle of the room and Fischer standing a few feet away.

“Your guard is waiting for you outside. You’d do well not to try this again. It’s best to let the Greaters take care of you. They have your best interests at heart.”

Isabel snorts, and I can’t even manage a smile now, but I don’t hold his words against him. In my experience in Greater City, I realized most of the Greaters don’t have a clue what goes on in our country.

“I’ll take them out,” Fischer says, but Dr. Hines stops him.

“That’s OK, you clean up here.”

Fischer nods and turns, probably trying to keep from drawing undue attention, and Dr. Hines leads us down the short hallways and to the front door.

Tucker scowls at us from the truck, like it’s our fault he fainted at the sight of blood.

We climb into the truck bed without being told, but he doesn’t go any easier on us as he ties us up. A few moments later, he climbs into the truck and drives away. We arrive at the holding station and shuffle inside before Tucker slams the door behind us. Confused, I turn to Isabel, but she looks just as surprised as I am.

The room is completely full. What are they doing with all these people?