Chapter 15
A hole about a centimeter in diameter was present in his father. Blood poured out in a thin crimson stream and slowly fell away to Marcus’s scales. Liz clutched the wound and pulled her father into the box, a blood trail followed behind them. When the door was shut, Marcus lowered his wing and trotted away. He did not take flight, as any large movements may prove fatal.
He moved to the south away from the store. Marcus made use of his wings as protection of his cargo. When they were a safe distance away, Marcus ducked behind a building and said, “How bad is it?”
Liz did not respond. She said, “Marcus, give me my sword.”
Marcus sped his voice, “Little one, how bad is the wound.”
“My sword!”
“Elizabeth, why do you need you blade?”
“HE DOESN’T HAVE MUCH TIME! Give me my blade and get a medic. He’s dying!”
Liz jumped off with her father in her arms. She ran into a building and Marcus, filled with rage, flew to the Home Depot and burned it to the ground. He was quick to turn and fly for Angel Island.
Marcus flew faster than he thought possible. He landed in the field, where three more men were standing around waiting for his return. When Marcus arrived, he said, “Do any of you have enough medical experience to heal a bullet wound?”
One man raised his hand. Marcus asked, “Do you have all of the necessary tools on you?”
He nervously nodded. Marcus grabbed him with his tongue, took flight, and closed his jaws around the screaming man. He was gentle with the human, but time was not a resource he could afford to waste.
Minutes later, he landed with a crash next to the building where Liz took her father. Marcus opened his mouth and the man fell out. He was shaken, but the small trail of human blood tuned him rigid. He ran into the building and Marcus could do nothing but sit and wait. Marcus felt impatience like he never felt before since his change.
His hardest lesson – the lesson of mortality – he never fully learned yet himself. Seeing his father’s blood made him realize that fact. Here he was teaching Liz about how she could never be impatient and never care for a mortal, and now he realized that he was not only teaching her; he was teaching himself.
It was an hour later that Liz walked out with large amount of blood on her hands. She said with a trembling voice, “He lost a lot of blood. When I see it in the movies or in a hospital, all I see is red liquid. When it is someone you love, it’s different.”
“Now you understand the importance of your connection, and why it can never go beyond this generation. If you were to love another, you would see this again and again. It is folly of me to teach you this, as this is new to me as well.”
The medic walked outside with a plastic bag. Inside was a small piece of metal covered in blood. He said to Marcus, “He’ll be fine for now, but we need to get him back to camp to be sure. We can’t lift him out; your body movements could reopen the wound. And I don’t think walking out of here is a risk we can afford to take. What other options do we have?”
Marcus pondered on the thought and a single good idea came to him, but he was two seconds too late. Liz asked, “Does Karen have a phone?”
Marcus responded, “They all do. I am the exception because I am much larger than them and I will need to wait for it. I believe the titanicus are reserved to channel nine.”
Liz retrieved a radio from the medic and changed the channel. She said, “Are any other titans in range of this channel? Please respond, over.”
Mish said, “You are coming in quite clearly with me, but most of the others are too spread out to pass on the signal. What do you need help with, Liz?”
“I need Karen to lift a WIA out of the area.”
“She’s a little busy right now, why not just have him stay there and wait for-”
“He’s my father.”
There was a long pause, ad Karen’s voice said, “I’m coming Liz. I can see Marcus’s scales, so I shouldn’t be long.”
Marcus’s heart leapt at the proposal. Liz and the medic walked back into the building. They walked out with Marcus’s father on a stretcher made of carpet and stair railings. Karen landed with Mitch on her back. He took Liz’s side of the stretcher and lifted Marcus’s father between Karen’s talons.
He and the medic took position on Karen’s back and she took flight. Liz and Marcus were alone again. When Karen was out of sight, Marcus said, “Come, little one. He will recover, and we still have a job to do. Let us search for the next home depot to gather supplies.”
He moved to the south away from the store. Marcus made use of his wings as protection of his cargo. When they were a safe distance away, Marcus ducked behind a building and said, “How bad is it?”
Liz did not respond. She said, “Marcus, give me my sword.”
Marcus sped his voice, “Little one, how bad is the wound.”
“My sword!”
“Elizabeth, why do you need you blade?”
“HE DOESN’T HAVE MUCH TIME! Give me my blade and get a medic. He’s dying!”
Liz jumped off with her father in her arms. She ran into a building and Marcus, filled with rage, flew to the Home Depot and burned it to the ground. He was quick to turn and fly for Angel Island.
Marcus flew faster than he thought possible. He landed in the field, where three more men were standing around waiting for his return. When Marcus arrived, he said, “Do any of you have enough medical experience to heal a bullet wound?”
One man raised his hand. Marcus asked, “Do you have all of the necessary tools on you?”
He nervously nodded. Marcus grabbed him with his tongue, took flight, and closed his jaws around the screaming man. He was gentle with the human, but time was not a resource he could afford to waste.
Minutes later, he landed with a crash next to the building where Liz took her father. Marcus opened his mouth and the man fell out. He was shaken, but the small trail of human blood tuned him rigid. He ran into the building and Marcus could do nothing but sit and wait. Marcus felt impatience like he never felt before since his change.
His hardest lesson – the lesson of mortality – he never fully learned yet himself. Seeing his father’s blood made him realize that fact. Here he was teaching Liz about how she could never be impatient and never care for a mortal, and now he realized that he was not only teaching her; he was teaching himself.
It was an hour later that Liz walked out with large amount of blood on her hands. She said with a trembling voice, “He lost a lot of blood. When I see it in the movies or in a hospital, all I see is red liquid. When it is someone you love, it’s different.”
“Now you understand the importance of your connection, and why it can never go beyond this generation. If you were to love another, you would see this again and again. It is folly of me to teach you this, as this is new to me as well.”
The medic walked outside with a plastic bag. Inside was a small piece of metal covered in blood. He said to Marcus, “He’ll be fine for now, but we need to get him back to camp to be sure. We can’t lift him out; your body movements could reopen the wound. And I don’t think walking out of here is a risk we can afford to take. What other options do we have?”
Marcus pondered on the thought and a single good idea came to him, but he was two seconds too late. Liz asked, “Does Karen have a phone?”
Marcus responded, “They all do. I am the exception because I am much larger than them and I will need to wait for it. I believe the titanicus are reserved to channel nine.”
Liz retrieved a radio from the medic and changed the channel. She said, “Are any other titans in range of this channel? Please respond, over.”
Mish said, “You are coming in quite clearly with me, but most of the others are too spread out to pass on the signal. What do you need help with, Liz?”
“I need Karen to lift a WIA out of the area.”
“She’s a little busy right now, why not just have him stay there and wait for-”
“He’s my father.”
There was a long pause, ad Karen’s voice said, “I’m coming Liz. I can see Marcus’s scales, so I shouldn’t be long.”
Marcus’s heart leapt at the proposal. Liz and the medic walked back into the building. They walked out with Marcus’s father on a stretcher made of carpet and stair railings. Karen landed with Mitch on her back. He took Liz’s side of the stretcher and lifted Marcus’s father between Karen’s talons.
He and the medic took position on Karen’s back and she took flight. Liz and Marcus were alone again. When Karen was out of sight, Marcus said, “Come, little one. He will recover, and we still have a job to do. Let us search for the next home depot to gather supplies.”
Chapter 16: Milk Runs
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