Taste of Fire: Humane
#7 of Taste of Fire
Teya watched with the human female as Qagan fell to the ground, face planting into the grass. Blood pouring from him as he lies motionless.
The human female stood and lifted Teya. "I'll take you somewhere safe. We have to get out of here before he gets up." Teya struggled against the human.
"No!" She objected. "I have to help him! He needs my help!" Teya was crying as she continued to struggle. "Please let me go!" Teya pleaded. The human was stunned; she figured that this Charmander would want to leave. Yet she begged her to stay.
The human let down the Charmander, and she ran to Qagans side and placed her claws on his back and started to shake him. "Qagan!" Teya yelled. "Qagan! Get up! Please get up!" She was getting hysterical. The human walked over to the fallen Lucario and kneeled next to Teya.
"Why do you want to help him?" The Human asked quietly.
"Because he saved me!" Teya screamed shooting the Human an angry look. "I owe him far more than I could ever give at this point!" The human suddenly felt guilty as Teya leaned over Qagans beaten body and cried tears of sorrow. The human looked over Qagan quickly; he could be saved if he got medical attention immediately.
She put a hand on Teya's shoulder and pulled her off Qagan. "I can help him." She said. "But I need to move him." Teya locked eyes with the human and gave a small nod. The human grabbed Qagan and lifted him carefully with her arms and moved him towards the campfire. She laid him on his back and dragged her pack closer to her. Teya watched from several feet away as the human removed her ski mask. The human's hair was tied back in a small bun and was a light brown color. She dug through her pack and removed a small box; she opened it and removed a small pair of glasses before promptly setting them on her nose.
Her features were well defined and she wore the promise of a smile on her lips. Her clothes were bulky and heavy so her body was hidden from definition but she stood at roughly 5'10" and boasted a thin body, she looked no older than 25 years old. She continued to dig through the pack and pulled out a field surgeon kit and a small first aid. She slipped on her surgical gloves and a small medical mask covered her nose and mouth. She slipped some pain killer in Qagans mouth and rubbed his throat to get him to swallow the small pill. The human sighed as she gestured to Teya to come closer. "I need you to hold your life flame close to his wounds to help me see." Not so much a question as an order but Teya complied. "You don't need to watch, I suggest you turn your head." The human suggested as she lifted her first tools from the kit.
"I can handle it." Teya stated. The human shrugged and turned to start her work.
Several hours passed as the human diligently worked on her patient, the sun had started to rise and the camp fire was slowly smoldering itself out. Teya watched and occasionally cringed when Qagan gave a groan of pain the human's forehead was covered in cold sweat as she tried to disinfect the wound around the stitched areas before she began to bandage them up. Qagan writhed in pain as the alcohol contacted his exposed nerves. Qagan had remained unconscious through this entire operation but was responding to pain which (under these circumstances) was a good thing.
He had lost a lot of blood, so much in fact that she couldn't believe he was still alive. "Tough bastard." She thought to herself as she began to bandage up the wounds. Qagan's breathing was stable and quiet. Everything was going very well with this entire operation and it was making her uneasy. Every piece of evidence suggested that Qagan should be dead, and yet he was alive. She finished bandaging Qagan and stood up; she stretched her arms and legs. She slipped off her blood covered gloves and removed the medical mask; she took a deep breath of fresh air. "I'm not sure how long he'll be out." She looked to Teya who was lying next to Qagan and watching him rest with weary eyes.
"I don't think I got your name little one." The human said with an innocent smile. Teya met eyes with the human and gave a weak smile.
"I am Teya, Daughter of the Char." Teya said quietly.
The human gave a smile and brushed one of her bangs away from her eye. "I'm Lindsey Hahrin." She replied simply. Teya smiled before dozing off next to Qagan. Lindsey shrugged and looked around the camp at her fallen former comrades. She still hadn't come to terms with what had happened that night.
All of it happened so fast that Lindsey only had time to follow what her heart led her to. She saved the Charmander and the Lucario, but at the cost of their lives. Lindsey thought of what would have happened had she chosen differently. Teya would have been tortured fruitlessly and Qagan would have killed them all anyway. They all could have been killed tonight, but her choices had saved three... Lindsey shook her head and started to cry as she bowed her head. She had nowhere to go... she had committed treason by failing to save her team and assisting the enemy combatant. She sat at the edge of the camp with her back against a tree and rested her head on her knees. "I'm screwed." She said to herself.
Lindsey looked to the sky. She noticed that some puffy white clouds were rolling in from the west. The sun was still rising to the east and the two Pokémon were still sleeping. Lindsey checked her watch, 10:52. She let out a sigh and stood up. They were supposed to check in with Control every 2 hours. It had been nearly 8 hours since their last check in. She wondered how they would respond to this, a recovery crew maybe. What would they do when they didn't find her body? Lindsey thought for a second and looked at her Assembly Identification Tags. This held information crucial to her body's identification if her body was unrecognizable, or lost. She removed them and let them fall to the ground. Hopefully they wouldn't look for her after they found them.
She would be listed MIA until her body was recovered but they didn't waste resources looking for a useless asset. Her family and friends would be devastated at the news of her team killed, but if she dared return she would be executed for sure. The Assembly didn't look kindly on failure, especially the treasonous sort. Lindsey knew her former life was over. She would have to start over somewhere else in a different country. Her fate had thrown her in a cruel direction with a no-win situation.
Only one thing was certain now, she had to move from this location before a Recovery showed up. She stood up and threw a pack over her shoulder and started going to the west. She stopped herself and looked to the Pokémon sleeping at the edge of the camp. "You helped them and now you're leaving them to be killed?" Her conscience whined. She shook her head and walked back to them. Qagan wasn't going to be able to walk himself out of here. Lindsey sighed and lifted Qagan in her arms; he at least weighed a reasonable amount for his unusually tall figure.
She nudged Teya with her foot. She woke up and looked to the human with sleep in her eyes. "C'mon!" Lindsey ordered. "We've got to get moving before more show up." Teya looked confused but stifled her questions as she got up she grabbed the pack Qagan had brought and started to follow the human. Teya realized they were headed west shortly after starting.
"Qagan and I were headed north." Teya explained hoping they would get to continue their objective without delay. Lindsey stopped and looked to the north.
"Why?" She asked Teya. Teya figured she deserved an answer.
"Qagan and I were headed to the crater to help my people, and my father. Things aren't going so well there." Lindsey looked at the Pokémon she was holding. The one she was told was a mindless killing machine was not only protecting a young Charmander, but also assisting her.
She had studied Qagan before accepting this mission and had been told he held no friends, mates or family members. He showed compassion toward this Charmander, but why? Qagan was supposed to be something else entirely. He wasn't supposed to care... or love. Maybe she hadn't made the wrong decision after all.
"Alright then, I'll go along with you until he's ready to get going on his own. I don't think he'll appreciate me being around you two." She said as she started heading to the north.
Teya struggled slightly with the pack before following after Lindsey. "I'm not sure about that. He can be nice if he tries. I think he may like you for saving him."
Lindsey laughed at this statement. "She was right." Lindsey thought to herself. "But I don't think it will be for saving him..." She smiled at the thought while she looked to the Lucario in her arms. Perhaps there was more to him than he let on. Lindsey walked to the north with Teya in line behind her.
Lindsey shifted Qagan slightly to get a look at her watch, it read 4:07. Lindsey stopped and set Qagan down gently and looked over his wounds. Teya stopped next to Lindsey and watched him quietly. "How is he?" Teya asked with concern.
"Healing nicely. He should be up soon at this rate..." Lindsey replied. "Have you ever seen him get hurt before?" She continued, amazed at his resilience.
Teya thought for a moment. "No. He hasn't been hurt around me before. Why do you ask?" She answered. Lindsey stood up and looked down at Teya.
"He should be dead..." Lindsey said quietly. Teya gave a curious look to Qagan.
"So why isn't he?" Teya asked unbelieving.
Lindsey shook her head as she set down her large pack and removed a small tube.
"I'm not sure there's a medical explanation for his rapid recovering." She walked back several feet and set down the small tube and pulled a small string from it. She took a step back as the tube sprang into a tent large enough for four average sized humans to sleep within, probably slightly cramped but at least it was shelter. She unzipped the entrance and went to Qagan. She lifted him tenderly and walked back to the tent and set him inside. She looked back to Teya from the inside and gestured to her. Teya walked over and set the pack next to Qagan.
She stepped inside and sat down with her tail lying on the grass outside to avoid burning the tent. Lindsey smiled as she grabbed the canteen from her pack and drank some of the water. She passed it to Teya and she drank thirstily. When Teya finished she set it down next to her.
"Why did you do it?" Teya asked. Lindsey gave Teya a questioning look. "Why did you defend me?" Teya reiterated.
Lindsey shrugged. "I've always had a soft spot for Pokémon." Lindsey explained. "I used to have a Pokémon of my own before I joined the Assembly. He was the only one I ever had. I loved him very much, I still miss him dearly." Lindsey smiled weakly in his memory. Teya shifted uncomfortably at having brought up a touchy subject. Lindsey snapped out of her trance and jumped back to the question. "I just can't stand back and watch people get hurt anymore... He was wrong to hurt you and I drew the line. He knows better than to torture innocents. It would've been bad if Qagan hadn't intervened." She looked to Qagan, he was resting quietly. "I'm still not sure if they deserved the fates they received. Some people just make one stupid mistake and end up dead. Qagan was on the right side..."
She looked back to Teya and smiled again. "I'm just glad I made the right choices in the end." Teya smiled and nodded in agreement.
"Thank you." Teya said. Lindsey loved the little Charmander's smile, it was cute.
Lindsey giggled. "I wouldn't change a thing." Lindsey laid down and let out a long yawn. "I'm gonna get some sleep." She stated.
"Alright, you've been awake for a long time. I'll wake you if Qagan wakes." Teya offered. Lindsey smiled and shut her eyes. She wondered what tomorrow would bring as she drifted into a deep sleep.