55 Reunion

The screech of metal on concrete jerks Marcus from his conversation. A couple seconds later, Ika backs into the medical area with a metal chair in hand. He sets down the chair and continues to hold up the white sheet for Nard. The lean man is holding a pot by its metal handles. The muscles in his arms flex as he lugs the heavy pot onto the short table beside the cot.

"Now here we gooo!" Nard exclaims before stepping away from the large pot.

Nard peels a damp rag from the shoulder of his pale tank top and tosses it at Marcus. The rag drops onto Marcus's lap before he can snatch it from the air.

"Uuuh...Thanks. I'll just...," Marcus lifts the damp cloth from his lap and stands before the pot.

The water is lukewarm. The rag is soaked once and squeezed out a bit. Droplets drip off the tattered material onto the dirty cot. Marcus wipes at the child's forehead and neck then turns to wet the cloth again. He lifts the boy's arms and legs to wipe away sweat and cool him down.

'It's going to be okay, little one,' Marcus can hear the two men behind him converse as he continues to wipe the child down.

He lifts the child's shirt and the emaciated condition of his body is more apparent. Marcus can count each rib with his eyes. He scrunches up his face against the tingling sensation that runs up his nose. He carefully glides the wet cloth across the boy's chest and stomach. With a hand behind the boy's head, he rubs the cloth down his back. The thin spine that pokes out his pale skin disquiets Marcus.

Finally, He douses the rag again and squeezes some of the water out before folding it and laying the cloth across the child's forehead. Nard's words finally register to Marcus, but he doesn't turn around to address the other man. After making sure the boy's limbs are placed comfortably, Marcus settles down on the edge of the cot to wait for the medical professionals to arrive.

"Didn't have the sense to use the blade I gave him to kill da hornet that came right at his face. Had to wait on Priya to save him. You're a little p**sy boy, aren't ya?" Nard laughs contemptuously facing Marcus.

There's an edge to Nard's voice which makes Ika look up from the child on the bed to Nard's stiff form beside his chair.

Marcus suppresses a nervous laugh and raises a hand to smooth down the hair on the back of his head and along the nape of his neck, 'This feels like high school all over again.'

"Hmm," Ika eyes Marcus's tense form. "Well, coward or not. He went back to clear Kid's body from the truck. I'm sure he's grateful."

Marcus shifts in his seat to face the two men, "I am...I can't repay you guys for saving my life out there. I don't know what I would have done if those things would have broken into my truck...I don't think I--"

Nard scoffs, "You don't know? You would have died...without anyone's notice."

Marcus lowers his gaze to his knees and nods faintly at the statement. He licks his lips and appears to ponder deeply on the statement.

Ika squints at the bobbing head, 'I'm not so sure about that. Not with those moves from last night. Why is he playing dumb?'

Marcus stops nodding and straightens up in his seat to meet the steely gaze of the other man. Nard's black gaze hasn't raised from Marcus's form since he finished assisting the child. Nard's sneer strengthens and Marcus's scalp tingles at the intensity of it. Marcus gulps and squeezes his sweaty hands into fists in his lap.

"You know what?" Nard steps over to Marcus.

Marcus focuses on Nard's legs as they step closer to him, "What?"

'Mayday!...Mayday!!'

DOES SUBJECT 001 CONSIDER THE HUMAN TO BE A THREAT

'YES.'

IS SUBJECT 001 REQUESTING S.I.D TO ELIMINATE THE HUMAN

'Noooooo. We need them! Can't you...'

Nard slaps his hand down on Marcus's shoulder. Marcus flinches at the sudden action.

"I never believed that saying until yesterday, "Nard smirks at the flinch and squeezes down on the younger man's shoulder. "No good deed goes unpunished."

EXORBITANT PRESSURE DETECTED ALONG THE CORACOCLAVICULAR LIGAMENT

REQUESTING TO ELIMINATE THE IRRITANT

'Denied. I told you we need these people!'

Marcus opens and closes his mouth to say something, but all that comes out is a weak, "Oh." The weight of his guilt bears down on him, his head lowers, and Marcus blinks several times, "I'm sorry...I.."

Ika doesn't need to see the younger man's face to know he's frightened of Nard. Ika shakes his head minutely at the Jamaican.

Nard laughs again, "Don't apologize...I'm sure you have some more things to fu*k up." Nard squeezes Marcus's shoulder once more before walking over to stand beside Ika.

Ika gestures with his head for Nard to follow him out. They exit the makeshift infirmary together walking side by side. The pair cross the short distance from the medical area to the stairwell in silence. Ika opens the heavy door and motions for Nard to enter first.

"Are you gonna tell me I was too harsh on the guy?" Nard steps into the stairwell and leans back on the rough, plastered wall.

The wall is cold against his warm skin. Ika waits for the door to slide closed before speaking.

"You're saying he was freaking out last night and didn't help you all fight the hornets? You didn't see him talk to anyone about Kid?"

"Didn't you hear me before? He's a pu**y. He scrambled along the ground and was going to chuck Kid's body at the thing. Even after Priya helped him, he let em pull her right out from in front of him. No muss, no fuss," Nard spits on the ground beside him.

Ika scowls. He runs a hand across the peach fuzz that's grown on his chin.

"What was he looking for back at the truck...if it wasn't Kid's body. What reason did he have to..." Ika turns away from Nard to walk down the stairs.

Nard can't quite hear what Ika is muttering to himself, "What?"

Nard pushes off the wall with his foot and follows after his introspective leader. When Ika reaches the lower level, he marches through the door right into a wondrous sight for sore eyes.

"Kelly!" Nard exclaims at the back of a dirty blonde head.

**************

'I bet this would really hurt...if I could actually feel it. What an as*.' Marcus rolls his shoulder and watches as the two men leave.

It's not long before a middle-aged man with burgundy dreads rushes in. Marcus remembers seeing him down below when he'd spoken with the mercenaries leader.

"Is the doctor on his way?" Marcus hops off the cot and out of the man's way.

The man leans over the child and touches the kid's head with the back of his hand, "Yeah, yeah. I don't how this kid got over here. We have a whole mess being handled over by the resident tents. These back to back storms are killing us. Being cooped up so close together without fresh air.....gah."

Pheno comes in a moment later, and Marcus scratches the back of his head before waving down at the man.

"Nice to see you again, Doctor."

"Pheno."

"Excuse me?"

"My name is Pheno. Don't bother with the "Doctor"."

Marcus hums in understanding, "Okay."

"What happened with him?" Pheno doesn't walk over to the boy, but over to the large pot.

"Umm...I woke up and found him lying on a cot across from me. He seemed really sick, and I noticed he had a fever. He's...," Marcus frowns down at the unconscious boy. "He's starving."

The man with dreads shakes his head while sitting down beside the child, "Everyone is. We can get at more of our rations when this storm ends."

The doctor exits the medical area without even examining the child. Marcus's eyes follow the doctor's retreating form, but trails back to the tanned man speaking to him.

"We've been trapped down here since the last storm. We didn't even get any time to move more inventory down here...."

"Well...that sucks," Marcus sympathetically chimes in.

The nurse's lips tip into a sad smile, "Ha...yeah, sucks."

"Umm..so...uuh.Should I wait here or...," Marcus inches toward the exit one step at a time while backing away from the medical assistant.

"This isn't your kid, right?"

"No!"

"Then you can go."

Marcus waves goodbye to the medical assistant. He doesn't waste any time jogging away from the emergency space.

HEAD BACK TO THE CAR LOT

****************

The 4 meeting tables are still positioned in a large square, but the materials from the night before have all been cleared away. The table at the far end of the square, farthest from the stairwell, is empty. Dennis is out of sight.

Kelly turns away from the table he is leaning on to give Nard a hug. He wraps an arm around the other man and gives two pats between his shoulder blades. When Nard steps back, Kelly continues to loosely grasp Nard's shoulder and takes a look at the other man.

"Damn, you look fu*ked up, man. What happened to you?" Kelly backs off and lifts himself to sit on the edge of the meeting table.

Ika leans back on his heels and examines the scout. There are deep shadows under Kelly's eyes. His clothing is as tattered as usual, but his boots are heavily coated with mud and plant life. There is sand in his hair. The scouts' goggles are around his neck overlapping a black bandana.

"Did you guys get stuck in the storm? I'm surprised they let you in at all. We could have finally got rid of you," Ika settles down at a table adjacent to Kelly.

Kelly rolls his eyes, "My condolences. You can't be the last blonde standing, yet. I'll make sure of that." Kelly runs a hand through his hair and shakes his head.

Flakes of sand fly everywhere. Ika leans back in his chair with a grimace. Nard chuckles at the pair. A man wearing a black hoodie walks over from a supply closet with a protein bar in hand.

"Uzu!" Nard goes over to slap a hand on the young man's back.

Uzu flinches under the powerful slap between his shoulder blades, "Good to see you too, man." He takes another bite of his protein bar and sits down at a table across from Ika's table.

The three members of the scouting team exit the stairwell behind Nard. Things are looking up. Everyone seems a bit windswept, but overall they are in good health. After a quick reunion, the other scouts sit beside Uzu at his table. Nard goes to sit beside Ika.

Eli and Dennis appear from around a corner. Their forms are momentarily concealed by a concrete column before they converge with the chatting men.

Dennis wheels over to the head table, "Okay...okay, let's get this over with. Kelly, what happened out there? The girl got one over on you, too?"

Kelly clears his throat, "Got one over? Well, that's..."

Uzu rolls his eyes and nudges Manu. Manu leans forward on his elbows, "Exactly what fu*king happened. The c*nt pretended to be fuc*ing sick and was foaming at the goddamn mouth."