Shadows of Mars by I O Adler

Author:I O Adler [Adler, I O]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: X17
Publisher: Lucas Ross Publishing
Published: 2021-06-01T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty-Three

Jenna screamed. Blood pulsed from the stump of her leg.

Barrett moved to help pull Carmen and Jenna away from the closed hatch now smeared with red. “We need to make a tourniquet.”

Carmen had to fight Jenna to get her to let go. The belt on Carmen’s jeans was thin but made from real leather. She pulled it off and began to fasten it above Jenna’s knee. It immediately became slippery from the blood.

“Tight,” Barrett said. “Tight as you can.”

She cinched it up. “Why did you close the hatch? We had her. We were going to save her.”

“That thing down there was going to kill her and us. I saved us.”

Tears streamed from Jenna’s eyes. She was weakly flailing at Carmen. Mewling. “Wanna go home...wanna go home...” Her face had gone pale. But the blood had mostly stopped.

Barrett kneeled and managed to get one of Jenna’s arms around his shoulder. “I can’t get her on my own. Help me pick her up. We take her to the shuttle and back to the harvester.”

Carmen wiped her eyes with her wrist. “She needs a hospital.”

“And I don’t see one here. Maybe something on the ship will help her.”

“Wait. Just wait.” She fought to think straight as she ran down the corridor towards the shuttle. Tried not to think about Barrett hitting the button. There was no time to even make the harvester, and once there, she knew her sister wouldn’t make it. The spaceship didn’t even have a first aid kit, let alone a trauma center and a team of surgeons.

CHIRP!

The Cordice robot was still lurking in the chute. A thump shook the hatch.

Carmen stopped to look over her shoulder. The chute remained closed. Did the bot not know how to hit the button? There wasn’t time to wait to see if that might happen. She continued towards the shuttle. She Who Waits was standing in the doorway.

“Please come,” Carmen called. “We need your help. My sister...she’s hurt.”

But the alien just stood there.

She ran up to her. “Can you hear me?”

The cloudy pattern beneath She Who Waits’ skin was still flooded with diamonds. Was this her busy signal?

“Wake up!” Carmen laid her hands upon the smooth shell and began to smack it with her open palm.

The flashing pattern stopped. The floating red light pulsed. “There has been a disturbance.”

“It’s my sister. A crazy robot attacked us. A door shut on Jen’s leg and she needs a doctor!”

She Who Waits spoke in a maddeningly calm tone. “I have communicated with the Cordice. They are not of a consensus whether to even speak with you.”

“Do they know we’re here? We’re on their ship! It’s their robot!” When She Who Waits hesitated to reply, Carmen slammed her with both palms and caused the Dragoman to hover back a few inches. “If we don’t do something, Jenna’s going to die. Is there anything on board your shuttle that can help?”

“I have no medical facilities.”

“Then what about back on the harvester?”

“With skill, the designate pilot could formulate an operating room.

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