Chapter Ten:

  The next several days were spent quietly grinding down the trail. The train had re-entered Numunuu territory and Mateo sent a message to the tribe to alert them of their presence. Red Elk gave the customary greeting and acknowledgment of the group's entrance to the area, but no one appeared to greet them in person. The always-present escort riders were seen from a distance on their Pachycephalosaurus mounts as usual, but there likely wouldn’t be any other interaction with the tribe on the return ride home.

  Jase rode towards the front of the group on Split, enjoying the cool breeze and the relief from the Texas wind. Ciara, still mounted on the steady, unflappable Ankylosaur she’d been assigned, rode up beside Jase.

  “You know,” Ciara said, adjusting her small rider’s hat, “this ‘walking brick’ you chose for me is actually remarkably comfortable. However, I think I’ve earned enough saddle time to graduate to something with a bit more… attitude.”

  Jase grinned. “I’m sure you probably have, but let's just finish out the trip as is. ‘Don’t change horses mid-stream,’ as they say.”

  Ciara made an exaggerated pouty face. “Don’t try to impress me with your fancy quotes, Jase McClintock. I’ll bet my hat you can’t even tell me who said that. And we aren't riding horses; they died out after the genetic boom a thousand years ago, like most of the large mammals did.”

  “I know who said it. It was Quirtsquip.” Jase answered confidently.

  “Nooooo,” Ciara retorted. “You may have heard it from Quartzquip, because unlike you, he’s well-read in subjects other than Dino Dixie and other fantasy books. That's an ancient expression from the 1800s, from a leader of the old United States. We had to debate him as a subject in a politics class once.”

  Jase chuckled. “Dino Dixie is a great and inspirational piece of literature, celebrated throughout the world.” Jase said defensively. “And what was the debate about? Was he a bad guy or something?”

  “No, not necessarily bad, just very complicated. He achieved great things during a very turbulent time. But some of his methods could be considered tyrannical, especially when viewed through the lens of historical study.”

  Jase, sensing her building to one of her elaborate, in-depth historical lessons, which he actually quite enjoyed, steered the subject back. “I was going to save this as a surprise, but since you're so anxious to get off the Anky, this might ease your mind a bit.”

  Ciara’s eyes widened in excitement. “What?”

  Jase smiled. “I messaged the Rookery, to see if there was any raptor stock ready for training.”

  Ciara’s voice rose in excitement. “Yes, and?”

  “They don’t have any Achillos, which I know used to be your preferred mount,” Jase said as Ciara frowned. “But, they do have a brood of Dakotas that will be ready to start training about a week after we get back.”

  Ciara’s smile returned, her sky blue eyes twinkling with joy. “Oooo, I’ve always wanted a Dakota! I didn’t know the Thundersaur had those now?”

  “We started it a couple years ago,” Jase answered. “We started a trade program with the Iron Horn ranch in South Dakota. We now have several breeding packs. They're a little bigger than the Achillo, but just as fast, and definitely stronger. Smart as a whip, too. If you start with them early, they make for an unbeatable mount.”

  Split hissed in derision. Jase stroked the neck feathers of the big raptor. “That is, except against the Utahraptors, of course.”

  Split grunted in agreement. Jase tossed the raptor a dino biscuit, which she deftly snatched from the air and happily devoured, offering a low purr in thanks. Both Jase and Ciara chuckled.

  “If you can just make it through the ride on the Anky, they promised to let you have the first pick of the litter.”

  “Okay, I’ll stick with the ‘walking brick.’ For now.” Ciara met Jase’s eyes, her expression soft. “You know, I am genuinely appreciative of you looking after me by assigning me my ‘Anky-sitter’ here. You were right. I needed something more gentle to break back into riding. My posterior and I thank you for our prehistoric tank.”

  Jase laughed and tipped his hat. At her mention of the subject, his eyes instinctively moved to her posterior. He quickly caught himself, but it was too late. She stared at him with raised eyebrows. He quickly returned his vision forward, cleared his throat. “Ahem. It’s part of my job to keep everyone safe. I’m just glad you’re feeling better.” He looked back at her. Her smile returned.

  “I’m glad you’re here, Ciara,” Jase said evenly. “It will be nice to have you back around the valley.”

  Ciara looked out at the scenery, the tall stone pillars marking the edge of Numanuu territory just barely in sight. Just beyond would be the Rio Grande, and the beginning of the Western Free Zone, and Thundersaur Valley, her home, her real home, and safety from all the troubles she left behind. She smiled and looked back at Jase. “Me too.”

  Back at the med trailer, Lin and Sarah sat up front, steering Buddy down the trail. Inside, two of the new hires sat in exam chairs as Calli examined them. Laura and Tommy sat apprehensively, clearly uncomfortable with the attention from Calli and the two riders, including Jerry, who were trying to look casual in the back of the trailer while keeping a watchful eye.

  Calli examined Tommy first, questioning the history and reason for the permanently mounted rebreather. He was hesitant to answer, but Calli was masterful at the use of "bedside manner." Neither man nor dino could resist the kind charm of Dr. McClintock for very long.

  Calli had correctly guessed that Tommy had been a resident of the amphibious zone of the West Coast. Tommy was surprised by her knowledge of his augmentation. “Yes, I was contracted when I was just thirteen. I was sold to the hydro farms,” Tommy said with his broken, electronic, watery garbled voice.

  “That's ‘Yes Ma’am,’ greenhorn,” Jerry said, politely but firmly.

  “Sorry, yes Ma’am,” Tommy sputtered out.

  “Jerry,” Calli held up her hand. “That's alright, Tommy. Now, if you’ll allow me, I’d like to connect these sensors and have you lay there on the gurney so we can give you a scan. It will just give us a read on your current health and let us know if you're in need of any treatment. You are allowed to refuse, but I can already tell that that wound on your arm has the beginning signs of infection, and, more importantly, your rebreather is definitely malfunctioning.”

  Tommy looked back to Laura for confirmation. She only gave him a shrug in response. “Okay, let's do it, Ma’am.”

  Calli placed multiple scanners on the skinny man. His skin looked mottled and terribly dry. He removed his thick, dark-tinted goggles revealing large fish like eyes. They had large black pupils completely surrounded by a gold and bluish iris that completely covered the rest of his eyes. He squinted his eyes tightly against the light of the trailer. Calli touched the display on her arm bracer, and the lights dimmed considerably, replaced by a red-tinted light.

  “Thank you, Ma’am,” Tommy gurgled.

  As soon as he laid flat, a small hovering robotic device began slowly moving down his body, scanning him. Images immediately began to appear on the display screen in front of Calli.

  “Okay, Tommy, I can see you’ve had the standard amphibious gene splicing performed by techs in the Bay Area. Given the lack of proper sequencing, I’m guessing it was done either very cheaply in a corrections facility or by one of the many so-called ‘Flesh Mechanics’ that are so prevalent in the coastal cities.”

  The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  “That’s correct, Ma’am. When I was sentenced, the corporation that bought my contract had an in-house Flesh Mechanic. I went into the lab with nine people, only five came out,” Tommy said solemnly.

  “And the rebreather, is that a recent addition?” Calli asked.

  “Yes,” Tommy gurgled,"I had stolen a mud skimmer, It's like a small sub, when I escaped the farm. I could breathe outside of water for short periods of time but my gill membranes would soon dry out if I went too far from the ocean. If I stayed anywhere near the water I knew I'd be caught. So I gave every coin I had left to a flesh mechanic to give me this rebreather. It’s difficult to use but it keeps me alive above water. It didn’t matter though, the people I hired to get me to Mexico sold me to the Battle pits instead. But they couldn't use me either, and I ended up sold to Mr. Boss.” Tommy became very sullen and stared down at his shoes.

  Calli rose from her seat and searched through several drawers and removed a kit with multiple small machine parts, a vial filled with a blue liquid, an injector, and a small metallic cylinder with a lid. She placed everything onto a metallic rolling table and pushed it over to the side of Tommy's gurney.

  “Okay, Tommy, you have a number of things we're going to need to address once we’re back at the ranch, but for now we can fix your pressing needs.” Tommy nodded. “You don’t currently have nanites, so if you're okay with it, I’m going to give you an injection of broad-spectrum antibiotics?”

  “Okay, I mean yes Ma’am,” Tommy said looking at Jerry again who gave a thumbs up and a rye smile in approval.

  Calli quickly loaded the injector and held it to the man's neck,” This is going to pinch a little”, Calli said in warning. Tommy nodded and Calli fired the injector.

  “Next, we’re going to do a quick fix to that rebreather,” Calli said, removing some very small machine parts and tools from the kit she had retrieved from the drawer. Tommy leaned back his head as Calli opened the access plate on the device.

  “ Now Tommy these might not be the exact parts for this particular unit, but they should work better than what you have, at least in the short term." Calli said .” We will need to discuss a more permanent option later.”

  She carefully pried out a corroded metallic cylinder and what looked like a web-covered sponge, replacing them with new, clean parts. She then moved to the back of Tommy's neck and opened another panel.

  “Okay Tommy, Your device is going to shut off for a moment but don’t panic, just hold your breath for a moment.”Tommy visibly braced himself,” Also when it kicks back on its likely going to feel a lot different, and I’ll need to adjust the settings once its running properly so just hang in there. It won’t take me long.” Calli removed a barely glowing crystal from the back of the device. A number of red lights flashed on the front of the rebreather, as Tommy’s eyes widened. The man clenched his hands together as if to steal himself. Laura, watching all this intently, leaned forward in her seat. Despite the look of panic in Tommy's eyes, to his credit, he stayed absolutely still. Calli quickly removed a bright glowing blue crystal from a charging box, a stark contrast of the sickly yellow crystal she had just removed. She inserted it and resealed the panel. The rebreather immediately kicked on, red lights turning green. Tommy’s eyes widened as his chest heaved in a deep breath. The outer ports of the device that had previously been dripping water now sprayed a fine mist. Calli used a small tool to adjust a set of dials built into the device quickly making fine adjustments to the settings of the machine. Tommy closed his eyes as he took several deep breaths, his entire body shuddering.

  Calli placed a hand on his shoulder. “Tommy, are you okay? How does it feel?”

  Tommy opened his eyes, and tears rolled down his face. “I haven’t had a deep breath in months. I didn’t think I ever would again.” His voice was much clearer now, with only a hint of gargle. “My voice, my voice works!” Tommy continued to cry. Jerry wordlessly crossed the room and gave him a handkerchief.

  “That should make things easier for you for now,” Calli said. She opened the metallic cylinder. “Lastly, this is a medical-grade moisturizer with some steroidal properties. This will help with all that dermatitis you’re struggling with and provide some relief. But only apply it twice a day, and keep your skin covered from the sun and wind as much as you can. Be sure you use it after you avail yourself of the shower facilities, which you should as soon as possible.” Tommy nodded.

  “Jerry, can you make sure he gets into the shower rotation schedule, please?”

  Jerry grinned. “Yes, Ma’am. Come on, fella, let's get you sorted with some clean clothes, too. We may need to bury those ones. Deep!”

  Tommy stopped and turned to Calli. “Thank you, Ma’am. Thank you!”

  Calli then turned to look at Laura as the two men walked out. “Well, Laura, same deal. You can also refuse. Your friends Ed and Piggy did, except for the removal of their compliance collars once we return to the ranch. They've both obviously had gene splicing as well, as have you. I understand if you don’t trust doctors. I’m guessing no one has ever given you reason to. All I have for proof of my word is my reputation amongst those I’ve treated,” Callie gestured to Kate who still sat reading in the corner, “And what you’ve seen with your own eyes. I can see from your gait that you've had some kind of leg injury that hasn’t healed right. And headaches.” That got a sharp look from Laura, who hadn’t mentioned any of those problems to anyone.

  “They aren't my friends; we’ve just been stuck together too long. And how do you know that?” Laura asked.

  Calli smiled. “Well, they look to you as a leader for some reason, you must have earned their adoration somehow. And I know because this is what I do. You have an exaggerated reaction to sudden light changes, you crack your neck a lot, and you are constantly rubbing your temples.”

  “Would explain your constant bitchy attitude, too,” Kate added, not looking up from her book.

  Laura shot the woman a scowl, as Calli suppressed a laugh. Calli continued, “It’s also extremely common in people who have had splices involving optical enhancement, like your slit, feline-like pupils.” Calli softened her voice. “Listen, I won’t do anything without asking first. Just the same quick scan Tommy had, and then I can figure out what you might need. I’ll explain everything before I do it. What do you say?”

  Laura considered for a long moment, then looked at Kate. “Are you an indentured, too?”

  Kate looked up from her trashy romance novel. It had a picture of a shirtless, heavily muscled man riding a spinosaurus holding a half naked woman with ridiculously long , flowing hair in his arms as the dino roared. “ Nope, I was raised on the ranch, like a propper fucking lady.”

  That got a slight smile from Laura, who rubbed her head again—it did hurt, all the time.

  “Alright,” Laura sighed. “Let’s do it.”