Page 77 of Dissent

“You heard me.” She stepped around behind me and started pushing me forward, herding me through the camp.

“What are you talking about? Where are we going?”

“First off, to the medical bay. Doc wants another look at that ankle to make sure it’s healed all right.” A devilish smile swept across her face as she gave me a wink. “Andthen, a secret surprise.”

“A surprise?” My stomach dropped.

I never got surprises…not good ones, anyway. My experience of surprises usually consisted of being whipped in the basement. Except for one time. One time, Chase gave me a white rose. Arealrose. I had no clue where he got it. And at the time, it seemed like magic, because I had never seen a real rose before. All we had in Telvia were plastic and succulents. And succulents didn’t smell. Not like a rose, anyway. Roses were sweet, aromatic. Their petals soft, smooth, and supple. I loved my rose.

And then I buried it.

“What surprise?” I asked. “I don’t really like surprises.”

Edith gave me an incredulous look. “Don’t look so freaked out. It’s all good, I promise. But I can’t tell you what it is because he’ll murder me if I do.”

The nerves eased a bit, but memories of my past still lingered in my mind. “Who’ll murder you?”

“You’ll see. It wouldn’t be a surprise if I told you, now, would it?” She grabbed my hand and tugged. “Now come on. We’ve got stuff to do.”

She guided me through camp while my brain swirled around the different possibilities of what this surprise could be. Coming up to the infirmary, we slipped into the tent and walked between the rows of cots, each one separated by a curtain to create the illusion of privacy. Most of them were pulled back, allowing the space to look large and empty. Edith walked on toward the back where a few curtains were still drawn closed.

“Doc?” she called out.

His voice trailed from behind the curtain. “I’ll be with you in just a moment.”

She motioned for me to take a seat on a cot. “Looks like you’ll have to wait.”

“I guess so.” I plopped myself on the edge.

Bing, bing.

Edith lifted her tab, swiped it, and then smiled like a coy devil. “I’ve got to answer this one. I’ll wait for you outside, ‘kay?”

“Sure.”

She gave me another wink and then returned her attention to her tab as she walked out. I trilled my lips as I waited.

“You look like you’re just about ready to leave here, Mr. Calvernon. I presume tomorrow, but only light duty for you for another few weeks.”

I stiffened. Last I had seen Wes, he was being carried away, unconscious. I knew he was still recovering in the infirmary, and the thought of visiting him had crossed my mind often. But being stuck in confinement made that impossible…until now.

“Miss de la Puente…”

My attention snapped back to the present, catching sight of Doc. “Uh, hi. You wanted to see me?”

“Indeed.” He reached over and grabbed a folded hospital gown on the bed. “I need you to change into this, and then I’ll look at that foot.”

“Do I really have to change—”

He huffed loudly, “Miss de la Puente, there are rules in my ward and you’re going to follow them.”

Bing, bing.

Doc paused, his entire face pinching itself as he looked at his tab. “Blast…alwaysbingingme at all hours. How am I ever supposed to get any work done around here?” He returned his attention to me. “Change,” he ordered, finger pointed at me. “I’ll be right back.”

Before I knew it, I was alone on the cot. Except, I wasn’t alone. Wes was just on the other side, and he had been on my mind almost constantly. He was in my nightmares, dying under my hands, or burning next to his brother in the arena. I knew my conscience had me wrapped up and overwhelmed.

He almost died.

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