Page 61 of The Outcast
I watched as Indiana did compressions on Sparrow’s breastbone with an expression of complete concentration.
Aubri kept talking to Sparrow, pleading for her to pull through. Moving inside the drone, I positioned myself by Sparrow’s head and begged her to come back as well.
The projectile of lake water and vomit that came from Sparrow’s mouth, as her stomach convulsed, made us all shout out with renewed energy. “That’s it. Get it out.”
Indiana pulled Sparrow’s body to the side and pushed a finger inside her mouth to clear out any larger pieces of vomit. “All clear,” he said and tipped her back on her back again.
A heaving sound from Sparrow’s throat was followed by violent coughing.
All three of us raised her to sit up and supported her as more water came out. Sparrow was pale, her lips were blue, and she didn’t open her eyes.
“Let’s get those ropes off her,” I instructed and reached for the knife strapped to my thigh.
When the ropes fell apart, I saw flesh wounds on her wrists. Indiana was holding Sparrow while Aubri was cutting her ankles free.
Cries from outside the drone made me look out to see Keith rolling on the ground and stretching his hand in our direction.
We ignored him and kept working on getting Sparrow to wake up.
“Come, on beautiful. Open your eyes,” I called while Indiana put a mask on her face with oxygen and rubbed her back.
“We need to get her out of these wet clothes, treat her burn wounds, and warm her up.”
Aubri scrunched up her face when she cut off Sparrow’s pajama pants and saw the burn mark on her leg. “Indy, get some tilapia spray from the first aid kit.”
He did, and I stared as they sprayed a silver layer that turned solid in a second. “What is that?”
“Oh, it’s just good old tilapia spray. We used to rely on having the actual fish skin to apply to wounds, but luckily science has provided us with a more practical solution. This product behaves in the same manner. In a minute it will harden and act as a protective layer supplying the wound with moisture and collagen needed for her body to repair the damages.”
I watched Aubri spray over all the areas of Sparrow’s body that had burn marks. It was mostly on her right side. As Aubri applied the spray on Sparrow’s scalp, she cursed low.
As soon as the spray wasn’t sticky anymore, we wrapped Sparrow in blankets.
“Aubri, you need to get out of your wet clothes too, I don’t want you getting sick.” Indiana was looking from her to me. “You too.”
Another pained moan came from Keith, who had crawled closer to the drone. He was severely burned.
I felt such extreme anger toward the man. Even though Sparrow was breathing, she still was too weak to speak or open her eyes. There was no guarantee that she ever would, or that her time without oxygen wouldn’t leave her brain-damaged.
Aubri narrowed her eyes and grabbed the gun that was on a shelf behind her. With resolute movements, she got out of the drone and walked to stand astride Keith pointing the gun at his face. “Why would we take mercy on you?” she snarled. “You’re not worth a bullet, you sick fuck.”
While grabbing a few cloths to push out Sparrow’s vomit from the drone and clean up the rest, Indiana called out. “Aubri, just leave him to suffer the consequences of his actions. The others are on their way. They’ll take care of him.”
Her eyes were wet with tears of fury as she kept pointing the gun at Keith. “Did you touch her? Did you rape my friend?Did you?”
He groaned but didn’t answer.
“I’m not gonna wait for my dad or brothers to deal with you. I know what they would do if they were here.” She took a step back and lowered the gun to aim at Keith’s crotch. “We Northlanders don’t tolerate men who hurt women.”
At first, I thought she was scaring Keith, who whimpered and placed a hand in front of his penis, but Aubri wasn’t playing around. Pulling the trigger, she shot through his hand and his crotch. The wreck of a man howled in agony. I turned my head away with phantom pains in my ball sack.
“I’m guessing that you didn’t like that?” Aubri said in a harsh tone. “Well, let me give you some advice, Keith. In your next life, don’t fucking kidnap and burn women.”
Two shots came in quick succession and then his crying stopped. Keith’s burned body lay quiet with two bullet holes in his brain.
“Do you feel better now?” Indiana asked Aubri without judgment when she returned to the drone.
She ignored his question and touched Sparrow. “Any change?”
