Page 64 of Captured By the Scaled Outlaw
The entire landscape is different now. Massive dunes are leveled, and the sparse directory signage is nowhere to be found. The emptiness is eerie.
We ride back at a steady pace, Lowell careful not to overexert the sandcycle despite our desperation to leave the desert behind. The engine sputters an alarming number of times, our shoulders tensing and preparing for the worst with each stall.
Nevertheless, we somehow make it back.
As we pull up to the entrance of the Gaia 4 hideout, Ginny barrels out of the front door so ferociously, she almost falls down the stairs, her blonde hair strewn about.
Guy trails behind with an accompanying look of shock on his face, grabbing hold of Ginny’s arm to steady her stumble.
“Lowell! Oh, my Goddess, Lowell! You’re alive!” Ginny shouts, out of breath by the time she reaches us.
Lowell cuts the engine, throwing his good leg over the seat to slide off. He turns to me with his hand extended in offer.
Begrudgingly, I take his hand in mine and hop to the ground.
“The Orageist Giant nearly killed us, but we managed,” he brags, clearly eating up the way Ginny worries over him.
Guy rubs Ginny’s back as she catches her breath, his eyes flicking between Lowell and me. “Goodness, we thought you both died. The sandstorm was so powerful it ripped up all of the fencing we laid and drove it right into the side of the compound. I’ve never seen anything like it in my life.”
Lowell leans on his good leg, hiding a pained grimace. “Goodthing the fence won’t matter because the Sandpits will return to their habitat.”
Ginny gasps, her eyebrows lifted and hands waving back and forth. “Woah, woah, woah, wait. You actuallysucceeded?”
Lifting his chin, Lowell frowns. “Why do you sound so surprised?”
Guy bumps Ginny on the shoulder with a shy smile. “The plan was pretty stupid. We had little faith.” His face turns guilty. “Since you’re back safe, we can admit that now, right?”
Lowell sputters as if offended, but I lift my hand to halt whatever idiotic thing he is going to say. “I apologize for cutting this conversation short, but Lowell’s leg is badly hurt. He needs medical attention urgently,” I say, gesturing to the very obvious wound surrounded by blood-stained fabric.
“Oh, what the fuck, Lowell?” Ginny exclaims in horror, sucking air between her teeth as she rushes forward to get a closer look. She turns to Guy, snapping her fingers. “Have medical get a bed ready. Lowell, come with us.”
With a sighing groan, Lowell rolls his eyes as if he is not actively sweating and in tremendous amounts of agony. “It’s not that bad. I’ve had worse.”
Ginny makes an aggravated face, blowing air through pursed lips. “Stop trying to impress May. You look like a damned corpse.”
Lowell’s cheeks flush pink despite his paled complexion.
I bite down a smile.
“At least let me check the severity,” Ginny demands, her voice more authoritative than usual. I’ve rarely seen her speak to Lowell that way, but she’s sick with concern. And she should be, his usually dark scales lightening to a dusty grey.
Lowell fends off Ginny’s prying hands like an irritated child, intent on acting tough.
Amidst the chaos, Guy sheepishly saunters up to me after he’sfinished speaking to the medical bay on his radio. “I can give you a quick look too, if that’s okay,” he says, nodding towards my arm for consent.
I oblige, allowing him to inspect the visible skin. Although I’m filthy and covered in dust, I haven’t been injured. But in my current state, I wouldn’t trust my eyes or my body’s communication to my brain.
As I’m patted down, I notice that Guy’s scaled hands are not nearly as soft as Lowell’s. The deep crimson with touches of black has a rough and prickly texture. He looks more equipped for a desert environment than the other Lizardfolk in Gaia 4.
“I didn’t get hurt, I think,” I say as Guy squeezes and rotates my joints.
“Any pain here?” he asks, twisting my wrist.
I shake my head.
It’s nothing short of a miracle that I didn’t break at least one bone, but I have Lowell to thank for my safety. If he hadn’t cradled me while we fell, I have no doubt every piece of me would have been shattered.
Humming in acknowledgment, Guy moves swiftly to hover his hand over the area of Lowell’s bite mark. He jostles the area, and I wince.
