Seventh Ring
Part 10: Escort
New Earth, 418 A.C. (After Contact)
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“He's fading again. The poison's spreading fast.”

Seven repositioned Three's arm over his shoulder as he carefully led him out of the woods and back into the wide, grassy yard just outside of William's house. His jaw tightened as Three's weight fell entirely on him as the older alien dipped out of consciousness with a miserable groan.

“Go get Two,” said Seven when Six joined his side. He'd just lifted Three's other arm as if to try and bear some of his weight, but Seven thought it better to send him ahead for help. Six's wide round eyes were filled with worry for his fallen comrade. His pupils dilated as he examined the large, sticky tail barb that was embedded in Three's meaty forearm. Blood and poison oozed around the entry point, prompting Six to move faster than ever back to the house.

“Hang on Three, we're almost there,” grunted Seven as he plodded forward.

As Seven began to cross the yard, he noticed that Three's other side had suddenly become lighter. He felt someone swing Three's other arm up. To his surprise, it was Lucas.

“I tried to track them down, but I lost them in the brush. Couldn't keep up. Didn't want to stay out there alone.” He spoke through large pants and gasps for air. Seven hadn't been comfortable leaving Lucas to hunt in the woods alone, but he was the only one strong enough to get Three back to the house on his own. Seven did not speak to him, only nodded and continued to focus on getting to the porch.

Relief flooded both of their minds when Two appeared at the door beside Ari. He looked concerned as he fitted his hands with surgical gloves and instructed Ari to grab the tray he'd prepared. Six bounded out of the screened door and down the steps with his arms full of clean towels.

“Lay him down there, I have to get that barb out immediately.” Two spoke with urgency and professionalism as he pushed the screened door open with his hip in order to keep his hands sterile. Ari followed right behind him, her eyes filled with worry when she saw Seven and Lucas approach with the unconscious Three between them. Carefully, they placed him down on a long towel Six had laid out on the grass. His small hands worked quickly to sculpt a pillow from another towel for Three before his head could touch the ground.

“How did this happen?” asked Two as he crouched down beside Three. Ari joined him with the tray and watched as he reached for the bottle of disinfectant. She set the tray on the ground beside him, then ran back into the house and grabbed a large, oval-shaped tub full of hot water. Her eyes lifted to look at Lucas as she placed the tub near Three's injured arm and waited for his explanation.

“We were following the Cerasaur through the woods with Six's help and ended up finding it on the ground.” Lucas squatted on Three's other side and swiped his arm across his forehead to clean it of sweat. He exhaled deeply with exhaustion and continued. “It looked like it was dying, but I think it was playing possum to get us close. Three was getting ready to club it--you know, to be safe-- but its tail whipped up in the air and hit him in the arm. If he'd gotten any closer, it could have been his head that has a barb through it. He was lucky.”

Seven's muscular, bare chest rose and fell more slowly now that they had returned and he had a moment to rest. Two had previously instructed him to take it easy, and now he understood why.

“We heard a gunshot, though,” said Ari quietly as she handed a large pad of gauze and an unlabeled bottle to Two. Seven nodded in agreement with her as he looked to Lucas for an explanation.

“As soon as I saw that thing's tail kick up, I shot it in the head. That's when Six started yelling for help, and...” Lucas looked at Six, who swallowed hard. “That's when we saw that there were more.”

“More?” asked Ari, shocked. She looked up at Two as if she were waiting for him to verify that he'd heard the same thing, but he was too focused on working quickly to get Three patched up. Instead, Seven nodded in confirmation. “How are they getting in here?”

“William and I haven't figured that out yet. Cerasaurs are pretty common in this area because of the woods, but only outside of the fence. There's got to be some way they're getting in that not even the turrets or cameras are catching. The perimeter of this farm is a good couple miles, so it's been tough to pinpoint their entry point.” Lucas cringed as he watched Two drop the length of barb on the tray with a loud clang. Blood oozed from the gaping hole it had left in Three's forearm. They were all relieved that he was not awake to feel the pain of the removal.

“How many more did you see?” Ari seemed unfazed by the blood and continued to hand Two more supplies as needed. Seven noticed how in sync they worked. Had she been there after his first fight? Perhaps assisting Two in patching him up as well? He hoped so, as they seemed to be quite the team.

“Two! There were Two! I chased them into the woods, but had to come back since Three got hurt and Lucas didn't want me out there alone.” Six was excited to be able to speak and contribute to the story. “They headed for the fence but I dunno if that's where they got in or not.”

“We have to tell William as soon as he gets back,” whispered Ari as she watched Two begin to quickly stitch Three's arm. “We can't have them running around attacking the animals.”

“Animals?” asked Two inquisitively. “We can't have them attacking us, Miss Ari. Especially you when you're out and about feeding the animals and exploring the woods. I'd recommend you stay near the house from now on, or take an escort with you should you leave.”

“I agree with him, Ari. Until William and I can get this figured out, I want you to always have someone with you outside of the house.” Lucas looked very seriously at her and watched her slowly nod.

Seven didn't think she looked too happy about it, but neither would he if he had to be escorted everywhere. He looked out into the woods and narrowed his eyes at the treeline. He realized then that somewhere along the fence that kept them prisoner, there was a hole that no turret or camera had discovered. There was a way out of this place that no one but the Cerasaurs knew about. He began to hatch a plan in his mind, but his thoughts were interrupted when he heard his name.

“Seven can be my escort, right?” Ari's bright blue eyes found his as his head whipped back from the woods to look at her in shock. His heart sank at the idea of having to follow her around everywhere and not being able to slip off on his own to explore the forest—especially the fence. He looked from her to Lucas, then to Six, and finally at Two as he snipped the last bit of thread from Three's arm. Everyone was waiting for him to respond.

“I...well...” Seven swallowed hard and was unable to meet their eyes as he thought. “I was supposed to help build a workshop or something...right?”

“That's true, but she doesn't typically go out into the woods too often. And she just needs to feed the animals in the morning and look after them throughout the day,” replied Lucas. He obviously wasn't catching on to how much Seven did not want to do this. As far as Lucas was concerned, it shouldn't be a problem or a rule breaker that William would be upset about discovering upon his return.

“Well...why doesn't she take Two with her, or Six?” Seven tried not to sound rude or make her feel bad, but his plan to escape would be ruined if he could not find the hole in the fence before Lucas. He was so desperate to get out of having to be her escort that he hadn't even realized what he'd just suggested.

“You think I would be capable of fending off a Cerasaur attack?” Two's brow lifted indignantly as he scoffed. “Surely, you must be joking.”

“I'll protect you Miss Ari! I'll be your escort!” Six puffed up while pointing to himself and grinned at her with excitement when Two turned down the idea. His scaly dreadlocks rose around his head like a lion's mane while his long tail whipped wildly back and forth.

“Thanks Six, you're very sweet and did a great job protecting me earlier today.” Ari smiled at his offer and put her hand on his thin little forearm. She obviously appreciated his sentiment and enjoyed his company more than most.

Seven sighed heavily in response to both Two's dismissal of his suggestion and Six's agreement to be her escort. He hadn't thought that idea completely through. His expression softened and eyes shifted from Six to Ari. She seemed as though she'd already accepted Seven's rejection of her, so he had to act fast.

“No, no...I...” he rubbed the back of his neck and looked longingly at the sky. Was he really going to throw away his chance at escape to escort some human girl around her Drudge-owning mate's farm? That thought alone almost made him change his mind and let Six follow her around, but then he remembered how he'd felt seeing her in the Cerasaur's sights. How small and scared she looked. He remembered how much he'd wanted to protect her in that moment, as well as what he'd told her when Lucas entrusted her safety to him. “I can be your escort if...that's what you want.”

“Are you sure?” asked Ari as her eyes scanned his face to try and get a read on what he was thinking and feeling.

“Yeah,” he replied begrudgingly and looked up at Six. The small Iboa male visibly pouted at Seven's counteroffer, but knew it would be the best choice for Ari. He nodded his acceptance to her when she looked at him for his permission to take Seven with her instead of him.

“Okay, great!” she said happily. “And Six, you can still go with me to feed the chickens and collect eggs. You know I always need help with that.”

“Yum, I love eggs!” chirped Six excitedly. It only took her mention of that task to make him forget all about being her escort.

“Well, now that that's settled, we should probably get Three back to the barn to rest.” Lucas looked at Two as he removed his gloves and shook his head.

“Not yet, we need to soak his arm first. The heat of the water will help disband the venom and keep it from spreading further. He needs to stay here a bit longer until he wakes up.” Two carefully lifted his patient's arm and lowered it slowly into the steamy tub until it was completely submerged. He made sure the clear, liquid-bandage he'd applied to the stitches was resisting the water so the wound itself would not be soaked during this process. They seemed to be holding up upon further inspection.

“Ugh,” groaned Three suddenly. His eyes flitted open as he tried to look around. The group all leaned in to see if he would fully awaken.

“Stay still, old friend,” said Two softly. “You're safe.”

Seven recognized his gentle voice from what felt like a dream. He realized that he had also heard Two's voice while on the brink of consciousness. It had worked to help calm him when he felt scared and confused. He hoped it did the same for Three and that he did not feel any pain. The older alien slipped back into unconsciousness as Two kept his arm in the water a while longer.

“Miss Ari, can you get another tub of water going for him? Once this one cools, we can move him back to the barn and set him up there. I'd like to continue this hot water therapy for a while longer.” Two gathered his supplies and made sure everything he used was on the tray that Ari was preparing to collect and take with her back into the house.

“I'll get him some clean blankets, too,” she said. She watched as Lucas, Seven, and Six rose to stand around Three and Two. They all seemed slightly refreshed after such an eventful morning. “Seven...would you want to come with me?”

Seven hesitated, then nodded.

It starts.

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Artwork, Characters, and Story © Quaylak