I crawl over to Quin, who’s barely breathing.
I remove one of the canisters of Quarum, role up his sleeve, and inject it. Within seconds his breathing is returning to normal, the blood has stopped pooling under him. I go over to Terrance, remove another canister, and am about to inject him as well when Quin screams no behind me.
“He’s injured, badly. He’s going to bleed to death,” I protest.
“You’ll kill him instantly if you give him that stuff. His body can’t handle the toxicity.”
I look at Quin, puzzled that he knows what’s in the syringe.
“How come I was able to give it to you?”
“I…don’t know, maybe because I’m younger and healthier.”
Quin’s answer doesn’t sound right, but I don’t have time to waste. I put the syringe away while Quin looks around the house for something to stem the bleeding. He comes back with some towels that he rips into strips to wrap around Terrance’s leg. I go over to the man with the Levin gun, remove my knife from his throat, clean the blood off by wiping it on his shirt, and re-sheath it in my boot.
“Get Terrance into your truck. I’m going to grab as many gas cans as I can and clean up our mess,” I tell Quin as I’m heading out the back door.
He doesn’t argue.
There’s no room in the cab of the truck for Terrance, so Quin stretches him out in the bed next to my bike. I load the remainder of the truck up with as many gas cans as I can fit, some in the bed with Terrance and the rest in the cab. Quin better secures my bike with some cord he finds in the house. I take the remainder of the gas cans, pouring their contents all over the truck in the garage, the bodies, and the furniture in the house. I leave two full cans in the middle of the living room and one in the other building, securing a detonator onto each and start the timers.
Quin has the truck idling when I run out of the house.
Terrance is covered in blankets; Quin has his blade holstered on his back. I jump into the passenger seat as Quin guns the engine. We’re only a few yards away when the explosions go off. I watch the fires burn in the side mirror.
Chapter 6
Terrance continues to deteriorate as we make our way back to the Refuge. As soon as we pull up to the house, I jump out of the cab and run to get Rena. She and I help Quin gingerly carry Terrance down the hall and into his bedroom. Rena goes into the kitchen and comes back with some rubbing alcohol and a sewing kit, while Quin goes out to the bar for Terrance’s Tequila bottle in case he begins to wake up. I go to the bathroom and fill a bowl with water and soap, making sure to grab the lone washcloth that is hanging from the towel rack behind the toilet. Quin rips open Terrance’s pants while I wash away as much blood as possible, exposing the wound to the air so Rena can see what needs to be worked on.
The gash is about half an inch deep, and runs down the length of his thigh. Terrance’s skin color has turned gray, and his breathing is labored. Rena sterilizes the needle, thread, and wound with rubbing alcohol, while Quin stands at the head of the bed, holding down Terrance’s shoulders to prevent him from moving when Rena begins to sew him up. She is almost done when Terrance begins to rouse. He bolts upright, throwing Quin off his feet. Quin leans back down on him while I lie across his chest to help keep him still.
He resists us at first, but gives up the fight and falls unconscious. Rena finishes then leaves to clean herself up. Quin opens the Tequila bottle, takes a swig, and offers me a hit, which I take just as Rena comes back in the room with a glass of water and several pain relievers. We manage to wake Terrance long enough for him to take the pills and water. We know we can’t leave him alone, so we decide to each take a shift. Rena says she will go first while Quin and I clean ourselves up. Before leaving, I reach into the satchel I’d dropped on the floor of the bedroom and remove the package. I hand it to Rena, pick the satchel up, and exit the room.
Quin moves his truck into the barn as I climb up the ladder to the loft to get some clean clothes. I see the tablet lying on the bed and begin to wonder if I have time to play the next recording. I shout down to Quin, asking for the time. He replies that it’s nearly seven. I tell him to go ahead and take his shower first as I lie on the mattress and press my palm to the screen. I hear Quin turn on the water below and utter an expletive.
The headphones eject from the side as usual, but I decide not to put them on. The noise from the water should be enough to prevent Quin from hearing Devlan’s voice and the volume is low enough not to travel far. The headphones retract and the screen begins to glow blue, followed by a picture of the Dormitories.
“Efforts to understand and replicate the Levin gun were now made the highest priority by the High Rulers. All resources that had once been solely dedicated to the Barracks, the training facility for the nation’s army, was now dismantled, and diverted to the Dormitories. I myself was recruited in the effort since I’d witnessed the
