Not a word had been shared between her, Mini, or Robert7 as they made their way to where the mayor had told her someone with medical expertise could treat him. And as much as she wanted to help and make sure he was safe and recovering, the images of the pit constantly returned. Thankfully, they located the medics, who removed the man from her back and took him into one of the makeshift canvas structures.
The stark and vivid images were the kind that made her lean over and throw up the remains of her last meal, thankfully into the mud outside the medical tents and not her cockpit. She worried that someone might try to hurt Robert7 while she was away, but her fears proved groundless. They fitted a splint to his injured leg and applied better bandaging to the cuts and scrapes.
The nervous and sometimes downright hostile looks the man received from the other people in the tent made her remove him as soon as the medical team completed their treatment. While she couldn't expect them to see Robert7 in a friendly light, she had to remind herself that not all of them would react by marching him to a pit and shooting him.
They left the tents and paused for a moment. Jessica13 had no idea where she could possibly take him and know he would be safe. Mini didn't have any suggestions either, and her prisoner seemed lost and confused. All she knew was that she wouldn’t turn him over to be shot and thrown in a ditch like the others. She couldn't stand even the thought of that.
Eventually, though, she needed to ask the question she had dreaded from the moment when they had left the medical post.
"Where to now?"
Robert7 looked around, unsure of how to answer.
Mini appeared to have a couple of ideas, at least from the sudden spike in his core temperature. "Do you think you could return to work and keep Robert7 employed at your side to help clear debris from the town?"
"With an injured leg? How the hell is he supposed to recover?"
"His recovery time could be hampered far worse should he be killed."
"Now? You think now is the time to be facetious?"
"I think the term is 'accurate.'"
"Maybe we should have a chat to Mayor Jones about it."
"That might be unwise, given that those militia members likely acted under his orders. Remember how he went to lead them?"
"Even so, we could talk to him to confirm that we have all the facts and make sure he was involved. If that is the case, maybe we can convince him that killing all the prisoners is a bad idea. We could point out that they could help us with the work, make up for their actions and, in the end, earn the goodwill of the people they injured. Something like that."
"Do you really believe it is possible?"
"I have to…"
Her voice trailed off. An odd sound issued from the center of town, where most of the living areas had been set up. It sounded very much like what came from a machine that was overworked and under-oiled—the kind of roar she had learned to dread.
Mini initiated a quick scan. "In case you are wondering—"
"I am."
"The sounds are human in origin. A great many humans, their voices raised in what I have learned to interpret as anger and violence."
That brought no encouragement or assurance. Jessica13 shook her head as she strode deeper into the town and kept Robert7 close to her. He was in better shape and was able to maintain his perch on the magnetic clamp on her back as they hurried forward.
"What the…fuck?"
His voice hauled her to an immediate halt. The signs around them indicated that the shouting had at least started in the area they were in. It was a small square between the residential buildings that had been partially damaged in the battle. At this point, it looked mostly abandoned, but the state of destruction was recent. Where small stalls and selling points for vendors once stood, piles of sticks and tarp were all that remained. The structures had been demolished, torn apart, and set on fire, although the flames hadn't lasted for very long.
"A mob," Robert7 muttered.
"What was that?"
"It would appear that a mob was formed," Mini explained. "They destroyed the stalls in this square and attacked the vendors themselves."
"What happened to the people?"
Mini didn't answer, and she thought about it for a few moments before she realized that his silence probably meant the answer was obvious. She fought her growing reluctance and forced herself to look at the partially damaged buildings around them. While part of her expected the worst, she still wasn’t fully prepared for the reality
Four bodies hung from ropes around their necks. Like macabre necklaces, wooden plaques with rough words carved into them were strung around their necks to rest on their chests.
Her hand trembled as she zoomed in a little to see what was written on them as the dead vendors were almost twenty feet off the ground.
One of them read informer. Two others had traitor carved deeply into the wood, and the last looked like they spelled out collaborator.
It wasn't surprising that the stalls had been emptied of all the supplies the vendors had been selling. A couple of people still sifted through the remains of the structures, trying to find something useful. They didn't look even vaguely bothered by the bodies that were suspended over the square.
In fact, Jessica13 walking around in her Minato caught their attention more than the dead did—either her or the man on her back. The looks were a little more hostile than they had been at the medical tents. A couple of them muttered something she couldn't hear, although she could guess that it wasn't good.
None of them was armed, however, and no one appeared to have anything that might be used as a weapon. While they didn't appear to be in the mood to challenge one of the Knights Mechanica
