Times of Tribulation
Black Cotton: Part Two

"The mission remains a mystery, so far," Lex informed Asher, moving them closer to the gas merchant, curious that the man should mention where they're from.

"Odd," Asher said, moving on to the important point. "Do you know if they should have good scavenging there?"

"A mystery?" the man raised a brow and looked over Asher.

"Scavenging at Malenn'drraa?" Lex asked Asher with a puzzled expression.

Chukka shifted the pack and went to squat in a shady spot near the wall of the hospital porch, eyes darting around at the activity.

Asher looked up at Lex. "Oh, no. I mean wherever this 'mission' is going. Malenn'drraa sounds like an extablished community. Scavenging there would be theft."

"This 'mission'," the big man spoke ominously, eyes flaring, "is going to save the caravan from Menlixx, and if I find scavengers there, I will personally deal with them.

"Why is that?" Asher asked the caravan merchant. "Unless they sabotaged or attacked the caravan for scavenging, they're only doing what they must to survive."

"That's a stupid question," the man said as Lex made his way over to the ambulance. "The caravan is my responsibility, as are the people who travel with it."

"I mean," Asher said flatly. "If they find plunder, it's theirs to take, unless they had a hand in the destruction. It was not a stupid question, as I did not know the situation. Are you calling me stupid?"

"Taking from those that still live is not scavenging," the big man retorted. "It is stealing."

"I never disputed that," Asher said. "But if they find a destroyed caravan, with dead or paralyzed people close to dead, they have a right. They can't wait for the caraveners to die."

"Then this discussion is over," the man waves off Asher. "I have my people to tend to."

"They should be proud to have such a man protecting them," Asher said, despite glaring at the dismissal.

The big gas merchant patted his mount on the neck, said something to the beast, and the vorr'ykk started down the street. After watching a moment to see the beast was on its way, he turned to the ambulance bay and walked in.

"Quent!" Asche called out from the ambulence.

Quent perked up from where he had been sulking on the steps and looked over at Asche. "Yes?" he responded cheerlessly.

"I could use some help out there, you know, with the wounded," Asche said hesitantly. "Wanna come along?"

Quent stood up slowly, his eyes begging. "I," he stammered, looking at Samm and Bill. "I don't know..."

"I'll take care of him, boys," Asche called to the orderlies.

Samm and Bill looked at each other. "Alright," Samm called back. "but if he gets into trouble, Larkinn will have your..." he trailed off, coughed. "Well, he'll have your, you know."

"Larkinn," Asche said with a daring smile, "can kiss my..." and kicked open the passenger side door.

Quent stood and waved to the orderlies, hurrying over to Asche.

Lex eyed the young mental patient, newly released from the orderlies' custody as he hopped into the ambulance. The gas merchant mumbled to himself. "We must hurry."

Asche pulled the ambulance out of the bay and onto the street, slowing in front of the gathering.

"I don't weight that much, so I shouldn't make the vehicle use much more fuel," Asher convinced himself, watching the ambulance pull out.

"Okay," Asche yelled. "All aboard who's going aboard!"

Lex and Asher leapt in the back of the ambulance as the big gas merchant climbed up on the driver's side running board. "We must make haste, Doctor."

"Point the way," Asche gunned the engine, leaving a trail of dust in their wake.

"AHHH!" Asher exclaimed, thrown backward as the vehicle pulled away.

"Just go straight west," the big man said over the rough, loud engine. "We were on a direct line to the hospital."

Asher tried to sit up, tangled in his burnoose as Asche drove through the streets like a mad woman. She barreled through trash barriers, turning corners on what seemed like two wheels until they cleared the neutral zone. Clinging to the side of the ambulance, the big merchant laughed maniacally. "You drive like a crazy person, Doctor!"

Asche gave him a crazy grin and yelled back. "Don't tell anybody, but I am!"

The big man laughed throatily and held on as Asche maneuvered them out into the open and headed due West on what was once a major thoroughfare.

Lex turned to Quent as they rode. "You a patient in the hospital?"

"Yeah," Quent acknowledged, watching Asher as he approached a chair and sat down, hanging on to the sides. "I live in the psych. Ward."

"I see," Lex arched a white brow.

Trying to keep his mind off the ride, Quent looked at Lex. "What do you do for fun?"

"Fun," Lex repeated the word. "I come to New Rhydynn once a week, to the hospital. Great sport!"

"Yeah, I play with my ball," Quent agreed, looking back out the windshield as the ambulance roared forward, kicking up an extraordinary amount of dust. They could see the six wagon caravan in the distance. Four of the wagons were ablaze and figures could be seen around them.

"Perhaps you could form a team," Lex offered helpfully.

"Yeah, then we could all play with my ball!" Quent leaned forward to Asche. "You wanna' join?"

"There they are!" the gas merchant called, watching as his people dragged bodies away and tried to douse the flaming wagons. "Do you have a fire extinguisher?"

"No signs of scavs as yet," Lex peered through the windshield. Asher adjusted his goggles and looked down the ragged road.

Asche nodded at the gas merchant, spit out some dust, and coaxed a little more speed from the ambulance. "Yeah, in the back."

"WHEE!" Quent exclaimed, bouncing around as they closed quickly on the scene. Lex clamped himself harder to the seat.

"Good!" the merchant called through the window. "Most of those wagons carry gas and oil!" Asher, hearing Asche and the big man, dug around near him for the extinguisher.

"Sand is also a good extinguisher for fuel fires," Lex offered. "And much more available, I would say."

Asche slammed on the brakes and turned the wheel, plastering Quent against the side of the ambulance, causing the gas merchant to hang on for dear life, and bumping Asher from his seat against the emergency equipment in the back. The ambulance skidded to a stop just on the edge of the caravan's destruction.

"Not too close, Asche," Lex warned. "We don't want to walk back."

The big gas merchant leapt down from the running board. Those who spotted him yelled his name. Asche kicked open her door and leapt out, running to the big double doors in the back, unlatching them with practiced haste.

"Ow!" Asher rubbed his head and looked up. "Hey, I found the fire extinguisher!"

Hopping out of the ambulance, Quent looked around officiously, then down at his orderly's uniform. "Uh, Asche? What should I do?"

"Stick with me," Asche grabbed a duffel bag and tossed it at Quent.

Rubbing his nose with one hand and grabbing the metal canister with another, Asher clambered out the back of the ambulance and past Asche and Quent. "Great!" Lex called to Asher as he leapt out too. "Aim it at the base of the fire!"

Asher ran to the first fire he saw and looked down at his extinguisher. "Unclip nozzle," he mumbled urgently. "Shake or something, pull trigger or handle?" He stifled a curse. "Infernal universal instructions!"

"Be my scout!" Asche shouted at Lex. "Find out where the wounded are!"

"Some have already been pulled away from the fire!" Lex pointed off to the side, then started pulling gas cans from the vehicle at the perimeter of the fire.

Asher shook the fire extinguisher and pulled the trigger, spreading foam across the base of the nearest fire.

Sizing up the situation, the big gas merchant ordered four of the seven survivors to help Lex, then checked on Asher's progress, gauging the fire and the size of the extinguisher. "I'm afraid there's not much we can do about those in the burning vehicles," Lex said loudly over the commotion.

"Unfortunately no," the merchant shook his head. "We must get the remaining two wagons out of harms way."

Shouldering a second duffel bag, Asche motioned for Quent to follow her. "C'mon Quent. Let's do some good."

"Okay," Quent nodded, trudging after Asche, towards the wounded.

Asher got the first fire under control and began to scoop and kick sand and debris over it, Lex moved in closer. Motioning to the traders near him, Lex picked up the drawing harness of one of the wagons. "A little help here!"

As a couple traders rushed to help Lex, the big merchant followed his example and moved to the second wagon, shouldering the harness and straining to haul it forward. Both wagons, with the exertion of several men apiece, inch forward, gaining momentum.

Asche knelt down beside the first of the wounded, deftly scanning for major injuries. "What should I do?" Quent asked, stopping behind her and looking over her shoulder.

"Open your bag, Quent," Asche instructed. "You see all the bandages?"

Quent opened the bag and reached in, locating some gauze bandages. "Yup."

"Okay," Asche nodded, removing the man's coat to expose a nasty slice across his ribs. "Wad those up and I want you to press them against this wound."

Quent followed her instructions, moving the wad of gauze down to the man's bleeding chest wound.

"Hold it tightly there till the bleeding stops, I'll be right back. Okay Quent?"

"Okay," Quent acknowledged.

Asche moved on, pulling a blanket out of her own large bag to drape about the next victim, a woman.

"Wh-who are you?" Quent's patient stuttered, looking up.

"Um, my name is, uh, Lex," Quent said. "My name is Lex. What's your name?"

"The name's Fankk," the patient answered with a grimace. "Nice to meet you Lex."

"Nice to meet you Fankk," Quent said. "Could you do me a favor, Fankk?"

"I could try," Fankk smiled shallowly.

"There's other people here who are wounded worse than you and I've gotta help them," Quent explained. "So I need you to just hold this bandage tight until I can come back."

"Sure thing, doc," Fankk said softly as Quent stood up.

"Oh, I'm not a doctor," Quent smiled and walked away.

Asher moved on to another burning canopy and let in again with the fire extinguisher, staying clear as Lex and the traders hauled the wagons out of danger.

As soon as their task was done, Lex and the traders hurried back to help Asher, throwing sand on the remaining fires. With the unpredictability of fire debris, strips of floating pieces of cloth, made super light by the falems, fly in the air. One such strip is carried on the currents to spread across Asher's face.

Falling back out of the wagon, clawing wildly at his face, Asher tears the burning cloth away from his goggles and now smoldering hair. Turning with purpose, he recovers quickly and jumps back into the wagon to stamp out the fire and bring the extinguisher back to bear.

Seeing his desperate display, the gas merchant hurried over to Asher. "Are you alright?"

"Of course I am!" Asher snapped, angry and embarrassed. He gave the fire another solid coat of foam. "That's two!"

"Good," the man nodded, turning to the third wagon. "Let us finish what you have started here."

Asche have a patient bandages and antibiotic ointment for his minor scrapes and bruises and turned away to let him care for himself. Quent approached Asche as she treated a woman suffering not only from impact wounds but subsequent burns. "I'm good at this doctor stuff!" he chuckled lucidly. "What should I do now?"

Asche nearly jumped out of her skin, but recovered quickly. "Did the bleeding stop?" She inserted an IV into the unconscious woman's arm.

"No, but he woke up and held it for me," Quent explained. "I thought you could use more help."

"Okay, okay," Asche nodded urgently. "I need a stretcher for this one. Gotta get her into the van."

"Alright," Quent ran back to the ambulance.

Looking up from his work stomping out embers, Lex caught a few furtive figures sneaking up on the wagons they'd pulled into the clear. "Scavs!" he yelled out.

"Where?" the gas merchant asked before he'd even spun towards Lex, drawing his shotgun from its holster on his back.

"At the first wagon, at the front of the line!" Lex pointed. The armed merchant looked where Lex was pointing, pumped the gun, and fired a loud shot over the scavengers' heads.

Lex snatched up a wagon stake and ran towards the intruders, yelling at the top of his lungs. Swinging wildly, Lex wasn't so much trying to hit them as scare them off.

Seeing the scavengers paid no attention to his warning shot, the merchant pumped his gun again, running for the group and smiling for the courage Lex showed defending the caravan. As he neared the group, the big man leveled the shotgun and fired a shot designed to miss the scavenger furthest from Lex.

Lex swatted one slower moving scavenger, soliciting a yelp.

"I won't hesitate to kill every one of you," the gas merchant said flatly and loudly, staring down the barrel of the shotgun at the scavengers.

"They'll stay away," Lex stopped to get his breath as the scavengers backed down. "For a while."

Asche glared over at the wreckage at the first sound of gunfire, and muttered to Quent as he returned. "Sheesh, more fighting." Consumed by the immediate needs of the moment, she simply motioned for Quent to lay out the stretcher where she wanted it.

"Okay, Quent," Asche instructed. "What we gotta do is ease real gentle onto the stretcher."

"Okay," Quent smiled. "I can do that."

"You take her legs," Asche said, then took the IV bag in her teeth and dug a neck brace from her duffel. Securing the brace around the wounded woman's neck, she waited only until Quent was in place. "On the count of three," she said through her mouthful, taking hold of the woman's shoulders.

"One - two - three," Asche counted the best she could with the plastic bag in her mouth. Together she and Quent eased the woman up and onto the stretcher. Noting with a nod Quent does a good job getting the woman's legs situated.

"Okay," Asche took the bag in hand long enough to speak. "Let's get her into the ambulance."

Quent led them backwards to the ambulance and climbed in first, guiding the stretcher into place. Asche climbed in after the stretcher and secured the IV. "We'll take as many as we can in the back. Secure her so she doesn't jostle around when we move."

"I'm not sure that's possible," Quent chuckled and went about strapping her in.