Titan 242 has Fallen

Part Seven

Anita stared at the ship with a pinched expression. It turned out she was one of the only fire fighters, and the only one people seemed to trust, so she had been given the task to take a group back to the ship. She hadn't wanted to do so, everyone on her team was defaulting to looking at her for orders and she didn't like it. However looking at the ship her mood was simply sour and she wished she was back checking on patients for hours on end.

"It's still burning." It came out clipped and she rubbed at her forehead. She had know it was still burning, the smoke hadn't stopped. She hadn't wanted to come back at all but Galen had kept picking and screeching and it was decided to just do it to shut him the fuck up because others were getting worked up with him. "It will keep burning until the fuel is gone."

"It hasn't exploded in days." The guy on her right said it and she rubbed harder at her forehead, baring her teeth.

"Doesn't mean it's safe. That means fuel has settled into low spots. If anything shifts the wreckage it'll explode again." She stared at the wreckage, her stomach tight. She didn't like being there. It wasn't safe. It truly wasn't. "We need to leave." It came out of her barked but she couldn't help it. The area was eerie and there was a heavy sense of foreboding that made her stomach clench tighter. "Right now." She turned around and started back to the trail but the others stayed in their spots, staring at the ship. It was in ruins, more so than it had been before. There were great holes blown into the hull and chunks of metal had been scattered around carelessly.

"Leave. Now." Anita barked the order out and reached over and grabbed the closest woman to her and shoved her back to the trail. She could feel sweat beading on the back of her neck. A warning of something that trickled down her spine.

"It's just smoking." Someone said it low and she glanced at the wreckage right as a large chunk of rock from that long ridge fell. She inhaled sharply, flinching as it fell onto the ship with a crash. Metal groaned and there was a tearing sound that screeched through the air. Her heart thumped hard in her chest. They needed to leave. Right now.

"That was almost scar-" The person didn't have time to finish saying it because the world went white. Something slammed into her before she could even register what had happened and she was tumbled, her ears filled with nothing but cotton and ringing. There was heat as well, it licked at her face and back, singeing and burning but she couldn't focus on that as she tried to orientate herself.

Her hearing was gone. Anita couldn't register anything. Even her heartbeat and ragged breathing were muted. There was nothing but that damned ringing and the feeling of cotton. She rolled to her stomach and got her feet under her. She looked around and metal was tossed everywhere. Trees were felled and she swallowed hard as she looked at the ship. It was in pieces, blown to shit.

"We need to go." Anita wasn't sure if she was shouting or whispering and she didn't give herself time to ask. She turned back to the group and three of them were most decapitated. A chunk of metal had sheared through their necks and heads and embedded into the ground. Her breathing felt strained as she looked for the last person, the one she had shoved towards the trail. She found her and staggered over to her. She grabbed her and lifted her to her feet. They needed to leave, needed to go. That was her only thought.

She moved in Anita's grip, leaning against her, grabbing her side as she staggered with Anita down the path. She wasn't sure if she could hear her or if she was speaking. She didn't know what to do. "We need to go." It was all that was inside her head. Pain was radiating out of every inch of her body and she felt like her body wanted to shut down. Her brain was certainly feeling the shock. She knew she couldn't succumb to it though. She had to get the other woman back to camp. She was hurt. The others were dead and she was hurt.

She bared her teeth and they walked. The ringing was still strong in her ears and the cotton was still thick. She blinked, the left side of her face aching in a deep way that left her feeling almost cold. She didn't like that. She gripped the woman tighter, holding her closer. She pulled her arm over her shoulder, crying out slightly as her arm brushed her neck. The pain made her vision go white and her knees nearly buckle but she pushed it away. They needed to reach camp.

They staggered, not even walking. Just a stagger of them trying to help each other walk but not being strong enough for either. The pain was brutal and Anita's eyes burned. She wasn't a crier. She wasn't but the pain was brutal enough to make her want to throw up. She knew it had been a bad idea to go back to the ship. She had known it would end in disaster. Three people were dead. Fucking dead. They should have waited, should have let the smoke disappear entirely before they went back. Instead Galen had insisted and others slowly had as well. It had been fucked up.

"Never should have came." She said it but still couldn't hear it. Her ears still rung and still felt like they were packed in cotton. Her body hurt in a way she had never felt before. She could barely keep walking, the only reason she was, was to make sure she got the other woman back to camp. She needed to get her where she could get treatment. Anita couldn't remember what her name was and that seemed awfully rude of her to forget but everything was muddled and she could barely think through the pain.

They staggered through the trees and slowly the ringing faded and the cotton receded to the point where Anita could hear her own gasping breaths and hear her heart pounding hard and fast in her chest. She couldn't believe she had let Galen twist arms to send them back to the ship. She couldn't believe it. It had been stupid. So fucking stupid. People were dead now and it was a burden that needed to be carried.

She nearly hit the ground as she tripped over a rock and the other woman grabbed her, keeping her upright. Anita bared her teeth, the pain nearly enough to make her want to scream. The walk seemed endless, she wasn't sure how far they had staggered or if they were close. She realised she was leaning more on the woman than not and she blinked. "Sorry." The word came out slurred and she blinked in confusion, the pain muddling her thoughts to the point there was nothing that made sense.

"Medic!" The woman screamed it out and Anita felt her legs buckle. She let go of the woman as to not drag her down as well but the woman wouldn't let her go. "We need the medics!" It was high and long call and Anita fell to her right side, her left side feeling like it was on fire. "Get up! You need to get up!" The woman grabbed her underneath the armpits and tried to yank her upright and Anita felt like the world was moving further away. "Help! We need help!" The call was pitched with panic and Anita blinked and tried hard to get back to her feet. She needed to get the woman back to camp. Her legs wobbled and wouldn't hold her weight and her arms felt like they weighed four hundred pounds.

"Holy fucking shit!" The shout came out from someone that seemed far away and Anita bit off a scream as she managed to get to her feet. She wanted to curl up in a ball and die. The pain was unending and brutal but she had a job to do. She grabbed the woman's sleeve and staggered forward several more steps. Someone grabbed her and she couldn't help the cry of pain she gave as they grabbed her left arm. "Shit! Lindy, it's Anita!" The voice was familiar and Anita blinked Jesse into focus and he lifted her up. She gave a low moan of protest that he ignored as he ran. She inhaled sharply, the pain of the movement caused. She couldn't think or breathe with it pressing down on her as hot and brutal as it was.

It seemed endless before she was set down again and the pain receded for a second. She blinked Lindy into focus and attempted to sit up but was shoved back down. "Stay down! Jesus Christ we heard it explode but I never thought-" The doctor cut herself off before she was handed a syringe.

"The other woman was injured. Needs help." The words came out slurred and her left cheek and jaw screamed with pain and Lindy let out a hiss of breath.

"You need help!" The words were vicious and Anita was jabbed with the needle before everything disappeared into blackness.