Phia's Fragile and Fantastic Fingers || ONC 2023

Medical Evac

John's called in a medical evac. Or that's what it looks like because an hour or twenty minutes later a ship appears with the caduceus in bright red on the side.

Crystal, the no nonsense transport doctor steps out, and to my surprise so does Harper. She doesn't like flying and doesn't go on missions very often. When she does it's under duress and usually when someone's been tortured and they need psych backup. No one can talk down a panicking Enhanced quite like Harper.

I peel myself off Mercy and clumsily move backward so Crystal and Harper can get to Penelope.

Mercy scoops me up to standing, faces me, and to my surprise strikes an almost defensive pose. Her legs are spread for stability and her stance says, just try to get past me. In contrast she's sniffling and looking determinedly at my right shoulder. She won't meet my eyes. She's holding vigil for me as I stare at the proceedings. Crystal and Harper don't look for a pulse or attach anything to her to look for one. Their movements are somber as they heat the ice around Penelope to free her. Then they pull out a black bag.

That's not right.

23 b230 n2i3 203. Shut up

Stop

I can't breathe and Mercy's defensive stance makes total sense because I'm fighting. Because screw Crystal and Harper. What do they think they're doing putting Penelope into a body bag!? She's not dead, not dead. I found her. We found her. We can save her, save the team. Save us.

Mercy's arms wrap around me, then John appears out of nowhere. Harper talks to me over Mercy's shoulder but I growl at her and she backs off for the time being. It's not easy to fight on ice but I'm not going to stop. I kick and bite and land on my butt in the crunching snow and I kick until I think I also might be screaming. I'm winning until John has my arms wrapped around me, and Mercy's nearly sitting on my legs.

"Non no noo no nono no."

They gently slip the bag around Penelope's body and zip it up. She can't breathe in there. Can't breathe.

Doesn't breathe anymore. There's a wall in my mind. Don't look at the wall, don't peak over or around it.

I don't need to.

I think Penelope might be dead.

I cry so hard I spit up vomit and when I stop fighting I hold so tight to Mercy that my arms are formed into the shape of her. I feel dehydrated and exhausted and sick when the tears that have frozen on my chin and shirt finally slow. I can't move. I want to just lie on the ice and fade into oblivion. Freeze to death like Penelope did three years ago. I found her. I found her frozen icy body right where the monster left her.

Penelope.

John and Mercy have to lift me from the ice, and steer me to the ship. I can't crawl up the side. I just want to give up. John makes me get into the ship. Mercy sits in the back with me and lets me lean into her. She's warm and safe and I don't care anymore.

We get back to headquarters and I think someone's mad at us for stealing a ship, but it's so far away that I can't even reach it. It's fine though, no one is coming near the three of us. They have those somber looks on their faces that says someone died.

Oh

Right.

I expect we'll go back to the med center but John dissapears and Mercy steers me back to our room. John comes back a half hour later with food none of us touch, and my new meds. We tune out our brains on trash TV.

I try not to be.

--

I sleep, and sleep, and sleep. My nose presses into John's back on Mercy's too-small bed. I don't know where Mercy sleeps, but when I wake for a few minutes sometime the next day she's curled up at the end of the bed with a book and John is on his phone. He hasn't moved. He's cradling my head on his shoulder and keeping me warm.