Under Lanse's authoritative command, Tess and her comrades, including Lanse himself, were tasked with reaching Szedra's location. The fear of Lanse possibly discerning Tess's lie about the enemy's presence faded into the background as she contemplated the challenging demands of their situation.
Did Lanse expect them to jump tree branches and rush their way to Szedra in their condition? He had to be crazy. It was already clear he did not give a damn about any of them.
A burning desire to escape the vicinity overwhelmed Tess, leaving her no time to waste on voicing her thoughts. She sucked in a deep breath, biting down on her lip, and willed herself to rise, using her left hand for support.
The agony radiating from the impalement in her abdomen and the torn muscles in her right shoulder threatened to derail her plan. Each facet of pain etched itself vividly in her mind, resembling brushstrokes of fiery red paint. She gazed up at the sprawling trees, contemplating how in the world she would surmount this challenge.
Suddenly, Zino's voice crackled through the telecom. "I can't move my right hand at all," she gasped, her voice trembling with exhaustion. "I don't think I can make it."
Tess couldn't fathom why Zino, of all people, was voicing complaints. Her legs remained unscathed, allowing her to traverse the distance to Szedra within minutes. Frustration simmered within Tess, but she refrained from expressing it.
"Secure your injured hand against your chest with bandages," Szedra's composed voice offered a solution. "And use the painkiller patches. Running with an injured arm will be too difficult."
Tess felt an urge to grit her teeth. Szedra only possessed the confidence to dole out orders because she was to remain stationary. Tess couldn't help but envy her situation.
While the others obediently followed Szedra's instructions to immobilize their injured limbs, Szedra had already surmounted that challenge. It was evident that Szedra had paid close attention during their Friday classes, evident in her skillful progression to ascend a nearby tree.
Remaining on the ground seemed ill-advised. Seeking elevation would provide Szedra with a sense of security, and the dense foliage of the trees offered ample coverage.
Szedra scanned her surroundings, locating a suitable hiding spot where her green shirt would help camouflage her presence. With determination in her eyes, she began her ascent, seeking refuge amidst the branches, driven by the urgency to keep moving and evade potential danger.
Both of Lanse's arms were in critical condition. Aside from the one that dangled unnaturally from his shoulder, the searing pain in his other hand began to pierce down to the bone. He knew he had to stow the precious fragment away, gingerly placing it in a pouch and painstakingly securing his other arm while he still had some mobility in his fingers.
The rhythmic sound of water droplets splashing against rocks served as a relentless reminder to Tess that time was slipping away. Despite the copious amount of blood she had lost from her abdominal wound, she questioned how she managed to summon any energy at all. Perhaps it was some primal instinct unique to females. Her mind wandered to Zack and Lanse, wondering how they were keeping up with their own injuries.
Feeling around her pouches for the painkiller patches, Tess made sure not to leave any unused. Whatever warnings Sensei had imparted about overuse meant nothing to her. She was willing to kill to quell the excruciating pain.
The moment she applied the patches to her skin, the potent drug took effect, offering a wave of relief that clouded her eyes with water. Finally, she dared to contemplate bending her right arm in order to fasten it securely.
First, she tightly wound the bandage around the lower portion of her numbed hand, securing the remaining roll within a pouch on her left leg. Her right arm throbbed, swollen and unresponsive. She slipped the painkiller patches beneath her elbow pad, concealing them beneath her sleeve, and removed her glove to access her skin.
Still harboring doubts, she broke off a piece of branch and placed it between her teeth, biting down hard as she flexed her deadened hand at the elbow. The intense agony that surged from within her hand served as a stark reminder that the patches were not a panacea for all her problems. With every movement, a litany of profanities raced through her mind.
To keep her immobilized hand snugly secured across her chest, she pressed it between her left underarm. Lowering herself to her knees, she retrieved the bandage roll that still hung from a long thread and began to toss it over her shoulder. Each throw sent it smacking to the ground at her side, allowing her to grab hold and repeat the process until her hand was firmly tethered to her body.
When she finished, she mustered the strength for her first leap onto a branch above. With her right arm firmly fastened, her balance felt askew. Only by pressing her left side into the trunk of the tree did she prevent herself from toppling off, averting a perilous several-foot drop.
Lanse's imagined pearly white teeth, gleaming with sadistic delight as he witnessed her precarious descent, ignited an inferno of rage within Tess. The searing pain and pulsating adrenaline coursed through her veins, fueling her determination to defy the callousness of his twisted amusement.
Each leap Tess made, defying the limitations of her battered body, reverberated with the echoes of her past. Memories flooded her mind, intertwining with the adrenaline coursing through her veins.
The pain should have crippled her, but with every bound, she defied the odds and pushed herself to new heights. The patches on her skin pulsed with a numbing sensation, allowing her to transcend her physical limitations.
Jeremy's words echoed in her thoughts, mingling with the fierce determination that propelled her forward. She recalled his belief in her, that she more than anyone could do anything she set her mind to.
Yet, the confession of his true feelings remained elusive, casting doubt on the depth of his words. A pang of longing tugged at her heart, momentarily distracting her from the perilous path she traversed.
Szedra's interruption shattered Lanse's recollections, pulling him back to the present moment.
"I hated sitting there," she exclaimed, her voice filled with frustration. "Why didn't we teleport the moment the ceiling started to crumble?"
Tess, leaning back against the bed, offered an explanation. "None of us knew people were waiting to hurt us," she explained, her tone tinged with a hint of regret.
Szedra's attention then turned to Zack, her gaze piercing. "And you," she interrogated, "why were you coming in so fast?"
Lanse interjected, his voice dripping with exasperation. "How foolish of them! They had the opportunity to end us, yet they allowed us to escape, giving us a chance to regroup."
Tess shifted her weight, settling against her arms, her voice laced with resignation. "It was a game. They were the controller and we were the props for their enjoyment."
This mindset was not unique to their adversaries; it permeated the corrupt Mid-Sentry officials, who viewed life as a mere playground for their amusement. The realization weighed heavily on her thoughts, casting a somber shadow over their conversation. But Szedra's next words shattered the introspection.
"Zino, you were closest but then you stopped."
Zino trembled, clutching herself tightly as she recounted her experience. "I froze in terror," she confessed, her voice quivering. "Black smoke engulfed the ground, swirling upwards until it vanished, revealing the one with the hood. I was so terrified, I couldn't move."
Szedra, deep in contemplation, shared her own encounter. "Right. That's when I got curious and began to look round through the leaves. When I saw the one with the hood standing on the forest floor," she recalled, her voice tinged with disbelief. "For a moment, I thought it was a mirage. I had to look back on my holo-map to confirm that was why you had stopped."
Turning to face Zack, Szedra sought answers. "Zack, you were still moving. I had to find some way to warn you. Why were you moving so fast? Were you being chased or something?"
Zack chuckled, a mixture of relief and amusement, his voice resonating with a sense of liberation. "Why was I moving so fast?" he retorted. "I wanted to escape that hellhole. What more reason did I need?"
Tess interjected, her determination shining through her words. "I know what you mean," she confessed, her voice unwavering. "The thought of you guys having to wait for me was unbearable. No way was I going to be the last one to make it."
"What was that beeping?" Lanse asked. "A beeping started from my telecom."
Zino and the others nodded in agreement, acknowledging the shared experience.
"It's the distress signal," Szedra told them. Her voice carried a sense of urgency as she revealed the purpose behind the distress signal. "I was the one who activated it," she admitted, her fingers absently tucking locks of hair behind her ear. "I needed to find a way to warn you guys from coming in too fast. Something forced me to press the button out of desperation, even though I didn't remember what Zino said it was for."
Her voice grew hushed, heavy with the weight of grim memories. "I didn't know what else to do," she murmured, haunted by the slaughter that ensued after her impulsive action. The echoes of the past reverberated in her thoughts, a haunting reminder of the slaughterhouse that came next.