Nita's laughter trailed off and she frowned. "You're right. Here, hold this." She tossed Russell over to Callum, who barely managed to snag him. Then she strode over to the downed Odontas and began tugging on his robe. The way his head rolled told Callum that his neck had been broken.
"What are you doing?" Callum asked.
"Getting us something to wear. Here," she said, pulling the robe free of the Odontas and tossing it to him. He caught it with one hand and set down Russell. He gazed at the ornate robe for a moment. It felt wrong to be wearing the clothes of a dead carcha. On the other hand, he was growing weary of walking around with his dick out. Callum swung the robe on and cinched it tight around his waist. He was astounded at how soft and light the fabric was. 'So this is what the carcha wear,' he thought while rubbing his hands up and down his chest. He made to scoop up Russell again but the little android danced out of range.
"Shit!" he snapped. "I can walk on my own." He marched toward the door of the caracha compound. Callum followed. Normally he would have easily outpaced the small being but he could only manage shambling steps at the moment so the pace was actually perfect. They stopped at the door. It didn't open. Russell peered up at it. "Open up, you damn door!" Callum was amused at first but then he realized he had no idea what carcha technology was capable of. 'Is it some kind of sentient door?'
Nita came up behind them, along with Valencia. The older woman was wearing one of the carcha robes as well now. "Shouting at the door isn't going to help," she said. "It uses facial recognition to open." She stepped closer and the door shot up.
Russell glared at her. "So how does it have your face on record?" Callum and Valencia looked at her with curiosity as well.
She held up her hands. "It was part of the deal for getting to travel from village to village. They just wanted me to pass information along to them. Plots for rebellions and such. There never was much of anything but I used the deal to my advantage." She shrugged. "Have to make do here." Callum nodded. That made perfect sense of him.
"As I thought," Russell spat. "Bootlicking carcha scum."
For a flash, Nita looked stricken. Then she smiled sarcastically. "Hey, not all of us get to be reborn into a tiny robot when we're executed."
Russell sneered and then turned and marched inside. Callum hurried to follow. He gasped the moment he stepped into the carcha compound. The air inside was completely different. It was thick, somehow. Hot and stifling. The air almost felt wet. Nita noticed and nodded sympathetically. "Yeah, the carcha like it humid."
"Dumbass fish should've stayed in their god damn ocean if they liked it so much," Russell grumbled. He seemed to know where he was going so Callum was content to trail behind. He figured Cosmos was giving him directions to heat signatures in the building. Callum wasn't wrong. They descended a narrow set of stairs into a basement and found Riley languishing in a small cell. There were four cells in all in the basement room, though Riley's was the only one that was occupied. They had clear walls and were brightly lit, while the walkways in between them were dim and shadowed. Callum felt a burst of adrenaline and sprinted to the small cell. He put his hands on the smooth, cool, transparent material that made up the cell walls and shouted, "Riley!" His friend didn't stir. He was curled up in a ball in the middle of the bare cell, wearing only his short pants. 'He must not be able to hear me.' "Riley!" he said, banging on the wall.
"No good," Russell said. "Must be made to repel sound. I'm surprised. You'd think the carcha would want to hear the despairing wails of their captives." He snorted. "Like the front doors, I doubt this cell will open without facial recognition. Russell glanced at Nita, who'd come down with Valencia.
Nita shook her head. "Why would they give me access to prison cells? The front gate was just a matter of convenience."
"Yes. Very convenient," Russell said caustically. "Hmm. What can you do, Cosmos?" he asked. Nobody but him could hear the reply. "Good enough," he responded. "Cosmos hasn't been able to get into the facial database yet--must have changed some of their protocols since the last time she did this--but she can force all the cells to open up." Even as he said it, the lights went dark in the basement and then dimmer ones came on. At the same time, a part of the wall zoomed up, leaving a doorway into the cell. Callum and Valencia rushed in.
Callum knelt by Riley and rolled him over. He gasped and Valencia choked back a sob. His chest was mottled with bruising and even some burns. Both of his lips were split and his left eye was swollen shut. His nose was crooked and three of the fingers on his right hand had clearly been broken. His right eye fluttered open and he moaned, "No." Then his eye focused and widened. "Cal?!"
"Yes. I'm here," Callum was overcome with relief. "I'm so glad you're alright."
Riley laughed and then winced. "'Alright' is not exactly how I'd put it." That laugh was enough to put Callum's heart at ease. No matter how beat up he was, Riley was still himself. "How did you get in here?"
"I had a lot of help. Valencia's here, too." Riley turned his head enough to look at Valencia. She was crying and scrubbing violently at her tears.
"I told you not to run off like that, you idiot" she said reproachfully. "And now look at you."
Riley laughed again. "Well, you were right. I'm sorry, Valencia."
"Can you stand?" Callum asked.
Riley nodded. "I think so. They haven't done much to my legs." He suddenly looked fearful. "Are they still around? Did you sneak in here?"
Callum's stomach went cold. "They're all dead," he said softly. He tried to smile reassuringly as he lifted Riley to his feet. "So no need to worry."
"Dead?" Riley asked as Callum he steadied on his feet. Callum didn't know how to answer but he was spared, for the moment, when Valencia crashed into Riley and squeezed him in a bear hug. "Oh my god!" he gasped. "Are you trying to finish what the carcha started?"
Valencia hurriedly let him go. "Sorry. I just...never thought I was going to see you again."
"Yeah," Riley said soberly. "I thought I was done, too." The mood turned gloomy with the words.
"Well!" Russell said, cutting through. "The stars aligned for you, young man! Brave Callum and sweet Valencia have summoned the God of Chaos himself to come to your aid!" He was posing again.
"What? Who?" Riley asked. "Is that...is that you?"
"No! Of course not? Do I look like the God of Chaos? You would likely know me as Leo Cosmic, yes?" Riley stared at him with his one good eye. "I'm Russell Jones!"
"Oh, I'm having some sort of hallucination, aren't I? I thought this was too good to be true. How would Callum and Valencia make it here to rescue me?"
"It's not a hallucination," Callum said firmly. "Russell's just a little exuberant. I'll explain it all to you once we get out of here. But we need to find my sister first." He glanced at Russell, who was upset again. "Lead me to her, please." Russell chopped his head down sulkily and then spun around and marched back up the stairs. Callum followed, helping support Riley though he thought he was about to collapse himself. Nita noticed and pushed him out of the way to take up the burden.
Now held up by two women, Riley muttered, "A guy could get used to this." Nita laughed and even Valencia smiled. Callum wondered how he did it. He thought that if he had said something similar, Valencia would have gotten mad.
The room Russell led them to was on the second floor, which involved climbing two sets of stairs. By the time he had made it to the top, Callum's legs felt like noodles and his head felt like it was trying to float away. He leaned against a wall, gasping for air. Russell had stopped in front of a door. "Is she in there?" The miniature man nodded. "Okay." Callum pushed himself up and took a trembling step forward.
"Wait!" That was Riley. He had just reached the top of the stairs and was also sucking wind. "Wait. Callum, let me go in first."
"Why?" Callum asked, genuinely confused.
"Just trust me." Callum hesitated. He did trust Riley. The man was his brother in every way that mattered. 'But...why?' "Please, Callum. Please." The naked need in his voice convinced Callum. He didn't get it but he trusted Riley. He nodded and stepped back to the wall. Riley closed his eyes in obvious relief. "Thank you." He shook Valencia off, too. "You stay here too, Val." Valencia let go of him, looking as confused as Callum felt. "Just stay here." He walked forward, with Nita still supporting him. They went inside the room together. So she can go? Russell also slipped in behind them. Callum tried to see inside but the room was too large and shadowed for him to make anything out before the door closed. Callum glanced over at Valencia in question but she just shrugged. 'This is frustrating.' She was right there. He wanted to see her.
Callum slipped down the wall until he was sitting. It suddenly seemed like too much effort to keep standing. It was so hot that his robe was soaked with sweat. Breathing was an effort. He couldn't hear anything that was going on in the room. 'She's okay, right? She has to be.' Valencia sat down beside him. 'I should thank her. This would have been impossible without her.' He couldn't find the energy to speak though. His eyelids were starting to droop and he was having more and more trouble forcing them back up. Callum slumped over so his head was resting on Valencia's shoulder. She gasped softly but didn't push him away.
Callum was close to blacking out when the door opened, jolting him back awake. He sat up and saw his sister limp out of the room. She was covered from neck to ankle in a gray blanket but her face seemed uninjured. Tears stung his eyes and a lump came to his throat. "You're okay," he choked. "You're okay."
She knelt down next to him and stroked his hair. "I can't believe you came for me, you foolish boy." Callum surged forward and hugged her. He was hyperventilating, trying not to break down into sobs. It wasn't really until he saw her that he'd realized how terrified he'd been that he would never see her again. "It's alright," she cooed, stroking his back. "It's alright. I'm alright." Callum did calm down under her ministrations. Now that he was with her, everything driving his tortured body onward dissipated, leaving him only with a monstrous exhaustion. Callum slipped peacefully into unconsciousness.