Back at the hospital Ashly and Lucas are silent. Lucas takes a deep breath "Ashly listen, about what happened back there. I think we should of done something differently " he says as Ashly rest her head back "I mean, it could of been avoided easily"
"Yeah you're right Lucas, if only I had killed them." Ashly says "Should of done that as soon as I figured out who they were. It was stupid of me to assume that they weren't going to do anything. I didn't think people would be after me." Ashly says as she shifts to her left side on the bed. She is angry and clutching her stomach, she is pressing on the area she got shot.
"No Ashly we should of have left, that would have been better." Lucas says as he walks and grabs her hand "They did notices us before we noticed them, but if we took a detour, they would have gotten us. We should have been smarter and not walked to the store." Lucas sits down next to her
"What? That's not a viable option Lucas" Ashly says "If we didn't confront them rather they confronted us. I wouldn't have know they had knowledge of me, and how I might have looked like." She pushes Lucas hand away "What if one day they spotted me alone, no other civilians or witnesses. What then Lucas? They would of killed me without me knowing why"
"You're right Ashly, I'm sorry I didn't think of that through. This is all my fault, I was the one who had money for food. I wanted to just spend time with you and you had to use a bow. I could of at least bought you more bullets" Lucas says
"Yeah and I could of gotten more kills as well, there weren't people nearby and the town wasn't close at all." Ashly then gets off the bed and stands up "Look at me, it hurts when I just stand up" she sits back down sweating
"Hey Ashly there's this thing I want to tell you" Lucas looks down not daring to see her face "I caused all your pain, I could of shot that man, but I was scared. I'm not prepared to kill people even if they were going to hurt you"
"I know Lucas, you were to much of a coward to even shot at their direction. I remember it took you almost 2 years to just point at people. Can't belive that you would be the most reliable person I could of ever meet" Ashly says
"But Ashly that isn't fair, I don't deserve being so reliable to you. You nearly died thanks to all the mistakes I made. I failed you and I shouldn't have. You're my friend and yet" Ashly groans in frustration
"Listen Lucas are you going to feel sorry about yourself. Really? In front of someone who almost died to a gun shot" Ashly says pissed off "I don't know how to handle any of this emotional stuff at all. You're the only person I trust because you aren't an asshole." She scratches her head "I will kick your ass if it means shutting you up"
Before they can continue their conversation Dr. Zkwysh returns. He sees that they have gone all quiet, and aren't looking at each other. "Well I presume you two weren't fighting at all." He places papers on the table "These are the bills for her stay here. Everything has to be paid back" Ashly looks at Lucas who has stood up and grabbed one of the bills. "Well if you want to discuss the payment plans I'm more than happy to explain everything."
"Wow that is pretty expensive, it isn't as much as I thought it will cost" Lucas says as he reads the numbers and cost of everything "Can you please tell me the many optional plans Doctor?" Ashly gets a glimpse of the bills as he grabs more paper and she is more nervous. She decides to ignore them as she can't pay any of those at all
"Lucas you are paying all of it for me right?" Ashly asked "After all we discussed that the right thing to do is for you to pay it all" she crosses her arms and Dr Zkwysh tells her to lay down with annoyance. "I think I'll need a few more days here, my stomach still hurts"
"Well on that note, you will have to leave tomorow" Dr. Zkwysh says as Lucas is shocked by the news "Before anyone says anything, I had no say in this. The director told me that she needs to be gone as I had broken enough policies already" he drinks a glass of water. "You're still recovering, but in the eyes of my superiors, you're more than healthy enough."
"I just woke up last night, I can't stand up without feeling like dying. How will I be able to just leave like this?" Ashly says "I won't be able to make it back on horse, it's still too cold" Dr. Zkwysh walks up to her and hands her a piece of paper "Precautionary? Is this an instruction for me to follow after I'm gone?" Ashly asked as she continues to read
"Yes it is, I wasn't required to hand it out since you were supposed to stay here much longer. I would have guessed five more days, but you need it more than ever. Everything is written there, if anything happens read it. I took my time writing this as detailed as possible" Dr. Zkwysh said as he takes the paper and puts it into an envelope "I made sure to think of every scenario possible" he said
"But this isn't fair, she needs to rest more, I said I'd pay for everything." Lucas says still looking at the bills "I guess if you want to Ashly, I know a place where you can stay. It's pretty safe and you won't be spotted" he said turning to Ashly.
"Nah! It's best for me to leave as soon as possible anyways. If they don't want me here then I'm out. It's that simple, I have to return since I've been gone for too long" Ashly says
"Well I'll be back to grab more paper work, just rest as much as you can. Best to make every second count, sleep and don't leave your bed" Dr. Zkwysh then leaves the room
"Listen Lucas, I know you want me to be safe but I can't. These people won't let me rest at all, trust me. Lucas I have seen what they did to one of the members who took an extra day off." Ashly turns around covering herself completely with the sheet. She closes her eyes "He was beaten half to death, his left leg. Even after all those years, it still limps and he can feel the pain. Not something I want to experience myself" Ashly said
"Ashly please be careful then, I know nothing that I tell you will convince you otherwise. I know it's obvious, but the SDA will be after you. Not only that but there's rumors of another secret organization from the government." Lucas says as he folds the bills "It may sound crazy but I belive in it. The SDA of Iriage is to small to work properly and control the area they have."
"You're pulling my leg Lucas, it isn't possible. Why would they make it a secret, of this organization that you speak of." Ashly says "Well, I can guess why you might think of it. I overheard what that person and the doctor were talking about."
"Listen Ashly, the reason why I belive in this is because the SDA only has 142 members" Ashly is amused by the number and turns around to look at Lucas "It's true, they aren't hiding it at all. It may be a genius tactic of theirs. Imagine that you're a bad guy, robbing and killing. Why would you be careful and cautious if you belive the government doesn't have the resources to search for you. The advantage is that this secret organization can go out hidden and take them down silently. They can be unknown as the people will be paying attention more to the SDA situation." Lucas says
"Shut up Lucas, I need to sleep. I won't be here much longer and I don't want to waste my time" Ashly says as she points to the door "I'll be gone tomorrow and maybe I'll think of your crazy talk" Lucas stands up and begins to leave, he closes the door behind him and walks away
It's the next morning and Dr. Zkwysh enters the room to ask Ashly to leave. He sees that the room is empty, Ashly is already back with Lucas. She struggles to gets on her horse but Lucas helps her. "Listen Lucas, don't worry about me. It will only be unnecessary as I had survived as long as I had now alone." She begins to ride off Iriage, she is still hurt and feels drowsy. She feels tired and her breaths are short and her vision is blurred "It would suck if I passed out here" she keeps on taking deep breaths. Her stomach hurts and she can't concentrate
Lucas watches as Ashly disappears from his fold of view feeling sad. He has given her more money and wants to make up for his mistakes but she wouldn't let him. Lucas turns around and walks all the way back home, where his foster parents await for him.