The Cries From Dead Worlds

Chapter Eleven: Sick and Tired

Six sneezed, making everyone in the room jump. Saavedro, more than Thiri.

"Sorry," Six muttered, the first word anyone had spoken since she had accepted the offer for tea. "Allergies." She located her handkerchief to blow her nose. With all of her cybernetic implants you would think she would be immune to all sickness. Nope, just the really bad ones like cancer and typhoid. That was something, she supposed.

Saavedro was looking simultaneously worse and better from when she had last seen him. The dark circles under eyes were more pronounced on his clean, pale skin. His hair was washed, but not at all styled in any way, shining strands sticking out every which way. He was dressed simply, which was quite the step up from the rags he had been wearing, but it made him look small. The fierce appearance taken from him in the new domestic environment.

"So," she started, making Saavedro glance up at her briefly before stubbornly staring into the depths of his drink. "How are you doing?"

He said nothing, continuing his trend of refusing to speak to her. She'd almost prefer him to scream like a wild animal. Briefly, she considered tracking down Atrus and dragging him out of the meeting with the Elders. The thought was discarded immediately. Neither Saavedro nor Atrus would appreciate.

She cleared her throat and leaned back casually until her back hit the wall. "Well, I'm doing swell, hay fever aside. What about you ED-E?"

"*^!$"

"I hear that," Six said with a grin. "One of these days we'll take a real vacation."

Saavedro slammed his hand onto the desk he was seated at. "Be quiet," he snapped.

Thiri, clearly distressed, said something in her native language. Her father's shoulders slumped and he looked down at his hands as she continued talking.

")!&&("

Six set her cup down on the floor for lack of any other place. "Look, I just wanted to drop by to make sure you were physically alright and to give you back your journal."

Saavedro pulled the ragged book closer to him as if afraid it would be taken from him. Thiri walked over to place a comforting hand on his shoulder, making him flinch briefly.

Six stood up. In her vacated place on the floor she left some Narayan currency she had earned not thirty minutes prior helping a storeowner move some crates. "If you need anything, let me or ED-E know. We want to help."

2

Six and ED-E had managed to get themselves lost and confused, but neither of them were particularly upset. As an expert at finding people who needed help, she had managed to gain some more of the local currency. At one point, she had purchased a blue robe that she had determined was casual wear. It was also much warmer than her thin black jacket. It wasn't as form fitting or durable as a Brotherhood Scribe's robe, but it was still something that she'd be taking home with her.

Somewhere below her, the market bustled with activity. Above, some sort of sporting event was being played in modest arena she had passed by ten minutes ago. Six lay reclined on a branch in a place that reminded her of a pre-war park. There were toys woven from the Lattice Tree that children were climbing on and couples strolling around paths. She sneezed and settled back down, closing her eyes just as some kids chasing each other scrambled over her branch without giving Six a second thought. She paid them no mind, choosing to drift off into the dark seas of her mind instead.

"How you kids handling post-apocalyptia today?"

"We are authorized to restore order and civility, by any means necessary…"

"Unstable technology and ultimately boring. Why re-make the old reality, when instead you could create any reality you choose?"

"…people are worth fighting for."

"…it can be healed. You have that power to heal within you, if you allow yourself to act…"

Six shut off her radio to quiet the voices spewing from it between bursts of static. She tried blocking out the sun with her hand, but it continued to beat down on her, defiant to her wants. The ocean that stretched on all sides like a barren desert beckoned her into its depths, but she remained where she was. The water wanted too much for how little it would give back. She knew from experience.

A hand gripped her shoulder and shook her awake.

Bleary eyed she looked around. The first thing she saw was light reflecting off of ED-E's chassis. The second was Atrus frowning down at her in concern.

"Hey," she managed to force out of her scratchy throat. She fumbled with her bag until she found her canteen. Six managed to take careful gulps of water instead of chugging it down like she wanted.

"It's almost noon in Tomahna," he said quietly. "Are you sure you want to go to Tay?"

"Promised," she said as she screwed the cap back onto her canteen.

"Catherine would understand if you wanted to reschedule," Atrus replied. "I think you have come down with something a little more distressing then just allergies."

"When we get back I'm gonna take some meds and I'll be fine again. Don't worry," she said, managing a tired smile in his direction.

"Why did you not medicate yourself before?" he asked, climbing down from the branch with more spry energy than his frame would suggest he possesses.

Six followed him down, moving slower than she normally would have. "I only took so much with me. I didn't want to waste my meds on the sniffles."

"Now you have a fever," he said, waiting for her.

"Who's got the medical training here?" she asked.

Atrus crossed his arms over his chest. "Very well. Do you have a fever?"

"$!$"

Six swatted in ED-E's direction. "Ignore him, Atrus. I'm good."

")&%!"

"Don't tell him that!"

Atrus raised an eyebrow in a way that mimicked Sirrus, but was miles less condescending. "Tell me what? That you have a fever?"

"Unbelievable!"

End of Chapter Eleven

Up Next: To Tay! Beaches, familiar faces, and trouble.

Author's Note:

Saavedro isn't quite adjusted enough to be a good conversational partner. He'll come up more and more as the story goes on. Just give the man a little time.

Thanks for reading,

Home On the Wastes