Chapter 26: Aftermath (part 1)
There was a brilliant flash of light, and then TechTyte came flying out of the portal and into the unofficial landing area in the Acceledrome. Screeching, the car came to a stop, the driver inside slumping back up against the seat as she tried to calm her pounding heart.
In the air next to her, a silver glow materialized, flaring outward before solidifying into a computer chip. Talia smirked before reaching out to grab it, clutching the Accelecharger tightly in her bloodstained fingers. Sure, this win didn't mean as much as it would have if she had raced a perfect race, but a win was still a win.
Now that the matter of the Realm had been settled, Talia turned her attention to more pressing matters. In this case, her chief concern was to seek medical attention, preferably sooner rather than later. A bit awkwardly she climbed out of TechTyte, scowling at the blood that was starting to soak into the seat and floor. She'd have a lot of cleaning to do later. That scowl was replaced with a slight groan as a wave of dizziness assaulted her senses, and the girl reached out to steady herself against her car.
It was at this moment that Nolo finished running down the stairs, only to come to a screeching halt as he caught sight of his bloodied younger sister. For one horrible, infinitely long moment he was drawn back to that terrible day several years ago when Talia had been hit by a drunk semi truck driver. Looking back on it now, she had been extremely lucky to survive.
"What on earth do you think you're doing?" He demanded as he darted over to his sister's side.
"Nothing that concerns you." Talia snapped, although her voice lacked some of the usual venom, and she stumbled a bit. Nolo caught her before she could fall, and gently sat her back down inside of her car. That was as far as he got before Talia punched him again, although the blow was much weaker than it normally should have been.
"Forget the fact that you hate me for a moment." Nolo pleaded. "You aren't in any shape to be up and walking. Just stay here and let me get Lani."
Before Talia could argue, he ran off, looking a bit as if a Drone was hot on his heels. Talia bit back a few curses - she didn't want his help - but acknowledged that right now there wasn't anything she could do about it. So, much as the Latina hated it, she merely sat there slumped up against her seat, bleeding rather profusely all over the upholstery, and did her best to try and stay awake and somewhat lucid.
"Oh for the love of racing, Talia, just what on earth do you consider a mere scratch to be?"
Huh. Apparently, in her slight daze, she had missed the rest of her teammates exiting the Realm. Verity was standing right in front of her, arms crossed in front of her chest and a look on her face that was equal parts irritation, frustration, and concern. Gale was peaking out from behind Terra, and looked absolutely sick to her stomach, while even Aurora had seemed to sober up a bit, so to speak.
"It's not as bad as it looks," Talia whined, her words slurring together a little bit. That fact seemed to wipe out any credibility her statement had. "You know head wounds bleed a lot."
"Not this much." Verity retorted, glancing over at Gale and Aurora. "You two go park your cars and then get Lani. Terra, go ask Tezla where I can get something to clean up all of this blood once Talia's been settled into the infirmary."
"Honestly, I'm fine." The Latina grouched as her teammates ran off to commence with their tasks. "There's nothing to worry about." She tried to stand, only for her legs to buckle. With a groan, she fell back into her seat.
"Okay, maybe I am a tiny bit light headed. So what? Big deal. I've been in worse crashes than that one." Talia sounded annoyed, or as annoyed as a half-conscious, not fully lucid person could sound at any rate.
"Stop trying to get up," Verity ordered firmly, breathing a sigh of relief as Lani pulled up in the makeshift ambulance. Nolo was in the passenger's seat, and he hurried over to join Talia and Verity while Lani pulled out a stretcher.
"Go away," Talia demanded, glaring at him as best she could. "I don't want your pity, nor do I need it."
"Oh, quit being so confrontational for once in your life," Verity grumbled quietly, allowing her frustration with her co-leader's attitude to bleed to the surface. Talia shot her a glare, only to let out a rather undignified yelp as Nolo carefully picked her up.
"Put me down!" The teenager shouted.
"And risk having you fall over and get another head injury? Not a chance." Nolo retorted as he placed her down on the stretcher, not really caring that he was getting blood all over his clothing. Right now, his sister was more important.
"Thank you, Nolo." Lani got to work securing the girl to make certain she wouldn't fall off. Talia was having a hard time staying awake, and eventually, it seemed as if her brain decided that now would be a good time to shut down for a while. Her eyes slipped closed, and she was out like a light. "Go get changed, you'll want to wash all that blood out as soon as possible."
With that, she finished securing her latest patient, loaded her up into the ambulance, and went speeding off towards the infirmary. Terra came back with the requested cleaning supplies, handing them off to Verity before asking if she wanted any help. The African American informed her that she would be okay, and the quiet Asian American soon retreated to the confines of her own room. Verity then got to work mopping up the quickly drying blood, grumbling something about how stubborn Talia was under her breath.
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