Chapter 37…
"Slow and careful now," Doctor Fedorov mumbled. His glasses were perched precariously on the tip of his nose and looked as if they were going to fall off any second. Despite this, the good doctor's eyes were narrowed in concentration.
"Let us see how your arms are looking…"
Ashley turned her gaze away from the aged doctor's face and down towards the aforementioned limbs. Fedorov's long fingers wormed underneath the folds of bandages and began pulling at them.
"How do you feel?" Doctor Fedorov asked out of the corner of his mouth.
"Better…" Ashley drew her lips into a tight line and nodded. "Better than I was a few days ago, at least."
"Any strange pains, headaches… hallucinations?" Doctor Fedorov snuck a quick glance at Ashley's face.
"No…"
"Good. Your body has ejected the worst of the chemicals then."
As the words left his cracked lips, the last of the bandages were undone. Doctor Fedorov paused for a moment before fully unwrapping Ashley's arms.
"Drumroll?" Fedorov joked, cracking a wry smile.
Ashley snorted and shook her head. "Please… I'm dying from the anticipation already…"
"I hope not…"
Fedorov grasped the loose bandages and quickly slipped them off of Ashley's forearms. There was a refreshing… almost ticklish rush of air that immediately washed over Ashley's arms.
Her new scars were… sensitive…
Criss-crossing Ashley's forearms and biceps were a series of long, thin red lines. There were just over a dozen in total and they were jagged in appearance. The worst of them still displayed stitch marks, and the skin around the sutures was puffy and red.
"Let's see…" Fedorov gingerly lifted Ashley's left arm and inspected it. "No pus from what I can see. Your skin is red and puffy… but this is normal, yes."
Ashley politely nodded her head. In truth, the slices on her arms were nothing compared to other wounds she had received in her past. But the good doctor didn't know about her true profession of being a pilot… and he didn't need to know…
"What?" Fedorov asked, shocking Ashley out of her thoughts. "Is something wrong?"
"Huh? No…" Ashley quickly shook her head and swallowed. "Nothing at all…"
"You looked… a little lost for a moment there," the doctor frowned. He leaned in a little and used his free hand to push up the glasses teetering on his nose. "Tell me… are you perhaps feeling a little self-conscious?"
Ashley's dark eyes drifted back down to view her arms again. In truth, she wasn't feeling all too worried about the long slices on her arms. They would leave scars, but those scars would fade with time.
Others wouldn't...
"You know, my Uncle Anatoly used to have a big scar right here…" Doctor Fedorov cracked a wry smile. He extended his pointed finger and tapped the bottom of his chin. "It split his lip a little too…"
"A war wound?"
"Hah! He always told whoever asked him that he got it hunting wolves," Fedorov snorted. "But the truth? He was drunk and heckling a woman at a bar, and she punched him straight in the mouth! She was wearing a diamond ring, which is what cut him!"
"He sounds like a real charmer," Ashley allowed a genuine smile to tug at the corners of her lips.
"Ah, Uncle Anatoly was a scoundrel…" Fedorov smirked and waved his hand dismissively. "But what can I say? He made life interesting…"
"What's the moral here? That I should make up some tale?" Ashley raised an eyebrow.
Fedorov chuckled and shrugged. "What sounds better? That you got the scars fighting wolves? Or that you got the scars from… how do you say? A bad trip?"
"Maybe your Uncle Anatoly was onto something…" Ashley allowed another genuine smile to form.
In a brief moment of deja vu, Ashley recalled her return to the IMC Medusa; after she successfully completed the data retrieval mission. Templeton had told her something eerily similar to what Doctor Fedorov had…
"Well, you seem to be healing nicely," Fedorov stood up and straightened his back - which audibly cracked. "Perhaps it would be best to leave your arms uncovered; we must let your skin breathe…"
"Sure…" Ashley nodded. "Any objections to me getting up for a bit?"
"Just be careful…"
"Of course, doctor."
Ashley gently placed her hands atop the metal handles of her hospital bed. She gingerly lifted herself off the sheets and placed her sock-clad feet against the ground. Her arm was still hooked up to an IV drip, so she wrapped her hands around the stand to carry it with her.
For a very brief moment, Ashley wobbled where she stood. The instability and lack of balance ended as soon as it began; Ashley shook her head to clear away the worst of the fuzziness.
"I'll be tending to some other patients. Do not push yourself too hard…" Fedorov warned, wagging his finger as if Ashley was a child.
"Yeah," Ashley nodded. "Thanks, doctor."
Doctor Fedorov lifted his right hand to his hairline. He pinched his pointed finger and thumb together - as if he was pinching the brim of a hat - and lightly tipped his head in Ashley's direction.
The aged doctor then left the room, the tail of his white coat fluttering behind him.
Ashley took a moment to check herself over before following in the doctor's footsteps. She was wearing a medical gown - which ended at her knees. Other assortments of bandages were wrapped around her legs as well, but the wounds down there had been rather shallow. Whatever remained of her boots had also protected her feet from the worst of the cuts and jabs that Antheia's forests had to offer.
Adjusting the fabric of her gown, Ashley was immensely thankful that she was recovering her full range of motion. Her recovered ability to walk around helped her kill time… and it also convinced the doctors to remove her catheter…
The less said about the catheter… the better…
Gripping the IV stand, Ashley began a hobble towards the door. There was a slight, dull pain from the muscles in her legs as she moved. She arrived at the room's door in about eight seconds and wasted no time walking through the door frame.
The clinic was very small and simplistic. There was a small lobby, directly behind which sat a long hallway with several adjacent rooms for patients. It was this long hallway that would be the source of today's exercise.
Ashley slowly paced up and down the length of the hallway. Every time she reached a far end she moved out her hand to gently tap the wall - confirming to herself that she indeed made it. The laps were simple and monotonous, but worked to flex the sore muscles of Ashley's legs.
Exercise was absolutely crucial; because when the woman looked down at her body, she could see an injury far worse than the scars.
Atrophy…
A week of little to no food or rest had done a number on her body. Muscles that were once taut were a little spongier than Ashley remembered. She had lost some body fat too… if she pressed the skin on her wrists she could feel knobby bones pressing back.
Her legs were starting to burn… but that was to be expected…
Finishing her twentieth lap, Ashley released a long breath and leaned herself against the nearest wall. The pain in her legs had graduated from dull to burning. Taking a moment to catch her breath, Ashley shimmied along the wall until she reached the clinic's lobby.
The front desk was unattended, so Ashley walked right past it; she continued on her way until she was out the front door of the building. Finding a small bench on the porch, the dark haired woman took a seat and released a rattling sigh. She stretched out her legs as she sat, the burning sensation worsening as her still tender skin contorted with the motions.
For a few moments Ashley focused entirely on her breathing. The gentle inhales and exhales helped her think clearly. There was also plenty to see and observe as well, which took Ashley's mind off of the pain in her legs.
The clinic was situated directly on Okraina's main street. Although, to call it a "street" was rather generous. The central path was a wide expanse of turned dirt and mud puddles, bordered by patches of dried grass. Lining the sides of the main road were an assortment of buildings - from two-story residential homes to what looked like a pub; none of the buildings were all that appealing to look at either, most of them had been constructed from wooden planks and the roofs were dominated by solar panels.
Occasionally a vehicle drove by - usually a truck - and the rubber wheels churned the soft mud of the main road. The vehicles in the town were a motley bunch, ranging from more modern hydrogen burning vehicles to outdated diesel machines.
Ashley watched in half interest as a diesel burning truck puttered by. It's chassis had probably been baby blue at some point, but patches of rust had eaten away at the paint. The archaic vehicle turned its wheels and drunkenly slid to a stop in front of a nearby building.
"Anything interesting?"
Ashley jumped in surprise and turned her head towards the open door of the clinic. Leaning in the door frame was Doctor Fedorov, his sharp blue eyes scanning the road like Ashley's had been.
"Not really," Ashley frowned. She reached out to gently shift the position of her IV stand. "No offense… but not much seems to happen around here…"
"It is a rural village… quite literally in the middle of nowhere," Fedorov shrugged. "Most of the people who live here appreciate that it is quiet. You came from New Vladivostok, yes? Attacks like that do not happen in places like this… not anymore, at least."
"Not anymore?" Ashley gave Fedorov a careful look. "What do you mean?"
Doctor Fedorov frowned and slipped his hands into the pockets of his coat.
"Antheia is a beautiful planet… one that is very rich in resources," Doctor Fedorov spoke carefully. "The attack on New Vladivostok was not the first… for a period of time much of this planet was held by the IMC; until the people drove them off."
"They drove them off? By themselves?"
"Oh, this was back when the Militia was a loose band of pirates. It was a very bloody time and many died…" The doctor paused for a moment, perhaps in reverence.
"Many of the families here have been here since the first colony ships arrived," Doctor Fedorov continued. "None of them were too happy to be placed under the thumb of the IMC, or to have their homes demolished. I suppose that is what gave us the strength to push back..."
"But how? Didn't the IMC have every advantage?"
Doctor Fedorov chuckled and shook his head. "Antheia is a planet that is coloured green and brown… and the IMC soldiers would dress in white and blue…"
"Guerilla warfare then…"
"Indeed. Antheia's militia caused quite a bit of damage. After what happened on Demeter… the IMC left us…"
"Until New Vladivostok?"
"Until New Vladivostok…" Fedorov audibly sighed.
Doctor and patient fell into a comfortable silence for a moment. There was a grinding noise as another rusty truck weighed down with logs trundled down the muddy street.
Ashley frowned and looked towards the muddy ground. "What did the IMC do…? Before you pushed them off the planet, I mean?"
"Many terrible things," Fedorov sighed. "When they first came they promised to modernize many of the villages - and we welcomed them for this. Who here on Antheia would complain about better cars? Or clean, uncontaminated water? But then they began cracking the planet for fuel sources… and just after that they began rounding up the unlucky to be placed in work camps…"
"Fuck…" Ashley felt herself deflate. She felt a churning feeling of guilt in the pit of her stomach. "That's awful…"
"It is the nature of power. If you give a man a gun and a fancy title he will not hesitate to make his authority known. For a time, none on Antheia were willing to stare down the barrels of the IMC weapons - it was control through fear, pure and simple," Fedorov shrugged. "My Uncle Sergei had an old saying, what was it…? Oh! 'You do not talk back to the man with the gun!'."
"Wise words…"
"Mmm, not so wise… Uncle Sergei died talking back to a man with a knife…"
"Right…" Ashley drawled. The dark haired woman gripped her IV stand and turned her attention back towards the main street. "Tell me about this place…"
"What do you want to know?"
"Anything, really."
"Well, as I said before most of the families here arrived with the first colony ships. Life here is day-to-day… several generations of the same family tending fields and cutting lumber…"
The doctor trailed off for a moment. Ashley looked around and noted how many of the town's inhabitants shared similar features. Pale skin seemed to be the most common tone amongst the townsfolk - as was feathery looking hair.
"What about business? How do you people earn your credits?"
"Food produce is responsible for most of Okraina's income," Doctor Fedorov answered. "Lumber used to be more lucrative… but not so much anymore…"
"Why not?" Ashley raised an eyebrow. "There are plenty of trees around here…"
"Exactly, Antheia has many trees," Fedorov shrugged. "Lumber used to be shipped off planet and it fetched a good price, but the town can no longer keep up with demand."
"Why n-"
Ashley was cut off by the sounds of screaming and a diesel engine roaring. A rusty looking truck slid down the muddy street and came to an unstable stop in front of the clinic. A throng of six men were sitting in the truck's cargo bed and three of them immediately jumped out to begin unloading the cargo.
The cargo was a seventh man, who was screaming himself hoarse. His right leg was horrifically twisted to the left - far beyond the human's knees ability to contort.
Ashley felt a rush of air next to her and watched as Doctor Fedorov scrambled from his position and back inside the clinic. He emerged moments later with a stretcher, which the group of six men set their injured companion upon.
From where she was sitting Ashley clearly understood the severity of the situation, but did not understand a word of what the men were saying to each other. All of them - including Fedorov, were speaking in a fast-paced, sharp sounding language. Wordlessly, Ashley moved her IV stand so that the base was pushing the door to the clinic open.
Doctor Fedorov nodded at Ashley as he and the other men wheeled the new patient into the clinic. Once again, their frantic words were near unintelligible, but the meaning behind them could be discerned from the way the men were barking at each other.
"Bol'shoy Ivan!" One of the men shouted at Doctor Fedorov, gesturing with his hand to point down at the man on the stretcher. "Bol'shoy Ivan!"
"Bol'shoy Ivan!?" Doctor Fedorov huffed back, his eyebrows knitted into a furrow. "Durak!"
'Bol'shoy?' Ashley thought to herself. "Ivan" sounded like a proper noun… but it did not necessarily relate to the man on the stretcher. "Bol'shoy" was probably an adjective, but it's true meaning was still unknown to her.
'Bol'shoy Ivan?' The words once again echoed in Ashley's head.
Doctor Fedorov would not emerge again for quite some time, no doubt having to deal with re-setting the man's leg.
The newfound silence gave Ashley plenty of time to think...