February 9, 2138 (Morning, continued)
Rain was falling by the time our skirmish in the field had ended. As though the rain was meant to clean all of our sins away somehow. The leaves of the overgrown plants were hitting each other as the rain kept falling on them and the wind blew through.
Kim was raising Karl up off of the ground and I could see that he had taken the hit in the shoulder. It was still smoking from the burn it had left, and he was bleeding a lot. Tommy, Tad, and Sarah all ran up from farther back in the field to try to help us, but help wasn't needed any longer. Not in dealing with the enemies, anyway. Except for one.
Dad was trying to bring Rachel back around and I knew that she was in good hands, but she needed to wake up and become aware of what was going on again. None of us knew how much damage had been done to her except that she wasn't awake. Sarah tried to help Dad with her as the boys naturally went to their father. I started to stand back up when Kim suddenly pulled out her machete and pulled me back towards her.
"What are you doing," I asked Kim.
"Stay away from her. She's still moving," Kim replied as she moved in and raised the blade.
Before she could bring it down on the armored woman, Karl must have heard and seen what was going on and spoke up.
"No, Kim. Don't," Karl said.
Looking at Karl like he'd just lost his mind completely, Kim said, "What do you mean? She was just trying to kill all of us. Remember?"
By now Rachel was coming around, and I looked down at the armored female trooper. She was laying on her back with her right hand on her abdomen as though it were hurting her a lot. I could tell that she was having trouble getting air into her lungs as she was gasping for it. A minute before, she was the biggest threat in the field, and now she was struggling just to stay alive. I don't know what it was that caused Karl to not let it go, but he kept arguing to keep Kim from finishing the female off.
"She needs help," Karl said.
"You need help, Karl. You're hurt and it isn't good," Kim said.
Ignoring what Kim said to him, Karl got up and pushed the boys out of his way as he tried to make his way to the armored woman. The boys spoke up trying to get his attention, but he ignored them, too. He stumbled towards Kim and she put her arm out to stop him from moving in any closer. At this point Rachel had recovered her senses enough to know what was going on, and she turned to the trooper and knelt down next to her as the trooper continued to gasp and shake from her wound. I wasn't sure why she knelt down at first, until she managed to pull off the female trooper's armor from her torso. After removing it and tossing the piece aside, Rachel picked up the trooper's laser pistol and stood back up. She looked down at her and aimed the laser at the trooper as she kept struggling to live.
"No," Karl yelled at Rachel.
"It needs to be done," Rachel said in a calm tone of voice.
"I said no," Karl said in a voice of angry authority.
Kim spoke up saying, "Karl, we can't help her. We need to be helping you. We need to get you back to the zoo."
"I'll go back on my own when I'm done," Karl said as he pushed Rachel's laser away from the female trooper and knelt down next to her.
"She's the enemy, Karl. If she had the chance right now she would be killing or digitizing you, your boys, and all of the rest of us as well. If she gets the chance she still will. I know that you're trying to be compassionate, but it won't matter to her," Rachel said.
"Didn't it matter to you? That we were compassionate enough not to kill you. That we fed you and kept you alive and safe? When you thought that we were nothing more than dirty animals, you were taken care of by us. Now you would stand in the way of me helping another one of you? Why would you do that," Karl asked.
"You don't get to where she is within the ranks of the biodread forces by being what all of you people would call redeemable. You won't change her or turn her back to your way of thinking. I'm offering her the most merciful way of ending this. Fast and relatively painless. While you would have her suffer while you try to offer her aid and she'll probably die anyway," Rachel said.
Tired of the conversation, Karl spoke once more in a way that all of us could understand.
"This isn't a damn negotiation. I'm a healer, not a warrior. I heal people. She's helpless and she needs someone. Even if it's just someone to be here so that she doesn't have to die alone in a field. If you were in her place, not one of you could say that you would want anything less," Karl said in no uncertain words.
"She wouldn't do the same thing for you," Rachel said as she aimed the laser at the trooper again.
"And you wouldn't have either. Before now. How is she any different from you," Karl asked.
"I haven't done the things that are required to wear that uniform. She has, and it's all the difference I need to know," Rachel replied.
Karl turned the female trooper to the side and started trying to treat her as he said, "Let me bottom line this for you. If you kill her I'm not the only one that's going back to the zoo. The boys are going back with me and we're done with this."
"Dad? We can't do that. They're just trying to protect us," Tommy said.
"Speak for yourself, Dad. I couldn't care less what happens to this chick, and I'm not letting them do it all alone," Tad said.
Dad decided to step in at this point saying, "Let him stay if he wants to. He's not in any shape to be continuing with us anyway."
"Stand down, Rachel. And start removing the armor off of these troopers," Kim ordered.
"If she lives and any of you enable her in any way, she will kill you without thinking twice about any of you. Is that what you want? To empower her to the point of killing you," Rachel asked.
"Do what I told you," Kim ordered with an angry look growing in her face.
"Are you sure about this, Karl? You need to get back and get helped yourself," Dad asked.
"I'm sure. Get what you need and go on. I'm not changing my mind," Karl replied.
"Why, Dad? Why are you doing this for her? She tried to kill you," Tad said.
"I thought you were going with them. Why are you still standing there talking to me like you care what my opinion is," Karl snapped back.
"She's not Mom. Helping her isn't going to change that, Dad," Tad replied as though he knew why Karl wanted to stay with her.
"Go on, son. If I need a psychiatrist, I'll know who to call," Karl said.
"Fine. Stay here and imagine that you're saving Mom once more for all that I care. But if you think that I'm going to allow our home to become some refuge for wayward gear heads, you can think again," Tad said as he started to walk off towards one of the troopers to take their armor. As he started to take a step, Tommy grabbed his arm and started in.
"I've had it with you. That's Dad that you're talking to. Not one of the enemy. Save your crap for them," Tommy said.
Jerking his arm loose, Tad's enraged look started showing as he said, "Don't push me. I won't sleep with the enemy anymore. I've had it with both of you. Just because you might have converted Rachel doesn't make any of these traitors to humanity any less guilty of killing Grandpa, Mom, and Karen. And all that I care about is making all of them pay. If you're not on board with that, stay the hell out of my way."
Tad walked off after that and said no more.