Read Online Sky Hunter by Chris Reher - Free Book Online Page B

that.”
    “ Are all farmers as big-hearted as you
are?”
    His brows drew together and he released her
hand. “Sometimes I think it’s only us farmers that care about any
living thing these days. Would I do anything less for her than I
would for some livestock?” He patted a damp cloth on the woman’s
face where a massive bruise was forming. “Would anyone risk this if
they didn’t have some reason, some cause, whether I understand it
or not?”
    Nova nodded. “I’ll hurry.” She made her way
to the corner where Reko was resting uncomfortably on his
pallet.
    He tried to sit up when she lowered herself
beside him but soon gave up. “Nice of you to visit,” he said.
    “ How are you doing?” she said, tugging
on the cuff of her trousers.
    “ Like there’s someone chewing on my
ribs. Doc doesn’t think they can stitch that up. Going to be one
hell of a scar.”
    “ Maybe it’ll be a dashing one. You can
brag about it.”
    “ What have you got there?”
    She briefly held up one of the charges. “Are
you up to a bit of tinkering?”
    “ I think so. Not exactly my field,
though.”
    She tucked all but one of the cylinders under
his blanket. “Easy. Open this end; I’ll try to find you something
to pry it with. There will be two wires in there, leading to this
ring. Pull out the one that looks coppery. Might be hard to see in
this light, so be careful. It’ll make the thing explode on impact
without the gun. Convert only half of these, just in case we do get
our hands on a pistol for it.”
    He looked doubtful. “Can those explode on
me?”
    “ No, you have to bash them hard enough
to break.”
    “ So you say. Are there a lot of rebels
here?”
    “ Hard to say. Some are easier to spot
than others. They’re not talking much if they are.”
    “ Try to get some intel, anyway. I feel
totally useless lying around here, not knowing what’s going on out
there. Did I hear Rhuwacs earlier?”
    “ Yeah, there are a few of them outside,
making sure we don’t leave. There are two other Union soldiers
here, both badly burned and going nowhere. At this point I’m
guessing we’re all hostages. I’m not hearing a lot of artillery
now.”
    He nodded. “Maybe they’re talking. I sure
would like to see the inside of a real hospital right about
now.”
    She rose to return to work. “You and a few
dozen others. I’ll bring you some water.”
    The hall had grown dark and stifling once the
promised sand storm reached the town and the windows were shut
tightly against it. Thankfully, the weather also seemed to have
halted the battle and the arrival of new casualties diminished.
Nova helped to deliver a baby amidst the chaos; a new experience
that left her both shaken and amazed. Hours passed and they seemed
like days. Blood, tears, filth. Nova moved numbly through her
chores, resolved to let her body do the work and keep her mind from
taking in what she saw here. She felt completely unequipped to
comfort those who came in more shell shocked than injured and left
those to the more gentle ministrations of Djari and his people.
    His capacity for caring for these broken and
frightened people seemed infinite. Nova found herself watching and,
she realized, learning more from him than the doctors. His smile
was sincere and applied at just the right time, his touch soothing
and cool, his voice calm. His patience remained when Nova herself
wanted to shout at a hysterical husband or snap at a helper for
making errors. But he was as fatigued as anyone else here and she
saw an expression of despair and even anger creep over his face
more and more frequently.
    Not wanting to act the officer among these
people, Nova finally enlisted Coria’s help to organize the
exhausted workforce into shifts so that some of them could get some
rest.
    At long last, she was able to return to
Reko’s corner to check his wound.
    “ What’s going on, Nova,” he mumbled
when she replaced his bandages.
    “ Still the same. Did you get