Apocalypsis 03 - Exodus

incredible pain from nearly overwhelming my brain. I started moaning and rocking a little, trying to make it go away.
    Paci jumped to his feet, sweeping me up into his arms and taking off in a limping cantor. “I’m bringing her to the clinic!” he yelled over his shoulder.
    I held on tightly, worried he was going to drop me. My leg was burning and I could see the blood dripping over the sides and onto his hand. I didn’t want to think about how my caregivers were going to get this cut clean. It was already filled with gunk that was now getting rubbed in; but I could hardly complain since I was being practically airlifted to the clinic, Paci was running so fast. It never ceased to amaze me how well the kids who lived here could navigate the uneven ground, especially Paci who still had an injured leg. I was constantly tripping, but Paci made it all the way to the clinic without missing a step. It was like he had invisible wings flying us along.
    LaShay met us at the entrance. “What the heck happened to you this time?” she asked, not unkindly. She pointed to an available spot with her half-limb. “Put her down over there.” She reached out and took my hand as Paci walked over. “You okay, baby?”
    “I’ve been better,” I said, smiling at her weakly. For some reason she instantly made me feel a little less scared about the whole thing, calling me baby .
    “What about you?” she asked Paci, giving him a once-over. “You hurt too?”
    “No, I’m fine. It’s just her.”
    “Accident prone?”
    “No … heck no, she’s not accident prone. It’s Fohi.”
    “Fohi did this?” She frowned, looking like she was ready to have a few words with him personally.
    “No, he didn’t,” I said, waving Paci away. “Go see if he’s okay. I’m fine here. Thanks for the lift.”
    Paci reached over and took my hand, squeezing it gently. “You sure? I can hang for a little while.”
    LaShay came over with a bucket and a cloth, along with a bottle of something that looked like alcohol. The idea of something like that hitting my long, open wound, made me instantly feel sick.
    “Uh, maybe you can stay. Just for a minute,” I said, changing my mind.
    “Yeah, no problem.” Paci let go of my hand for a minute to get a stool, but then sat down near my head and grabbed it again. “I’ll stay as long as you need me to.”
    “Aww, ain’t that sweet,” said LaShay, looking at us for a moment before getting all serious again. “Jus’ stay outta my way. This thing looks nasty. I’m gonna have to scrub.”
    “Scrub?” I said, fear in my voice, as she leaned over and poured some of the liquid onto my wound. I was prepared to scream, but it obviously wasn’t alcohol. It just hurt a little. “Phew. That wasn’t bad.”
    “Hold on to that thought,” said LaShay, right before she started scrubbing my leg and then pouring more of the liquid on.
    I squeezed Paci’s hand hard. My leg was stinging and burning like it was on fire. “Holy shit , LaShay, what are you doing to me?”
    “Keeping you from dyin’ from a cut, that’s what. You want some leather to bite?”
    I shook my head, gritting my teeth together and channeling my pain into my tightly-fisted hand. “No. Just get it over with,” I grunted out.
    “Doin’ my best,” she said, scrubbing again.
    Coli wandered in and said, “What happened to her?” She didn’t sound all that concerned.
    “She got hurt helping Fohi,” said Paci, staring into my eyes. His were like liquid pools of chocolate and totally mesmerizing. It was easier to ignore the pain looking at him this way.
    “What’d he do this time?”
    Paci didn’t bother answering. After a few awkward seconds, Coli huffed out an irritated breath and left.
    “Mmm-mmm-mmm, that girl. Tsk, tsk…” LaShay shook her head. “Girl’s got a serious chip on her shoulder about you, Bryn. I don’t know what you did to her, but damn , you better watch your back.”
    Thoughts of Coli intruded on the peaceful feelings that I’d only been able to find by losing myself in Paci’s gaze, so I closed my lids, trying to get a grip on what LaShay was saying. There was no point in trying to ignore the pain anymore now, anyway. All I could think about was Coli telling everyone that I was messing around with Paci at the clinic.
    “I have no idea what her problem is, to be honest. She’s hated me since day one.”
    “She’s jealous,” said Paci.
    “Jealous? Jealous a-what? No offense, Bryn, but no