Apocalypsis 03 - Exodus

native people here and called them indians. But some people forget the fact that he called them indians because he thought he’d landed in India. And this obviously isn’t India.”
    “So if we ain’t supposed to call you indians, what are we supposed to say?”
    “Most people are okay with Native Americans. Some prefer indigenous people. I’m cool with Native American.”
    “They’re both a mouthful,” grumbled LaShay. She sighed. “But I can hardly blame you for wantin’ it to be respectful. Believe me, my momma used to get all up in people’s faces when they called her certain things. Like she hated bein’ called African-American . She liked it simple. She said, Don’t call me nothin’ but American. You don’t need to call me by my skin color or by some place where some distant ancestor might have come from that I don’t even know .”
    “What do you prefer?” I asked, curious now about the whole personal identification thing. I had never really considered it before, probably because I was caucasian and had little information about my ancestors’ origins.
    “Same as my momma. What’s it matter, anyway? We all in the same boat now. Don’t matter if you’re black, brown, white … whatever. We all bleed red, and I’m workin’ on not bleedin’ anymore for as long as I live, so help me, Lord Jesus.”
    “Amen to that,” I said, smiling. My smile turned instantly into a scowl, though. “Oh, ouch! That friggin hurts , LaShay! Do you have to scrub it that hard?”
    “I know, baby. I’m tryin’ to be gentle, but it looks like you rolled in some pile of leaves or somethin’ before you came here.” She tsked at me while she worked, frowning her displeasure. “If I leave the garbage in there, you’re gonna get an infection. And trust me when I tell you, you don’t wanna be losin’ no limb.”
    I felt like a real a-hole complaining then, my gaze drawn to her bandaged arm, so I kept my mouth shut the rest of the time I laid there. I stared at Paci and he stared right back, reaching up to brush hair out of my face a few times. He was being very gentle and sweet, and I tried not to let myself feel guilty over that. I needed a little sympathy right now, since it felt like LaShay was pulling my skin off.
    “Okay,” she said, finally. “All done. Just let me put some ointment on this and cover it and you’ll be all set.”
    “Do you need her to stay here overnight?” asked Paci.
    I was too wiped out to bother caring where I slept.
    “She can stay or go. Whatever she wants. I’ll be around.”
    “Thanks, LaShay. You’re an awesome doctor,” I said, smiling weakly.
    “My momma was a nurse. She was always gettin’ awards at work and stuff for being the best. I think I might have been a nurse someday, too … if the world hadn’t fallen into a cesspit like it did.”
    “Well, you’re one now,” I said, “and a damn good one, too.”
    She smiled but said nothing as she smeared some goo on my leg and then covered it with some clean cloths. When she was done she stood up with her supplies now piled in the bowl. “We boil those bandages to kill the germs, but you still need to keep an eye on it. Clean it with soap tomorrow and come see me if it gets any puss or red and inflamed lookin’.”
    I grimaced at the thought. The cut went from the top of my thigh to the middle of my lower leg. What are the chances that this huge thing won’t get infected after having soaked it in the swamp?
    “Do you want to stay here or go back to your hut?” asked Paci.
    “Go back,” I said, pushing myself into a sitting position.
    “Here. Let me help you,” he said, shifting around to be my human crutch. I was glad he didn’t offer to carry me. I think it would have hurt too much to have my leg flopping around, and I was totally paranoid that Coli was out there spying on me.
    I hobbled out of the clinic with Paci supporting me. He pointed out various traps and lookouts on the way.
    “There’s another tripwire there. We don’t have any live grenades on it now, but we can set one up in a hurry if we have to.”
    “Are any of the traps live?”
    “Well, today we were making some live. You can see we didn’t … uh … plan so well for that.”
    “Any grenades live right now?”
    “No.”
    “Thank God,” I sighed. “Fohi’d probably blow himself up with them.”
    Paci laughed. “I know. Poor guy. He’s so enthusiastic, but sometimes …” He shook his head.
    “Points for trying,” I