Reckoners 01 - Steelheart

of pain and fright, of aching and dizziness.
    Prof hadn’t offered to help a single time. He’d almost left me behind at several points.
    “Here,” Abraham said to Tia, arriving with another pouch of blood.
    “Hook it up,” Tia said distractedly, working on Megan’s side opposite me. I could see her bloodied surgical gloves reflecting the light. She hadn’t had time to change, and her regular clothing—a cardigan over a blouse and jeans—was now stained with streaks of red. She worked with intense concentration, but her voice betrayed panic.
    Tia’s mobile beeped a soft rhythm; it had a medical package, and she had set it on Megan’s chest to detect her heartbeat. Tia occasionally picked it up to take quick ultrasounds of Megan’s abdomen. With the part of my brain that could still think, I was impressed by the Reckoners’ preparations. I hadn’t even known that Tia had medical training, let alone that we had blood and surgical equipment in storage.
    She shouldn’t look that way
, I thought, blinking out tears I hadn’t realized were forming.
So vulnerable. Naked on the table. Megan is stronger than that. Shouldn’t they cover her a little with a sheet or something as they work?
    I caught myself rising to fetch something to cover her, something to give a semblance of modesty, but then realized how stupid I was being. Each moment was crucial here, and I couldn’t go blundering in and distract Tia.
    I sat down. I was covered in Megan’s blood. I couldn’t smell it anymore; I guess my nose had gotten used to it.
    She has to be okay
, I thought, dazed.
I saved her. I brought her back. She
has
to be all right, now. That’s the way it works
.
    “This shouldn’t be happening,” Abraham said softly. “The harmsway …”
    “It doesn’t work on everyone,” Tia said. “I don’t know why. I
wish
I knew why, dammit. But it has never worked well on Megan, just like she always had trouble working the tensors.”
    Stop talking about her weaknesses!
I screamed at them in my head.
    Megan’s heartbeat was getting even weaker. I could hear it, amplified by Tia’s phone—
beep, beep, beep
. Before I knew it, I was standing up. I turned toward Prof’s thinking room. Cody hadn’t returned to the hideout; he was still watching the captured Epic in a separate location, as he’d been ordered. But Prof was here, in the other room. He’d walked straight there after arriving, not once looking at Megan or me.
    “David!” Tia said sharply. “What are you doing?”
    “I … I …,” I stammered, trying to get out the words. “I’m going to get Prof. He’ll do something. He’ll save her. He knows what to do.”
    “Jon can’t do anything here,” Tia said. “Sit back down.”
    The sharp order cut through my dazed confusion. I sat and watched Megan’s closed eyes as Tia worked, swearing softly to herself. The curses almost matched the beat of Megan’s heart. Abraham stood to the side, looking helpless.
    I watched her eyes. Watched her serene, calm face as the beeps slowed. Then stopped. There was no flatline sound from the mobile. Just silence that carried a weight of meaning. Nothingness laden with data.
    “This …,” I said, blinking tears. “I mean, I carried her all the way here, Tia.…”
    “I’m sorry,” Tia said. She raised a hand to her face, leaving a bloody mark on her forehead. Then she sighed and leaned back against the wall, looking exhausted.
    “Do something,” I said. Not an order. A plea.
    “I’ve done what I can,” Tia said. “She’s gone, David.”
    Silence.
    “Those wounds were bad,” Tia continued. “You did everything you could. It’s not your fault. To be honest, even if you’d been able to get her here immediately, I don’t know if she’d have made it.”
    “I …” I couldn’t think.
    Cloth rustled. I glanced to the side. Prof stood in the doorway to his room. He’d dusted off his clothing, and he looked clean and dignified, a sharp contrast to the rest of us. His eyes flickered to Megan. “She’s gone?” he asked. His voice had softened a little from before, though he still didn’t sound like I felt he should.
    Tia nodded.
    “Gather what you can,” Prof said, slinging a pack over his shoulder. “We’re abandoning this position. It’s been compromised.”
    Tia and Abraham nodded, as if they’d been expecting this order. Abraham did pause to lay a hand on Megan’s shoulder and bow his head, and then he moved his hand to the pendant at his