"Some people, they treat us like gods, like saints. Some of us, we allow it, encourage it.
People need hope, and sometimes that comes at the end of Katana. I don’t know if belief in a human god is better than worshiping some uncaring bastard in heaven. All I knew was that neither option was appropriate. "
--The late Yinhuan, 2035
***
We need to regroup.
I looked over Lucy's head at all the children. They give dead aliens a wide berth. Some people stared blankly at the two corpses just... left there. I counted two more adults, and a few teenagers around my age. At least all the kittens were found.
"We need to get out of here," I whispered into Lucy's hair as I held her in my arms.
"Can't we stay and wait for the samurai's help?" Lucy asked.
I stepped back and smiled down at her. I wanted to tell her everything was going to be okay, but I wasn't in the habit of lying. "We'll figure it out," I said. "I have this thing where we can, uh, scout forward for monsters and then escort the kittens...somewhere." I shook the hummingbird.
"Where did you get it?" she asked. "What happened to your chest? You're covered in blood. Are you hurt?"
"I'm fine. But it could be worse." I looked around again. "Junior? There are others. There were more people here earlier."
"She, ah, she was crying somewhere. You know how she felt about people looking at her like that," Lucy said. "What about the others? They left. Said they didn't want to stay and that maybe there was a better shelter. I stayed because you... you know. Well. I sent Bitchbot with them. She was, she Own."
She held out her hand and our hands met. She squeezed mine, and I squeezed her back.
[Catherine, now that the most immediate threat has been eliminated, you may want to consider tending to your injuries. There are several options that can greatly improve your situation. ]
"Not now," I said.
"Um?"
I shook my head, dismissing Lucy's worries. Also, a group was forming on their side, the remaining adults, and some older kids. Two boys dragged the body aside and covered it with a thin blanket pulled from a back storage room.
"Want to see the kitten?" I asked. "I think I should be with a small team."
"They should be fine," Lucy said, looking at our kids. “They were tough, tougher than the religious kids and preppy kids.
It only takes one glance to tell how others are handling it. Devout children are forming a small prayer circle. The preppy kids, who looked like they were some high school seniors, were panicking, some on their tablets, others tapping the side of their temples as if that would help their gear connect. I can't imagine online media keeping up with the ongoing intrusion.
Compared to them, the kittens look pretty good. Not great, but okay. Noses were picking at something, the twins were huddled together, and Daniel was talking to some other people, making exaggerated gestures and smiling.
"Yeah, okay," I said. We walked into the crowd, Lucy hanging beside me, dragging her cane behind her with one hand. I pretended not to hear the squeak when we stepped on something wet.
"We want to stay," said one of the adults, a bald man who looked like a poster boy from before and after commercials, a guy who started out as a wimpy office worker and ended up as some sort of supermodel.
"Our protector will come," said a girl next to him. She was beautiful, with long golden hair and a smile on her face. In fact, she looked at the man across from her with a frown, her hands lazily playing with a string of rosary beads. It matched the "almost nun-like" uniform she wore.
"What's going on?" I asked.
Four pairs of eyes turned to me. There was an almost bald woman who looked like a teacher and was shaking all over, and an older boy who looked like he was from our orphanage.
"You are the one who kills the monster," the nun said. "Thanks."
I raised an eyebrow at that. "Yes, of course," I said. "I just happened to have a gun."
"Are you qualified to use it?" Bald Man asked.
I blinked at him, then looked at the three dead aliens in the room. "No. No, I'm not. Want to do something about this? Maybe call the local security forces?"
"Don't be belligerent," he said.
“Fuck you,” I said.
The nun girl coughed. "Please, you two. This is not the time for this. We need to decide what to do now. If we stay... I can lead the kids in song and prayer while we wait, and if we go, then we need to first Decide where we want to go."
"I don't think singing helps," I said. I frowned. My words sounded a bit vague. "I...I only have twelve rounds left in this thing. This is a big room, and..." I trailed off.
"Cat?" Lucy asked.
"I'm fine," I said.
you are not. I'm afraid the blood loss was even greater than I initially anticipated. Or, most likely, you tore the wound while running. Your blood pressure and temperature readings indicate severe internal bleeding.
"That's bad."
[indeed. You will soon lose consciousness. May I suggest you heal yourself? You have points for it. ]
"Cat? Cat, do you need to sit down?" Lucy said.
Everyone else stared at me, especially the bald ones. "Has she been bitten? Will she become one of them?"
"Sir, don't be foolish," said the nun. "These monsters don't turn humans against their own kind. These are just scouts, nothing more."
"She might meet some Model Seven there, we don't know," Bald said.
I growled lowly. "It's blood loss, fuck. Mialis, is there a choice?"
There are two options immediately available. You can spend points to unlock the Small Prosthetic Level I tree and then purchase the internal repair system. Over time, this will tap into your body's cellular reserves to heal you.
"Slow down," I said.
"What? Cat, what are you doing?" said Lucy. She tried to pull me back but almost tripped. The boy in our group rushed over and picked me up.
Although it is indeed slow, it can avoid this situation in the future. A second, faster option is the following two medical utilities. Class I blood recovery. A compound that replenishes your blood supply within hours. There is also a Level I Nano Regeneration Kit.
The Nano Regeneration Kit is expensive at 20 points, but ensures your survival and quick recovery.
"How much will this cost?" I muttered.
I could feel Lucy next to me, her worry radiating off her in waves.
25 points. If you die, it's better to spend it than lose it.
"I need privacy," I told Lucy. What's worse is that even though I know I'm getting weaker, I still feel fine.
"I-I don't know. Does anyone here have medical training?" she asked the others.
Then I fell to my knees. "Oh, crap," I said.
"cat!"
"Mialis," I whispered. "Now or never, huh?"
New Purchase: Nano Regeneration Kit
Points reduced to... 42
New Purchase: Blood Recovery
Points reduced to... 37
Two boxes appeared on the ground in front of me.
The nun gasped.
I put the hummingbird down and opened one of the boxes. Inside is a dark red tube with a plastic stopper on one end. The yellow arrow points to the plug.
Press it into your skin.
I pushed it against the small patch of skin I could see through my torn shirt. In less than a second, the red liquid in the syringe was poured into my body. I didn't even feel it happening.
[A syringe is inserted through your skin into a series of tubes connected to the nearest vein or artery, and the Hemo-Resto
e poured directly into your system.
"Hmm," I said, letting go of the syringe. It left three small red dimples on my skin that were barely visible against the blood.
The next box contained a small device that looked like an asthma inhaler and rebreather.
Put it in your mouth. Breathe in.
"Easy," I muttered.
It felt like inhaling a breath of electric fire, a tingling sensation traveling down my throat and then through my lungs. As soon as the inhaler was empty, I threw it away and coughed like crazy.
The tingling in my chest started again, like a sleeping limb, but all over the damn place. My missing eye twitched and my stump moved.
I'm afraid the Nano Regeneration Suit is too weak to do anything for what you are missing. Level II kits can repair missing limbs, but this is currently out of your budget.
I nodded and looked up to see Lucy and the others staring at me. "Sorry," I said, wiping my mouth with my sleeve. "I'm dying."
