In the distance, back at the bend of the tunnel, Ryan could see the two chilled corpses, and the wounded man, now semiconscious.
“Let Mildred go and see to your man,” Ryan added after he had spoken his name, indicating the woman with an inclination of his head. “She knows a lot of healing skills and understands some of the old medicines. Let her take him to the med lab here, she may be able to help him.”
Correll furrowed his brow. “Med lab?” He pronounced the words as though they were completely foreign, rolling them around his tongue.
Mildred spoke for the first time. “Med lab—it’s usually on the same level as the armory. Look, a couple of your people carry him, and I’ll see if I can help him.”
Correll gave Mildred a penetrating stare that, for one moment, completely fazed her. She felt a shudder run down her spine as those deep-set eyes seemed to search into her. Then he nodded, turning his head to two of the men behind.
“Lonnie, Travis—help this here lady to take Cy to the med lab, see if she can help him. Let her lead.”
He had, once again, pronounced the words “med lab” as though they were something strange and freakish, but his voice still carried authority. Two of the men—a tall, crop-haired guy and a slightly shorter guy with longer, red hair—nodded, shouldered their blasters and moved back to where Cy was lying. Mildred, with the briefest of glances at Ryan and J.B., holstered her ZKR, which had been in her hand, pointing down, as were all the blasters, and hurried past the one-eyed man and his counterpart, moving through the other people to reach the injured man.
The two men assigned to assist her were about to lift him, but she stayed them with a simple “Wait, please,” and examined the prone body as they hovered over her. It was a bad injury, and she couldn’t guarantee saving the use of the arm, but as long as the refrigeration on the blood-and-plasma bank in the redoubt was still working, she may be able to keep him alive. “Okay, let’s go,” she said firmly, establishing her authority and leading Lonnie and Travis, carrying the prone Cy, out of sight around the tunnel bend and in search of the med lab.
Correll had turned to watch them go, and now he returned his gaze to Ryan.
“So, Ryan Cawdor, we know who we are. Introduce me to the rest of your people, and then we can go back to the living quarters and you can meet my people.”
Correll slowly shouldered his H&K and extended his hand in a gesture. Ryan holstered the SIG-Sauer and grasped Correll’s hand. The grip was firm and dry.
“That’s a deal,” Ryan said.
After the introductions had been made, the two forces joined up and moved out of the lower tunnel, walking up toward where the redoubt dwellers had made their home. Correll explained on the way that his people had learned early on that the worms liked to dig deep in these parts, and apart from one or two isolated incidents they had never experienced any problems with the giant muties on the upper levels. They rarely used the lower levels, just venturing down when necessary to use the shower room, or take supplies, or effect repairs.
Jak and Dean volunteered themselves to help the woman and one of the other men carry the corpses of those they had chilled up to the higher levels, where they would be disposed of. The man and woman still seemed to have a degree of hostility over the chilling, even though they abided by their leader’s word, and seemed uneasy at Jak and Dean assisting. But both felt it was a necessary gesture and carried on regardless.
They passed the med lab, and Correll stopped to see what was going on.
Mildred turned as the door opened. Travis was assisting her, his red hair pushed back from his face as he leaned over the prone Cy, but Lonnie had been overcome by seeing the state of Cy’s wound closeup, and was standing some distance away.
“What’s going on?” Correll asked.