Zeirdin stood up out of the grass, soaked to the bone, rifle slung over his shoulder. Icy rage burned in his chest, alongside his racing heart. He looked down at Jin who had once again been too slow.

“Come one, let’s go,” Zeirdin said, voice slightly shaking. The rain kept pouring. The two teenage boys were too busy tending to the girl to notice jin and Zierdin pop out of the waist-high grass. Zeirdin didn’t want to see them. He had just killed two men a matter of seconds ago.

Jin and Zeirdin were on the path 10 meters away from the three other teens. One of the boys finally looked up at the right time, a mixture of emotions crossing his face after a realization.

Finally, he yelled, “We need a stopper right now! A metal fragment might’ve grazed her femoral artery! We only have a few minutes at most!” Jin sprang into action, bolting towards the trio. After violently yanking off his pack, he tore through it like he was possessed. Zeirdin could only stand there. He didn’t understand how much danger she was in. One of the twins was comforting the girl as the other tried to slow the bleeding with pressure from his hands. His hands were covered in blood. A deep crimson flower of blood expanded around the grass from the girl.

Jin finished his rummaging and pulled out a ring about the diameter of a human head. It was colored red with two straps and a white knob.

“Make her bite this,” Jin said as he handed the closer twin a thick cotton disk. The twin nodded.

“Teiya, bite it,” he said. Teiya firmly bit down on it, determination in her eyes. She wasn’t going to kick the bucket over something like this. The group of three had been in The Tower long enough to know what was about to happen. After they all nodded to each other, Jin fastened the ring around her thigh, above the wound. Teiya was growing paler by the second, the crimson flower growing, now having reached Zeirdin’s feet as he stood in a stupor. The twins held down her hands and feet. Jin swiftly turned the white knob. Four consecutive hisses rang out, followed by Teiya’s muffled screaming. She bucked against her restrainers with a fury previously hidden. As quickly as it had happened, she fell quiet. Jin sighed in relief.

“She should make it to Lestag where she can receive proper treatment,” Jin said.

Thank you guys so much,” The twins said, nearly in sync, “I don’t think we would be alive without you two.” Zeirdin looked over at Teiya who lay unconscious on the ground, brow still furrowed. Then he saw the still spreading red on her thigh.

“Guys can the pleasantries wait, that really fancy tourniquet thing doesn’t look like it sealed properly!” Zeirdin shouted. Everyone looked down in horror.

Jin swore and buried his face in his hands, “FUCK! One of the gas cartridges didn’t go off!”

“Can anyone else drive a hoverbike?” Zeirdin asked urgently. Everyone shook their heads. “Get her on now!” Zeirdin yelled as he hopped on one of the hoverbikes left by the thugs. It was a rental, and by a miracle, the keys were in the ignition. He wasn’t going to let his murder be in vain. The hoverbike was a sleek gray contraption about three meters long. It was relatively similar to what he’d driven in the past. As the wins carried Teiya, Zeirdin turned the key in the ignition. Dials blue and red flickered on and the machine whirred to life as it rose upwards, stopping at half a meter above the ground. The bike could only seat two people, however, the safety belts were thorough enough that they could hold an unconscious person. Zeirdin looked over the controls after strapping himself in. The twins struggled to get Teiya into place. While she wasn’t bleeding as profusely as before, the blood was still left over and was a hindrance. If needed, he could drive with only one hand as many of the controls were handled by seven foot pedals.

“We got her strapped in as good as we got time for,” the darker-haired twin said. Zeirdin didn’t wait as he went into full throttle. The machine instantly accelerated, reaching 90 kph in five seconds. The feeling of his organs pressing against the back of his insides was exhilarating. The raindrops became bullets as they flew towards his face in an endless volley. He struggled to keep his eyes open, rain stinging intensely against his face. He couldn’t afford to make a single mistake. Someone’s life was in his hands. They flew over the rolling hills of green like a giant metal sparrow. Despite the relatively high speed of the hoverbike, the ride was quite smooth due to the regularly maintained stabilizers and lack of contact with the ground. They should make it to Lestag within 15 minutes, but he didn’t know how fast the Menders could respond.

There was a reason that not just anyone could operate a hoverbike. To keep costs down and accessibility up, most bikes ran off of two fuel sources. Usually low purity zinnium, and cheap burnable solid fuel. However, it still came at a cost. The user had to oscillate between the fuels manually. To get energy out of zinnium, usually, a current had to be run through it. However, low purity zinnium could only withstand a sustained current for short periods of time, or else it would crumble. The original idea of oscillation was repurposed from the original blackfang war machines found in Old Laurentia.

Zeirdin kept a watchful eye on the oscillation indicator, shifting fuels whenever necessary. Stalling out from a missed shift could mean death for Teiya. The hoverbike left the grass parted in its wake, wind, and rain violently whipping Zeirdin’s shaggy hair.

***

The watchman had been quick to act and had gotten Teiya to a medical facility quickly. Zeirdin sat in the waiting room while they operated on her. He had left a message with the watchmen so that when the others arrived they would know where to go. Zeirdin looked up and stared at the dim flickering florescent lights. He was sure the menders would severely overcharge for the treatment. Some would say that one couldn’t put a price on life, but menders could, and they would.

It was approaching 7 pm when Zeirdin was called to Teiya’s room. He followed the nurse down the white hallway that seemed to extend forever, their footsteps echoing eerily. They stopped at a room on the left labeled 895 and entered. Teiya lay on the bed conscious, Her hair was straight and blonde, unlike earlier when it was wet. She gave Zeirdin a perplexed expression before figuring it out.

Zeirdin sat down on a green chair near the door, “The others will be here soon I think.” Teiya nodded.

“So, you’re the one who saved us, huh,” Teiya said. “Thought you might be a little less shrimpy,” she muttered. Zeirdin rolled his eyes and got up from his chair to leave. “I’m joking, ‘kay!”, she quickly said.

“I’m getting food. Kebabs or fries?”, he asked wearily. It had been a long stressful day and he hadn’t eaten in a while. The knot in his stomach had finally undone itself, so he could finally think about eating food.

“Well, after losing all that blood, I could go for some meat, so kebabs,” Teiya said cheerily. Zeirdin nodded slightly, massaging his left temple with his hand as he left. He had a headache. The food cart Zeirdin liked would be open for another couple hours if he remembered correctly. He had a feeling that the others might be there when he got back.

Zeirdin came back holding five mystery kebabs. When he’d asked the cook what the meat was, the man pretended to not understand Vilmek in true Lestagian fashion. As he’d guessed, the twins and Jin were in the room.

“Brought snacks,” Zeirdin said with a slight smile. This immediately caught the attention of the three boys, and they each snatched a kebab with the dexterity of a yimlin. Before Zeirdin had arrived, Jin had been describing the events of the day before they’d met to the twins as they eagerly listened. Jin resumed after Zeirdin sat down. He chuckled inwardly as he noticed Jin was embellishing many of his own parts.

Zeirdin opted to silently listen. He learned that the blond twin was Willem, while the brown-haired one was Doryan. They were both the younger half brothers of Teiya.

Teiya propped herself up on her bed, “Oh, yeah, now that he’s back, I’ll tell you what the menders said. I can walk in a few days, but no rigorous physical activity for the next month.” Everyone looked relieved. They all chatted for a little while longer.

The trio thanked Jin and Zeirdin and they parted ways for the night after exchanging contact info. Jin and Zeirdin went back to the inn, while the others stayed the night at the facility.

The rain had finally stopped, leaving puddles all over Lestag. The orange glow of the street lamps created a picturesque view with the reflections of the puddles. Zeirdin wished he could enjoy it more as he walked towards the inn. The events of the day had left him drained and he wanted nothing more than a hot bath and sleep.

It was starting to become very apparent how fortunate Zeirdin had been in childhood. He was only proficient in many of the skills he considered trivial, like Galma, Lovac, and hoverbike operation thanks to his parents. Zeirdin was thinking this as he tried to teach Jin how to ride a hoverbike. For the nth time, Jin stalled the bike and fell off as he turned, colliding with the ground in a dull thud. Jin groaned. He left an indentation in the tall grass.

“I still don’t understand this whole shifting and oscillation thing,” Jin said as he rolled onto his back.

Zeirdin sighed, “For the last time, don’t worry about the other pedals for now. When the indicator mark gets close to the blue line, press the big pedal with your foot and turn the right handle towards yourself.” Jin’s lesson continued for another hour, with some success, although temporary. Zeirdin wished that he could just have Jin take lessons, but due to the perpetual early development stage of Lestag’s economy caused by the constant migration of people, there were still many gaps in the market, despite there being a demand.

The two stopped for lunch. They were out in the field so they had to settle for protein bars and rat jerky. Zeirdin took a bite. Stringy and tough with a musky aftertaste. It wasn’t actually rat jerky, but sellers were not exactly very transparent about their ingredients in Lestag. Jin had jokingly called it rat jerky and the name had stuck. Zeirdin guessed it was relg meat, a larger and more aggressive cousin to the common rat. The relgs were to be thanked for the lack of rats in Lestag.

“I forgot to mention this yesterday since we were both so wet and tired, but I swiped the dynats off those dudes you exploded yesterday,” Jin said as he leaned in closer and whispered. They were both weary of unwanted eyes, since those thugs may have been part of a gang with ears everywhere.

“How much?” Zeirdin whispered.

“106 total. God knows how much they were carrying in those safebricks. They were probably set to transfer the second their heartbeats stopped.” Jin said quietly. Zeirdin nodded, eyes wide. “I’ll transfer it all to you. I still have quite a stash left, so I don’t need a cut.” Jin pulled out his biotablet.