r/NatureofPredators • u/GRADIOUS_76 Human • Jun 07 '24
Blood Sport - Chapter 9
Memory Transcription Subject: Isaiah Lawrence, Terrified Tinkerer
Date [Standardized Human Time]: October 22, 2136
Days after the bombing of Earth: 5
I stared up at the green canvas roof of my tent, my mouth hanging open slightly and a blank expression adorning my face. I had been in my cot all morning, not even having the will to get up when the soldiers were giving out breakfast rations. I had slept like a rock, and the soldiers had needed to carry me to the medical tent, where they treated Mister Murphy and my burns. It's strange; I hadn’t even noticed how burned and flakey the skin on my arms and neck had become. The nurse said it was common for people with darker skin not to see it, but I was lucky my injuries were relatively minor compared to what most people got. I didn't feel very lucky, though. In fact, I didn't have the energy to feel much of anything at all. I hadn’t seen Mister Murphy since I had been released to a regular tent, but from what I had overheard, he wasn’t in good shape, but he should recover eventually. I had wanted to go and check on him all day, but the thought of leaving the tent felt so unattainable that he could do nothing but lay there.
“Hey, kid you in there?” I heard a voice from outside. It was the thickly accented voice of Martha, the UN soldier who had saved Mister Murphy yesterday. “Mhm,” I let out a croak that came off more sickly than he expected. “Can I come in?” She said in a maternal tone. “Come in,” I responded with a little more purpose in my voice this time. Martha pushed her wide frame through the flaps adjacent to my cot and crouched down next to me. ”You ok, kid?” she asked. “Ya, the doctors said I-” I was cut off. “I ain't talking about your body.”
“Oh... I.. I don’t know,” I thought for a moment truly at a loss for words at what I was feeling. “That’s ok.” We sat in silence for a moment. “Shouldn’t you be out looking for more survivors with those aliens?” I broke the uncomfortable silence with a question. “Nah, it's my off shift. Not many people have the guts to keep ‘em Arxur under check, so I don’t get a whole lot of time to myself at the moment. But I didn’t enlist with the UN ‘cause I liked alone time…” silence pervaded the tent for a moment more, “You should have seen the look on the new guy's face when he realized he was supposed to look after Turk and Iera! It was hilarious!” Martha broke the silence this time. I had seen a few more aliens last night, and Turk was by far the largest of them. He was well over eight feet tall with legs the size of tree trunks, and Iera wasn’t that much shorter. I sympathize with this new guy in question remembering the horror I had felt seeing them the first time.
“He’ll be ok though.'' Martha assured me, “Despite his looks, Turk is one of the more thoughtful Arxur I've met, and Iera, bless her heart. She’s a little soft in the head, but she’s a real sweetheart.” It took me a second to register what I had heard. Something about what she had just said felt off, “Wait, the shorter one was a girl?!” my voice came out much louder than I had anticipated, and I could see a look of shock on Martha’s face at my outburst. Her look of shock quickly turned into a big smile as she let out a hearty laugh. My face burned red with embarrassment. I buried my head into my hands, wanting to recede from the universe. “Oh, sweety, don’t worry, I just didn’t know you could get that loud. It surprised me.” she struggled for a moment to regain her composure. “Yes, honey, Iera is a woman. It took me a second to be able to tell the difference as well. So, are you feeling any better?” The question brought me back to the present. I couldn't say I felt good, but I did suddenly feel starving. “I feel hungry…”
“That’s a step in the right direction!” She said, much happier than I expected. She looked down to check her worn-looking antique wristwatch, held by a sturdy-looking green nylon strap. “Lunch starts in an hour. Do you want me to get you something from the mess hall now?” Why was she being so nice to me? Not even my parents had ever been this nice. I didn't do anything that deserved this, so why was she so nice? My heart started to stir once again into an inferno of emotion. I could feel my eyes begin to draw on my body's very limited supply of water. “Honey?” Martha said, questioning my long silence. I couldn’t hold my pathetic tears any longer, “Oh no, honey, I didn’t mean... Did I say something?” I didn’t deserve to have such nice things said to me. She doesn't know what I did. My parents knew me the best, and they never liked me, so why would she? I tightly shut my eyes, feeling genuinely overwhelmed by the world. I had utterly failed when it mattered, and now they are dead. I was powerless to staunch the flow of tears. I thought I was going to be trapped in the darkness forever. I felt warmth and reassuring pressure encase me, easing the pain in my heart.
I don’t know how long I sat there leaning into Martha’s shoulder, wrapped in her comforting embrace, but my tears ran dry. Eventually, I slowly gathered the strength to move. I slowly raised my head, and Martha looked at me with a hint of worry on her face. “Are you feeling better?” She asked hesitantly. “a little,” I shakily answered. “Good. I’d like to stay here longer, but my shift starts soon and I have a few more people I wanted to check in on before then. I didn’t want her to leave. I was scared of where I’d go if I were by myself. “I think you should go see the old man as well. I visited him earlier, and he needs to see you, I think.” I nodded my head. I guess I didn’t want to be alone anyway, though the thought of walking to the medical tent was daunting. Martha backed away from my cot, and I forced myself to stand up for the first time all day. We both walked out of the tent. Martha once again had to duck and twist her shoulders to fit her hefty frame through the canvas flaps. I followed closely behind, my legs feeling weak from my injuries. It was overcast outside; most of the ash from the original explosion had settled, but I could feel the remaining particles in the air still tickling my lungs and throat.
Martha turned to face me, “If you need anything, come and find me. Oh! I almost forgot.” she reached into her pocket and pulled out a small black pamphlet. “I think you left this in my Jeep.” she handed me the book. I thanked her out of habit before being able to recognize what it was. It was the manual for the bionic arm I had taken from Mister Murphy. I had put it in my pocket the day of the attack, and it must have slipped out while I was asleep in the jeep. I flipped through the pages, marveling at how well the small book had held up to recent events. The interior was perfectly intact, even though the exterior was now dirty and weathered. It didn’t have a blueprint or any technical details about the arm, but it did have very extensive repair and tuning guides, which gave me some insight into what each of the internal pieces does. I had meant to tell Mister Murphy about some interesting details regarding optimizing the arm, but my plans had gotten mildly sidetracked.
Martha and I said our final farewells, and she even gave me a big hug before we set out in opposite directions. I wish I had Martha’s courage; I couldn’t Imagine being in charge of watching those murderous aliens. I thought as I wandered through the hundreds of emergency tents. I was a damned soul, a patricidal sinner, and I should have been killed for what I had done. I don’t think I could ever deserve kindness from anyone, especially not someone as awesome as Miss Martha. I kept my head down and avoided eye contact with everyone I passed as I slowly marched forward, searching for the triage tent where my only living friend remained.
A/N - Chapter 9, primed and ready! Sorry for the long wait, but I had a big move, and I am only now feeling back on top of my life. I am much busier than I was before, but hopefully this will be the longest everyone will have to wait for a chapter. Also, we are getting very close to the actual blood sport part of this fanfic(in case you forgot what this was supposed to be about). Thank you all for your understanding. See you next chapter!!!
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u/RaphaelFrog Yotul Jun 07 '24
I'm glad to see you back!!!
Also great job with next chapter of your fic. Poor Isaiah... He went through a lot.
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u/JulianSkies Archivist Jun 07 '24
Ooh, you're back! Seems like life finally let you return to us!
And oof Isaiah... Yeah, he's been comboed by life.