Marco Domici: Blood and Fear

"Who?" Tala said as the vehicle quick halted."What?"

Tala had been half asleep when someone nudged her that they were near a place that might have a good lunch. She wiped away a little bit of drool that had collected on her chin. Hopefully no one saw it. As she had started to look out the window Gabbie had barked an order and the vehicle immediately shunted power around front. It was from slowing down to dead stop fast enough for Tala to be thrown into the back of the drivers seat. Her nose caught on the headrest clip and she felt the skin tear slightly as she saw a few stars.

Guns, girls, and guys tumbled together as people cursed. Gabbie was already out the hatch and yelling at someone. Tala cursed for a second, and then fear started to take over. She half clawed her way towards the hatch to get away from the struggling bodies. But when she got to the hatch it felt bad; she could hear them yelling at each other.

For a moment she pulled back. Curses and anger inside, yelling and anger outside. Tears started to mix with the blood dripping down her face and on to her almost new uniform. She started to cry harder as the yells got louder. Half out of the portal, Tala looked down to find the ground. That's when she saw the blood stain mixing into the camoflage.

Marco had given her one of his uniforms. Of course, it didn't fit well, but it did fit. Now she'd have to explain why there was blood on it and why she remained in the vehicle when things were going on outside. Her mind pushed forwards and back at the same time the vehicle bucked once. From behind her the scramble of bodies twisted, someone screamed out, and a heavy boot crashed hard into her lower ribs.

Tala gasped in pain and felt the half meter drop to the ground. Her face slammed into the dirt and she tasted the gritty mix of blood and sandy loam. She pushed herself up and looked around.

"Max?" She said quietly. Of course, Gabbie was right near her, still yelling. At first she had thought they were under attack or something and that Gabbie was protecting them.

"Max is pointing his gun at Gabbie." She said to no one. "What's going on? Why are you both yelling?"

Tala caught movement to her left as she started to find her feet. There was Marco, moving forward, his weapon up. His hair has was messed up a little but he had gotten his cut too. Tala liked seeing him move in his armor. He couldn't dance worth a bogan but when he moved in his armor he looked like he belonged there. That was his dance.

"Hey!" She said, and spat out more blood and grit. "What's going on?"

She felt time slow down even as she tried to yell. Max's gun swiveled from Gabbie to Tala. Her heart stopped at the muzzle pointed directly at her. She didn't fear, just then. The world was over. She couldn't yell for some reason though, just stare as Max pointed the gun at her. She knew he was about to fire. She knew what would happen.

"Thank you Marco." She whispered.

There was a flash from the gun but Tala didn't feel anything. She heard a loud thump and realized her heart had just given a beat. The gun was still pointed at her and flashing, but Max seemed to stumble back. He stood, though, and started to move the gun again.

"No!" Tala screamed. Max was pointing at Marco! "No!" Tala felt the gravel shift under her. Another thump. Her heart started to complain about lack of oxygen but Tala ignored it. The ground shifted under her other foot as she realized she was running. Her boot caught solid rock just then and she saw Max getting closer. The boy was hurt bad but he was trying to kill Marco.

He brought the gun up and Tala reached out. She tried to claw herself closer and felt her collar bone shatter as it hit his hip. "No!" she screamed in frustration and pain. His knee caught her in the stomach as he slid backwards. Her weight drove his knee into her gut and she saw nothing but stars and pain. Yet she could feel him there, beneath her. She punched and it slid off, tearing skin off her knuckles. "No!" She punched again and felt the bite of gravel on her fist. She punched again and felt the soft flesh collapse under her. She punched again, and again.

She couldn't move. Something held her fist back.

"Tala!" someone yelled.

Why were they yelling, she was right here? Maye they can't see either. "Here." she whispered. She felt the gravel under her rump. Her stomach turned and she tried to roll over and vomit. She couldn't move, at first, and then she could. A few moments of dry heaves and her eyes cleared. "Patrick?"

He looked down at her. "Yeah, kid. What got into you?"

"What? What happened?" She felt the cloth on her nose. She tried to sit up but the pain slammed her down. "My shoulder."

"Jilla!" Patrick yelled. "Hang tight, Tala. Here, let me see." He opened the uniform top and saw the discoloration at her collar. Patrick cursed. "Here, let's see what we can do for the pain."

"Marco? Max was trying to shoot him." Tala said softly. Her vision cleared, for a moment, and then started to fuzz. "Is he okay?"

"Hey girl, you did great." Jilla said, holding Tala's head still. "That was some mean tackle there." A tear fell. "Yet, Marco's okay, thanks to you. He and dad are talking with Gabbie. It doesn't look good for Max."

"Oh...okay..." Tala said, and her head fell.