by Tina Chan
Kristi woke to a dull pain blossoming in the center of her chest. She hadn’t gotten much sleep last night because the solar lamp’s brightness never permitted her to fully sink into sleep’s embrace. If anything, Kristi felt more exhausted than before.
Jaiden and Chelsa were still fast asleep, so she took great care not to wake them up when she crawled outside.
The storm had left an additional foot of snow on top of the three feet from previous days. Kristi stood up in the knee-deep snow and accidently bumped her head against the branches of the willow tree, causing the snow that had accumulated on the branches to plop onto the tent.
“What the heck!” came a muffled shout from inside the tent.
So much for trying not to wake Chelsa and Jaiden up.
A red-cheeked Chelsa poked her head out of the snow-flattened tent to see what had happened, then re-emerged when she got her boots on.
“What’s going on?” Jaiden asked, still inside the tent.
Chelsa, who was outside, answered, “Kristi tried to squash us beneath a ton of snow.”
“Hm,” said Jaiden. “Murder by Snow. That would make a great murder mystery.”
Ghost crept into the camp, carrying a dead bird in his mouth. He dropped the bird by Chelsa’s feet, giving Kristi a clear view of the prey. It was a flashy, colorful creature with bright green plumages and a striking blue head. Ghost finished washing his paws and picked apart his meal.
Kristi looked away, not wanting to see the beautiful animal become a bloody mess of bones and entrails.
“Can you pass me the tent bag?” Jaiden asked.
Kristi stooped down, picked up the canvas sack and passed it off to Jaiden. He and Chelsa efficiently packed away the tent and they were ready to set off. Kristi grabbed the front of Mist’s saddle and stuck her left foot into the stirrup.
“Ow!” she gasped. She lifted her foot out of the stirrup and stood still, massaging her aching ribs.
“I forgot you got hurt last night,” Chelsa said. “Why didn’t you remind me? I could’ve rebound your wrist if only you had asked.”
“The cold partially numbs the pain snd my wrist should be fine; it’s just my ribs that hurt really bad when I tried to mount Mist.”
“Do you need a leg up?” Jaiden asked.
“That’ll be great.” She accepted Jaiden’s boost into the saddle, gritting her teeth. Once she was remotely comfortable in the saddle, the pain lessened and she relaxed.
Chelsa navigated her horse onto the road and determined the direction where New Amsterdam lay. Kristi bit her tongue every time Mist took a step; her upper ribcage complained at the jarring movement. She made sure Jaiden and Chelsa were in front of her, so they wouldn’t notice her grimacing every time Mist took an extra bumpy stride; both of them had enough to worry about without Kristi adding to their list.
After an hour, her tongue was a bloody mess.
The droid-horses picked up the pace, sensing their rider’s eagerness to arrive at New Amsterdam. The town of New Amsterdam greeted Kristi’s eyes. It wasn’t a big town, probably a mile wide at most. Either way, she was heartened to see plowed roads, coffee shops and an inn advertising vacant rooms.
“Let’s check into an inn first,” she said. “I need to get out of the saddle and stretch my legs.”
“Same,” said Chelsa. Her eyes lit upon an inn. “Let’s go check out Country Inn.”
The deeper they rode into New Amsterdam, the more wanted posters of Jaiden and Kristi appeared. The posters were taped to the windows of many shops, posted on public bulletin boards and nailed onto trees. Thankfully, the pictures were the same ones Kristi saw in Oxfield, which meant the government hadn’t realized Jaiden and she had changed their looks yet.
New Amsterdam wasn’t like the city she used to live in; this place was obviously accustomed to the old way of living. Although such civilizations weren’t unheard of, they certainly weren’t common. There were no public news-screens, street cameras or droid-pets roaming the streets. The houses were built out of wood—real wood, not synthetic wood.
Kristi dismounted with care, not wanting to jar her ribs too much. They tied their horses to the hitching post and entered Country Inn.
“Are you looking to lodge here for the night?” a pleasant looking woman greeted the trio from behind a solid oak desk.
The interior of the reception room was painted a warm red and an electric fireplace cast a cheery glow.
“Yes,” Chelsa said.
“Room for three?”
Chelsa nodded and added, “Do you have a stable for our droid-horses as well?”
“Country Inn doesn’t have a stable, but if you go down Cherry Lane you can lodge your horses at Blossom Barns.”
“Thanks,” Chelsa said. “How many points will it cost to spend a night here?”
“150 points.” The woman waited until Chelsa had transferred the points to her account then showed them to their room.
Like the rest of the inn, the room had a rustic feel to it. The walls were painted a soft yellow and there were two twin cots and one futon in the room. A soft, braided rug lay in the center of the hardwood-floored room to keep out the chill.
“Stay here,” Chelsa ordered Kristi. “Jaiden and I will retrieve our bags and get the horses settled in at Blossom Barn. Aside from the bone-growth supplement tablets, is there anything else you want me to buy at the drug store?”
“No, I think I’m all set here.”
Chelsa and Jaiden left the room then returned shortly, dropping off their backpacks before leaving again to buy the needed supplies.
First things first, Kristi thought. What I need is a soak in the tub. She filled the bathtub with scalding water and dumped in two capfuls of grapefruit-scented bubble bath. Once the water had cooled down enough so that she wouldn’t burn herself upon contacting it, Kristi sank into a blissful state of mind.
She re-examined her ribs and was horrified to find the bruise covered about a third of her chest. It was a patchwork of colors ranging from a sickly green to a deep purple. In short, the bruise was not a pretty sight.
After the soak, Kristi moved all of the filthy laundry into a bag. She heaved the sack over her shoulder and stumbled into the laundry room.
No one occupied the laundry room except for a well-dressed man. He didn’t look threatening or particularly noticeable. Rather, it was the fact that the man seemed to be so unnoticeable and mundane that caught Kristi’s attention; if she hadn’t almost run into him upon entering the room, Kristi highly doubted she would’ve noticed him at all.
“Sorry,” she apologized to the man, taking a step back before colliding into him. “Are you using the washer and dryer?”
“I’m just about done with my laundry,” he said in a bland tone. “Go right ahead and use the washing machine. I’ll be gone once I collect my stuff from the dryer.”
She loaded the clothes into the washer, feeling the man’s eyes on her back the whole time. When the dryer beeped to announce it was done, the man gathered up his clothes into a satchel and left without a sound.
Jaiden found Kristi in the laundry room. She had dozed off, waiting for the clothes to finish drying in the dryer.
“There you are,” he said. “Chelsa and I couldn’t figure out where you went when we got back. Here, take these tablets.” Jaiden handed her two white tablets and a bottle of water.
“Thanks.” Kristi swallowed the bone-growth supplement tablets, making a face at the chalky taste and texture. “Any news about Maria and Don?”
“Their trial is in five days.”
They lapsed into a thoughtful silence, thinking about what would happen to Don and Maria if they were deemed guilty. The outcomes weren’t exactly hopeful; at best, they would be exiled from United Region, at worst, they would be executed.
Although Kristi was hurt that Maria and Don had lied to Jaiden and her and gotten them tangled into their mess, she still didn’t want something terrible to happen
to them.
“I’ll take care of the laundry. You go back to our room and stay in bed for the rest of the day,” Jaiden said, bringing Kristi out of her thoughts.
“Are you feeling better?” Chelsa asked Kristi the next morning.
She tentatively flexed her wrist and was delighted to find it no longer hurt. “My wrist is better, at any rate.” Then she let herself have a big stretch and pain shot through her ribs. “But my ribs still hurt.”
“Do you think you can ride?” Chelsa asked.
“I should be able to.”
Jaiden said, “I want to have a doctor look at your ribs.”
“I don’t think that’s necessary,” Kristi said. “I managed just fine yesterday, didn’t I?” I don’t want to delay our traveling with a doctor’s appointment.
However, Chelsa seemed to be considering Jaiden’s words and said, “Jaiden’s right. We won’t be able to travel at all if your ribs get worse. Jaiden, will you go ask around for a doctor?”
“There’s a reputable doctor staying at Country Inn,” Jaiden informed them. He closed the door behind him. “Dr. Hanson is an excellent doctor, according to the innkeeper. Apparently he travels a lot because he is wanted in many places.”
“What time will he see Kristi?” Chelsa asked.
“He’ll come up here around 7:30 a.m. So we have about half an hour before the appointment.”
Kristi went to the bathroom to change and brush her teeth. When she was done, Jaiden and Chelsa had already prepared a breakfast of instant-waffles. They were just about wrapping up breakfast when there was a soft knock at the door.
“That would be Dr. Hanson,” Jaiden said, striding open to the door to let the doctor in.
Dr. Hanson walked in. It took Kristi two looks for her to realize he was the same man she saw yesterday at the laundry room. She blinked to make sure she hadn’t made a mistake. Yep, he’s the same guy for sure.
“Well, we meet again,” Dr. Hanson said to Kristi, shaking her hand.
“You’ve met each other?” Chelsa swung her eyes back and forth between Kristi and the doctor.
“I saw Dr. Hanson yesterday in the laundry room.”
“Which one of you is the person with the injured ribs?” Dr. Hanson asked.
Chelsa pointed to Kristi, “That’s Kris—Kelly.” She cursed herself for almost forgetting to use their cover names.
Dr. Hanson gave no sign that indicated he heard Chelsa almost say Kristi’s real name. He examined her ribs quickly, but professionally, and was soft spoken when he talked.
“Your ribs don’t seem to be broken or fractured. Did you take any bone-growth supplement tablets?”
“Yes.”
“Good. Then if your ribs were fractured or broken, the tablets would’ve fixed that problem. However, you say your ribs still hurt?”
She nodded.
“Then your ribs are either sprained or simply bruised.”
“Well, are they bruised or sprained?” Jaiden asked.
“I believe Kelly has sprained her ribs,” Dr. Hanson said.
“You can sprain ribs?” Chelsa asked incredulously.
“You’ll be surprised with the amount of injuries the human body can get,” Dr. Hanson said. “You have a mild case of a grade II rib sprain,” he said to Kristi.
“Is there anything I can take or do to speed up the healing process?” Kristi asked.
Dr. Hanson reached into his leather bag and pulled out three containers filled with small gel capsules. He held up one container labeled “internal swelling reducer” and said, “Take one of these every day for the next two days. The pills will reduce the swelling caused by the sprain.” He held up the other container and said, “Take two of these every day for the next three days. They will aid in the healing process and allow your ligaments to heal five times faster than normal.” Last but not least, he held up the last container and said, “These are painkillers. Take them as needed.”
He gave all three containers to Kristi. She wrapped her fingers around the small glass bottles like they were precious gems.
“Thanks,” Kristi said. “How many points do we owe you?” She hoped this doctor’s visit wouldn’t cost a huge amount of points.
Dr. Hanson gathered up his stuff and said, “Don’t worry about paying me. Consider this a gift.”
He opened the door and put a foot out into the hallway. Then he turned back and said, “Kristi, it would be best if you stayed in bed for the next couple of days. And Jaiden, make sure Kristi actually stays put. The supplements and inflammatory pills I gave her won’t be as effective if she’s spending six hours a day riding droid-horses. Good day to you all.”
Dr. Hanson closed the door firmly.
There was a brief pause, and then Chelsa finally asked out loud the question they were all wondering, “How did he know your real names when we never told him?”
chapter twenty-two
[ Troop ]
