When the rains may come (Science Fiction)

42. Strong are the liars (part 2)

After locking up the two of them, Cathy made a run for Germaine's room. She went through all the drawers in her desk to find what she was looking for. She finally did–'Germaine's first remedy', said the label on the notebook. Cathy rifled through the pages and found the section that said: "For the health of the young'un".

Just as expected, the woman had already made an entry for treating the baby's food poisoning. She set about doing what the remedy suggested.

#

"Today really can't get any worse," Lisa said, scoffing as the two of them made their way into the underground chamber. "FIrst I have to deal with the dysfunctional leadership of the Last Hand, then my baby gets sick and now I have to spend my day in this musty room with the said dysfunctional leader. That's just rich!" She dropped herself on the metal cot by the wall. The same cot where they'd laid down Cathy that night.

Erik sighed. "None of this would've happened if you hadn't lost it at the prison."

"Give me a break." Lisa groaned as she tore a piece of the hem of her shirt and pressed it over her bleeding leg. "I don't wanna go over it again."

Erik shook his head and walked over the old bureau cabinet by the wall. He pulled out a small first aid kit from one of the drawers and took large chunks of cotton and cleaned his shoulder wound with a generous amount of peroxide. He slid the kit over to Lisa as he sat down in a foldable chair in the opposite corner of the room.

Lisa frowned at the first aid box. "Thanks," she said quietly as she used it.

"You think she was serious about shooting us if we tried to break the door?" Erik said.

Lisa pursed her lips. "She looked pretty pissed to me. I just hope Oriana is doing okay."

Erik raised an eyebrow. "That's the name you've decided for the baby?"

Lisa looked away and nodded. "It means sunrise in some language. Also, it sounds pretty."

"It does."

Lisa nodded.

There was a moment of silence as she tended to her wounded leg.

Erik was the one to break the quiet. "You really aren't gonna leave the Last Hand, are you?"

Lisa knit her eyebrows and ran her fingers through her hair. "You won't rest until you kick me out completely, will you?"

"It's not just a matter of what I think, Lisa," Erik said, "We aren't a small group anymore. What if other members find you dangerous to work alongside with? What if some more aggressive members get the wrong message from what you did at the prison? What if they start killing the powerless like you did at the prison? What if we become terrorists not just from the name that the government gives us but also by our actions?"

Lisa rubbed her eyes tiredly. "I feel like we are just running in circles here," she said, "We are having this same talk over and over. There are gonna be risks in what we are doing. People are going to die. We are trying to stop a war by waging another war. How do you think it is gonna turn out, Erik?"

"The deaths don't have to be needless. The deaths at the prison were needless. The operatives were all on their knees, surrendered, defeated. It was what we are calling it, Lisa–a massacre. You call it a war but you refuse to act like a warrior. You aren't a warrior, Lisa. You are a murderer."

#

Cathy was busy getting rid of the dirty diaper and made the baby wear a new one. The infant formula was an expired one. The kid had puked and then soiled herself. It was more than clear that it was food poisoning. Gemma's notes had suggested that one of the symptoms would be diarrhea.