The light of the morning sun blinded me as I came out of the alley on Ender street. Squat gray apartment blocks with cracks covering their sides surrounded us, and the sun peeked through the side of one of the buildings.

The girl was the last to climb out of the hole. She kicked the lid back into place and strode forward, squinting at the bright sun.

Now that we were out of the sewers, the girl didn't have anything to mask the stench that was coming off her clothes. Red made a face and looked at me, but both of us agreed not to anger the person with the knife and a gang of bogeymen behind her.

"So," She began. "Let's go and meet this supplier of yours."

I conveniently chose that moment to start a violent coughing fit. Red was immediately by my side, supporting me with his large frame. My pain built up again, and the world faded away as I focused on it.

The girl said something and Red gruffly replied back. The girl repeated herself and Red shouted.

I slowly breathed in and out as the pain released it grip on me.

"The cops are after you. We can't afford to move with someone who needs a human crutch. Lower him back into the sewers and let's go." The girl stated.

"Fuck no, I'm not giving him to you guys as a gift-wrapped hostage. I don't know what happened. Maybe your boys broke something when they tossed him around."

"It isn't our fault he's apparently made of glass."

"Big talk from someone who's from a pack of gutter rats who hide under everyone's feet."

"Says a punk who cried to keep his life."

I held out a hand. "Stop your school yard fight. I'm the only one who knows the supplier, and the cops have probably moved on and widened the search radius. But just to be safe, let's take off our masks."

Red shook his head violently. "That's stupid. It exposes us, and I really don't want to show the psychopath my face."

I straightened out my back and steadied myself. "There are no working cameras here, all of them are for show. So they'll probably rely on witnesses from all the apartments in the area to determine where we went. Groups of people walking out of alleys after a night of fun are common here. People in masks stamped with gang signs are not."

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Red sighed and grumbled in frustration. It seemed like I would have to lead by example here.

I took off the wrapping around my face and took a deep breath of fresh air before gagging at the smell that was coming off the girl.

Red looked at me with a calculating gaze and finally took off his wrappings as well. The face under the mask was surprisingly gentle. I'd expected to find a hardened gang member, given his build and size, but the face under the mask was a surprise to say the least.

He was around my age, from the fact that a wispy moustache was beginning to grow on his face. His rugged face was offset by his warm black eyes.

Red looked at, analyzing me the same way I was analyzing him.

"Do you two need some more time together?" The girl asked.

I broke eye contact with Red, and he turned around and made for the entrance of the alley.

As the girl followed him, I gave her my face wraps.

She looked at them and scowled. "Why are you giving me these?"

"Wipe the grime off your face. It looks weird and people might pick up on it."

The girl snarled at me but compiled, wiping away the black grime that protected her identity. Before I could get a good look at her, she sprinted away.

Red came back from the mouth of the alleyway and gestured that the roads were clear of cops.

The three of us kept a steady pace and Red laid my hand over his shoulder, and we walked toward the clinic to finally get me some medical attention.

■

The clinic looked like an apartment that had removed all of its walls to make enough space for several people to comfortably sit, and looked more like a large apartment that had its carpets replaced with white tile than an actual place a doctor would work out of.

Red removed his shoes at the entrance and I quickly followed, but the girl kept hers on.

As soon so we opened the rotting door, a woman quickly rounded the corner and rushed towards Red, before noticing he had company.

She had steaks of gray in her hair, but still looked young. She wore a white coat the seemed to be stained with several different fluids all of different colors, though mostly just different shades of brown or yellow.

An awkward silence settled in on the room and continued. I broke the silence using my trump card. I collapsed on the floor as my ribs decided to remind me once again that they were broken now that the rush of combat had left me again.

The woman quickly slipped into a more professional stance, pulling her coat around her.

She looked at Red. "What happened to him?"

As Red stuttered and grasped at an answer, I managed to croak out a reply. "Head...ribs."

The doctor looked at Red. "Move him in."

Red moved me bridal style as I feebly protested that I could move myself. I was moved into a section of the room that had been walled off with a curtain. The corner hid a single metal bed. Red placed me gingerly on the sheets, and the doctor quickly performed a check-up.

She asked me several questions, some simple and some not, before easing me down onto the bed. She continued to do more tests, asking me to move my arms and legs.

The bed was soft, softer than any bed I had ever laid on. Even as the doctor continued to ask me questions, I closed my eyes and drifted off into peaceful slumber.