"Which direction Zoe?" Avi asked.

"Towards Delta," came the reply as Zoe worked hard and fast, pulling all her knowledge on medicine in regards to bullet wounds. She had also administered a sedative to Maddison, knocking her out in moments.

"Affirmative," Avi said, instantly setting programs into motion that Zoe had written for the vehicle for occasions just like this. Satellite mapping and heat maps of the areas between where they were and where Delta had been dropped scrolled through Avi's memory banks, routes quickly being analyzed. A highway, long unused, became the major part of the route into the mountains. Avi relayed the route to Zoe's visor and recieved approval barely a moment later. Zoe knew Avi didn't really need approval from her, but gave it anyway. It seemed to make the AI happy.

Working on the twins, Zoe was thankful that no bullets had lodged themselves too far in. The one that had hit Tyson had gone straight through, missing everything vital. The ones that had hit Maddison had collapsed one lung, but she'd managed to get them out and plugged the holes with mesh, allowing the lung to at least partially function.

~ Avi, has Delta team connected to the comms network? ~ A short moment later, Avi confirmed connection. ~ Put me through. ~ Avi processed the connection, effectively ringing the leader of Delta team.

"Zoe, what's up?" came a male voice through her headset.

"Locky, I've got two badly wounded but stable Talented and I need a better field medic than I am. Can I speak with Jess?"

A moment later an older female voice came through. "Injured? Talk to me."

"Gun shot wounds. First seems to be a through and through shot, seems to have only hit muscle mass, might have grazed spine. Second is multiple wounds, hit on side, couple on arm, couple hit ribs, one hit lung. I don't think she has a bullet in her and I've stuffed her lung wound with gauze."

"Can you tell if the first hit intestines or stomach?" Jess replied instantly.

"No, and I haven't got the equipment to tell. He seems stable. I've sedated them both."

"Silly girl," Jess muttered while thinking to herself. "Keeping them awake might have helped with diagnosis. Anyway, you're on your way here?"

"Yes, Avi tells me I should be there within an hour."

"Okay, sterilize what you can, keep those holes plugged, I'll prep what I can on this end. I think we're a little better prepared for medical than you are."

"Exactly why I called my teacher," Zoe said in relief to her, dropping the connection a moment later. She knew that she had made the right decision to head straight for Jess.

~

Jessica Parish had been an army doctor during WWIII and knew battle triage better than nearly anyone in the Community. She had a rough and unforgiving manner with anyone except patients, and then only to the ones that were injured by other people and not their own stupidity.

The rest of Delta team were a mix of Talented and non-Talented, their leader being Lachlan Denver, a shifter. He was able to shift parts of his body to various animals, but not his entire body. He was quite charismatic and outgoing, unlike the vast majority of shifter type Talents, who tended to prefer solitude or the company of animals over humans.

~

Avi drove along the highway for what Zoe felt like was ages. She thought she had stabilized the twins, which was all she could really hope for. It was now she was regretting being big-headed and saying she could do this mission as a team by herself. If she'd had another team mate or two, this may not have happened.

Sitting back on the back of the buggy, Zoe wiped her bloody hands on a cloth before cleaning them with some water as best as she could. A bump shook her, smacking her head into a roll bar, making her wince and rub her head. "Watch it Avi!" she said, smacking the seat.

"Apologies. I am unable to travel on any smoother sections of road without headlights."

Zoe smacked the seat again. "Turn them on then! Geeze." Floodlights lit up the road, pushing back the evening darkness. Zoe had been working with a small flashlight she'd built into her visor and the light sensitivity turned up, so she hadn't really noticed the darkness setting in. "E.T.A?"

"Three minutes. I have found Delta team on radar."

Instructing her headset to call ahead, Zoe let Delta team know she was almost there.

"Yeah, we can see Avi," Locky said. "Kally saw the headlights turn on. You stick out like a sore thumb."

"Noted, thanks. Jess ready?"

"Yeah, ready and impatiently waiting."

"Good," Zoe sighed, relaxing a little. "Zoe out." Disconnecting the call, she patted the seat next to her. "Dim the lights as far as you can without compromising your efficiency Avi."

The flood lights cut out and the main headlights dimmed.

What felt like barely a moment later, the jolt of the stopping car woke Zoe. Starting awake, she shakily stood up, seeing familiar faces around her. "Hey," she said weakly, hopping out of the vehicle and almost collapsing, Locky catching her with his strong arms.

This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

"Better not keep swooning for me, Hayden may have words," Locky said, a smile in his voice. "Now, what trouble have you brought Jess?"

Tyson's stretcher was unstrapped and lifted off the trailer before Maddison was also gently lifted from the buggy. Zoe gratefully accepted a warm cup of chocolate from Kally, the teams scout before sitting on an offered camp chair.

She watched in silence, leaning back against the side of her buggy, replaying the previous afternoon over in her head while she watched Jess and another work on the twins. She knew they'd done exceptionally risky stuff and were lucky that they were all even alive, but she knew in her heart that the area would be safer without such a violent and oppressive group in the area. It also made her wonder how the Bloodless Pact had managed to get so far from where she knew them, in the Asia area.

"Goddamn it Zoe, when will you learn to pay more attention to me?" Jess said, pulling out the mesh from Tyson. "You should have used more on him and less on her." Shaking her head, she returned to her work.

"Here," Kally said, taking the now empty cup from Zoe and putting a warm, damp cloth in her hands. "Clean yourself up, you don't want to get yourself infected or summon the mosquitos."

Zoe stared at the young woman dumbfounded for a moment before chuckling. "Yes, thank you Kally." Quickly running the cloth through her fingers and over her arms, she felt better for it instantly. "How goes it up here?"

"Mostly just animals," Kally replied, crouching next to Zoe after giving her another drink. "Few small settlements, nothing much though. These mountains are hard to grow agriculture in, so we were contemplating going west and over to see if there's anything over there."

Zoe nodded sleepily, closing her eyes for a second. Just a moment she thought to herself. Gotta keep an eye open for when the twins wake.

~

A loud and unfamiliar bird call startled Zoe awake. It was dark, but the dark of pre dawn where the early morning light was starting to roll over the land. Someone had put a blanket over her and she silently thanked whoever it was. Likely Kally, she thought.

It was, she is insufferably nice, came a reply from Tyson. Kept making sure we were comfortable, gave us hot chocolate, which, by the way, is bloody amazing. Who knew things like that existed?

Zoe heard a grumble and a soft thump. "Shut up," Maddison mumbled. "You're thinking too loud." Stifling a laugh, Zoe stretched and slowly stood up.

"You're up!" Kally loudly whispered excitedly, bounding over with a warm cup, this one filled with coffee and sugar, just how Zoe preferred. "Tyson is a funny one, I like him."

"Yeah, I like him too," Zoe replied. "Though, he may get grumpy about how loud your thoughts can be."

I heard that.

"Avi, battery percent please," Zoe asked after draining the coffee.

"Eighty two percent."

Zoe nodded to herself. "Makes sense with all we did. Make sure to start solar charge at eighty percent, no lower."

"Affirmative."

"Avi seems as chatty as normal," Kally said, amused. "You did give her personality, right?"

"Mhmm," Zoe replied nodding. "Avi just doesn't like talking for some reason. Probably thinks most responses are irrelevant."

A moment of silence from Avi was followed by a nod from Zoe. It was at this point that Locky came up to the pair. "A round of scouting please Kally," he asked. Nodding once, she ran off, scooping up a rifle and a small bag. The young woman seemed to have a couple of small talents, and Mini had confirmed that she had a Talent and that it wasnt a strong one. She needed less sleep than average and was slightly better at any physical tasks than others similar to her. It made her ideal for scaling trees and buildings and her build let her hide relatively easily. She also had a permenantly sunny disposition, which Zoe enjoyed.

"Jess said everything went well last night and they should be close to full efficiency by tomorrow. The solution from Mary is working wonders."

I've never felt this good immediately after being hurt, Tyson added. Pretty sure I can get up and move around.

"And if you do," Jess said, walking up to the twins, "I'll knock some sense into you and strap you down till your body is completely mended."

Zoe grinned and as Maddison snickered, she broke out into a full laugh. "I'd listen to her Tyson. She's a veteran of the war and doesn't take crap from anyone, especially patients."

"Noted," Tyson said out loud. "I promise to lay here and let you tend to me."

"We're staying here today while the scouts go out," Locky said, stepping forward and speaking loud enough for everyone to hear. "Tyson, Maddison, please rest. Zoe, please assist with camp security."

Nodding as Locky finished, she turned to her buggy. "Avi, drone defence perimeter, maximum range, keep radar going and maintain communications with all scouts."

"Affirmative," Avi replied, releasing a small cloud of drones, which scattered through the trees and into the sky. "Establishing network connections."

"Thank you Avi," Locky said to the buggy. "We will lose a day travel, but gaining two healthy allies is worth it." Nodding to himself, he looked around the group. "Okay, lets get to work, you all know your roles."

~

"You found the two strong ones?!" Mini's voice came over Zoe's headset. "Are they nice?"

Zoe chuckled. "Yeah, their names are Tyson and Maddison. Tyson is a telepath, Maddison can see a few seconds into the future as shadows. They're both really cool."

"Thanks," Tyson said, taking the headset off Zoe and putting it on. "Hi Mini!"

"Oh!" Mini squeaked through the headset. "Hi!"

"Hello young one," Tyson said, smiling. "You sought me out yesterday?"

"Yes, I felt you and your sister. Can you really talk to people with just your mind?"

"I can, but I can do a little more, I can read minds and even memories if allowed. And yes, my sister can see shadows of the future."

"Get back to bed," Jess said, snatching the headset off Tyson's head, throwing it at Zoe and pushing the younger man towards the stretcher waiting for him.

Mini was asking many little questions rapidly as Zoe put the headset back on. "Slow down little one, Jess made Tyson go back to bed."

"Oh, say hi to Grandma please!"

Zoe relayed the greeting, finishing up her debrief call. It was already early afternoon and nothing remarkable had happened. Both of the twins were healing quickly thanks to some of the extra medical equipment and drugs Jess had on hand. The older woman, smiling at her grand daughters enthusiasm, sat down between her two patients. Unlike Tyson, Maddison was taking the time to relax, moving slowly and carefully.

Reports came through Avi to Zoe on regular intervals, giving everything from weather and terrain reports to vital scans of the scouts and local wildlife. Zoe fed all the data back to the tablets that Delta team had with them, updating all their intel and making their choices easier for the long run.

~

Evening set and the scouts came back, all of them adding their perspectives on the terrain and surroundings. After much discussion, they eventually decided that Delta team would head into the city and head north while Zoe and the twins, the newly dubbed Gamma team, would search through the city for the trio of Talents and then move onto the community there, seeing if they could convince them to come with them.

Zoe submitted the report for both teams at the end of the day, making sure that the drone security net was set for the night before they all retired for the night.