I pulled Shiva to a stop. She was panting heavily, but still kept her regal head high. Even I was winded from just keeping me and Una on her back, and we weren’t the ones running.

The road was congested with cars and mounts of all sizes trying to leave the intersection. Even mounted Hunters had to obey traffic laws, so they had to move at the same speed as the cars and stay in the lanes if they were on the roads. The Hunters that didn’t want to deal with road traffic disappeared down a mountain path behind the thick green foliage somewhere to my left, where a Hunter Associate police woman directed people in an orderly fashion. Car sounds – honking, brakes squealing, and engines roaring – and monster noises – roaring, growling, and shrieking – polluted the air.

The streets were lined with thick bushes and sidewalks. Huge trees, both deciduous and coniferous, towered around shops and businesses. Everything was green and lush. The buildings were mostly newer looking, since this part of the city had only been re-established thirty years ago.

I looked around the semi-organized chaos, trying to figure out where I needed to go. I knew where Uncle Maveric’s shop was, but that didn’t help right now.

An older man in armor and carrying a semi-automatic gun ran up to me. “Damn, kid. Don’t cut it so close in the future,” he blustered, his salt and pepper beard bristling. “All the other guys wouldn’t have given you the chance. And once the gate closes, it doesn’t open until morning. No exceptions –”

“Thank you,” I said, cutting him off urgently. “Where’s the hospital?” It had been nine years since I had been to that hospital – or walked around Boulder – and my memory was fuzzy.

“Hospital?” the man spluttered and looked pointedly at my obvious Hunter armor. He was expressive enough I could almost hear him think, why would a Hunter need a hospital? Then he noticed Una slumped in my arms. “Good god, a child! Why the hell are you taking a child outside the walls?” Without waiting for me to answer, he turned wildly and pointed. “Go north three blocks and turn east at the big tree. You can’t miss it, it’s just south of the Hunter’s Association Building.”

There was no time to linger longer. I thanked that man and tapped Shiva’s sides. We set off down the street, her hooves clapping along the concrete as we wove in and out of cars. I got honked at a couple times, and a mounted Hunter yelled curses at me for breaking the laws, but I was in too much of a hurry to care at the moment.

I was bone tired. So much so, that even Una was starting to feel heavy in my arms. The water from earlier had taken a toll on my gear, so my leather armor felt stiff and restrictive. I just wanted to get her to a hospital before my own body gave out.

I counted the blocks as we went by and turned right at the third intersection. The old man never said how far east I had to go, so I just kept going. Hopefully he was right, and I didn’t miss it. Right on cue, the foliage lining the road on my right opened up, revealing a large hospital.

Boulder Hospital was the only hospital between here and the west coast. Just like Boulder was the last city until the ocean.

Well, at least I thought so. No one knew what was going on in Montana Wild's no-man's lands. When the Gates opened up decades ago and the world fell apart, an army of strong Hunters took over that land and part of then-Canada, and created a closed society. Even when the Gate disappeared and everything stabilized, the Montana Wilds still violently refused to give back the land they stole. The US and Canadian government’s patience was starting to wear out.

Boulder Hospital was a huge tan rectangular shaped building. There was nothing appealing or interesting about it. As soon as I saw it, I couldn’t help but wonder what the building used to be before it was repurposed, but I quickly threw away the thought. Instead, I nudged Shiva to cut over the grass and across the parking lot to the huge red sign that read: ER Center. To the right of the entrance were a dozen mount stalls directly under a light post, half of them already taken with an assortment of monster types.

I rode Shiva into the one closest to the ER entrance and got down with Una in my arms. My knees gave out and I grabbed the side of the stall and almost dropped Una just trying to stay up. My whole body felt like lead and my head felt fuzzy.

Shiva leaned over and nudged me with her nose.

I took a deep breath and forced myself to stand up. “I’m okay,” I muttered to Shiva. “It’s just … been a long day.” A very long day. And the hole burning in my stomach was reminding me that I hadn’t eaten since breakfast. That was probably a contributing factor to how crappy I felt right now.

I wasn’t worried about tying up Shiva or her getting stolen. Since she was bonded to me, she’d attack anyone that tried to take her. If the person died in the process, it was their fault and the law was on my side. And mounts only bonded to one person their whole life.

I hoisted Una higher in my arms and walked on unsteady feet to the glass sliding doors. The bright lights inside nearly blinded me. I blinked back my tears and looked for the nurse’s station. White tile linoleum floors, white walls, and gray chairs. Seriously, who put this much white in a hospital? How do they keep it … not red? My attention immediately zeroed in on a middle aged woman on the other side of a white reception desk.

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I hurried over and nearly tripped on my own feet. “Please help,” I begged.

The woman looked up from her computer and gasped when she saw the ragged state Una was in. “A child?” She paused and cleared her throat, obviously collecting herself. She picked up the white phone beside her and punched in a quick series of numbers. A moment later she spoke into the phone. “Excuse me, Dr. Barton. Pediatric care is urgently needed in the ER.” She hung up and focused back on me.

“What’s her name?” the receptionist asked. “What is your relationship to her?” She started to tap on the computer.

I shook my head. “I don’t actually know her. I think her name is Una. At least, that’s what her dog tag says.” My arms were about to give out. To keep from dropping Una, I lifted her up enough to rest her hip on the counter and hugged the little girl close. Before the woman could lecture me on dirtying her white station, I rambled on. “I found her in the canyon, a mile off the road. I don’t know why she was in the woods. A mud golem killed the man she was with, I think. She’s been unconscious for at least thirty minutes and I can’t get her to wake up.”

The woman typed the whole time I was talking. When I was done, she looked at me with a critical eye. “So, you aren’t related at all?”

I shook my head. Even if we were cleaned up, me and Una didn’t look an ounce alike. “No. I don’t even know her last name.” I picked up her dog tag and showed it to the woman. “It doesn’t say.”

The white swinging doors at the end of the counter burst open. A doctor in white robes hurried into the room, followed quickly by a gurney and several nurses in black scrubs. The doctor’s sharp gaze zeroed in on me and the little girl in my arms. She walked up to me and looked down at Una. A gold badge pinned to her chest read, ‘Dr. Barton.’ “What happened?”

She was a little intimidating, but I did appreciate her urgency. “I don’t know.” I was starting to feel like a broken record. “But she’s been unconscious for over half an hour.”

Dr. Barton’s brows tightened. “I see.” She glanced at me. “Sisters?” She looked between me and Una with intention.

I shook my head. “I found her alone in the woods and brought her here.”

“Well, then I’ll thank you for bringing her here.” Dr. Barton reached out and took Una from me. Her actions were purposeful, but she was actually very gentle as she handled the little girl. “That also means that the child now falls under jurisdiction of the Abandoned Child Act 13.4. I’ll take it from here.”

I paused, suddenly at a loss. “What does that mean? What’s going to happen to Una?” I just risked my life – or did I actually die? – and possibly my career, just to save her. I felt more than a little emotionally invested in the girl.

Dr. Barton carefully set Una on the gurney and stepped back when the nurses descended like fire wolves, taking vitals and checking for obvious injuries without removing her clothes. The adult sized bed was big; it made Una seem all the smaller.

“It means,” Dr. Barton turned to me, “that the little girl is now a ward of the state until her guardian is found. As for what’s going to happen to her… since you aren’t her guardian, I can’t disclose it.”

My eyes widened. It took me a second to process the doctor’s words. “Oh… Ooh.” Why did I think something different would happen? We weren’t related, so I didn’t have any claim over Una. I didn’t plan on sticking close, I just wanted to make sure she was okay and visit every once in a while.

The doctor watched me with understanding eyes, her expression softening a little. “If you visit after she wakes up, she can decide to let you into the room. I imagine anyone would want to see their rescuer. But that’s all I can suggest.” She took a breath and steeled herself. “As for now, I suggest that you go next door to the Healer Station at the Hunter’s Associate Building. You look like you could use some healing.”

I nodded absently. “Do you know how much they charge for healing? I’m new here.” I knew it wasn’t a lot, but since I was still living on an allowance, I needed to make sure I had enough in my account.

Dr. Barton frowned. “Twenty-five or thirty dollars for small healing for non-Associates.” She motioned to my smooth right temple. Since I didn’t have a Guide, I was not registered in the Hunter's Association. “For obvious reasons, the more magic the healer uses, the more it costs. Registered Hunters pay half price.”

“Thank you.”

The nurses finished taking Una’s vitals and stepped back, then the doctor motioned to the nurses to take Una to a room. I stood there, feeling a little hopeless, as the girl was pushed through the doors and they slammed shut.

Just like that, Una was gone.

I slowly walked out of the ER. Now that I wasn’t worried about Una, the full extent of my fatigue came crashing down on my head. It was hard putting one foot in front of the other.

Shiva was waiting for me, exactly where I left her in the parking lot. I hugged her neck, taking a second to rest. It was only then that I realized something. When I dumped the water out of my hip satchel earlier, I didn’t see my debit card. My driver’s license was in there, half hanging out of the special pocket for it. I was too distracted at the time to notice that my debit card wasn’t with it.

With a groan, I dug through my hip satchel and came up empty handed. It must have fallen out sometime while I was tangled with the mud golem. I just didn’t know if it was before or after the water part.

Okay, no healing for me. At least I didn’t feel injured, it was just fatigue. Which was a miracle itself. Maybe after a good night’s sleep, I’d feel good as new. Maybe. The question was, where would I sleep? I couldn’t rent a hotel room, nor did I know anyone in the city.

I moaned and flopped onto Shiva’s back like a rag doll. “Can this day get any worse?” It started out so good, then it was just one thing after another. I almost got killed by a mud golem, a weird voice talked to me, then hasn’t made a peep since, I got locked inside Boulder so I missed my time limit with my uncle, I might never know what happened to Una, and now I was broke and homeless on the streets of a foreign city.

Well … There was one place I could go.

I mounted Shiva and turned her in the direction of Uncle Maveric’s armory shop. It didn’t have a bed, but I’d at least have a roof over my head.

However, I was really not looking forward to calling my dad.