“Okay, Lee. We need to move them fast.” a soft blurred voice that Amelia couldn’t focus on said.

“I know.” said Leann, equally fuzzy and hard to focus on.

The sound of wheels squeaking on the floor assaulted Amelia’s ears. Air brushed over her face. She couldn’t move a muscle.

“Quick, grab the blankets.” the familiar voice said. Amelia felt fabric drape over her face. “Let me do the talking, Lee.”

“You got it, boss-man.”

There was a soft chuckle. The sound of locks clicking and a door opening.

“Move! Move! Move!” the voice shouted and Amelia felt her stomach get left behind. “We might never have another abnormal for another thirty years. We need to get these two down for testing!”

“Uh, sir-”

“Move it!”

Amelia was jolted to a stop. The fabric beneath her crunched.

“Sir, this isn’t the direction to the surgical room.” a third voice spoke firmly.

“Oh really? Oh, well,” There was a moment of pause. “Charge!”

Amelia’s gurney ran over something and suddenly she was being pushed so fast that she lost her heart and stomach three meters behind her. Lee and the unknown voice were laughing into the wind. There was some screaming and confusion. The sound of metal ringing against metal. She was drastically turned and pulled into a new area with more noise and smells. She was lifted and rolled. Something rolled against her and then something itchy fell over her face.

“Let’s go!” Shouted a voice.

Amelia felt herself fall and then there was nothing at all.

Thya woke up to Cal leaning over her. She had met the boy on a number of occasions but had never had an actual conversation with him. Amelia called him her brother and Thya knew he meant the world to her. He leaned back and sighed softly.

“I’m way too tired to explain everything.” he whispered to himself.

“Young man, I did not train you to not clue patients in as to what is happening currently.” Said a stern old woman to Thya’s right. Thya smiled at the mediwitch.

“Fine.” Cal sighed. “You and Amelia were stupid and got yourselves captured saving Shelly. Don’t worry Shelly is fine and so is your family. We had to up and move camp but you are all part of us. Even you, Thya. The people who don’t believe so have left and the majority of us have stayed to plead forgiveness. Back to you two idiots, God how do I say this? The men that were here before? The ones that you and Amelia took their place when they were kicked out of camp?” Amelia tried to speak through her sore throat. “Don’t talk, sweetheart. You had a tube shoved down your throat while at the prison. While you idiots were in the prison a few of those men found us, seeking to come back to our camp. We agreed if they managed to save you two. Among their ranks was a triangle. I never actually got to meet the person. They’ve been hiding since they brought you back. Not important.”

“God, child, get to the point,” Shira said with a roll of her eyes.

“You, Amelia, sedation, break out, here, Amelia hasn’t woken up yet and they gave her a lower dosage than you.” Cal blurted.

She croaked crazily, trying to find out what was wrong with Amelia.

A pair of hands came down on her shoulders and held her down. She looked into the blurry face of her mother. Tears began to distort her vision. Cal cleared his throat.

“I’m doing everything I can.” He said. “She’s having an adverse reaction to the medication. She’s in a coma right now. Her body is trying to fight back against the drug’s side effects. “

The tent flap moved and a burly looking man stuck his head in.

“Opus,” Cal said a small smile fighting its way onto his face.

“Cal,” The man nodded to him before looking at Shira. “Hilla wants to talk to Thya.”

“Nope. My patient has just woken up, the old fern can wait until my patient has her strength and voice back.”

“Yes, ma’am.” He turned to Thya’s mother. “Grace, do you know where Lance is? We found a rubber ball at the market today and we thought he and Darwin might like it.”

“Lance is looking after Shell in the tent.”

At the mention of her sister, Thya grabbed her mother’s and starred determined into her eyes. “Opus. Please tell Lance to bring the baby here. She needs to see her older sister.”

Opus nodded and backed out of the tent. As soon as the tent flaps closed Shira smacked Cal behind the head.

“Ow!”

“Don’t let that boy back in so easily.” The mediwitch said sternly. “I remember what happened last time you looked at him like that. I hate mending broken hearts.”

“It’s just hard,” Cal muttered looking at the ground.

“Yeah. It must have been really hard for him to go around shagging that girl behind your back, stealing food from all of us, and treating you like dirt. Just because he and his men come traipsing back in here with their tails between their legs doesn’t mean you should forgive him.”

“He got Amelia out.”

“Actually, I’d rather thank that one triangle. She seems like the good sort.” Shira said.

Cal nodded.

Thya watched the exchange and put a few things together. The man that came in was the brother Amelia had told her about. The bastard that had left the camp to go with the other men. She supposed he should get a little redemption for saving them but she had seen how messed up Amelia had been about losing him. Thya determined that he deserved to burn but figured Cal and Amelia had more of a motive.

The tent flap opened and Lance came in holding baby Shell in his arms. The small baby was asleep. Her tiny hand curled around the cloth swaddling her. Thya reached out for her, sitting up. Lance put the infant in her arms before sitting in front of her. He began to tell mom about what he and Damion had done today but Thya couldn’t hear them. Shell had opened her eyes and stared into the eyes of her sister. Tears came to Thya’s eyes. Shell began to cry as well. Her hand reached out and pulled at Thya’s hair. A smile broke through Thya’s tears.

She sat with her sister for a long time. Thya had thought she could push this small child out of her life but she was so wrong. She gently tickled Shell’s chest and she let out a giggle and grabbed one of Thya’s fingers with one of her tiny hands.

“The women of the camp have been taking turns watching her,” Grace said. “Some say she reminds them of their child before they were taken.”

Thya nodded. Shell yawned and fell asleep holding Thya’s finger. Thya looked at Cal who was grinding some sort of root and putting the mush into a bowl with water. She tapped his knee.

“What?” he asked. Thya nodded towards the bowl. “Oh, it’s for Amelia. She needs to keep up her intake of food.”

Thya motioned to herself. Cal looked confused. Thya motioned to herself, the bowl, and the tent flap.

“See Amelia?” Cal asked. “Of course. She’s in Hilla’s tent. I’ll come with you.”

Thya handed the baby off to her mother and shakily stood up. Cal grabbed her elbow and slowly helped her walk. As they exited the tent, many heads turned in their direction. Thya looked at the ground, to determined to make it to Amelia to pay attention to these people. To her amazement, a man came on the opposite side of her and gently took her other arm. The three of them walked three more steps before Opus stopped all of them and picked Thya up. Thya was carried through the camp. People began walking behind her. Apologies were whispered and Thya accepted them all.

Opus gently lowered Thya onto her feet at the edge of Hilla’s tent. Cal took her arm again and the two walked into Hilla’s tent. Hilla’s tent had always been the largest of the camp but now Thya didn’t care about the masks hanging on the walls or one of the only beds sitting at the back. She only saw the face of the woman she loved. Tears streaked her face and she collapsed next to the mat where Amelia laid. Hilla sat in a makeshift chair watching over Amelia. Thya brushed Amelia’s hair back from her forehead.

“Can you help hold her up while I give her the soup? If she lays down she’ll choke.” Cal asked.

Thya pushed her arms under Amelia and maneuvers her body under the woman she loves. She stares at her feet as she hears Cal and Hilla quietly chatting above her. Amelia took breaths above her and Thya calmed down. She quietly tried to recall anything she could remember about her capture and imprisonment. Thya’s mental search was fruitless.

“You should move the both of them to the meditent.” Hilla whispered to the young mediwitch in training.

“Shyra didn’t want-” Cal started.

“I’m sure Shyra will want Amelia there now as well since she has yet to wake up.” Hilla smiled.

Cal nodded, “But I need someone to help me move Amelia and someone should help Thya back to the tent.”

“I’ll go call some people.” Hilla exited the tent. Cal helped maneuver out from under Amelia’s chest and gently laid Amelia back down. He quickly stood and went to a basin at the edge of the room and scooped water from it into a small cup.

“Drink,” Cal said shoving the cup at Thya. “You’ve done too much today.”

She slowly sipped at the water. Cal sighed and dabbed at Amelia’s forehead with a rag. Thya stared at the tent flaps. When they opened they uncovered Hilla standing between Opus and a person with chopped hair.

“Opus, you go help Cal with Amelia. Thya, this is Lee. They helped rescue you.”

Thya focused on the triangle on the person’s collarbone peeking out from beneath a shirt collar. Lee held out their hand and Thya took it with a smile.

“Thank you for saving me and my Amelia.”

“Your welcome. I was worried that girl of yours would chop my head off once or twice.”

“She’s like that.” Thya laughed, letting Lee drape her arm over their shoulders.

Lee looked at her with a smirk. “You both get this look in your eyes when talking about the other. Her’s was buried beneath determination but it was still there.”

“If you don’t mind me asking,” Thya started,” are you a man or woman? I’m afraid I can’t tell.”

“Don’t worry about it.” Lee chuckled. “That’s kind of what I’m going for. I don’t want to be connected solely to either sex. I go mainly by neutral pronouns like they. Your girl knows me as Leann because that’s what I was named and what the other guards called me. I prefer the name Lee.”

“There was a person like you at my old camp. They didn’t feel one way or the other. People just switched between pronouns for them. I really respect that.” Thya said. She sucked in a gasp as she tripped over a rock but Lee kept her on her feet.

Cal and Opus were both walking slowly and not talking letting silence flow between them. The others in the camp were sitting around the fires enjoying dinner and watching the sunset. Lance and Darwin were tossing a ball back and forth between them. Their laughter echoed through the camp, filling the quiet. The meditent was quiet and still. Thya was thankful for this because after all the walking she had endured she was spent physically and mentally. Thya laid down and closed her eyes. Before she fell asleep she took Amelia’s hand in hers and held it.

In the middle of the night when the entire camp was sleeping a glow started to slowly fill the meditent. The glow became bright enough to stretch across the entirety of camp. Children were the firsts to wake up. Eventually, adults also started to wake up. Cal shielded his eyes and opened the flap of the meditent. There, on Thya’s forehead, was the source of the strange blueish glow. It was her mark.

Exclamations of joy began to ring throughout the camp. People who had been bedridden sick were dancing around and thanking their gods. Men and women with lost limbs that had caused them aches for years felt their pain ease. The smallest of scars began to heal and shrink. There in the meditent, Amelia opened her eyes.