DISCLAIMERS: This has the potential to be very sad. Beware of the usual suspects as well; intolerance, violence, sexual situations, poor grammar, foul language, and flawed characters.

RED SOX: You Gotta BELIEVE!

FEEDBACK: Seems I’ve been forgetting to include the email address. Sorry. Please direct all feedback to p.phair@comcast.net. You can check out more of my writing at http://www.phair1.com

## COWARD

## by Phair

Part 5

Rory was cautious as she approached Bearses. The man was too busy doling out the evening meal and tormenting their tent mates to notice her. She decided after a few moments of observing his animated antics that it would be better not to surprise him.

"Bearses, excuse me," at the sound of her voice, he whirled to face her with his hand reaching for his left arm. "Wait!" She voluntarily crossed her wrists and dropped to her knees before him. "I just want some information. Please, there’s no need to hurt me," she had to swallow past the lump in her throat, "or anybody else."

Bearses adjusted the growing bulge between his legs. His grin quickly became a smug smirk. It sickened Rory that she had to humble herself to such a bully but she had very few choices at the moment.

"Well, what kind of information would you be looking for now, girl?" He asked.

"I don’t understand the rules. Rabbit was punished because I came up short on my quota. Why? Why’d they hurt her? Why not just beat me? Why not kill me for that matter?" Rory asked. "It doesn’t make any sense. None of it makes any sense."

"You need Rabbit to survive. She’s the only one who’ll warm with you before you’re broken into the system. Nobody else will risk being with you while you’re still racking up penalties. Rabbit has to be with you because we gave her to you. She came with the tent, she’s like an extra blanket to be shared." Bearses stopped and tried a different way to explain when he saw a look of confusion on Rory’s face, "Rabbit gets punished for all of your transgressions because torturing you would be a waste of time. It’d only fuel your rage against the system. Make you more defiantly suicidal. But, beating a weakling, a simpleton because of your failures drains your strength. It leaves you feeling impotent." He gave a snort of a laugh before continuing, "And, if she dies then you freeze to death. Think of it as motivation to obey."

Rory nodded. "Okay, I get it. I’m sorry. I’ll obey," she winced as she said the word. "I’ll do my part. Whatever it takes. But for right now, I’ve got her back on the berth and she’s in a lot of pain. Can you give me something to help her through the night? Anything to ease her hurt?"

"Monthly tent supplies run out on the second day, mostly. We’re only a few days away from the next shipment. Talk to me then."

"That does nothing to help her tonight. Please, I’ll take anything at all?" Rory tried to keep her voice calm. "The girl didn’t do anything wrong. She shouldn’t have to suffer because of me."

Bearses laughed at her, "Just this mornin’ you were smacking her yourself because she was warming you. Now you’re supposed to be worried if she’s injured? Please, tell it to somebody else."

Bearses turned his back on her and ended the conversation.

* * *

Rory could tell from the change in her breathing that Rabbit was waking up. She kept the woman snuggled under her chin immobilized with one leg wrapped around Rabbit’s two and one hand nestled firmly in the small of her back.

Rabbit was a light weight. It would be easy to hold her down but Rory didn’t want to hurt or scare the woman more than she was already. She let her free hand stroke Rabbit’s flank. Rory frowned as she realized she could feel each rib in detail.

"We got to make sure you eat more," Rory’s mumble was met with a squeak of fear. "Easy, easy, no jumping around. Stay still," Rory hushed over and over as Rabbit’s body began to tremble.

"Touching, sorry, sorry," Rabbit was tensing her muscles in preparation for another assault. "No be fuckin’ you no more. Sorry. No be touchin’ you no more. Sorry."

"Shh, relax, easy, I’m not angry. This kind of touching doesn’t count," Rory whispered as she maintained her gentle but firm hold. "Shh, hold still. If you move around too much then you’ll knock down the blankets. I set them up like a canopy to keep them off your back."

"Huh?"

"Um, like a little tent over us. It’s a bit cooler than last night but at least the cloth isn’t sticking to your wounds," Rory continued to use her softest tone of voice.

Rabbit whispered back, "Nice. Nose make warm too."

Rory couldn’t help but laugh. One of the advantages of tenting the blankets was it kept the whole body at the same temperature. So, no painfully cold nose.

"That’s right. Our noses will be as warm as our toes," Rory sighed as she felt the woman relax a bit. "Rabbit, are you in pain?" Rory knew it was foolish to ask when she didn’t have anything to ease the woman’s discomfort but she wanted to know the truth.

Rabbit nodded once before she answered, "Hurt, yes ma’am. Burns and aches."

"Call me, Rory. And, I’m sorry you’re hurting. I don’t have anything to make you feel better. Maybe you should try to go back to sleep? Getting some rest should help."

"Talk?"

"Huh?" Rory had no idea what Rabbit meant.

"Talk. Talk more. Nice voice. Help me sleepy, maybe?" Rabbit was hesitant.

Rory thought for a minute about what the woman was trying to ask from her. "You want me to tell you a story to help you fall asleep?" She finally guessed.

"Yes, please, yes. Petra. She talked stories. Her nice voice too. Help me go sleepy," she whispered. "Rabbit like sleepy talk."

"Okay then, a story it is. Let’s see. Once upon a time, there were three bears…,"

"What’s three bears?" Rabbit asked.

"Right," Rory remembered Rabbit had no first hand knowledge of Earth. Animal references were out of the question. "How ‘bout this one instead, once upon a time, there were three Guards getting ready for first shift but their morning rations were too hot so they left them out to cool. Along comes Rabbit…,"

Rory could feel the body on top of her relax with the words. Rabbit’s breathing was getting deeper and steadier as Rory spoke. It didn’t take long for the woman to begin to snore.

"Finally! I’m able to do something right on this God Damned forsaken piece frozen rock," Rory thought to herself as she allowed her own body to drift off to sleep.

* * *

Rory slammed her mallet against the red rocks. Her body had grown accustomed to the resulting vibration after days and days of endless hours of the mindless work. It helped her to not think about what she was doing. Instead, Rory let her mind wander to the insignificant details of her surroundings while her body went through the motions of the laborious task. She focused on the way the dust rose as the rocks crumbled or the number of seconds it took all the rocks to settle so she could retrieve the white stones. Sometimes, Rory even counted the fading of Rabbit’s footsteps away from the work area.

"Sure glad she’s a quick healer. Didn’t even take her two days to get back into the swing of it. Here it is a week or so later and she’s as good as new," Rory observed idly about Rabbit as the young woman hurried off with her cargo. "Must be the special healing air they talked about at my trial. Haha, right, special air. I’m losing my mind," Rory hummed to herself as she hefted a particularly heavy stone.

Several rocks cracked and shifted beneath her. Rory scrambled to steady her footing but it was a futile effort. She went down with the stone trapped between her chest and the surface. She could feel a snap when her chest slammed against the stone which had smashed against the ground. The pain was instantaneous and intense. Rory gasped for one agonizing breath after the next. Stars clouded her vision as she started to lose consciousness.

"No!" Rory struggled to stay alert when her heard Rabbit’s panicked cry. "Rory, no, don’t be deading, no!"

Small, trembling hands grabbed the back of Rory’s shirt and pulled her over. She couldn’t stop the scream of pain that followed the fierce movement. When her eyes fluttered open, Rory was staring directly into Rabbit’s grief stricken face.

"You be okay, fine. You be living," Rabbit babbled as she cradled Rory’s head in her lap. "You breath. In and out. ‘onceuponatime’ breathing."

Rory grinned in spite of searing pain. While Rabbit’s vocabulary was limited, the young woman’s intentions were quite clear. She didn’t want Rory to hyperventilate. Rory took a deep breath in through her nose and let it slowly escape her mouth.

"Okay," Rory managed a whisper. "In and out by nose. I got it. Rabbit, I’m alright."

"Really?" Rabbit leaned closer as if she were looking for a lie. "You not deading?"

Rory chuckled. The laughter was quickly replaced by a sharp cough and a flash of pain. Rory dug deep in her mind to separate herself from the agony in her chest. She put her hand on Rabbit’s shoulder and forced herself up to a sitting position.

She gave a wink to the very worried Rabbit, "See, okay fine."

Rabbit almost through herself at Rory. She wrapped her arms around Rory’s neck and buried her face against her dust covered shirt. Deep sobs wracked Rabbit’s narrow frame.

"Hey, what’s the matter? I said, I’m fine," Rory gritted. She was more embarrassed by the affectionate display than she could ever remember being. "Come on, I thought you were going to keep your hands to yourself?"

Rabbit released her hold. She scuttled back several feet. Her hands came up to block any blows that might result from her breaking the touching rule. She sat, cowering, waiting for Rory to strike her.

Rory regretted her thoughtless words, "Rabbit, I’m sorry. I was only kidding. I’m not going to hit you. I promise," Rory’s fingers traced a small cross over her heart. "Here you were being nice to me and I shoot my mouth off. What can I tell you? I’m a bitch."

Rabbit gave a half smile but didn’t move any closer to Rory.

"Can you give me a hand getting back on my feet so I can get back to work? I don’t want to cause any trouble," Rory extended her hand for help.

Rabbit crawled over to her. She wrapped Rory’s arm around her shoulder and hoisted the tall soldier to her feet. When Rory clutched her chest in pain, Rabbit continued to hold her close so she wouldn’t slip and fall.

"Thanks," Rory gasped. "I better get back to work."

"Two buckets."

Rory lost all color in her cheeks at the thought of so much more work to do, "I’m behind two buckets?"

Rabbit shook her head, "No, quota done. And two buckets done. You stop. It be okay."

"In that case, I’d better sit."

Rory was relieved she would not need to lift anymore today. With Rabbit’s help she eased herself down. It was then she noticed the stone she had dropped. The stone had smashed open. Dark, rich dirt lay inside and out of the broken stone. Rory grabbed a fistful and sniffed it.

"Dirt?" She asked Rabbit and got a shrug for an answer. "This is soil. Rabbit, this is what Old Earth is made of."

Rabbit stared at Rory. It was clear from her expression she didn’t know what Rory was talking about.

"Don’t know that," Rabbit shook her head. "But do know, Varicants take black dust. Varicants take more and more and colder more and more. Maybe it’ll be colder more and more and more. Maybe three to make warm or maybe four." Rabbit’s train of thought shifted with a warning whistle from one of the guards, "Gotta go. You rest. I get here at siren time."

Rory nodded agreement. She leaned back against the rock wall to rest her aching muscles. She would wait for Rabbit to come and get her at the end of the shift. Maybe then she would waste some time trying to figure out what the Varicants were doing with tons and tons of dirt. Maybe she would still be interested after a short nap. Maybe. Maybe she would be but sleep was first on her agenda. Sleep.

TBC

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