“Easy to forget you can get dehydrated in the cold,” he said. “And out here, everybody needs to take extra good care of themselves.”
Cass drank some water to reassure Mouse and promised she’d make sure Wren was well looked after when he woke up. Once he’d done a quick evaluation of the rest of the team members, Mouse joined Able across the courtyard. Gamble wandered over to where Cass was with Wren, and crouched next to them.
“How you holding up, Miss Cass?” she asked, keeping her voice low so as not to disturb Wren.
“I’m doing fine, Gamble. Thanks. How are you?”
Gamble dipped her head in a casual nod. “Right as rain. We’ll need to cover about another fifteen klicks today. Kilometers, I mean. But we’ve got about nine hours of daylight, so we can afford to rest for a while.”
“Are you going to take a break?”
“Yeah, in a couple of hours maybe.”
“Not in forty-five minutes?” Cass asked with a smile.
“Like I said… Sky’s cranky when he’s tired.”
“I don’t mind taking a shift, if you’ll let me. I wasn’t always a lady of the court, you know.”
“Yes, ma’am, I know. But I think we’ll be alright,” Gamble said. “I probably don’t need to stay up myself, but we don’t leave things to chance. Plus, the boys won’t sleep if they think no one is on guard. They’ll all just lie there listening for trouble.”
“You’ve got a good team, Gamble.”
“The best. But you’re a pretty good fit yourself, Miss Cass.”
“I don’t know about that.”
“Well, you did forget a move call right there at the end. Otherwise, pretty tight for your first time out.”
Cass almost said it hadn’t been her first time out, but just smiled instead. She thought back on what it’d been like for her, back when she’d been part of a crew. “Is it hard for you?”
“What’s that?”
“Well… six men, you’re the only woman…”
“We’d have more,” Swoop said from behind them. “But we’re the only ones that can keep up with her.” He was just re-entering the courtyard. “Perimeter’s good. Doesn’t look like anyone’s been through this way in a while.”
“Check,” Gamble answered. “Go crash out. I want you on graveyard tonight.”
“I’m good, G. I slept a couple of days ago.”
“Get some sleep, Swoop, or I’ll put Wick on graveyard with you.”
“She’s a cruel mistress,” Swoop said to Cass. He moved off and found a spot to rest as ordered.
“He’ll sleep maybe an hour, and then he’ll insist on staying up all night,” Gamble said. “Sometimes I’m not sure he’s human.”
Cass smiled a little sadly. “I used to know someone like that.”
“You should rest too, Miss Cass. We’ll be plenty safe.”
“Thanks, Gamble.”
Gamble nodded again and crossed the courtyard to exchange quiet words with Mouse and Able. Cass’s eyes felt dry and a little too big for their sockets, and she thought she might just close them, even though she didn’t feel all that sleepy. She didn’t even notice when she started dreaming.
Wren felt something heavy on his back and gradually became aware of someone saying his name. It took conscious effort to get his eyes to open, but he eventually managed it. The brightness surprised him and made him squint. Someone was crouched next to him. Someone big. Several seconds went by before Wren remembered where he was and what was going on. Mama wasn’t there, though. He’d been using her lap as a pillow, but now her bag was under his head instead.
“Wren, buddy, can you wake up for me?” Mouse said. It was Mouse’s hand on his back. Wren forced himself to sit up, even though it seemed like gravity had tripled since he’d fallen asleep. “Sorry to wake you, but we’re going to get started here again in a little bit, and I wanted to take a look at your chin before we do.”
Wren nodded and yawned and rubbed his eyes. He thought about looking around to find his mom, but it felt better to keep his eyes closed, so he just sat there with them shut while Mouse looked him over.
“I’m going to clean it up, OK, bud?” Mouse asked.
Wren nodded again. A few seconds later, a cold shock made him grimace and pull away.
“Sorry, it’s probably going to sting a little.”
“It’s OK.” Wren clenched his jaw and tried to hold still while Mouse cleaned up the wound and assessed it. By the time Mouse had finished, Wren was much more awake but no more ready to start walking again.
“Seems like you’ve been getting roughed up a lot lately,” Mouse said. “You keep it up, I might start making you do this yourself.” He smiled and clapped Wren on the upper arm, knocking him a little sideways.
“Thanks, Mouse.”
“Sure thing, bud.”
It was about 11.00 GST by that point, and the morning had warmed pleasantly; still cool with the breeze, but good weather for long walks. They’d stopped for almost four hours, which seemed like a long time to be stopped, but not very long to sleep. Cass brought him some food and water, and Painter sat with him while he ate. Wren was glad of the company, even though neither of them spoke much. The rest of the adults were busy repacking the final bits of gear. They must’ve unpacked everything and redistributed it all while he’d been asleep, because everybody’s loads looked a lot more even now, and the two storage bags from Mister Sun’s were empty.
Once all the bags were prepped, Gamble came over to them carrying a couple of smaller packs. She set them on the ground in front of them. He’d never seen her so loaded down before. In addition to her pack, she was wearing a harness with multiple pockets across her midsection, along her hips, and even a couple of smaller ones that ran up the shoulder straps. They all bulged with hardware, though Wren didn’t know what much of it was for. Except the ammo. Seemed like Gamble had a lot of that. Though when he looked more closely, he noticed a couple of the magazines were empty. Not as much as he’d thought. Her short weapon hung across her chest on a sling, her jittergun was strapped to her thigh, and a long heavy-bladed knife dangled from her belt. Wren hadn’t noticed it until now, but all of them had blades of some kind, in addition to their other weaponry.
“You fellas about set?” she asked.
“Yes, ma’am,” Wren answered. Painter nodded.
“OK. We’ve got a lot of ground to cover today. I know you’re tired, but once we get where we’re going, we should all be able to rest a good while. You up for it?”
Wren got to his feet. “Yes, ma’am,” he repeated. Painter was a little slower to rise.
“Good. These are for you.” She slid the packs towards them with her foot. Able came over and joined them while Wren and Painter picked up the packs and put them on. At first, Wren was surprised by how heavy his was when he lifted it. Once he got it onto his back, however, he was even more surprised at how comfortable it felt. There were clasps at the waist and across the chest that Gamble fastened for him. The weight was noticeable, but didn’t drag at Wren the way he had expected. Then Able helped him adjust the straps to make it even more secure and evenly distributed.
“Each of you has a buddy,” Gamble said, while they were adjusting their packs. “Painter, you’re with Mouse. Wren, Able’s yours, of course. While we’re out here, your job is to stay with your buddy, OK? Go where he goes, do what he tells you to. Anything you do, you do with your buddy. Got it?”
“Yes, ma’am,” Wren said again. Painter just nodded.
“Alright,” she said. And then louder, “Alright, let’s spin it up, boys.” And everybody else started slinging their packs on with practiced fluidity.