Chumani was a blur of motion as she sprinted her way around the first building. That Orlando Lhost of hers had some serious speed. She slid into a pile full of inactive remotes. The mess of shells, limbs, and dead sensors made the place feel rather macabre but this didn't call this place the Boneyard for nothing. <Eyes on the prize!> Chumani had Loren in her sights. The issue was she was being manhandled by one of the mobsters. She was their hostage. TAC-NET COMPROMISED That message was on repeat from everyone's geists. There was no sudden quantronic attack or any other type of intrusion. This was something that had been lying in wait for sometime. Before anyone could try and figure out when or how was when bullets and molten hot shrapnel started flying. Chumani was pinned down. A burst from one of the mobster's multi-pistols racked Padre's cover and one of the rounds nicked his left arm. Brandy the Brave tried to impale Taisa's left leg with his spear. She was quick enough to slide her leg back and the spear stabbed the deck plating instead. Brandy's sharpened chrome teeth snarled at Taisa. "I think I'm owed a round or two of fun from you, Fräulein!"
Taisa easily dodged the spear as she laughed like a hyena. She actually sounded like one too. She quickly took out spiked chain whip and cracked it a few times as she swayed her body like that of some sort of belly dancer. “I don’t mind dancing with you but just so you know you’re not really my type. My orca friend is much more my type but I don’t think she’ll mind if I play with you for a bit. That is,” she says as she snaps the chain whip, “until I break you!” She launches into a dazzling display of dancer like movements when she swings the whip at her opponent.
Vaulting through the window effortlessly to get his revenge, Saito aims for a charging thrust directly at the hitman squarely in the chest. However his opponent was just as sharp with his reflexes, dodging to the side, avoiding the strike with no wasted movement. Rolling through to keep momentum, Saito came up ready to swing at the other opponent whom was now within striking distance thanks to his roll. The hitmen however had other ideas, sensible after all. They ducked away from him to swiftly exit the building, making a remarkably smooth egress out of the area they were battling in. Ready to make their escape. Not willing to loose the mark now that Loren was so close, brief flashes of his failed mission. The incident that led to his whole sorry lot of a current life pushes his his mind but Saito quickly quashes it. Time to meditate on past failures once this on stopped being on. Exiting the building, Saito gives chase as quickly as his feet could carry him, shouting for the team to form up and give chase. And for Taisa to do something about this breach or better yet, tag them so we can find them if we loose them. Saito re-engages his TO camouflage as his quick look behind him sees the others start to act as well.
Taisa growled at her foe parrying her attack. “Seems that you’re pretty good. Too bad we’re on opposite sides of this battle.” She then attacked again swinging her spiked chain.
Samira, even through the din of battle, was able to shout towards the mobster holding Loren hostage. It was a threat. A threat that the mobster didn't even acknowledge. These guys were the real deal when it came to heavy hitters not some low level ganger punks. Kenn and Padre quickly re-positioned to the building off to their left to try and get better lines of sight on the goons guarding Loren in the two story on the other side of the Boneyard. From their map it was called the scraper house. They kicked in a door and found themselves in some kind of remote chop shop. Three stalls in total with two waldos per stall handing down from their overhead cradles. This place could probably chew threw dozens of remotes during a day. The two of them found a window looking towards the scraper house. Kenn smashed through it with the muzzle of his rifle and took a pot shot at a mobster. The guy was too quick as he ducked behind cover. Padre selected the under barrel shot-tube of his boarding colt. He had already preemptively loaded an adhesive shell. He was planning on getting the mobster that had Loren and in turn also trap Loren. Killing two birds with one stone as that old Earth saying went. The shell was dead on. The sudden explosion of adhesive goo was easy to see but so was the mobster who dove out of the way. Between his massive arm was Loren. That bastard had avoided the adhesive shell. He quickly got up and scurried out the back of the scraper house they were using for cover. He was hauling off Loren to a place called the Wedge Garden... Chumani had waited for Padre and Kenn to lift their fire. As she waited she grabbed the mere hanging from her belt and when she had the chance she charged forth from the scrap pile and towards the mobster Kenn was firing at. It was a quick jab to the ribs that the mobster was too slow to react to. The jab must of broken something as the mobster bent over in immediate pain. She was about to follow up her jab with a strike to the mobster's head but Brandy came bursting through the door of the scraper house. There were some yelps and screams from hiding occupants at Brandy's presence. His psychopathic chrome smile didn't help. The injured mobster used the distraction to quickly stumble after his compatriot that fled to the Wedge Garden. <The prize is on the move. Someone get Brandy off my back!> Luckily Taisa had given chase and wasn't letting Brandy get away from her so easily.
Seeing that HH#3 had grabbed Loren Dixon and taking flight, Kenn stopped his attack & with Igor by his side, bounded after the human male. However partially through their sprint the thought of the assailant kidnapper getting away made Kenn mental pause for a second to come up with a rebuttal to that mental inquiry. Edd "There goes another one. Another assailant is joining the retreat. Judging by their looks I don't think that you would be able to handle one of them like Igor could handle them both." A good point and it made the concept of removing or greatly injuring at least one of the two a worthwhile proposition. "Tac-Net Compromised" be damned. Sending his sudden idea for a ranged attack to the closest members of the Suz & ally, Kenn sent data on the angle of sight he had of the two criminals(?). Hopefully the Padre or Chumani could get a better shot off one one or both of the runners. As for the Tohaa he planned on continuing to burst forward towards Miss Dixon...With Igor bounding in front like the Incredible Hulk, Frankenstein & Superman all rolled together...Kenn holding onto to the Chaksa's backside and maybe taking a potshot if the opportunity presents itself. One way or another this Tohaa was going to find out the real reason and story behind this crazy case of chasing a Varnua heiress through Bakunin.
For those giving chase they were met by a field of... corn? No, that wasn't right. The stocks were tall but they were jet black and had multiple tendrils that grabbed anything that passed by them. At the top of the stock was a quarter of a human face that ended in a large glowing bulb. If this wasn't disturbing enough ahead of them was the massive three story Wedgehead that almost touched the ceiling above it.. Part wedge and part bio-mechanical head that sat behind it. It was the same shape as the head on the stocks. The bulb of the Wedgehead glowed so brightly that it lit the whole garden. It would occasionally pulse and that pulse would carry into the field of bulbheads surrounding it. For those that quickly listened to their geists the Wedge Garden was a Praxis experiment. The central Wedgehead was more like a host to the fields of smaller wedgeheads. A single bio-mechanical organism. When Crazy Hollow came to be the Wedge Garden became a slum. Quick fabrication screens and deck plates were used to create dozens of huts. The most ambitious built onto the Wedgehead at the center. It was now a latticework of hovels, cables, and scaffolding. The fields of bulbheads were left unchecked and allowed to spread in the outskirts of the garden. The mobster that had Loren had made it through the field and the second one was right at the edge. Quickly accessing the situation Chumani opted to a vantage point to get eyes on Loren. She sprinted to the second floor of the scraper house bursting into one of their bunk rooms. Scrapers were trying to hid themselves away as best as possible. They looked on in fright at her but she wasn't here for them. She quickly found a window and got her contenders sights on Loren's capture. All the while Padre, Igor, and Kenn were coming up the edge of the bulbhead field. Padre opened up the cylinder of his Boarding-Colt and calmly changed out his viral round for stun rounds. He quickly closed the cylinder and and aimed at his target. The same as Chumani... the mobster holding Loren. Targeting data came flooding in from both Igor and Kenn to aid in the upcoming shots. The orca uplift and Inquisitor took shots at almost the same time. The dull report Chumani's contender rung out as her high caliber round struck first. It sent the mobster stumbling before Padre's hail of stun rounds slammed into him. The mobster crashed to the ground and as the smoke cleared all that was left was a teenage girl and her large pink backpack looking on in shock and disbelief. The mobster that Chumani had clobbered before quickly broke throw the bulbhead field and rushed as quickly as possible to the hut next to his downed compatriot. Words were shouted out but no one could understand them. Not even the team's geists. It was just a bunch of gibberish thanks to the mobster's conlang voiceboxes. Then all hell broke lose again in the Boneyard and Wedge Garden. Samira tried her best to slow down the remaining mobsters hiding in the remote pile but the shots from her Vrabec pistol only did minimal damage. Those two goons quickly sprinted to the Wedge Garden. As they reached the bulbhead field another positional ping was sent out across the team's tac-net. Saito quickly realized he was being targeted again by the link pistol mobster as molten hot shrapnel cut their way through bulbheads to get to the ninja. Luckily for Saito and unlucky for the mobster was that another one of his link pistols jammed. And if things couldn't get any more chaotic the last mobster decided to incite panic among the wedge garden residents by indiscriminately firing into their huts. Violence was an everyday occurrence in Crazy Hollow that was mostly met with indifference. However, when bullets started flying in your direction you didn't think twice and made a mad dash. Residents were now running between huts and into the bulbhead fields. Taking a clean shot was now much harder. Back in the scrapper house Taisa and Brandy were in a deadly dance. Her spike chain tore up the room they were in but Brandy was expertly batting it away with his spear. When he saw an opening he took a wild swipe at her right leg.
While the chaos was unfolding all around, Kenn ordered Igor to dash & grab the fallen heiress. The current situation gave off the feeling on being back on Paradiso. Perhaps it was like the day when Kenn got separated from the troop he was paired with. But those memories were hazy & thinking about think them now would do no good. One thing was similar between the Paradiso & Bakunin, he hated them both. Was hate too strong of a word...? No it wasn't. Not to Kenn. The Mental rambling was cut by the geist Edd alerting Kenn that Igor had successfully grabbed Dixon. Kenn knew that already. Years of pheromone training & experience controlling animal-like minds had gifted the Tohaa with something akin to an extra sense. Due to the familiarity of the Chaksa he was controlling. Being on alert for both himself & his extra set of arms as the firefight continued. The plan was to grab onto Igor and have the brute barge back the way they came. bulldozing anything in their path. While a part of him did not want to leave the rest of the Sunz to their current situation, the team finally had Dixon in their mitts. Kenn was full of questions. Ones he wanted answers to. He intended to make her talk and tell exactly what was going on after giving him the run around all across this asylum in space. One that had nice bright areas but that did not make up for the whole of the ecosystem. Igor scooped up his Tohaa master and bounded without trouble through the area's exit. His large frame power dashing into the previous zone with the chop shops and Sam were. Maybe hooking up with her would be beneficial but getting Dixon away & interrogating her was the more pressing matter. Kenn "Geist, send a message to Sam to reply if she needs help." Now that they were far from danger and in some relative safety, the order was given for Igor to halt and resume a guard stance. Miss Dixon was going to talk or at least expound on what was going on with her odyssey on Bakunin.
Coming into view of a sweeping field of tall plants. Saito dives in giving chase hot on the heels of Loren and her captors, when the same goon that had given him the slip earlier in the chop shop breaks into view to his left. Raising both link pistols once again, another spray of hot shrapnel comes pouring towards the Japanese mans direction. Thinking on an instinctual level, Saito uses his momentum to power slide along the ground barely dodging the cloud as it tore a path through the field. Tempted to finally put this nuisance to rest, he thinks better of it in favour of the mission. "Can't fail another girl," flashes in his mind as he recovers and continues his sprint towards the 'house' of the guy covering Loren. Shouting orders to Kenn to grab Loren and Padre to cover our retreat and Samira to hurry up, he readies for the next skirmish. Just as Saito reaches the opening he catches Igor power sprinting like an absolute unit of muscle towards the still prone Loren. Good, he thinks to himself, the doctor will take care of her. Bursting into the structure swinging, the ninja sets a clean cut and slices deep through the armoured arm of his opponent drawing no small amount of blood. Recovering quickly, his feet sliding back while bring his blade horizontally level with his chest Saito thrusts straight through the goon's back as he fell to the floor from the power of the first cut. Unfortunately, due to the angle of the thrust as Saito tries to retrieve the blade it becomes lodged in. Most likely stuck between some ribs. Pulling with all his might he still can't dislodge the blade. Huffing in frustration, he quickly turns to looking over his kill.
Loren Dixon was not the one to have a conversation with Kenn. The first thing out of her mouth was a scream and her trying to get away from Igor. Luckily, Samira had fallen back with the rest of the group and quickly grabbed the teenagers shoulders and quietly spoke to her. That seemed to calm her down for the mean time. "Gangsters!" Padre yelled as two heavy hitters came running towards them. The one with the dual chain pistols took cover in the remote pile and quickly turned to engage Chumani. The Orca uplift returned fire. Her contender blew apart the gangster's cover and added a few new holes to him. The other one came out from behind the remote pile and unloaded his multi-pistol into the chop shop that everyone else was taking cover in. With a flick of his coat Padre spun around and placed himself between them and the gangster all while firing his boarding-colt. The exchange of fire sent both stumbling back. Padre received the worst of it and through some grit he was able to stay upright just long enough for Igor to come to his aid. The Chaksa Servant was going about his programming. Some one was injured as he was nearby to help. So help he did. A quick shot from the Medikit and Padre wasn't seeing double anymore. The lower level of the scrapper house had turned into a torrent of chain and spear as Taisa and Brandy continued their struggle. Brandy snarled at Taisa before he disengaged from her once again. He had positioned himself just behind the first chop shop. Whether knowingly or unknowingly he had just put himself right in the path the team would need to get out of here. Things wouldn't get easier for the Sunz team. On the tac-net Chumani had pinged a Planierraupen combat remote and 4-man fireteam of gangers that had just spilled out from the nearby Plainerraupen outpost. They weren't firing at the heavy hitter gangsters so they must be allies. Across the way, back in some dilapidated hut, Saito could hear the last breath escape from the gangster that his sword was embedded into. The toxins that covered it had finished him off.
Taking a second to study how the blade is angled in the body proves to be the correct course of action as he manages to slide his blade out of the body. An inward sigh of relief as Saito was going to withdraw regardless of whether he got his blade dislodged or not. The shame of abandoning his blade would of been inconceivable to him once... But life has made a shameful man out of him already, what does it matter that another one is heaped onto his back. Still, he thinks to himself, better he not have this shame added to it. As the body moves a pistol falls to the floor. A multi pistol. Thinking quickly, Saito scoops it up and the extra clips as he makes a speedy exit from the premises to reconvene with his team mates, checking the clip for remaining ammo as he moved along. Quick as the wind, the team's scout makes it to the building that most of the others are currently sheltered in.
After the medical action was complete Igor was given the order to grab the Padre & move. The whole scene would seem to a non-Tohaa as the Chaska having thoughts of it's own regardless of it's deadpan thousand yard stare. Or if one knew about how the syombio-relationship between Tohaa & Peripheral worked, they would likely equate it to a Jedi/Sith mind trick on a lesser willed being. Kenn "Still...Better keep an eye out on these new combatants." He buzzed over the team's communications. Kenn "The last thing we need is to turn our backs & them fire on us." Regardless of Brad's positioning Kenn was not content with letting the human foe get away to maybe hound them later. Perhaps taking a shot at Brady would permanently rid the Bakunin Mothership of this menace. In his mind the prospect was worth a try as the Sunz were retreating.
Sticking close to their target Lauren Dixon to calm her down and keep her under control Samira took a look at the battlefield. As her team prepared for a messy getaway a thought slipped into her mind thinking about her options. I got a few of this really anoying tourist grenades that should give at least a few seconds. When the team prepares to leave she throws one of this tattle tale grenades at the group of their pursuers.
Things weren't looking good. Chumani and the Planierraupen fireteam were trading shots with Chumani gaining the upper hand. She was able to drop one of the gangers but another one raced out from their little outpost to reinforce it back to full strength. That combat remote was also trying to pin Chumani down after dumping shell after shell into the upper level of the scrapper house. It was ineffective but for how much longer? Taisa continued her harassment of Brandy. They traded a flurry of blows and when the dust settled it was the tip of Brandy's spear that had embedded itself into Taisa's chest. The Nomad spear had gone right through her armor and from the amount of blood that came gushing out when it was removed it had hit an artery as well. "Looking a little pale, Fräulein!" Brandy yelled as he pulled his spear back for another attack. He wouldn't get the chance as the call to run was given. There was no need to drag this out. They had Loren in hand. All they needed to do was get out of dodge. It wasn't everyone's favorite option but the team has hurriedly chosen going to the Observance aid station. It was neutral territory and the firepower of the Sin Eaters and Revered Healers would hopefully deter their pursuers.
The glint of Brandy's chrome smile pierces the darkness from behind the team like some twisted Cheshire Cat. Their pursuers weren't any closer but they could feel that they might losing the initiative even with Chumani popping off rounds and Igor knocking over anything in sight. Saito turned hard to his right and quickly guided the team down a cramped alley between an outcropping of makeshift shacks. Chumani still brought up the rear and laid down more covering fire. This time it all worked out perfectly as Brandy and company were starting to lose some serious ground. All the while Kenn was able to render aid to a still bleeding Taisa. It was quite an impressive feat from the Tohaa doctor and his Chaksa assistant to patch her up while running and under duress. Saito could see Stretch C just ahead of them. They just needed to cut their way through the ramshackle housing and people. Igor decided that going through some of them was the better option. He bulldozed his way through obstacle and people alike. The commotion that he caused was more trouble for their pursuers as they were caught up in the anger and bewilderment of the people Igor shoved aside. They rushed headlong into the Observance aid station. They only slowed up when the barrels of a few Mk12s from the guarding Sin Eaters were leveled at them. At the back Taisa took a look at their pursuers. She could see that Brandy was being held back by the two gangsters. Those two knew they had lost. Brandy didn't seem to have gotten the memo yet. A Revered Healer and a few Orphans come out with their weapons ready. They lower them when they see the team isn't the usual gangers of the Bolt Hole. One of the Orphans points out Loren to the Healer. The women narrows her eyes. "Girl, are these people with you? Igor sets Loren down. "Yes, they're with me." She fidgets with the straps of her pink backpack. "We were being chased and thought this was the best place to escape to." At the mention of being chased the Healer immediately orders the Sin Eaters and Orphans to secure the aid stations perimeter. "That was a wise idea. However, you all can not stay here. Your presence endangers those that we are rendering aid to." She can see that a few of the team are hurt. "We'll see to your wounded but after that you must leave." [All wound effects are removed and all lost vigor is restored. Note you still have your Wounds as the aid station is not giving you long term treatment.] Padre and Taisa are the ones that received the most help. After being patched up they whole team was quickly ushered out back into Stretch C. The team is on high alert in case their pursuers were lying in wait. They weren't. That allows them to quickly make their way out of the Bolt Hole and to their next stop, the No Name Hotel. Deck 110 - No Name Hotel The small hotel room was cramped with the seven bodies that had been crammed into it. Chumani had already split as walking around with a heavily armed Orca uplift was probably going to attract the wrong attention. Loren hadn't spoken a single word since the aid station. She sat on the bed hugging her overstuffed pink backpack. "I guess I should thank you all. Did my parents send you after me?"
Using the cypher that Kenn and Padre created earlier in their little mission, Saito suggests that their resident hacker clear the network of infiltration. Grunting while being seen to by the healers, Taisa nods. On their way back to the No Name Hotel as they separate from Chumani Saito gives his thanks and bows in respect as Saito gets the all clear on the tacnet from Taisa. With the network back under friendly control, Saito cautions the team that the girl will most likely try to play them for information. She was quiet... Trying to act the part of a scared teenager that got over her head. Which may have worked if the ex ninja didn't already know a fair chunk of the story. Instead he suggests that we act the part of their earlier, clueless selves and pump her for information. A game was about to be played. A game he is sure Samira could very much handle. He just hoped the others wouldn't be so direct and forthcoming with details they didn't need to give Loren. Once settled in the room Loren starts the conversation. "Your welcome Loren. I'm just glad we got to you before those ruffians." Saito says with a mix of relief and genuine happiness. "You are correct, your parents have been very worried about you and hired us to find you." Saito squatted down to Loren's eye level and said with concern, "Are you alright? We are here to help you and my colleague here is a good lady." He gestures to Samira. "And can talk to you if you don't want to talk to a man... Or an alien." Saito chuckles as he nods to Kenn. An attempt to lighten the mood which he makes sure to let Kenn know over the tacnet so he doesn't take offence. Standing up again, Saito backs away to give Samira space to work her magic.
As they settled down for a break Samira starts to talk to Loreen to find more about her story and plan and what happend from her view with Taisa and Padre trying to help. Padres background in the employment of PanO didnt help much but Taisas words as an ex gladiator seemed to get more respect. After a long talk Samira Signals for a break as all of them look tired after the events of the day. Samira signals Saito for a short talk, telling him she will leave to get some good and drinks from somewhere else, so its harder to track them while being on the Shopping Tour Samira will check some Terminals for the best circular to leave without much trouble. "And while i am gone i hope you will need to be the one talking to the hotel staff etc. You are so conveniently unremarkable that they hopefully forget you fast." While getting dressed in some lower deck clothing to fit into the crowd outside she asks what everyone desires. Sometimes later Samira enters the Hotel room in another disguise as a technician with a tool box from which she pulls out the food and drinks.
"Well, I'm sure you all did your homework on my parents. You know who they lobby for and what that means for the Helots on Varuna." She gripped her backpack a little tighter. "So, let's just say, I might have gotten in contact with the Libertos." She smiles nervously. "They had this mission for me. Go to Bakunin and retrieve a package from the Fifth Columnists. How I was to get there and get off was up to me. So I befriended a urchin gang called the Heartarches over arachne. They got me the fake IDs, hid me, and introduced me to some people. One of them was this scary looking Chimera... Brandy something... and he's the one that got me in contact with the Fifth Columnists. After that I met up with one of the smugglers that the columnists use. Seeks Fish." Loren left out the part where she got Valentine Dolles arrested by the Moderators. "By then the Fifth Columnists told me that you guys were looking for me. That's when Seeks Fish and I came up with, well at least what I thought, was a pretty good plan. Either you guys found me or the Buzzkill would take me off Bakunin. Either way I was leaving. That was until those goons showed up and ruined everything." She starts to go quiet before Samira brings her back and asks what package the Fifth Columnists gave her. She was reluctant but she eventually opened up the backpack and showed her. It was a couple of hard-cased containers. They were all plain in appearance. She opened one and it looked empty but that was a ruse. It was a cover for what was being smuggled in a shielded compartment underneath. It was a cold storage unit like one would use to transport organs or augmentations. The packages indicated augmentations of some shape. Saito put it together. Material Johnson, the P.I. he met back at the TopGun module, was looking for missing underwater prototype biografts to aid in underwater living, and these were it. The Fifth Columnists had stolen them and were giving them to the Libertos. Loren seemed to be their preferred courier for this task. She was young, wasn't a criminal, and had the means to get herself on and off Bakunin. The cover story of an angry teenager running from home but eventually coming back after seeing the rest of sphere wasn't all that nice would be a good cover story. No law enforcement or intelligence agency would think twice about it. Samira laid out the food and some smoothies for everyone. She even got a smoothy for Igor. The Chaksa Servant usually just ate a very bland but calorie rich paste but he deserved a treat.
If no one in the room had ever had a psychedelic trip before they were having one now. You could taste color, feel the texture of the cosmos, hear atoms racing by and colliding with one another, and ego dissolution. [Everyone but Saito: You are in a 32 hour trip through your sub-conscious. You're in a semi-lucid state. Tests are at +2 difficulty and +1 complication range, and you can only move one zone per round.] Saito on the other hand just noted that were was a bitter taste hidden away under the heavily spiced smoothie. Before he could react the door to their hotel room slide open and in stepped three men. They were all calm, carried a pistol, and had on cloth masks. One of them leveled a pistol at Samira's head, another at Padre, and finally at Saito. "Give us the girl and no one has to deal with a resurrection." Saito noticed something was off. The men looked the same. Not in that they were all using the same gear but they looked like clones of one another. A holoprojector and one that was probably also being used in conjunction with a holomask. Who knew what or who the real perpetrator was. Saito's mind raced through the threat identification catalog that his ninja clan had hammered into his head. The usual users of that kind of equipment combination was slim. The list he came up with was short: Tian Gǒu, Kǎnrèn, Kotail, Bashi Bazouk, Hassassin Áyyār, and any of the intelligence agencies that wanted pay for that equipment and training. Who knew if they had backup waiting right out in the hall. This situation was quickly approaching FUBAR.
The three holoechoes looked over the scene before them. Everyone looked like they were drugged. Well almost everyone... Saito let the smoothie in his hand drop to the ground and he slouched into the couch he was sitting on. He let his eyes roll and muttered incoherently to himself. He thought his performance was exaggerated but everyone seemed to have bought it. Him and his geist, Shadow, sent out messages to Material Johnson and Gota. Both immediately answered back that help was on the way. However, that help probably wasn't going to arrive in time unless someone slowed these guys down. Two more men entered the room. They weren't dressed all differently from the first man that entered. One was armed with an SMG and another with a pistol. The SMG was aimed at Taisa, Kenn, and Igor. Everyone had a firearm aimed at them. The third man that entered carefully made his way to Loren and started to collect her from the bed. She said something. The only words that anyone could make out were, "Help."
