MerMay -5

Part 5

Operating in something of a daze, Maraĵa realised she’d wandered towards the noise and smoke. Curiosity had gotten the better of her survival instincts, as the latter seemed unwilling to accept what had happened. The Hydraquos Resort simply wasn’t the sort of place that got bombed.

Still, as she got closer to the conference hall, where the explosions had occurred, there was no denying it. Windows had been blown out, smoke was still rising, and flames were flitting in some of the now shattered windows. The fire probably wouldn’t last long. The resort had excellent sprinkler systems, able to feed directly from the ocean below. It was still concerning, though.

A loud cracking-popping noise, like fireworks, shook her from her daze, and she realised there might still be danger. She needed to get down to one of the safety centres. They were near the bottom of the resort’s substructure, which meant she had to get to the nearest elevator.

That should just be inside the nearest tower, so she hurried over. The elevator, however, had switched over to emergency operations. She’d need a key. Which she did not have. Instead, she checked the evacuation map beside the elevator, pointing out where the nearest stairwell in the tower was. This wasn’t a part of the resort she went to much, so she hadn’t known the layout very well.

Thankfully the stairwell was nearby, and she was able to start descending after only a few moments. The lighting, however, was minimal. The resort seemed to be on emergency power. That was fine enough in the stairwells, where there were still lights every landing for safety, but it became thoroughly spooky once she got down to the hallway below. There were still enough lights to navigate, but without the tripping hazard of stairs, that level of light was downright gloomy. And substantially lower than the clinical brightness she was used to in her day to day life.

Other than the darkness, though, it was mostly the quiet that got to her. The hallways seemed abandoned. She slowly realised it must have taken her longer to wander over to the explosions than she’d thought. Long enough that everyone who planned on heading for the shelters was already there.

As she walked, trying to make her way back to her designated shelter, a scent hit her nose. One that she’d found herself unpleasantly attuned to these days. Blood.

It was not a smell she wanted to deal with right now, but it was coming from the direction she had to travel. Trying to hold on to her resolve, she also realised there were bullet holes in the walls nearby. Quite a few of them.

She shivered, not knowing what to expect. No more than a dozen metres after the smell hit her, she rounded a cover to discover two figures lying on the floor. Both had blood on them, signs of being shot in the chest. One was sprawled across the middle of the hallway, while the other was slumpy against the wall. Her heart dropped when she saw the face of the second figure.

“Thusitha?” she hissed under her breath, hurrying to their side.

The tall bodyguard was male right now, but, now that she knew both faces were them, it was hard not to see the similarities. The difference was less significant than most of her friends who’d stayed baseline with their transitions.

She let out a sigh of relief when she realised Thusitha was still breathing, though it was raspy. Maraĵa was confused, when she looked down and saw Thusitha had a pair of pliers in his hand, and what looked like a couple of bullets on the ground near him.

“Inhibitor bullets,” he rasped, surprising her. “Two left… I can’t… get…”

“W—what should I do?” she asked, her voice cracking.

His eyes opened slowly, meeting hers in a somewhat unfocused way. He smiled slightly. “Little shark… good to… to see you.”

“How do I help?” she asked, starting to shake with fear.

She’d already messed up so bad. She’d broken Thusitha’s heart and now he was… he was going to…

“Pull out,” he muttered, lifting the pliers slightly. He wasn’t able to manage much before wincing in pain, however.

“Just—but… I don’t know how to? I’ll probably do even more damage if I try!” she helped, feeling how shakey her hands were getting.

“Yeah… probably… doesn’t matter,” Thusitha managed, voice growing softer. “Just… out.”

His grip on the pliers loosened and they fell to the ground. She let out a yelp, but then grabbed them. She tried to ignore why they were wet and she leaned in to study the bullet wounds. It was not a pleasant sight, but she was pretty sure she could tell which ones had had the bullets removed already. Glad she hadn’t eaten, and so didn’t have to worry about her stomach’s contents revolting against the process, she dove in, cringing at the feeling.

Thusitha grimaced and winced at the pain, but managed to hiss ‘good girl’ through the pain. So she kept at it, poking until the magnetic pliers hit metal and she was able to pull the one bullet out. Then she repeated the process, again trying to ignore how she was making a mess of the wounds. Or the way Thusitha twitched with pain as she probed. She found the second bullet and drew that out as well.

As soon as she’d pulled it out, Thusitha’s entire body convulsed, and she worried she’d done something wrong. Especially when he screamed. She felt heat coming off of him and the blood around the wounds began to steam. Then, to her utter shock, as his body bent from flexing muscles, the wounds closed. A moment later and it looked more like someone had gotten blood on him, as there was no sign of any injury.

He spent a moment catching his breath before sitting up.

“Thank you, Maraĵa… I will need those, though,” he said, holding his hand out for the pliers.

She gave a small nod and handed them over. Then she watched in quiet shock as he headed over to the other bodyguard. The way he moved was like he was simply tired, no sign of the fact he’d been on death’s door. Thusitha worked quietly and efficiently, pulling the bullets out of his coworker. When he’d gotten the last one out, the other man convulsed as well, steaming the same way Thusitha had. He did not, however, wake up, which concerned Maraĵa.

“I’m not surprised,” Thusitha said, putting the pliers away in a pocket. “He should be fine, but he’ll need his rest.”

All she could manage was a small nod. She really had no idea how to process any of that. She was just a part-time waitress. This was way out of her experience zone.

“Thank you, though,” Thusitha said.

“I’m sorry,” she squeaked.

“Sorry?” he asked, staring at her.

“Yes. I—for the other night. And… I made an assumption. I should have stopped to listen. But I didn’t. And I just…” she said, rambling as she tried to manage a heartfelt apology while her body was still shaking with adrenaline. “You were pro—”

Thusitha held up a hand, quieting her. “I was wrong. I thought it would just be a little fun, and my genderfluidity wouldn’t come up… and you finding out in the middle of the night while you were half asleep didn’t help… now, I will admit I wasn’t being exactly rational in the aftermath and so was angry too, but… you just pulled two bullets out of me. I think that makes up for throwing a pillow at my head and kicking me out.”

“I… well, I suppose… though you were naked,” she mumbled, still feeling guilty.

“Alright. Buy me dinner the next time we go out, if you don’t think the bullets covered that,” Thusitha replied, wearing a smile that confused her.

It was the sort that annoyed her when men wore it in her direction, but made her heart flutter when women pointed it her way. And, well… Thusitha was clearly a man right now, but also sort of her girlfriend.

She was going to need time to process all of that.

Thusitha brought her back to the present with the reminder they were best off getting somewhere safe. She did her best to help him pick up his friend (she didn’t really contribute much, though). Then she led the way towards the nearest evacuation centre.

There were a number of people there, most of whom ended up terrified to see two bloodied individuals at the door. Still, they let them in, Thusitha leaving his friend under the supervision of an employee with first aid training. Not that there was much to do but let the man rest.

“I’d give you a kiss goodbye for good luck,” Thusitha whispered to Maraĵa, “but I don’t think you’d like that right now.”

“Wait… why would you need to? You’re not—”

“I’m good to go. It’s my job to protect the charge as long as I’m on my feet,” he replied.

She paled, but supposed she couldn’t argue. Plus, it felt delightfully noble and chivalrous. And Maraĵa had always dreamt of a female knight sweeping her off her feet… Thusitha sort of counted for that.

“I can close my eyes,” she whispered, doing so and leaning in to give him a quick peck on the cheek.

When she opened them, he had a dorky smile spread across his face. She felt sure it meant he was some percentage woman right now, because that felt like a deeply lesbian reaction to her.

He bid her farewell, and then hurried off.

-

President Sharif had been kept safe. There were a few minor injuries amongst the staff and guests at the resort, the worst being a broken bone or two by a couple of people who’d managed to trip when going down the stairs. The resort staff and the Presidential guards were all lauded for professionalism and bravery. The attackers, meanwhile, were found to be part of the Venutian special forces, the whole thing declared state sponsored terrorism.

And then the President had been invited to Abuja, for talks with the African Union, Indian Confederation, and various other democratic great powers. Maraĵa had found herself lost as she tried to follow the news covering politics that ensued. There was something about sanctions and diplomatic pressure and… other stuff. Apparently it was enough pressure to make members of the Venusian military blink, and there was a pro-democracy counter-coup.

All of which happened quickly enough that President Sharif was headed back to Venus before Thusitha and her had had a chance to meet up again.

Which meant she was moping now. She’d managed to repair her relationship with an absolute dreamboat of a (part-time) woman, and then had it snatched from her fingers.

She was still doing her job, putting on smiles for customers, but she was drifting outside of that. She barely even registered when the Club Ajkula’s manager announced the new head of resort security was coming to give them an inspection. Chloe whispered for her to straighten up, but she didn’t really feel like bothering… until the door opened, and the new security chief stepped in.

“Thusitha,” she said, staring at the beautifully handsome woman, currently dressed in a suit.

“Hey there, little shark,” Thusitha replied.

___

This was going to be the ending, but… I think it needs more fluff, so there will be an epilogue.