Page 49 of Powerless
"You got my boots and jacket all dirty, bitch!" a feminine voice snarled from inside the helmet.
"What?"
The dark visor flipped up to reveal familiar green eyes, the corners crinkled up from her cheeky grin.
"Noelle!" I screeched, on the verge of tears. "I didn't know you, uh—“
"Could ride and shoot? I'm the president's sister, dummy. Come here."
She lowered her kickstand and hopped off, arms open for my bone-crushing hug as I ran up to her.
"I'm so fucking happy to see you," I whispered against the side of her helmet.
"Same here, Mari. You look good dolled up in my shit." She pulled back from my hug, still smiling. "Speaking of my punk ass brother, where is he?"
"I don't know." The worry creeped back into my voice, taking over my relief. "These guys haven't seen him either."
"Is it clear out there, Noelle?" Jandro addressed her for the first time.
"No Razor Wire on wheels left. Some might be hiding or trapped under fallen bikes. I say we look for our people but proceed with caution."
"I thoughtIwas VP?" Jandro teased, grinning at her.
"Tell 'em it was your idea. Y'all have been doing that for hundreds of years already," she joked back. "Mari, want to ride with me?"
"No, she stays with us. She’s—“
"I can protect her, Jandro," Noelle rolled her eyes. "You guys got wheels?"
"Yeah, somewhere around here."
"Find 'em then meet us back inside the gate." Noelle threw a leg over her bike and looked at me. "I'm guessing you're going to have a few patients once we get everyone in."
I nodded, climbing on behind her and holding onto her waist. "If anyone has stretchers or long carts we can pull people in, we might need them for any leg wounds or head injuries."
"Got it." She kicked off the ground and off we went. "A couple guys have pickup trucks, we can put people in the truck beds. Anything else we should prepare for?"
"I'll just need extra hands," I said. "To apply pressure to wounds, to hand me tools if I need to do surgery. I won't know for sure until I see what injuries people have."
"You've got me, girl," Noelle patted my hand on her stomach. "I'll rally some other help, too. Don't you worry."
"Thank you," I sighed. "God, it's so good to see you."
"You mean you weren't in heaven surrounded by dick all day?" she laughed.
"That's not exactly what I would call it."
We passed by two other dirt bike riders and Noelle yelled at them to get pickup trucks.
The dust was now settling but night was falling. Noelle turned her headlight on as we maneuvered through bodies and debris.
"There's Big G!" I pointed and Noelle pulled straight up to him.
He got shot in the calf and would definitely need to be carried home, but thankfully he managed to get some clothes on at some point. I wrapped gauze around his wound, gave him a pill for pain and told him to sit tight. The trucks would be coming soon and he just had to wave them down.
"Poor Tessa," Noelle muttered as we drove away. "She's about to deal with four children instead of three."
"What do you mean?" I asked.
