[b]Ranch House, Ashlands[/b]

Names and reasons and misplaced kindness came pouring from Drake's mouth, and Larke just stared. He did not have the energy to pull away from the coolness of the boy's hand, but it certainly crossed his mind. 

This was a new tactic- And how was he supposed to know if someone was in his head? Or an illusion? 

There was hope, and there were facts. Larke had never had a good gut instinct for people; he was too soft, and too willing to trust. It hadn't gotten him far, and now this... This [i]trick[/i] was too much to swallow. 

[color=#cceeff]"I wish you were real, Kid,"[/color] he said, his voice weak. [color=#cceeff]"I really, really do. But it's not real. And I've got nothing to say that I haven't already-"[/color] He broke off, body shaking as he coughed again at the dryness in his throat. 

Oren was dead- he had not seen or heard from her in over a week. They had stopped using her as an incentive, possibly because he had run out of useful things to offer them. Helena was likely suffering from her ailment. Nobody was coming to let them go anytime soon. 

[color=#cceeff]"Kill me if you're gonna kill me. But let Helena go home, if she's alive. "[/color]

[hr]

[color=#C4B14D]"Easy,"[/color] said Mina, working through a more difficult section to slice through. [color=#C4B14D]"I'm nearly done with the worst of it, now. Nobody else is gonna come at you as long as I'm down here, alright?"[/color] The diseased flesh was so damaged that it hardly bled where she sliced, instead weeping yellow or cloudy-clear fluid along the open edges. She dabbed at the open wounds with a bit of gauze, clearing away the ooze before continuing to chip away at the rot. 

Most of the cutting was done by the time Dawn came in with her bucket and rack. [color=#C4B14D]"Thank you,"[/color] she said, casting aside her gloves to rifle through her bag and pull out a flat plastic pack wrapped in sterile wrap. She ran over her hands with the light once more, opened the wrapping, and snapped a small bar of powder inside of it. She submerged it into the water Dawn had brought, the bag inflating from its nozzle first. The water turned bright blue, at first, and faded to clear after Mina withdrew it and sloshed the contents about. [color=#C4B14D]"If you've got somewhere to be, go,"[/color] Mina said, her tone curt. She hung the bag from the rack, withdrew a pack of tubing and an IV needle, and began setting up the required treatment. 

[color=#C4B14D]"Last needle, I promise,"[/color] she told Oren as she pricked her veins one last time. A few more adjustments to the tube, and the sterilized saline began to drip into her veins. [color=#C4B14D]"That should bring you around in a bit. Don't fiddle with it."[/color] Mina taped the needle to her arm, sterilized her hands once more, and began placing gauze over the worst of the open wounds. Where there was enough skin to stitch, she stitched.