Zayn was lean and long-limbed at sixteen, his body stretched thin by constant space travel, and years that had demanded more of him than they should have. He had olive skin, which was dulled by recycled air and cold; his face was narrow and sharp. His dark hair fell in loose, uneven waves and curls. He had his mother's eyes, green by nature, with a faint glow of an implanted lens.
He wore a long, thick jacket of a dark synthetic polymer that fell to his ankles. It split open at the front and hung heavy from his shoulders. A normal person would have struggled with the weight, but not Zayn, because his spine, legs, and most other joints were braced by an old exoskeletal frame, plainly visible along his thighs and calves, but hidden underneath his clothes on the upper body.
Most people needed support like this on planets with a gravity above 0.8 SG (standard gravity) after very long stretches in space. Most ordinary people used extensive bone-growth serums and physical therapy, while suits like these were reserved either for Military use for quick, efficient deployment or for people affluent enough to afford them.
Zayn stepped up to where the little girl and the new boy lay. He squatted in front of the boy, observing him carefully.
"Maya, he's badly bruised himself. We need to make sure that whoever did this to him isn't still chasing him."
Maya came and stood over him, observing the pair from above Zayn's shoulders. She had light coffee-coloured skin and dark brown eyes; her curly hair was tightly braided into rows.
"Not we, you, that's why you're babysitting. We can't afford to waste time; the rest of us will continue to the main building. And if he was being chased, the others would have alerted us; they found this one and led him here as well." Maya said matter-of-factly.
Zayn turned around and stared right at Maya, "Or, we can just leave them here, and you let me be part of the actual mission. It would help to have another helping hand in there."
Maya's gaze softened, "True, true, if it was anyone else, it might. But you? You're just terrible, besides the Imam already gave you your duties, or have you forgotten?" she said with a big grin spreading across her face. Maya was wearing one of the deceased knights' uniforms, black tactical Armor and a red poncho.
"Yeah, right… and no i haven't, I'd rather stick with you, someone has to save you from your suicidal self."
As Maya lifted the hood onto her head, she ran her hand through his hair haphazardly, "Hah! And you say don't love me, be careful little man, if this fails, you know what to do."
Zayn slapped her hand away in mild annoyance, "Come back alive, aapi," he whispered.
Maya turned away and soon stepped out of the shed into the rainy night, leaving Zayn alone with the sleeping pair.
Zayn heaved a sigh, "Well, better get you both out of sight."
Zayn tried to be gentle, but there was little gentleness he could show while dragging the unconscious kids. He had given the pacifiers to the little girl, so he knew she wasn't waking anytime soon, but he had hoped the movement would have at least woken up the boy. He remained asleep as well.
'Should get on with treating both of their wounds.'
Zayn pulled a kit out of his jacket and set it up on the ground. He started by applying basic ointment to the boy's face, where the acidic burn scars were the worst, and he then gently removed the red robes he had been wearing. The boy had massive swelling in his abdomen and his forearms. The burns from the rain exposure were still minimal, at least when compared to the girl's arms.
Zayn applied bandages with anti-inflammatory paste to the boy, then did the same for the girl, whom they had left half-treated, on hearing of the boy's arrival. He tilted over a shelf, hoping the storm outside would mask the noise he was making, using it as cover from prying eyes to set up a fire, dragging both kids in front of it for warmth.
He force-fed the boy some painkillers and other pills he had learned about in basic training before covering him up in the cloaks and ponchos of some of the dead knights, they wouldn't need them anymore afterall.
When he was done, all he could do now was wait. He positioned himself so he could see both the door and the sleeping pair, and started meditating.
He steeled his nerves and started contemplating about different words, and their deeper meanings, that's what he was training for afterall and why he was left out of most dangerous missions, he chose "purpose" and "death" today and started meditating over them. He repeated them over and over, and his own understanding of them unceasingly as he awaited word from Maya and the others, or for one of the two he was watching over to wake.
It was around the 2356th repetition that he sensed movement. It came from the sleeping pair. It seemed the boosters he had given the boy had kicked in, and he was waking up.
'Remember negotiation training…' As Zayn thought his approach through, the boy had already woken up and was staring directly at him.
"Don't ev…" Zayn couldn't even finish his sentence before the boy was already running at him, carrying a makeshift weapon, some sort of metal rod.
'HUH! Where did he get that?'
The boy threw the rod at him. Zayn blocked it with his arm. He knew this was a distraction; that boy was smart. He had no time now to reach for his own weapon before the boy could cover the distance, so he planted his feet instead. He was weak on this planet's gravity, but he had a powerful exoskeleton helping him.
The boy crashed into him with quite some force, but it was like hitting an unmovable object, as he recoiled in confusion. Zayn swiped at his legs and instantly grabbed his arm, forcing him to the ground with it pinned behind his back. In the same motion, he covered his mouth as well.
"Easy! Easy!" he whispered hoarsely.
"Don't make me undo the work I did to treat you," Zayn said.
He thought to himself, 'this needs a new approach' before addressing the boy again, "Is this how you thank me for saving the life of that little girl?"
The boy stopped struggling underneath Zayn.
"Now I need you to behave. And wear some clothes, please; I didn't treat your wounds for you to get sick instead… My name is… Xander, nod if you understand."
The boy gave a curt nod.
Zayn released his grip and got off the boy's back. He slowly stood up, breathing hard.
"Ash—cough—sorry about that—cough—not a lot of kind-hearted folks to be found here, especially people not wearing temple attire, are you from some branch I don't know or… are you with the sovereigns?" Ash said, eyeing Zayn up and down.
'This guy… he's still analyzing me for openings. ' Zayn was almost impressed by Ash's tenacity.
"Neither," Zayn replied simply.
"Then what are you doing here?" Ash asked, his wariness giving way to confusion and curiosity.
"Just sightseeing, trying to tear the temples down, stopping a sovereign or two," Zayn said, smiling now, fishing for Ash's reaction, analyzing him.
"You're crazy," Ash replied. He seemed to be even more on guard now and warily looking at Zayn.
His eyes darted around to where the girl lay asleep and to the only door out of the shed.
"Maybe… but at this moment, Ash, I am as lucid as I can be, so don't even think of trying to run, you wouldn't get far if you were alone, but I see you care for that little one too much to try it, and no matter what you do you won't be able to get her away from me." Zayn paused, trying to make his tone gentler, but the tense standoff between the two prevented it. "I would really like to know how a servant of the living flame and a slave child are so close that one risks her life begging the Knights to help the other, and the other crawls half dead to desperately search for her in a storm."
"She isn't a slave!" Ash replied with a scathing ferocity, suggesting he would try hitting Zayn again.
'Maybe he could be an ally after all,' Zayn thought.
"How… how did you convince the Knights to leave her with you?" Ash asked.
"Uh, yeah, we had to kill them, which was easier to do because… they were distracted," Zayn replied, and for the first time since Ash had woken up, Zayn saw true fear on the boy's face.