Agent Out of Time

I paused and Trent drawn in by my story asked, "What happened?"

I turned both my arms over to reveal the undersides of them. Against the darker color of my skin the white trace lines of the scars stood out in sharp relief.

"I opened the trap."

Trent winced, as he looked at the scars and I continued on, "That cat loved me after that and never left my side. I was grateful for that cat, because it helped me manage to get through a very difficult time. At night, when the hours were so long and the bed empty beside me, that cat would hop up on the bed and nuzzle into my hand and I would pet it all night. In no way was it a replacement for my wife, but it was at least something warm and alive that had been special to my wife. That cat helped keep me sane through the long hours of silence that it punctuated by its purring presence."

Trent sighed and glanced away for a moment. "Caleb, Deshavi isn't a cat that needs saved from a trap."

"No she isn't! She something of much more value than just a mere house cat! She is in a trap, one of her own making, that only she enforces and you are the only one that can unlock her from it!"

Trent glanced back at Deshavi, who was still crying, "You're asking a lot!"

"I am, because there is a lot to be gained."

Trent sighed, "Okay you win, but this is going to hurt."

Trent turned back to the campsite and I followed after him. I'd pulled that one out of the fire so to speak, but it wasn't over.

I sat off to the side curious to see how the scene would unfold. Deshavi glanced up somewhat concerned at Trent's reappearance in the campsite. He rummaged through some packs and pulled out the first aid bag. He then approached Deshavi and tossed the bag at her. She caught it reflexively, as he sat down cross legged opposite of her. She started to scoot back, but one big hand fell onto a knee rooting her to the spot.

He pointed with his free hand to the head wound, "You did it, now you're going to fix it."

Deshavi shook her head no, completely speechless.

"What? You're going to just let me bleed and possibly die from infection? I don't think so!"

Still, she sat still hesitating, as she bit her lip.

"Now!" He said, in a firm voice that wasn't to be questioned.

She jerked hard and began to clumsily work open the first aid bag. Trent relaxed his hold on her knee, which enabled her to rise up on her knees beside him and start cleaning away the blood. Little mumbled apologies mixed with tears began to bubble up out of Deshavi. Her fingers were clumsy at their task, from a combination of nerves, and the awkwardness of the two broken fingers still taped to each other.