W.A.R.S. Tournament Ch. 02

Max was airlifted to a nearby military hospital. He realized he didn't even know where he was. He didn't care just now. He just wanted to get to the next tournament and end this thing. The helicopter was landing on the roof. An orderly and six guards were there to greet him, if you could call that a greeting. They placed him on a gurney and rushed him inside. He was in x-ray when he opened his eyes. The ordeal of the past few days had taken its toll, especially the last few hours. Losing Gina like that was killing him. He was almost glad he was wounded, it gave him an excuse to tear up and act unhappy, he was unhappy. He was given a shot to put him out. His leg wasn't in the greatest of shape. The nurses undressed him and put a hospital gown on him. He heard one of them commenting about something and moaning as they pulled his fatigues off. Then the lights went out...

...Gina cried herself to sleep on the cold cement steps. Her safety was of no importance, losing Max was more than she could bare. How could you fall in love with someone only knowing them for three or four days? Was it three or was it four? What day was it? How long had she been here? She woke with these questions racing through her mind. She looked around for Max, hoping it had all been a dream. The sound of an engine roaring down the alley brought her back to reality. She was still in grave danger. She ducked further into the basement steps. The jeep roared by and she popped her head out just a little.

Where would she go, where could she hide? They were sweeping this place and they would be checking everywhere. The tower! Their hideout, their love-nest. She would try and make her way back there...

...Max came too in a clean bed covered with a clean sheet. The rustling of a nurse's starched uniform roused him awake. He was drowsy but alive. His leg ached like crazy. He let out a soft moan as he bent his knee.

"Um, does it hurt honey?" The nurse asked.

Max opened his drugged eyes to see a middle aged attractive lady looking down at him. He sighed and laid his leg back down.

"Umm, yeah it does. What did you people do to me?" He asked.

"What did we do?! What did you do?" She asked and smiled at him.

"What time is it?" He asked sluggishly.

"Two-thirty." The nurse said, turning to look at a clock on the wall just in front of him.

His eyes followed hers and he noticed the clock. He gave her an 'oh, I see' look and closed his eyes. Memories of the last few days flooded back to his mind. He closed his eyes and sighed. She walked to the tray table and returned to his bedside with a paper cup and plastic glass of water.

"Need a pain killer honey?" She offered them to Max.

"Yes, thanks." He took the medicine and laid back down.

His eyes shot open. Was Gina ok? Had they found her? Did she get out alive? He had a million questions that he couldn't ask. He couldn't let on that he knew someone was alive in there. He was supposed to be the last one, he had to keep up the charade. He would find out eventually but it was killing him inside now. The nurse left the room informing Max that she would be right back.

When she returned she had a tub of water, wash cloth, soap and towel. She placed the things on the table and rolled it to the bed. She pulled the sheet down and started to slip his gown off. He took her hand to stop her.

"Honey, you need a bath real bad. Unless you want to try and get in the shower you better just lay back and let me wash you." She told him, her smile was warm.

Max thought she was very pretty for her age. She had salt and pepper hair down to her chin. Her nurse's cap didn't do her any favors. Her eyes were happy and a light shade of amber. She filled her dress nicely, the top button unfastened. The skirt flared out so he wasn't sure what her hips and legs were like, he really didn't care just now. She was probably younger than Max. He was forty-two. (How old was Gina? He didn't know how old she was. He ran the information he had on her through his mind and calculated she must be around twenty-two or three.) The nurse's name plate said 'Captain Reed'. Max studied her as she wet the cloth and began to wipe it across his chest.

"Now doesn't that feel good?" She asked him.

"Reed? Is there a first name with that Capt.?" He asked.

"Allison. You can call me Capt. Reed." She said, smiling.

"Ali, I like that." He said.

"Capt. Reed." She repeated.

"Where am I Allis...Capt. Reed?" He asked.

She smiled at him. "New Detroit. Reagan Airforce Base. In the hospital, anything else you want to know?"

She lifted his arm and washed down it and scrubbed his underarm and down his side. She had laid the towel under him. After she finished washing his chest and stomach she pulled the sheet down to the foot of the bed and took hold of his half removed gown. He took her hand again.

"Honey, I'm a nurse. I have seen these things before. I know you think you are a gift to women but I don't need any presents right now I just need a clean patient." She said pulling the gown out of his hand.

He laid there totally naked exposed to her eyes. She continued washing him with indifference. When she took his nasty filthy penis with the rag, she looked into his eyes and started questioning him about his ordeal. He spread his thighs to allow her to wash him. He was getting excited, he couldn't help it. She kept talking to his eyes acting as if nothing were happening between his legs. She worked her way down his legs. His penis never got fully erect. She would lift a leg and bath the underneath side. She wet the cloth again and washed his feet. When she got to his bandaged calf she took special care not to cause him any discomfort. He had hit the jackpot of nurses. She finished his bath and pulled his gown back up and covered him with the sheet, his half swollen penis bulged under it.

"Now, tell me you don't feel better." She said throwing the cloth in the water and picking it up the pan.

"You're right I do feel better. When will I be able to get out of bed and shower?" He asked her.

"Whenever you feel like it. I will be back in a little while. We need to get you out of bed and standing on that thing. What happened anyway? That wound is the weirdest thing I have ever seen." She told him, she winked at him and patted his 'gift' as she left.

Max laid there for almost an hour. She didn't come back. He slipped out of bed and limped to the door. When he stuck his head out two guards were in his face in a heartbeat. They held their guns across their chest and shook their heads no. He wasn't going out this way and there was no other way out, only a heavily barred window. He went back to bed. Soon Reed was back to check on him. She helped him out of bed and they headed to the hallway. The guards followed them down the hall as Reed helped Max take one step after the other. The hall had guards placed at the elevators and the stairs. If Max had thought about breaking out of this place he forgot about it quickly. Before long Max's leg was hurting so bad he could barely move. She walked him back to his room and put him back to bed...

...Gina was sneaking into the back door of the church before she knew it. She moved from fear more than any other reason. She heard voices in the sanctuary. She crept closer to hear. Two guards sweeping the place were talking. One of them commented on the bodies out front. The other one told him to come look at this guy hanging in the ladder. Gina eased through the door and crawled to the room off the pulpit. She went down the stairs and worked her way to the wine cellar. Now she knew where Max had found the wine. She was as blind as he had been. She huddled into the corner to wait it out. She wondered how many bugs were down here with her? Funny, the thought didn't bother her, she didn't think about the sterilization they had done before the tournament started. There had been nothing alive in this church for days, except Max and Gina.

She heard footsteps coming up into the pulpit above her head. She heard a voice tell the other guy that there was a door up here. Gina froze with fear. She saw the flashlights glow bouncing around the hallway leading to the cellar. He was going to find her, there was no way out, nowhere for her to go! Just as he entered the cellar the other voice cried out. He stopped at the door and answered his partner. They had to get out of there, the drones were about to come in and they didn't want to get caught in there with those things. He washed the light across the cellar above Gina's head. He turned and left. How had he missed seeing her? She took a deep silent breath.

Drones?! She didn't think about them. Robot contraptions that crawled through the place killing any life readings they found. Not a great place for rats right now, but this place wouldn't be habitable for animals for several months. Would the height of the tower protect her from the drones? Only one way to find out. Get up there, pray and be ready to head out across the roof.

She was back in their love-nest in less than a minute. She hugged the blanket that had wrapped them the night before. It still held his sweet fragrance, she pulled it to her face and cried. Soon she heard the dull hum of the drones motor. She fought the urge to look over the wall. If she had she would have seen a drone going nuts trying to read something that was playing with its sensors. It couldn't quite read it but there was something but not enough to act on...the tortured machine continued down the street. Its radar antennae would occasionally turn back toward the tower go a little crazy and return to sweeping the street. Soon it was too far out of range to detect her. She didn't look out for over an hour...

...Max opened his eyes and looked at the clock. It was five-thirty. He could smell the aroma of food coming from the hall. Soon a snotty little nurse entered the room with a tray. Max said hello, she ignored him and placed his dinner on the table and left. He ate the typical hospital food, he was hungry; he hadn't eaten for awhile. It wasn't the greatest but he ate without complaint. He worried that his little Gina might be hungry and cold and scared, he cried. The little snot came back and took his tray before he was completely through. She was a blonde cutie. Not much older than Gina he thought. She said nothing.

About six Reed stuck her head in the door and said hello. Max thought 'what a contrast to that other nurse'. Max asked her in, she was off duty and headed home. She just wanted to check on him before she left. He was glad she had. He was feeling extremely lonely, he couldn't tell her why but any company took the edge off being without Gina. It seemed to Max that he and Gina had been together forever when in actuality it had only been a few days; a rough few days though they were. Reed came in and sat on the edge of his bed. She asked how his leg was and if he needed anything. He said he was feeling better and he couldn't think of anything. The snot came in with his scheduled pain killer. He took it. Reed shook her head as the snot left.

"That little girl has got to get a better attitude with her patients." Reed said.

"You got that right." Max replied, smiling at her.

Reed sucked in a deep breath looked down at him. She leaned down and kissed him softly on the side of his mouth. She informed him that she would be back on duty at eight in the morning and she would see him then. She gave his penis a gentle squeeze and asked him to think about anything he might be needing. He could tell her tomorrow. She left, turning at the door and smiling at him...

...Gina hurried down the ladder after dark and commandeered the last three bottles of wine. She returned to the tower and followed Max's directions for opening the wine. She had two bottles sifted and was drunk in no time. The more she thought about Max the more she drank. The more she drank the more she cried. The more she cried the more she thought about Max...she was caught in a drunken cycle and didn't care. She was sound asleep with tears drying in her eyes before the moon was up.

The next morning she woke with a terrible headache. She had finished off two bottles of wine! She looked out over the silent buildings. She was alone in here. No danger. No drones. No soldiers. No Max! She packed the few things she thought she needed and headed out of this calmed down hell. She packed the last bottle of wine; she and Max would share it one day. She didn't know when but it would be corked and ready when that day came.

She was a sight. A survivor tracking out of a war zone; aching, lost and hurting, inside and out. She walked for several blocks. Soon she heard the sounds of people on the street. She saw a sign on a business, 'New Detroit Dry Cleaner'. So that's where she was. She wandered the streets. People were staring at her. She needed to get out of these clothes. She had her Ultra and the case of liquid shells hidden under her vest, the handgun the man had dropped was in the back waistband of her pants. She cradled the wine in her arms. It was the most precious possession she had to her way of thinking; if she only knew how true that was. She saw a pawn shop. She went in, the man behind the counter watched her like a hawk; he put his hand under the counter. She eased up to him.

"I need some money." Gina said shyly.

"What have you got honey?" He placed his hand on the counter, holding a handgun, studying the vest.

"Well, I have this vest." She answered.

"Yeah I noticed the vest. And if you're planning on robbing me believe me I can put a hole between your eyes from fifty yards. Don't try it." He was getting edgy.

"Oh, no, I don't want to do that. I know I look a sight but please, I just want to sell my stuff and get out of here, please?" She begged him.

"Take off the vest and we can talk." He ordered her.

She sat the bottle on the counter he studied it with interest. She took off the vest, lying the Ultra on the counter. The guys eyes shot wide open. When she laid the liquid shells beside the Ultra his mouth started to water. He grabbed them forgetting his own gun and studied them like they were made of gold, they might as well have been. She handed him the vest and asked what it was all worth. He offered her two thousand dollars. Her heart jumped inside her chest. She started to take it but she stopped and thought. She reached for the things and shook her head no. He upped it another thousand and started to drag the things off the counter. She pulled the gun from her waist and pointed it at him. She shook her head no and he put the things back. She smiled at him lowering her gun.

"One thousand for the gun, one for the vest and one for the bullets? Maybe the vest but the gun and bullets they're worth a lot more than that. Are they're any other pawn brokers around here?" She asked reaching for the stuff and looking at his face.

He was running the deal through his mind. "Well what do you want then? How much for the lot?" He asked.

"Well, you can't get these guns. And the bullets aren't on the market. How about five thousand for all of it?" She said.

He mulled it over in his mind. He could get into a lot of trouble for having this stuff but he knew people that would pay three times that for the gun alone. He made the deal. Gina took her money and wine, turning to leave.

"How much do you want for that wine honey?" He asked.

"No, it's not for sell." She stated looking down at the bottle in her hand thinking of Max.

"I'll give five hundred for it." He told her, he recognized its value. It was over seventy years old and very valuable.

"No thanks." She told him.

"Do you know where to get any more of it?" He asked.

She left the shop shaking her head no, pulling her shirt down over the gun in her waist. She didn't look much different than some of the people she met now. A young girl in fatigues carrying a bottle of wine. Nothing strange about that!

She found a second hand clothing store and went in. She picked up several items of clothing and headed into the dressing room. She stuffed most of her money into her boot and tried on some clothes. It was amazing how different she felt wearing civilian clothes again. She hadn't worn her own clothes for almost five years. She wished Max was there to tell her what looked good, what to buy and what to put back...

...Max called the nurse about nine o'clock. He was hurting and needed something stronger to kill the pain. She left without saying a word and returned and gave him a shot. He noticed her name tag, Lt. Margaret Bottoms. He could have sworn she gave the needle a little extra push. It hurt like hell.

"What is your problem? You haven't said a word to me but you're acting like you hate my guts. What's the deal?" He asked, frustrated at her added pain.

"I don't socialize with people like you." She said heading to the door.

"Like me? You mean wounded and hurting? You don't deal with sick people, I think you picked the wrong profession bitc...Bottoms!" Max said, stopping himself before he insulted her too bad.

"No! Prisoners. Killers and murders...rapists. Like you." She said and left.

Max's mind was in a cloud of drugs before he knew it. He was out for a couple of hours. When he finally woke he saw two blurry figures standing near the door. The clock slowly came into focus. Eleven-thirty. The figures became clear. Bottoms was locked in a kiss with one of the guards that had been at the door. He had her dress unbuttoned down to her breasts and his hand was working feverishly inside her bra. She was sighing and moaning. When she noticed Max watching them she jumped out of her skin. She buttoned up as the guard slithered out the door.

"Mr. Fallon! Well, do you need anything before I go off duty?" She was fussing with her hair and straightening her dress, her breathing was shallow.

"Yeah, I need to cop a feel of that tit." He said.

"What?! What are you talking about?" She said, her face turning redder with each second.

"I just want to play where the guard was playing." He said, relishing his torture of her.

"I don't know what you're talking about. We weren't doing anything." She huffed.

"Oh that wasn't a hand in your bra?" He said, smiling at her slyly.

About then a loud husky woman's voice boomed down the hall. She was raking the guard over the coals for not being at his post. He was explaining that he was just inside checking on the prisoner. She burst through the door. A short stocky woman made her presence know.

"Bottoms! What the hell are you doing in here?" She whispered angrily. She looked at Max. "Well, how is the patient?"

"I'm doing pretty good now." Max smiled.

"What was he doing in here lieutenant?" She boomed.

"Nothing Capt. Groover. He was checking to make sure I was ok. This man is a criminal you know." Bottoms was trying to get out of this thing.

"Bottoms, while this man is in this hospital he is your patient. You will treat him that way and like it, do you hear me lieutenant?" She almost screamed in her face.

"Yes ma'am Capt. Groover." Bottoms answered standing as stiff as a board her eyes locked straight ahead.

"Now, Mr. Fallon, what was that soldier doing in here?" She asked crossing her arms and looking at Max.

"I don't know Capt. I was asleep. There was a loud bang and I woke up and the lieutenant and the soldier were standing over me. I'm too drugged to know much I guess, sorry." Max protected Bottoms, she glanced at him her mouth slightly opening; her worried look slowly melted to one of relief.

Bottoms rushed to the metal water pitcher and took if from the table. She went on to explain that while she was checking the prisoner...patient...she had accidentally knocked the pitcher off and it hit the floor with a bang. She took on an embarrassed looked and told Groover she was sorry and that I wouldn't happen again. The guard came in to make sure Bottoms was ok. That's all there was to it. Bottoms stole another glance at Max and looked at him as if to say 'thanks'.