“Yes. I mean, I’ll do my best, but I’m just a dentist.”
I give him a reassuring smile. “We work with what we have, and we just ask that you do what you can.”
He pushes his broken glasses up again. “I will. Also ... there’s a woman in the cell with us who is experiencing very heavy vaginal bleeding. I’m concerned for her.”
“For how long?” I stand up.
“The past two days. I told one of the guards, but he said it’s probably just her period. It’s worse than that.”
Annoyance flares in my chest. I’ll be finding out which guard that was.
“Take me to her,” I say. “We’ll do whatever we can to help.”
Wendell leads Nova and me back to the large holding cell we keep new arrivals in before we question them to determine if they’re safe to be in our camp. Marcus and Nova usually do the questioning, but because of what happened with Ellison, they’re behind.
And now Marcus is gone, which only makes things worse. He didn’t discuss it with anyone, even Nova. Now I’m helping her with questioning people, even though I’m supposed to be working in the lab with McClain.
The holding cell was carved out of a small cliff, so the crashing of ocean waves is a loud backdrop as we go into the cell. In one darkened corner, a slight woman is curled up in a ball, blood soaked into the dirt beneath her.
I go to her, getting to my knees. Wendell already told us her name.
“Cheyenne, I’m Briar. I’m sorry it took us so long to come. What’s going on?”
She focuses her eyes on me. “I don’t know. I just can’t stop bleeding. Nothing hurts.”
“Has anyone done anything to hurt you?”
“No. It’s like I’m having three periods all at the same time or something.”
Her clothes and her palms are smeared with dirt and blood. There’s even some clumped and dried in her blond hair. Three other prisoners, all men, are standing on the other side of the space.
I look up at Nova, who’s keeping an eye on the men.
“We need to get her cleaned up and into a bed. I’ll talk to McClain about treatment. And I think we should pair a security team member with each of the last three. They’ve been in here long enough.”
Cells don’t build loyalty. With Marcus gone, we have to divide our time as efficiently as we can.
“They’re getting food and water,” Nova says, the clip in her tone telling me she disagrees.
I stand my ground. “We could use them in the farm and the garden.”
“I’ll do whatever you need,” one of the men says. “Anything to get out of here.”
I should wait for Nova to make the final call, but when she doesn’t say anything else, I consider the decision made. She picks Cheyenne up from the ground and we all leave as a group.
Carissa, one of the kitchen workers, is exceptionally warm and gentle, so I ask Vadim if I can borrow her for a few hours. She gladly agrees to help Cheyenne get showered, dressed in clean clothes, and into a bed.
“I need to get to the lab,” I tell Nova once we’re alone.
“If those prisoners hurt anyone, it’s on you.”
I knit my brows together, surprised by her attitude. “Fine. I’m just trying to make the best use of our time.”
“I’ll decide how to manage my time.”
“I know you’re pissed at Marcus, but what did I do?”
“It’s what you did to Marcus.”
