Chapter 3
The Kindness of Strangers
Xiaochuan (Rivera), Qingmu County, Shanbeixi Province
Yasuko could feel that her hair was growing back, but when she reached to touch her head, she realized she was moving the worthless stump of her right arm. She sighed.
What was she going to do? She was feeling stronger, but it would take weeks for her to get back to 100%. Actually, 100% was out the window now that she was missing an arm. If she was just an ordinary girl, she might find a way to manage, but she was going to have to contend with some of the best trained killers on the planet. It was a wonder they hadn't found her already.
It would impede her recovery, but she needed to get moving. Much as she'd like to pay Prince Sturla back for what he did to her, to say nothing of her revenge plot against the Celestials at large, survival was her first concern. She couldn't do anything if she was dead.
She hit the call button. After a few minutes, the nurse came into the room. It was the same one who caught her trying to escape the other day. Said her name was Carmen.
"What do you need, angelita?" she asked.
"I wanna try walkin'," Yasuko replied.
"I'm afraid I can't let you do that without the doctor's okay. You're in no condition for it."
"Come on. You know I heal fast."
"And you know the sort of damage you suffered. You can't expect to be up and going so soon."
"Let me try."
Nurse Carmen sighed.
"You're going to try to escape again if I say no, aren't you?"
Yasuko gave her a wry grin.
"I can't make any promises."
The nurse shook her head.
"I thought you said you weren't going to give me any more trouble."
"I hate lyin' 'round in hospital beds."
Nurse Carmen thought about it for a moment before saying, "I tell you what, how about we settle for testing your strength right here? If you do well, I'll let the doctor know and maybe he'll let you start your physical therapy."
"Alright," Yasuko said. It seemed like a good idea to play along for the time being.
Nurse Carmen loosened the hip joints on Yasuko's brace and told her, "Well, for starters, try sitting up on your own. If you can't do that, you have no business trying anything else."
Fair enough. When Yasuko sat up, it felt like her body weighed a hundred kilos. She could feel little spikes of pain from each and every cracked bone in her torso and there were a lot of them. She hadn't had it this bad since Prince Sturla punished her for disobeying him on the Brilliant Companion job, almost literally breaking every bone in her body. Only then she had Dr. Hadad and the state-of-the-art facilities of the Prince's estate.
"How are you holding up?" Nurse Carmen asked.
Yasuko would've just nodded, but when she tried, she was reminded that the brace locked her head and neck in place.
"I'm fine," she lied.
"You need to listen to what your body's telling you," Nurse Carmen warned.
"My body doesn't know what's good for it."
"Don't tell me you're one of those macho types who believes pain is just weakness leaving the body. It's your body telling you, 'No, please, don't do this. You're going to make things worse.'"
"I gotta get up and movin' again. I gotta get outta here."
Nurse Carmen, apparently afraid Yasuko was going to try to jump out of the bed then and there, put her hands on Yasuko's shoulders and said, "I don't know who you're running from, but you're in no condition to leave this hospital."
"It won't matter if they get to me first..."
Nurse Carmen looked at her a while and sighed.
"My daughter would be about your age now," she said, "if she lived, that is."
Now, a good and noble person would have seen where this was going and stopped her. Unfortunately, Yasuko was neither good nor noble. The nurse would quite literally be risking her neck if she tried to help Yasuko, but if it improved her chances even a little, Yasuko was all too willing to exploit that opportunity.
"I just need a place to lay low till I can walk again," Yasuko said. "One week, two at most. Someplace they wouldn't connect to you."
This would be the part where most people would get cold feet and back out, but Nurse Carmen said, "My husband's parents have a ranch outside Villalobos. I haven't seen them in eight years, but I think they'd take you in. When my shift ends, I'll draw up the release papers and we'll go out to Villalobos. It's a couple hours by train and then about half an hour by mulecart to get to their place."
Yasuko felt like a heel for taking advantage of her and getting not only her but also her in-laws involved, but that guilt wasn't enough to make her change her mind.
"Thank you," she said and honestly, she meant it.
"Don't thank me yet," Nurse Carmen replied. "You still want to try getting out of bed?"
"I'd like to see what I can do."
"Well, just don't push yourself too much. If all goes well, you've still got a long trip ahead of you."
Yasuko was willing to take her chances.