After filling both tanks, Soraya needed almost half an hour just to feel like she could walk again. Functioning was optional, but walking out on her own was mandatory. The break left her woefully behind her schedule, but her mother insisted. She did not argue too much. Resting after a strain was actually mandatory out in the field, but she never really got them unless they were pushed beyond the limit.

  When she did finally leave the agricultural unit, the farmers and workers had all arrived en masse. They had walked through the fruit grove in relative silence before, and now there was a comforting hum of life and work. Soraya sighed as she stared down the rows. She had wanted to be out before the morning rotation began.

  As she walked through the rows, Sorarya nodded at the gentle acknowledgements a few of them gave her. Most people knew her, the ranger who stopped by on a regular basis. Being thanked for her job was not a surprise. One of them, Miguel, stopped her and pressed a small bag into her hand. He didn’t say anything as she took the bag. He only nodded and returned to the ladder he had just climbed down to return to his job of picking apples.

  “Can you hold this for me?” Soraya asked, handing it to Francis. Her nephew nodded, eager to help. He hefted the bag with both hands and cradled it to his chest to protect it.

  Thankfully, no one else stopped her or said anything, and she was able to leave the agricultural unit without any more fanfare. Alejandro did not even look up from his tablets as she passed by. Her mother did pause to glare at the man before following at the door.

  “What was that about?” Soraya asked when they were all back in the morning sun. She closed her eyes, tilted her head up to the sun and let the wind swirl around her. Her core hummed with an equivalent to delight.

  “He should have thanked you,” she said. “What did Miguel give you?”

  “Probably some apples, maybe some other fruit or something,” Soraya said, motioning for Francis to open the bag. He tugged at the strings holding it close, still holding it to his chest not to drop it.

  “Yeah, there are one, two, three, four, five apples in here,” he said, staring into the bag.

  “Great - and I think my helpers should have one,” Soraya said. Francis’s gaze snapped up from the bag to her.

  “Really?” Fiona nearly squealed and tackled her with a hug. Or tried to. The little body moved her less than her mother’s hip check did.

  “Of course.” Their smiles were even better than the sun and the wind. She looked over at her mother who was just shaking her head.

  “Omri, what am I going to do with you?” Maya’s bittersweet smile broke through to her.

  “It’s just an apple.” It really wasn’t just an apple.

  A single apple was maybe worth only two dozen points or so (she hadn’t checked the operations catalog for the conversion rate), but it was a treat. Most of the points they earned went directly to maintaining the dorm and getting the bare necessities. With two children to take care of, their points were stretched a little thin, despite the amount children received for attending classes. Elias earned more than his fair share working in the science bays, but most of Soraya’s went to maintenance for her ranger gear. Maya contributed as well, though, as a support staff, she did not earn a lot, just enough for food and basic lodging. Altogether they managed.

  Apples, like they had this morning, were not something she could usually afford to splurge on. Most apples were actually transformed into sugars and utilized elsewhere. Raw, freshly picked ones were a luxury.

  “Thank you Auntie,” Francis said. She reached over and pulled him into a sideways hug. The young boy leaned in, completely resting against her. She held onto him for a moment in the sun.

  “Everytime,” she said. Half the reason she was out in the field was for her niece and nephew. Even if the world was going under, she wanted to keep them safe.

  With morning now almost completely underway, the complex was filled with life. She motioned for them to keep moving, nodding toward some of the security staff who cooperated with the rangers. She enjoyed the sensations of people, the sense of civilizations that exuded by just life passing through their routines. It was a marvel and practice of resilience.

  “Let’s get moving,” Maya said, snapping her from her thoughts. Sorarya started walking, letting Francis lean into her as they walked. Fiona began to babble about her plans for the next week. With the basics of cards out of the way, they were going to be learning maths and some sciences. Which always sounded weird to her since magic made science odd at the best of times.

  Still, it was something to keep them busy. Even geography was now wonky.

  “Soraya?” She stopped to turn, smiling at the approaching woman. She was a willow wisp walking, thin and lanky but graceful as she glided toward them. Sorarya paused to let her reach them.

  Soraya felt her smile widen,” Chloe, just who we were looking for.”

  Pale green eyes glared at her. “And you overexerted yourself. Again.”

  “That’s what I told her,” Maya whispered. Soraya glared briefly at her mother before focusing back on Chloe.

  “Well, they needed the help,” Soraya said. “And it’s just one day.”

  Chloe grabbed her arm, thin fingers wrapping around her bicep and tugged her toward the infirmary. She followed, voluntarily, and chose to ignore Fiona and Francis’ giggling behind her. And she definitely ignored her mother and her satisfied smirk. “And today, you’re scheduled to head out. Correct? So why do you insist on wasting all that energy?” Chloe pushed open the door and pointed toward a nearby empty bed. “Sit.”

  “I’m fine, really, I just =”

  “You just were going to sit there, let me put some fluids in you, before I decide that you’re not fit for the field.” Chloe spun on her heels and stomped toward a set of cabinets along the infirmary walls.

  The infirmary was on the opposite end of their little town. Like the apartments, it was dug into the mountain to provide as much security as possible. The interior was spartan, only bed and surgical bays were visible for most of the main area. Half of them were filled with resting individuals. There were few true injuries when people had cards. Those who worked in the infirmary, like Chloe, managed to pull a card or two that provided some type of recovery benefit. Those cards shifted life-threatening issues to merely obstacles.

  At least for most of the population.

  For the rangers, the infirmary was a well worn path. Most of them spent some amount of time in convalescence. Usually from exhaustion but their jobs meant injuries were a requirement. The monsters in the dark and the day did not play fair, and spending time on one of these beds was more than a right of passage for the rangers. It was mandatory.

  Soraya followed Chloe’s instructions without a word. Maya held onto her niblings’ hands though the two wanted to explore. They had never been inside and the new environment with sparkling clean surfaces was enticing for even the most well-behaved child. “Maybe Chloe will give you a tour.”

  “Not with the storm you’ve set up,” a balding male said as he approached. “Mrs. Ghosen, how about we give them a tour while Doctor Valeska makes sure your daughter didn’t hurt herself. Again.”

  “That would be great Doctor Cordon,” Maya said.

  “I want to stay with Auntie Aya,” Fiona said, finally tugging to be released from her grandmother’s grip.

  “This will not take too long,” Soraya said, “and I will just be sitting here.”

  “By the time we are done, your auntie will be ready to go,” Cordon said, “and I suspect Doctor Valeska will have calmed down enough too.”

  Soraya rolled her eyes, but smiled at Fiona. “I will not leave without saying goodbye.”

  “Promise,” Fiona asked, her eyes big and wide in the universal begging pose of children and puppies.

  “Promise,” Soraya said, and held out her pinkie. Fiona linked hers and they shook once before releasing. As Fiona ran back to her grandmother’s side, Soraya undid her jacket and shucked it behind her onto the bed. Her supply pack remained at the bedside where she had dropped it.

  Chloe moved around them as they followed Cordon through the infirmary. There was not much to see, but it would keep them busy for as long as Chloe needed to work. “Arm.”

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  “You’re very demanding,” Soraya said as she held out her arm. Thin fingers pushed back her sleeve and applied a tourniquet. Chloe tapped her exposed arm before expertly sliding the needle into her vein. She held it in place with her fingers before she tapped it down.

  Chloe removed her hands, and strapped the bag of saline solution to a hook above the bed. “Now then, tell me what you were doing.”

  “I was filling the tanks,” Soraya said, watching the saline drip steadily downward. Despite magic, the simplest and the most complicated were still done by hand. “Like I do every other week.”

  “And every week I have to pump more into you,” Chloe said, tapping the saline drip a few times. A twist of green light from her finger wrapped around the saline. Soraya watched as the drips shifted from a slow drip to a steady infusion. Motes of green followed the saline down the tube to her arm. Her chest began to thrum with a steady pulse, not quite vibrating. It was not painful or off-putting, but it was it was an odd sensation to have in her chest. She resisted the urge to rub her power core as the saline and magic worked its way into her. “And that should get you done by midday bells.”

  “Thanks,” Sorarya said. “And thanks.”

  “You can thank me by not getting sent here on your days off,” Chloe said. The glare softened finally to a look of concern. “Who are you helping?”

  “Besides the infirmary?”

  “Besides us.”

  “My family, the neighbors, and just the agricultural units,” Soraya listed off.

  “The first two are nothing,” Chloe said. She grabbed a tablet from a nearby table and tapped a few things. Her eyes shifted from their dusty coloring to an emerald hue, slowly cataloging her body. The first time Chloe showed off her card, Soraya completely missed the examination and stared at her. Now, she was used to the gaze roaming her body, which sounded more invasive than it was.

  Most of the physicians working had some type of identification card. Whether it allowed them to identify what needed healing or the status of a patient, the specific cards pushed some people into the roles that they did not have the temperament or patiences for assisting others. But much like Soraya who got sent into the field unprepared for the dangers, they were dropped into the roles their cards deemed the best fit.

  Chloe, luckily, was not one of those unfortunate ones who struggled with bedside manners. Despite her commanding tone, there was a gentleness to her. She may have her thorns, but it was more in response to the situation. When not demanding something, she spoke in a soft, comforting tone that still managed to her to acqueiences whatever Chloe wanted. Even now, she was following the doctor’s orders without may thought. This was the easy part through, as technically there was nothing wrong with her.

  She held the tablet out for Soraya to review. “This is what I’m showing for you.”

  All residents had their statistics tracked - which was the operation's way of keeping track of all the usual and strange things now plaguing their lives. The statistics reflected their physical and magical changes and made it so that they knew when things went from an acceptable level of weird to a dangerous one. There were few times it happened even with the monitoring.

  For Soraya, she knew her stats well enough:

  “Looks fine to me,” Soraya said, handing back the tablet. She glossed over her own medical history, and instead focused on her cards and base statistics. Nothing had changed since her last checkup six months ago. The more things changed, the more they stayed the same.

  “You should be up for another card soon,” Chloe said, tapping the screen a few times.

  Soraya shrugged, focusing on the saline drop. “You’d know better than me. They don’t tell us that kind of thing, except when they’re charging us.”

  “Well, with as much as you’ve given, with how many points you’ve earned, you should be.” Chloe’s brow furrowed as she stared at something on the screen. She tapped it once, her finger nearly punching the tablet. “I’ll look into it.”

  “Don’t go out of your -”

  “I’ll look into it,” Chloe repeated with the kind of force that Soraya had to stop and listen to her. Soraya met her dust-green eyes, and caught the flecks of amber in the illuminated ward. There was always kindness in her hands, but a firmness that made everyone stop and follow.

  Soraya was no exception to the gentle demands of her favorite doctor.

  “Okay,” she agreed.

  “And you’ll be taking those supplies in trade this time,” Chloe said. She turned to place the tablet back down on the bedside table. “You’re not mistakenly leaving them behind. Again.”

  “Yes, ma’am.” The response got a smile on the rose-colored lips.

  “Auntie!” Fiona’s voice tore her away from looking at Chloe to watching her niece run through the infirmary. “They were doing magic! Like you.” Fiona collided with her legs, wrapping her entire body around them to try.

  “Really?” Magic in the infirmary was not uncommon and probably more noticeable outside of anything that Fiona would see. Out in the field, it was mandatory, but here, it was a wonder for the kids. “What did you see?”

  “Someone cast a spell and it hit someone in the chest. They lifted off the bed. IT was green, and white, and blue, and all of the colors,” Fiona rambled as she stared up at her. Sorarya glanced up to see her mother and Francis walking back at a more sedate place with Cordon.

  “They were probably seeing some more extensive work for an ops patient,” Chloe said at her questioning glance. “Nothing traumatic, just had something large fall on their chest. We got to them in time.”

  “Glad to hear.” Soraya cradled the back of her niece’s head and gave her a smile.

  Speed was the essence when it came to magic. Too late, and you could only give someone a nasty scar instead of completely reattaching the limb or worse. She knew from experience both in the field and returning to base.

  “Never a dull moment around here then is it.” Chloe returned the smile, transforming it into a smirk, “but you know something about excitement.” She reached out, her hands brushing her arm lightly as she removed the needle. “And you’re done.”

  “That was fast.” Maya stepped beside her bed to take a closer look at her. A hand gripped her other arm, giving it a squeeze of reassurance. “I thought they would take several hours.”

  “Normally, but I can speed up some of the simpler infusions,” Chloe said, unclipping the empty saline bag. “Some of our support staff can do something similar. They even are the ones who make these for us.” She held up the empty bag. “I think your grandmother does something similar?”

  Maya pulled down Soraya’s sleeve and gave it a tug to settle in place. “Yes, we usually make several dozen of those on a daily basis. I think I was on the medical supplies last week.”

  “Maybe it was one of yours then,” Chloe said. “But everything we do, we do together.”

  “They tell us that in school,” Francis chimed in, moving to stand beside Soraya. Fiona still had not let her go and now was swaying back and forth on her feet. She let the girl rock, ignoring the odd motions of her legs.

  “Well, we do,” Maya said. “We help each other. It’s how we’ll get through this.”

  Soraya nodded, but kept her mouth shut. Her track record of comments about the helping of others and togetherness had gotten her in trouble a few times out in the field. From Chloe’s knowing smirk, it seemed like those comments had managed to make their way back here as well. Probably other rangers complaining about her.

  “Now, I believe we have a trade to complete.” Chloe motioned for her to stand. Maya removed Fiona from her legs, who unsurprisingly pouted at the removal. “Let's get you moving so you can get on with your day.” Soraya followed the commend, but before she could grab her jacket, Francis picked it up. He held it to his chest and gave her a toothy grin. “See?”

  “They were a big help today,” Sorarya said as she messed up his hair. She grabbed her bag before Fiona could try to help as well. She slipped on a strap over her shoulder and tried to relax in the cooler air. Even with the saline, her body felt amped.

  The saline did its job, giving her fluids back she desperately needed, despite her rune-card not actually taking any water from her. She was never sure where the magic drew it from, even when using it. Raj and Azmiri talked about it the most with her. They all speculated that it drew from someplace other than their bodies, with Raj being able to control lightning to a degree and Azmiri somehow conjuring fire. She agreed with them: The human body may be composed of mostly water, but she exceeded the amount probably a few hundred times when filling that agricultural tank.

  The magic with the saline helped moreso. Chloe had snuck the green energy to her a few times. It worked like some type of super-coffee. Not that she really knew. Her powercore prevented most general fatigue that others experienced. Today had been the closest she felt to exhaustion since receiving her first card.

  “Got some color back in those cheeks.” Soraya blushed at Chloe’s words but nodded in response.

  “Thank you. And -”

  “And before you say, ‘I didn’t have to,’ this is literally my job. It may not have been the least I could have done, but I would never do that. Not for you,” Chloe said. This time the knock against her hips did force Soraya to miss a few steps.

  “Sorry,” she said, catching herself. She ignored the giggles from her niblings and quickly resumed pace with Chloe. She kept glancing over at her as they made their way to the back rooms where the last task of her week off would be completed.