Green Desert - Chapter 8.4.2 - Bhanar

Still holding the blanket tight around me, I got to my feet. I stuck my head through the cockpit doorway. The pilot didn’t notice me. Huge headphones. I tapped his shoulder.

“Aaa!” He jumped in his seat, then twisted to look at me, removing his headphones from one ear. “What do you want?”

“When we have the police, we must chase Zhíno. This helicopter is the only chance. Or he will escape.” I wished I knew Sarıman better, to present a compelling argument.

The pilot curled his large lips. “Sorry, dude. I’m only allowed to go back to the hospital. Now if––”

Behind me, the paramedics carried in a body on a stretcher. Just a body. No head. The medics strapped it to a fold-down bed and leapt out again, leaving me alone with the corpse. The headless corpse.

I slumped against the bulkhead and slid to the floor. How the hell had that happened? Decapitated by the spinning blade? My stomach rose in my throat. I cinched my eyes, a hand over my mouth. No, be strong. Be the emperor. I inhaled deeply.

The paramedics returned with another dead cop––but no, this one lived. A white neck brace stiff against his chin. The medics strapped him to another bed, hooked him to a computer.

I swallowed. “Do you need any help?”

The nearer medic sized me up. I straightened my back.