Free Chains of Loss by Robert Page B

There’s buildings, and,” he paused to swallow hard.  “Bones.  Ancient ones.”
    “You can see that?”
    He nodded.  “Sonar...It’s like a tower was broken here…centuries ago.  Dirt covered it somehow and it’s overgrown, but it’s still there.”
    “Anything in there we could use?”  The look he gave her in response drove her back a step.  “What?”
    “It’s—they’re dead!”
    “And they don’t need anything that’s down there anymore.”
    He took a deep breath and let it out.  “No.  It’s all...I don't recognize it.  The bones...aren't human.”  He was quiet for a moment.  “I don't know what they are.  We should move on.”
    “Okay.  Come on—” she jolted and staggered as something hit her in the back, knocking the wind out of her.  She was on her knees now, and something was poking her on the inside of the forearm.  She looked down and saw a barbed crossbow bolt sticking out of her chest.
    “What was that?” Derek bent over her.  “Oooh.  That’s gotta hurt.”
    For one crystal clear moment, as the pain started, Mycah truly knew what it meant to hate him.  Then her diaphragm reacted to the injury and she retched, filling her mouth with blood.  The bolt had gone straight through her lung; she was dead.  She was going to drown in her own blood; hopefully, she’d lose consciousness first. 
    If he was smart, Derek would run.  If he was lucky, he might even be safe.  But he wasn’t running.  He was standing over her, pulling out one of those white cloths and spreading it over her chest.
    She saw the second crossbow bolt hit him in the side.
     
    ***
     
    Derek understood what was happening, in a detached way.  The thing that had hit Mycah was some sort of primitive missile weapon.  It had fractured four of her ribs, inflicting a perforating injury and puncturing a lung; without immediate medical attention, she would die. 
    By the official Elysian articles of war, he was defeated also, since she would die without his care.  He was the only one surprised by the second projectile.  Fortunately for him, it had significantly less force than it required to penetrate his flight suit, so he ordered the suit to put a helmet up and ignored it. 
    The medical shroud could save Mycah’s life on its own, but she would need more than just that.  He took her hand, bent down and whispered to her.  “Don’t you worry.  You’re going to be okay.  The pain will stop in just a moment, just focus on breathing.  I’m here, and I’m not going to leave you.  You’ll be just fine.”
    He heard something; their attacker was approaching, and reloading the weapon as it moved.  The attacker who had violated the laws of war by firing at Derek as well…the attacker who, Derek corrected himself, probably didn’t know the Elysian laws of war and couldn’t be expected to obey them.  What were the laws of war here?
    He wasn’t expected to surrender when his companion was injured.  Instead he was to be attacked again.  Okay.  He could wrap his mind around that idea.  But the attack on Mycah could well have killed her.  It would have killed her if he hadn’t been there.  Was their attacker not planning to take them prisoner? 
    He slipped into the rush.  He might not be facing someone under the local terms of war.  This could be an unlawful combatant who would be court-martialed or arrested when the incident was discovered.  That was probably it.  All he had to do was stop his attacker from doing them more harm, then leave it for its own authorities.  That would work.
    The attacker was only a meter away.  Derek looked up to see the crossbow already loaded and pointed at him.  He raised a hand and the wielder fired at point-blank range.  Derek impulsively saved the memory of the projectile shattering on his visor; it would probably be entertaining later.
    He snatched the crossbow out of his opponent’s hands.  It was made of wood and metal, primarily some alloy