They led Ashe toward a corner of the structure where the broken walls created a narrow passage out of sight. The light was dimmer there, becoming even dimmer as the surrounding metal frame cast its shadows across the ground.
Ashe slowed slightly.
Something about it was beginning to feel off. Maybe it was the slight shove she had noticed earlier only now starting to actually sink in, when one of the men pushed the other aside. Or maybe it was the direction they were taking, guiding her toward a space that felt more like an enclosure than an opening. She couldn't quite tell what it was, but the feeling was growing stronger.
She didn't have time to process it though, because one of the men moved unexpectedly, changing the balance of the situation. He struck her from the side, pushing her violently against the wall. The impact knocked the breath out of her, and before she could react at all, another pair of hands grabbed her arms from behind, locking her wrists in place.
"She's got Drip," one of them said.
She could barely register those words before panic surged through her.
She struggled instinctively, twisting her body and trying to pull free, but she was already weak from before. The effort of it only made her movements less effective.
"Hold her still."
She then tried to shout, but a hand quickly covered her mouth, cutting off any sound she could have made.
Then, one of the scavengers drove a blow into her abdomen, forcing the air out of her lungs completely. She crouched instinctively, then collapsed to the ground under the shock of it. Her vision faded, turning everything into a blur she could barely make sense of.
Not enough to lose consciousness though, because just a few moments afterwards, she could feel them rummaging through something at the back of the suit, tearing it in places where the conduits had once been connected. The fabric eventually gave way and she could see them taking something out of that area.
They looked like small capsules of sorts containing a fluorescent blue substance. She hadn't even known they were there, let alone what their purpose was.
By the time they were done, her body had no strength left to resist so they eventually let go of her.
She fell to the ground again breathing shallowly as she tried to push past the loud buzzing in her ears. Moments later, she felt blood come out from her mouth, forcing her to taste its bitter metallic aftertaste.
"There's only three," one of them said, stepping away from her.
"Pff… all that effort for this."
"Still better than nothing. We can take 'em to Rob's tonight, get something out of it."
Another one stepped closer and nudged Ashe to the side with his foot.
"What about her?"
"She won't last the night," the reply came soon afterwards. "Leave her, there's no point wasting more time."
Then the footsteps moved away from her.
But then, suddenly, the voice of the fourth man who had been standing apart until then, cut through the silence.
"What the hell did you do?"
He had come close to see what had happened, and the sight of things seemed to have angered him beyond measure. The others, however, didn't seem particularly impressed by it. They just kept walking, moving away from the scene without a care in the world.
"You wanna take her in?" one of them called back, mocking what they categorized as naivety. "Go ahead. She's all yours."
Their voices weren't necessarily cruel for the sake of enjoyment, but they were cold and uncaring. Unfazed. Like people with nothing in them that leaned toward feeling. It was just… business.
Their footsteps eventually faded and silence quickly returned except for Ashe's uneven breathing as she tried to push herself from the ground.
The fourth man approached slowly.
From where she lay, Ashe could only see him partially at first. Dark hair framed his face, and most of his features were still concealed behind the mask covering the lower half. His eyes, however, were very much visible. They stood out in their shade of green, fixed on her as if they worked on extracting more information than words ever could.
He crouched beside her and for a moment he didn't speak, assessing the state she was in. He then placed something on the ground in front of her. She couldn't tell in that moment what it was, only that it was something small. Then, he removed the tunic he was wearing and placed it on her body. She didn't fight it, she actually barely registered the act at all.
"I'm sorry," he said quietly. "Drink this when you can, it will help you."
After that, he stood, hesitated for a fraction of a second as if considering something further, then turned and left, following the direction the others had taken.
Ashe remained where she was, still in shock.
It wasn't long before rain started dripping. It washed over the ground, the surrounding vegetation, and her body, clearing away the dust and blood that had gathered.
Her eyes closed slowly as she tried to steady herself and contain in some way the pain spreading through her body. She slightly moved her hands on the ground to anchor herself, but as she did, she could feel something was wrong. Or rather, she couldn't feel them at all.
She forced herself to open her eyes and look. She noticed her hands and arms were blackened in an unnatural way. Something dark had crept along her skin, spreading beneath the surface through her arms in branching lines that grew more visible as the seconds passed.
She was running out of time.
Then she noticed the small object the masked man had left earlier on the ground. As she focused on it more closely, she saw it was a vial containing a transparent looking liquid. She also remembered his words: "Drink this when you can".
Right. Another act of trust.
Then again, her current condition wasn't giving her much of a choice.
With trembling hands, she picked up the vial and drank its contents. The taste was sweeter than she expected, and she kept going until it was empty. Then, without a second thought, she let it fall to the ground and waited for whatever its effects would be.