Bad Dreams Ch. 16
By Morlock and RC

She slowly opened her eyes and looked around. Her vision was blurry and her neck had a bad kink in it.

"Gotta...stand up..."

She pushed herself off the ground and grimaced as what she suspected was sand slid down the collar of her uniform. She was sitting in a sand pile...no, on a beach. She looked behind her and let out a sigh.

The wreck of her helicopter was sprawled crookedly on it's side.

"There goes one point six million down the drain...My superiors will be pleased."

She crawled shakily to her feet and stumbled over to the short metal ramp that led to the hatch. She sluggishly moved up the ramp and peered inside.

Ryu was there on the floor. As she watched his head twitched. She moved closer and he twitched again. She grimaced. His right arm had a deep gash in it and the wound bled freely. She tore a piece of blue cloth from her ragged uniform and reached down to tie the makeshift turniquet around his injured arm.

Something like an electrical shock passed from Ryu's body to her's as she touched his arm. She pulled back as his head twitched violently to the side. She shook off her impulse to back away and tied the cloth around his arm. The shock came again, but this time wasn't unpleasant.

She heard a clang of metal against metal and turned. Ken had thrown open the small metal door that led to the cockpit and fell foward.

"I don't feel so good..."

"Where's Guile?" she asked in concern.

"He's hurt, but he's breathing...in the pilot's seat."

She looked back at Ryu as he twitched again. She was worried.

"Get in the cockpit and hit the large red button above the door. It's a homing signal. We need to get out of here. Someone's been here."

"How do you know?" Ken asked as he rolled over onto his back.

"The sand has been thrown around outside. Something besides us landed here and I didn't imagine that green light."

"Alright..." Ken scrambled for the cockpit.

"Drag Guile out here if you can." she called after him.

She turned back as Ryu twitched again.

She looked at his sweat soaked hair as it fell over his bloody headband.

"I hope you didn't pay for that haircut." she sai dto herself as she noticed a hunk of hair missing.