Pierce let go of the handholds three feet from the ground and softly landed on the ledge below. Hemmed in by the rock walls all around, the wind no longer provided the relief from the hot sun and sounds felt muffled. It was like walking into a room with drapes hung on every wall. Or like stepping into a confessional.

He was still angry that Michael hadn't maintained the video cameras around the dome. Stomping all the way back out to the ledge, hauling himself up the rope in a near-rage, and stalking the trail of ruby red droplets mixed with four sets of footprints hadn't calmed him down. The tight fit in the chute hadn't improved his attitude either, but as he stood before the pool of water, he knew he had his prey.

A water bug skated across the surface while minnows lazily waved their fins just below. A half-step away, a small smear of blood was painted on the edge like a signature.

If he had happened on the pool by chance, Pierce may have thought the place was haunted. A hushed and cryptic whisper of voices surrounded him and filled his head.

As he unsnapped his holster and slinked around the pool, he heard the patter of running feet. He crouched and spread his arms wide, a trap waiting to be sprung.

When Jinho burst from behind a boulder, he found himself inexorably pinned by the throat in a grip honed to iron through years of physical conditioning.

"Pierce?" he squeaked.

Pierce thrust him away. "Going somewhere, Jinho?"

"Pierce!" Relief flooded Jinho's face.

"Where are they?"

"In the cave." Jinho made a move to run back, and Pierce caught his collar. He gagged and coughed out, "We need your help."

"I'll lead." Pierce shoved Jinho roughly behind him and stalked to the cave with his hand hovering over his sidearm.

"We need your–"

Pierce turned on him with a glare and a finger to his lips.

The cave was more of an alcove carved out from an eon of dust and pebbles hurled by the wind than an actual cave. Pierce's shadow led the way and fell on Jordan and a boy whose head was cradled in her lap. Another boy crouched protectively at her side.

Jordan blinked up in surprise. The boy, unconscious and lying on a sleeping bag partially peeled from his body, was moaning pitifully. Bright red blood stained the boy's clothes and sleeping bag.

"Oh, Jesus. He's just a kid." Instinctively, Pierce snapped his holster shut and rushed forward. He lay his hand on the boy's head and pulled up his eyelids to look at his pupils. "He's running a fever. Do you know his name?"

Jordan watched him wide-eyed and said softly, "Andrew."

Pierce slapped Andrew lightly on the cheek and said to him loudly, "Andrew? Andrew, can you hear me? Can you wake up, Andrew?"

No response. He slipped the boy from the sleeping bag and carried him out of the cave. Blood dripped onto his camouflaged fatigues and boots.

This is my fault, Pierce thought. He couldn't breathe. The air in the truck was stifling. The metallic smell of blood, nauseating.

The boy was so small, so light, in his arms.

He was half-way up the wall with Andrew across his shoulders when he heard Jordan ask, "Is he going to be okay?"

"Let's get him to the doc and see what he says. Jordan, run ahead and find Dr. Galen. Let him know we're coming. Tell doc he has a bullet wound to his right flank, is unconscious, and is running a fever. Jinho, grab his boots. You can show me how you two get back to the dome from here." He bobbed his head once at Evan. "Who are you?"

"Evan."

"There's blood on your shirt. Are you hurt?"

"No, it's Andrew's."

"Okay. Stay with us. We don't need two people in the infirmary. It's not that big."

Jordan looked awkward beneath the weight of a large backpack, but she ran ahead and by the time Pierce walked into the infirmary, the doctor was waiting by the bedside with gloves on and an IV drip hanging. The nurse was starting antibiotics into the IV and motioned to Pierce to put the boy in the bed. She turned to the counter, grabbed a pair of scissors and snipped through his pant leg. The doctor had a second pair and went to work on the other side.

"Clever boy." He pointed the scissors at Andrew's waist. "Duct tape. Never seen that one before. Do we know who this is?"

"No." Pierce cleared his throat and their eyes met briefly. "His name's Andrew. His friend is waiting outside with Jordan and Jinho."

"Okay. Ready?" Dr. Galen waited for the nurse to nod. She took notes on the computer while he did triage. "Late adolescent. Gunshot to the lower right abdomen. High fever. Inflamed skin around the contusion consistent with the onset of infection."

Pierce stood by feeling awkward until the doctor turned to him once more and said, "Help me roll him."

Together they gently rolled Andrew onto his hip so the doctor could examine the second bullet hole. The nurse slid the ruined pants away and tossed them into a corner of the room where Pierce noticed for the first time, Jordan had left Andrew's pack. Jinho was setting Andrew's boots with the bag and when Pierce looked at him, he jumped like he had been scalded.

"Through and through," the doctor murmured. He turned to the nurse and said, "Let's get him on the IV and start working on that infection. I want to irrigate this and make sure there's no internal damage. Sergeant Pierce, would you please remove these children from the room?"

"Sure, Doc." Pierce pushed Jordan and Jinho out of the room. Jordan craned her neck around Pierce to watch them work on Andrew until the door closed. "Let's go."

In the hallway, he grabbed each kid by an arm and turned to Jordan first. "What exactly was your plan, Jordan?"

His eyes bored into her until he saw her quake and stutter, "I...we. I–"

"I asked her the same thing," Jinho started. He froze like a small rabbit pinned under the predatory gaze of a hawk when Pierce's eyes landed on him.

"You asked her the same thing?" he said menacingly. "You agreed to take this boy to that cave. You are just as responsible as she is."

Jinho's mouth snapped shut.

"Someone needs to start talking," Pierce growled at them.

"We were–"

"Not you," Pierce snapped at Evan. Evan held up his hands and backed away.

"He was–"

"Jordan found–"

"One at a time! Jordan, you go first since I am nearly positive this is your doing." He glared at her waiting for a response.

"I found him in the desert. He walked up to the glass."

"You found him in the desert?" he asked her dubiously. He looked between them, then drilled his eyes into her. "Like a lost puppy?"

"That's what I said," Jinho grumbled. Pierce silenced him with a look.

"And you, what, thought you could keep him? Are you kidding me, Jordan?"

"Well, no. I–"

"Who is he?"

Jordan shrugged meekly. "He said his name is Andrew."

"You already told me that. Go do your chores, Jordan. Jinho, make sure she goes to do her chores. You can come back and check on him later." Pierce pointed at Evan, and then to a chair at the nurse's station. "You? There."

Not waiting to confirm anyone obeyed his orders, he quietly let himself back into the room. The door swung shut noiselessly behind him and he stood with his hands on his hips watching the nurse and the doctor at work. He ran his hand through his hair and shook his head in disbelief.

Andrew moaned as the nurse removed his socks. "He's going to need an x-ray of this foot."

The doctor glanced up from where he was working on Andrew's side and looked at the ankle. "Let me finish up here and we can take him over to x-ray."

Pierce looked around feeling claustrophobic in the small room. Motioning to the pile of Andrew's belongings on the floor, he asked the nurse, "Alright if I take these?"

She nodded, and he collected the pile and stepped out of the room. Evan was standing at the counter trying to see into the room.

"Sit," Pierce growled. Evan sat. "Stay."

"Everyone's so nice here," Evan said with mock cheerfulness.

"You're trespassing," Pierce said as he pushed the boots out of the way under the counter. "Do you get that? Your friend got shot because you broke the law and entered private property. You ignored warning signs posted every eight feet that said you could get shot."

Evan's eyes found his boots.

Pierce set the pack on the counter. He started with the pants first, rifling through the pockets. They were empty so he rolled them into a bundle and put them in a contaminations bin. He unzipped pockets and piled items onto the counter. Just when he had started to wonder if the boy's wallet had been left back in the cave with the sleeping bag or that maybe he didn't have one, it dropped out of the front pocket of a hooded shirt.

The door to the room opened, and Evan stood up.

"Sit!"

"Where are they taking him?"

"X-rays. Sit," Pierce said more gently.

Evan sat.

The nurse and doctor wheeled Andrew's bed from the room. The IV hung from a post at the head of the bed and dripped fluids down a line that ran under the sheet covering Andrew. He was still unconscious.

Pierce nodded to them and flipped the wallet open. He stared at the license in disbelief. The handset fell with a bang from the cradle when he reached for it. He picked up the receiver and punched a button. The wait was unbearable.

"Robin, I'm in the clinic. There's someone here you need to see. It's Andrew."

Pierce softly returned the handset back to the cradle.

"Shit."

Evan had disappeared.