Maybe I'd hit my head too hard when I'd been thrown to the ground just now.
I just stood there, dumbly watching as more and more blood flowed out from the gap underneath the door.
I'd never seen so much blood.
Too much blood.
'C'mon…'
Both my shoes were soaked.
There was a soft rattle from the other side of the door.
'Come on! We need to get out of here! Now!'
I felt pain in my arm as Aron grabbed it hard and yanked me away from the door, which rattled again.
I turned around to see him hoisting Sheila up from the ground.
Shit.
What the fuck was I doing!?
I quickly raced to them to help him.
Sharing her weight in between the two of us, we hurried away from the academic building.
We didn't stop running until its hulking shape disappeared into the dark of the night.
'I… I'll need a place to patch this up,' Sheila said after some time.
'Student dorms…' Aron muttered. 'We can get cleaned up in the communal bathroom while waiting for daybreak.'
'Hm,' I nodded.
We redirected our footsteps.
As we approached the building, I heard something.
Rounding a corner, fast approaching –
Footsteps.
Someone was running our way very fast.
'Haa! Oh my god! It's you guys!'
It was the newbie.
Covered in sweat, his hair swept back and cheeks stained with tears, he ran up to us, feet thudding on the ground.
'Ahh! You're here! Can I stop? Haa. Can I stop now?'
He skidded to a stop right in front of us, bending over to rest his hands on his thighs as he panted.
His whole body heaved as he sucked in mouthful after mouthful of air.
'It's gone, right? I'm not alone anymore, so it's gone?' he asked.
I frowned down at him, not saying anything.
Aron, however, asked coldly, 'Why the fuck are you alone?'
The newbie panted a bit more, then slowly straightened up again to look at us.
'Aaahh! What the fuck happened to you!?' he screamed, his eyes wide as he took in our appearance. 'Aaahh! What happened to your leg, dude!?'
I could feel Sheila's body trembling slightly.
'Where is John?' she asked.
The newbie looked from her, to Aron, to me, the slowly shook his head.
'I-I don't know,' he said.
'What do you mean you don't –'
'That fucker left me alone, ok!?' the newbie exclaimed. 'Alone! He was supposed to watch out for me, but he left me alone!'
'John wouldn't –'
'What happened after you left the building?' I interrupted.
The newbie sighed.
'We waited for a few minutes. I had to pee, so I went behind one of the nearby trees. Your guy was waiting right on the other side. Or so I thought. The moment I was done, I realized he was nowhere to be seen.'
An accusatory tone bled into his words, 'He left me alone! And then, something invisible started coming after me! I've been running for my fucking life this whole time! That's what happened, fucker!'
'Enough,' Aron said. 'Shut up.'
Promptly, the newbie shut up.
Aron turned to look at us. 'We'll stick to the plan. Patch yourselves up first. I'll clean up a bit, then go look for John.'
I nodded.
'Do we know where the infirmary is?' I asked. 'I could go take a look.'
'Unstocked,' Sheila shook her head. 'Useless. But I have a tourniquet in my bag.'
'Give him a bandage for his head,' Aron said, and Sheila nodded.
I put my free hand against my temple, and was shocked by the fresh blood coating my fingers when I pulled it away.
We resumed walking.
'What about me?' the newbie asked. 'Hey? Hey! What about me?'
No one said anything.
There was a scramble of hurried footsteps.
The newbie had cleverly shut his mouth and started following after us in silence.
Four out of the six people who'd initially left the dorms walked back in.
I hadn't been in the communal bathroom since that morning.
Upon entering, I glanced at the last shower stall.
The half-eaten body there had been cleaned up at some point.
Who knew whether some poor janitor in this world had been tasked with taking care of the corpses, or if the world itself made them disappear after a set amount of time.
Aron and I carried Sheila towards the row of sinks.
She hoisted herself up on one, and almost mechanically, started peeling back the tattered fabric of her trousers, and examining her injury.
'Not too bad. I'm not going into shock. Once I staunch the bleeding, this body should be able to survive at least a couple more days even if it goes septic. I'll be fine so long as I leave the instance before then,' she said softly.
'No permanent injury is transferred over to the real world,' Aron informed me. 'Though there may be a temporary effect on your health.'
Sheila rummaged around in her bag. She found a box of pills, and took one.
She then pulled out a roll of gauze and some antiseptic cream.
She handed the items to me, asking, 'Need any help with that?'
'Ah, no.' I shook my head. 'You should focus on yourself first.'
'Mm.'
It almost felt like she was running on autopilot.
Aron, in the meantime, had been using paper towels to wipe down his shoes.
He straightened up and stretched.
'I'll go look for John,' he said, making for the door.
The newbie, who'd been standing silently in a corner, suddenly stepped forward.
'I… I should come with you' he stuttered. 'Maybe I can help –'
'No,' Aron said firmly.
'B-but I feel bad. I should –'
'Try me. Just try to come after me. I will kill you with my own hands,' Aron growled. 'I'm not as nice as Mason.
I saw him gently rub a thumb on the hilt of his knife.
The newbie visibly swallowed, then stepped back to his corner.
'Keep an eye on him,' Aron said to me.
Then, he was gone.
The newbie waited until his footsteps disappeared, then looked at me with a hurt look in his eyes.
'Why do I feel like he hates me?' he asked. 'And where is Mason anyway?'
I sighed, then walked over to the sinks to clean up my own injuries.
…
…
By the time Aron returned, Sheila was already done cleaning and bandaging up her leg.
She was definitely at least trained in administering first aid.
She turned to look blankly at Aron.
He shook his head, a grim expression on his face.
…Shit.
Sheila didn't scream or cry, as she'd done earlier with Mason.
Face still blank, she said, 'Where? I'm going to see.'
There was no fluctuation in her tone.
'We'll come with you,' Aron said quietly. He handed her a sturdy-looking stick.
'It's not much, but it might help you get around,' he added.
She nodded, and slowly stood up to rest her weight on her one good leg.
'Let's go.'