Chapter 12 - Galliches(II)
[Arc 1 - No Light Left For Us]
….
[Splendrous Carnage, Severants]
[Wicked Moon harkens]
The four of them ran. They pushed past leaves and trees, crossing areas they would have otherwise not dared.
These insect-like monsters were too fast to react to. All it took was one attack to be caught in their snare.
Raven and the others definitely didn't want that. So, they opted for a different tussle— a battle of stamina.
Heaving, they didn't stop until Raven raised a hand.
"Stop," he said between breaths. "I think they are gone. I can't sense them anymore. We should be in the clear."
Mist wheezed, "Yeah. They are gone. How are you guys?"
Hayden gently laid Zoe down, his eyes fell when he noticed her horrible state.
"She has lost a lot of blood. What's gonna happen to her? She's not even conscious. It's like her mind went somewhere during the attack. I have never seen her like that. Oh god, I think she's gonna to—"
"Hey. Hey, focus." Mist said with a frustrated tone. "Raven, help me."
"You want to close her wound. I don't think my clothes are clean enough."
Despite saying that, Raven ripped out pieces of cloth and handed it to Mist. They were more like rags, but as he had said, it was all he had. Turns out getting abducted into a new world leaves you with nothing— not even a phone.
He would have given anything to be able to listen to music right now.
Hell, what better place was there to play depressing music than a world with almost zero chance of survival? It was the complete package.
Mist accepted the rags with a frown. "Well, better dirty rags than letting her bleed to death. Those monsters—"
"Galliches," Raven corrected.
Mist panned deadly at Raven with a visible scowl on her face.
"Sorry. Force of habit. You can continue."
Mist swallowed her breath and added, "Those fucking monsters went into her head. We might be able to stop the bleeding, but I don't know if she will wake up."
"How can we help her?" Hayden asked.
"We are doing the best we can." Mist chuckled, "Or maybe we should leave her."
Hayden squeezed his face as he yelled, "What! How can you say that?"
"I'm joking. I'm joking." Mist laughed, although Hayden found it not even a little funny. "Relax. You'd probably beat us all up if we tried."
Hayden stared right into her eyes and said, "I'm not leaving her behind."
"We know, loverboy. You would go crazy if you lost her."
Mist finished dressing Zoe's wounds. She wiped her bloodied hands against her cloth.
For the first time a weary light appeared in her eyes. The fight had drained her more than she wanted to admit; using her innate skills for the first time had cost her heavily, and the blood loss wasn't helping.
"Do you think we were sent here to be punished?" Hayden quietly asked.
"What do you mean?" Mist glanced at him.
"Zoe believes this place is Hell. That God is punishing us for our sins. I tried telling her that's not true, but she's convinced all of us must have done something to deserve this."
Mist snorted. "And what do you believe?"
Hayden looked at Zoe softly, and muttered, "Honestly, I do not know what to believe. We are all horrible people. Some of us even more than others. We all have secrets so dark that it cannot come into light. So, maybe… maybe this is punishment."
Mist raised her brows. "Would you say the same applies to your girlfriend? I saw the marks, Hayden."
Hayden took a deep breath. "Its complicated. Perhaps that is why she's here, thrown up with people like me, you and Raven."
"Spit out what you want to say." Mist frowned.
Hayden let out a sigh. "Nothing actually. I didn't mean to offend you. Just… Why does God punish the innocent along with sinners?"
Mist watched him for a moment before shrugging lightly.
"You are thinking too much, Hayden. Sometimes, things just happen. No grand scheme. No cosmic lesson."
She stood, stretching stiffly. "Searching for meaning in everything will only make you angrier in the end. Get some rest. You look like you need it."
"I'm going to find Raven. See what he's up to."
Mist left Hayden to stir in his cesspool of questions.
….
Mist found Raven staring hard into the distance. He had the look of a madman and the appearance to back it off; clothes armless and torn in too many places.
Mist almost failed to swallow a chuckle. "What are you looking at?"
"You know I could hear you guys, right? Discussing the theology of our unfortunate existence," Raven said without looking back.
"Really?"
"Yeah… kinda discovered I have enhanced senses. And one of the perks of that is that I get to accidentally spy on faraway conversations even though I don't want to. Honestly, it felt like it was the other way around— like I was the one getting violated."
Mist moved closer to him and muttered, "Cool."
Raven sneered, "I wish. I would do anything to have your sigil. Instead, I'm stuck with endless migraines and a body perfectly designed to suffer through them. I couldn't even get an attack sigil. Someone up there is definitely messing with me. Ahhh, I feel murderous."
"Unfortunately, I can't relate." Mist chuckled.
Raven shook his head, ignoring her derision.
He squinted his eyes at the far distance.
While he couldn't exactly see something of substance, his ears picked up on an anomaly. The whole time he had been trying to decipher what it meant. But he suddenly had an idea.
"What is it?" Mist asked as she had noticed his absent-mindedness.
Raven told, "Get Zoe and Hayden. I found something. Something we might all want to see."
The group gathered in seconds.
Hayden carried Zoe on his shoulder and his frame stood gaunt, showing not even an ounce of pain.
Meanwhile, Mist had an impatient look in her eye. She stared at Raven without blinking, but Raven did his best to pretend he couldn't see that.
Together, they journeyed down Raven's path. Soon, the faint rush of water coursed through their ears. They picked up their pace, following the sound with sheer excitement.
Past a line of trees and down a sloping bank, there it was— A river. But that was not all.
Beyond the river bank was a gathering of wounded individuals… with familiar faces.
They were students the group had left at camp.