A World Of Treason and Tides

Chapter 17: Maybe Some Weird Magic

I woke up with a jolt, not quite understanding where I was. My vision was still blurry and I was feeling dizzy. Searing pain burned through my hand as I tried to stand. Giving up, I reclined against the tree. The pain was unbearable and at that moment, I wanted to pass out again. I closed my eyes and waited for sleep to come. It never came, so I opened my eyes again.

I was still in the forest but looking at my surroundings, I assumed it was less dense than where we had been for the past two days. Neither Ryan nor Emma was there. I wondered what happened to them—what if they were killed by that monster? Merely thinking about it made me shudder. I finally looked at my hands, not being able to tolerate the pain that was gradually spreading over my whole arm. I was surprised to see that most of the burned skin was replaced by new, healed skin. But the rays were filled with poison as my arm had turned pale— almost white with barest traces of blue, and from what I could see, it was spreading to the shoulders. A huge cut marked the region where the rays had hit me.

Tears filled my eyes as I thought about my condition and what I was getting myself into. But, then again, I willed myself to be strong and waited for someone to arrive at that lonely forest.

A few minutes had passed when I heard footsteps approaching me. Emma's face came into view. I let out a sigh of relief seeing her. "Oh good. You are awake," she said and put some fruits and her knife on the rock beside me.

"And you are alive," I said.

"How is your hand?" she asked and frowned as she looked at its condition.

"It's paining. I don't know if I'll ever to move my hand again," I said. I looked behind her, an unsettling feeling taking over my mind. "Where's—"

"He is fine," Emma answered before I could ask. "And as of where he is, I don't know. He brought you here and then left." Emma took an apple.

"You—you did not ask where he was going?"

Emma looked at me with curious eyes, then answered, "He said he had something important to do, and left before I could ask anything else."

"He went to his house," I said, realization dawning upon me. "He should not have gone there, Emma."

"Why do you care so much about him?" she asked me.

I had no answer to that question as I myself was searching for an answer to a similar question. "I don't know," I told her. "Maybe because he cares about me."

"Venus, look at yourself. You are miserable. Still, you are worried about Ryan?" she looked at me in my eyes.

"If I start worrying about myself, I would not be able to go to Odalis. I am too weak but I need to be strong, and for that, I cannot brood in my agony. So, why not worry about you and Ryan?" Even when I was saying those things, my hand ached. My mouth was parched and my stomach growled. Emma had brought fruits but a slight movement of my body or any of my hands, made me wish to die.

Emma seemed to have understood what I was talking about. She nodded once and then said, "After bringing you here, he tried to heal your arm, you know. Too bad the infection is getting worse every moment."

"The burned skin has been healed." I let out a heavy sigh.

Then I asked Emma what I should have asked earlier, "How did you escape? Were you able to kill the monster?"

Emma's lips curved upwards at the question. I could tell from her face that she enjoyed the fact of being able to escape from a creature belonging to a world unknown to humans, despite the hardships it brought.

"Stop smiling now," I narrowed my eyes at her.

"Sorry. It's just that...you know, right?" she gave me an apologetic smile and went on, "Anyway, you showed Ryan that mud house with your other hand before passing out. After that, he was quick to trick the monster into that house. Then, after he shut the door, I covered it with more leaves and mud from the ground. We don't know if it has died but we made sure to not let the creature escape."