Hidden Truths // Riven

08

CHAPTER VIII:

❄︎ ATTACKED ❄︎

"i had nothing"
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•

We ran outside the barn, Stella and Aisha following me. Approaching them, I slowed down, stopping beside Terra. My eyes followed their gaze down the hill.

I gasped in horror. There was a massacre. Bodies lay on the ground, blood covering every inch of their bodies. On the trail ahead, there were more bodies near the transport vehicles.

Then, I saw a young girl who had been impaled by the branch of a tree. Her eyes were open, her head hanging off her neck, blood staining her uniform, and her face pale.

"The Burned One," said Terra in a quiet voice.

"It's still here somewhere," Stella warned.

"Look, that's Mr. Silva," Terra pointed out.

I looked closer at the man moving against the tree. It was indeed Silva and he was still alive – but barely.

"Wait, where's Bloom?" asked Aisha. "Bloom!"

Aisha ran back to the barn to find her.

"All right," Terra said. "We'll look after Mr Silva. Stella, you help Aisha find Bloom."

Stella left. I was frozen. Terra had begun walking towards him, cautious, Musa walking slowly behind her.

"Come on," Terra called. "If we don't do something, he'll die."

Musa reached for my hand and pulled me towards Silva. His eyes were black and his breaths were heavy. Blood spotted his face and smeared his hands. He looked at us and held his sword up.

"It's us, Mr Silva," Terra spoke in a calm voice. "It's Terra Harvey, Musa, and Demi."

"I know who you are," said Silva, aggravated but weak. "Please get back."

"The Burned One's cut you and you're infected," Terra told him. "But we're gonna help."

Vines from the tree wrapped around his wrists and pulled them back to the ground. The weapon fell out of his hand and Terra approached.

"I've got Zanbaq for you," Terra told him as they kneeled beside him. "It'll calm the infection and we can take you back to school. I can hold his head, but I need you to pour it into his mouth. Musa?"

Terra looked at Musa, who was focused on Silva's emotions. She glanced at Demi, who was the furthest away from any of them, and then looked back at Musa.

"He's scared. I'm not," Terra told her. "Focus on me."

Terra tilted his head back and opened his jaw for Musa to pour the Zanbaq into his mouth. Soon, the blackness in his eyes faded away.

"Demi," Terra called, looking back at her. "I need you to use your magic. Your frost has healing properties. It'll help his cells to renew themselves and stop the bleeding – Demi?!"

"I-I can't," Demi muttered, stumbling back.

"Demi, please try," Terra said, taking a hold of her hand. "He'll get worse if you don't."

Terra pulled her closer to Silva. She took a deep breath and placed her hand over the wound in his abdomen. A layer of frost covered his wound, and Silva let out a relieved sigh.

"All right, we have to get him back to the school," said Terra.

Demi hoisted him up with Musa, putting his arms over their shoulders to help him walk. We managed to get into the courtyard of the school. It might not have been a good idea to let the students see him, but the courtyard was the fastest way toward the greenhouses and to Terra's dad.