Good Things Never Last

Chapter 50

After what seemed like an eternity, the guys and I arrived in a clearing. Tommy was wandering off ahead, trying to find some sort of shelter as night drew nearer, while Wilbur hung limply against my side, his blood seeping over the pair of us as his face paled rapidly, making me quicken my pace ever so slightly.

Making sure to keep a good hold of Wilbur, I sped up as I heard Tommy's distant footsteps come to a stop.

"Guys, I think I found something"
I pushed myself forward by thinking about having some type of shelter, which meant I was over to Tommy and the little cave he had found within two minutes. It was about the size of a tiny bedroom, just big enough for the three of us, but it would suffice for now.

As I shuffled past Tommy, I set the frail Wilbur on one of the little room's many rocks, while Tommy perched on another ledge, warily observing me and his friend.
Wilbur winced as I shifted him slightly on the rock before kneeling down to meet him at eye level.

"I'm going to have to take your shirt off, Will. Is it okay if I rip it so it doesn't bother the cut?"
He leant his head against the cave's stone wall before nodding and giving me a thumbs up to continue.
I grabbed a pocket knife from my pocket and placed it on Wilbur's L'manburg uniform's collar.

"Try not to move, okay?"
I ripped through the thin cotton and dragged the bloodied fabric off of his pale skin without waiting for a response. I could finally see that about a quarter of the arrow's shaft had penetrated his skin, leaving the rest to poke out his shoulder, as I gently moved the fabric away from the wound.

Ripping a piece of my own shirt, I gently held it forward to Wilbur.
"I'm gonna put this in your mouth to stop you from biting your tongue okay?"
With another nod coming from him, I gently stuffed the cloth into his mouth before softly smiling to mask the fact that I was internally freaking out.

Cautiously, I curled my left hand around the nock of the arrow, holding it tightly as I made eye contact with Wilbur.
"I would be lying if I said this wasn't gonna hurt. You can hold my hand if you think it'll help"
Without hesitating, Wilbur grabbed my free hand with his own, squeezing it gently without breaking eye contact.

I began to draw the arrow out of the boy's shoulder blade while staring into his hazel eyes, garnering a hiss and a wince from him as his grip on my hand tightened dramatically. More blood started pouring out of the wound as I quickly exposed the tip of the arrow before I discarded it and grabbed his now torn up L'manburg uniform.

Pushing the already bleeding piece of fabric against the wound, I turned to my brother for the first time since we arrived.
"Tommy, I'm gonna need you to grab your flask and a gauze pad and coat it with the water so I can clean the wound"
Tommy did exactly that as I watched the blood flow diminish after over five minutes of pressure. My younger brother swiftly placed the now wet pad in my hand as I released my grip on Wilbur's, watching his eyelids flutter shut as they grew heavier.

"Will, I need you to try to stay awake for a couple of more minutes. Tommy?"
Before he could walk away, I grabbed his sleeve and pulled him around to face me.
"I need you to talk to him"
He nodded with an uncertain smile on his face before turning to face the semiconscious Wilbur.

"Hey Will, remember that time where..."
I tuned out Tommy's ranting as I withdrew the bleeding cloth from Wilbur's shoulder and replaced it with a moist pad, dabbing the excess blood with it.

Ripping my shirt once again, I removed the gauze and replaced it with the material, wrapping it snugly around his shoulder and ensuring it would stay in place once he had enough energy to move. I walked to the cave's entrance, a genuine smile on my face, to ring out the bloodied cloth, feeling the cold breeze against my sweating skin.

"How did you know?"
Turning to face my brother, I brushed the dirt off my now bloody clothes as my hair flew behind me in the evening wind.

"Know what exactly?"
"You knew where to find me and Wilbur in Eret's tower, how did you know we were there?"
I glanced over at Wilbur before turning back to face my brother.
"Will was scared that they would win and everything would go downhill. You know how he is when he overthinks everything. So we had an escape plan. Although Sapnap's invisibility positions did come in really handy"
I gave a quick nod before returning my gaze to Wilbur, who was already unconscious.

We stayed like that for hours, with me keeping an eye on Wilbur's pulse to ensure it remained at a normal rate as he slept, and Tommy starting construction on a stairway that would ultimately lead to our mine so we could collect materials.

The sound of a distant twig snapping caught my attention as I was changing Wilbur's position for the third time in the last twenty minutes, prompting me to run over to Tommy and softly beg him to stay quiet.

I quickly snatched the little pocket knife off one of the cave's ledges. I snuck up to the door, avoiding the moon's rays as I hid in the shadows. Another twig snapped, causing me to spin rapidly to the left in anticipation of seeing any sort of activity. The creature appeared to be getting closer to my shaking figure standing in the cave entrance.

Slowly, a figure appeared from the distant tree line, revealing themselves to be a towering, muscular human. As the moon set behind one of the numerous clouds, the mystery individual didn't seem to notice my existence as they stood barely a metre or two in front of me, darkness still obscuring all of their features.

As I leapt at the figure, I extended my dominant hand and clutched the little blade hard in my grip. They were, however, prepared. They grabbed my shoulders with two powerful hands, catching me off guard as they shoved me to the ground.

As I popped back up onto my feet, I observed the shadow guy unsheathe what appeared to be a sword.
The quick slash of my opponent's blade, which barely missed my throat, made me jump back. Panic began to rush through me as I realised my current situation.

As the unknown man swung, I jumped back and thrust my foot out to kick my opponent in the midsection, earning a momentary groan from them. Swinging my small pocket knife again, I surprised my opponent, who appeared to be still healing from my gut hit.

I quickly brought my knife to their neck, grabbed their wrist, and brutally twisted it, causing their weapon to fall to the floor. The sound echoed around us. As my opponent and I were catching our breaths after the unexpected fight, the clouds above changed, allowing moonlight to trickle through as my eyes met another pair.

As I pinned him to the wall, he still towered over me, his long bubblegum-colored hair in a loose braid lying over his left shoulder. A gleaming gold crown sat atop his hair, encrusted with numerous magnificent jewels that glistened in the moonlight.

I noticed he was dressed in a button-up shirt and black slacks from my quick glimpse. Both of his garments, as well as his black boots, were nearly fully covered in black metal, which glistened brightly in comparison to his other characteristics.

White fur coated the hem of his red cloak around his collarbone, sinking itself deep into his neck and covering the bottom of it as well, slightly dirtier than the other lining.

Looking back up, I locked eyes with a crimson pair, standing out from behind a peculiar pig-shaped skull mask covering the top half of his face, leaving his pearly whites on show while he smirked, watching my cocky smile falter slightly. I relaxed my grip on him and took a step back.

"I thought I taught you how to tie your hair properly?"

I giggled as I lowered my blade, quickly engulfing the other man in a tight hug.