Reddit Stories & Other Fiction: 2021

The Engineer And The Witch: Part II

Tera breached the surface, gasping for air. Her vision blurred and filled with stars that seared into her brain. Needles pricked her arms and legs. Her lungs burned. Her muscles ached. With every wave, the sea dragged her back into the inky depths.

Strong arms wrapped around Tera and pulled her from the water. She fell sputtering into the rowboat, straining to keep her eyes focused enough to see her rescuer. The only light came from the burning ships and distant cannon fire, painting the battle in silhouettes with every round. Even in the darkness, she recognized the raised scar on their scalp. Mayer rowed in silence, unflinching even as cannonballs splashed in the water around them.

"Thank you," Tera said. Her voice was soft, barely a whisper, and if Mayer heard her at all, they didn't respond. She huddled in the bow of the skiff, too weak to help Mayer row. Too weak to worry about the ongoing conflict. Unable to fight it any longer, she let the darkness take her.

Her body still ached when she woke, but the fire no longer burned in her leg and the stars no longer clouded her vision. Gentle morning light filled the room. A breeze wafted through the curtains. Four beds on wooden posts sat along one wall, a table and two chairs against the other. The other three beds were empty. By a stack of folded clothes on the table sat a bottle: Gharos' gift.

No guns boomed in the distance. No shouts or cries.

The battle was over.

Tera shifted, raising herself on her elbows. Absence was something she was slow to notice, but once she did, she couldn't think of anything else. Clarity broke through morning drowsiness, sharp and sudden. She felt no pain in her leg. She felt nothing at all. Tera yanked the covers off, knowing what she would see, yet unprepared to face reality. Her left leg ended in bandages above where her knee should be. She clawed at the emptiness, trying to bring her limb back from the void that swallowed it, but no matter how she tried, her leg remained gone.

Mayer stepped through the door before her mind could grasp what happened, quietly closing it behind them.

"Good, you're awake," they said, unconcerned by her frantic state. "I hoped to see you before I go."

Tera stared at them, eyes wide, mouth agape. She struggled to form words, to form any sound at all, only managing to understate her distress. "My leg."

Mayer's eyes flicked down to Tera's leg — to where Tera's leg should have been — and nodded. Nothing more than acknowledgement. They dragged a chair over and sat by Tera.

"I'm sorry," they said after a brief silence. Their stare was as cold and hollow as ever, but their tone soft. Sympathetic. "You were hurt in the explosion. Even with surgery and the best healing salve, you couldn't have walked on it, and they have neither here. This was the best option."

The statement fueled fury in Tera but exhaustion overpowered the emotion before she could even speak. She knew Mayer had no part in the decision. Even assuming they were right, she struggled to process the information. As she shifted in bed, turning to face them, she felt her movements were off, pushing with a leg that was no longer there. Her right leg hung over the edge, swaying slightly. Heavy and alone. The nothingness where her other leg should have been felt as solid as bone and flesh ever did. Absence given form.

For their part, Mayer said nothing, not demanding her attention until she could accept the amputation. They cast their eyes down to their hands folded in their lap, not daring to meet her gaze, not rude enough to gawk at her injury.

Tera couldn't turn away. The light shifted and the breeze finally died and her eyes did not move, even when she tried, as though she could will her leg back to her body if only she stared long enough.