Venom (Book I) ✓

Chapter Seven

The little village was quiet and still. Despite the sun being at its peak and the playful breeze carrying in the last few wisps of warmth from the south very few people had ventured past their door frames. The recent attack hung over the desolate streets like a fine mist. Fear resided darkly in the hearts of the small town farmers. For the first time, they were being reminded of their mortality, and this state didn't please them.

Appa's house was set in the middle of the little village, his door always propped open and the pleasant smell of cinnamon eternally wafting in and out. Patients were always welcome and treated warmly. Usually, Appa treated injuries and cuts caused by farming equipment or horse accidents. Occasionally an ill child or the dying elderly were taken to the wizened old man, but it was widely known that these were rare occurrences. 

No matter the patient or the severity of their ailment, they were treated and turned out within the week. Appa's fame was in the knowledge that he never let his patients die or allowed limbs to be lost. To hear that he was preparing his current patient for death, then, sent the village into a state of shock.

He rarely left the young man's side. He sent the boy's family away, urging them to get the rest they had been depriving themselves of the past three days. They had two other children to care for, both much younger than the one currently in Appa's care. This reminder proved effective in motivating the grieving couple to return to their own house, a split level on the north side of town. That, and the fact that never before had they spent so much time in the "common" part of the little village. As if there really could be two different areas in such a small town.

Now, he sat like a solitary statue beside the boy's bed, watching the still face of his patient alone. Sometimes, the dying boy moved or muttered to the demons now twisting around his feverish mind. It came as a surprise, then, when Edward's eyes opened on the third day, wide and vague and bleary. His face was twisted in terror, and when he spoke, it was to a spot somewhere on the ceiling. 

"The orphan girl." He gasped, his hands groping before him, catching only air.

Appa pressed a hand to his forehead, partially to note that his fever was going down, and partially to make his presence known. Edward stilled at his touch but his eyes continued to dart around the room, wide and searching.

"The orphan girl. Where is she?" He gasped, panic and confusion dragging themselves across his pallid face.

"She isn't here." Appa answered, his voice low and soothing.

"I need her. She needs to get it to go away."

Appa leaned forward in his seat, interest glinting in his grey eyes. "Get what to go away?"

"It's so big." He wailed, his entire body tensing as if he were bracing himself for a blow. "It's so big and its teeth are so sharp."

"The beast? Is this about the beast?" Appa prompted, listening closely to every word out of the boy's mouth.

"She came, she attacked it. She spoke to it. Please! Please! She cried, Please!"

Seeing the terror in his face, Appa leaned closer, pressing his hands to the boy's cheeks in an effort to bring him back to reality. "Sh, sh child, you are safe. Ruby made it go away. The beast is gone. It's gone far, far away."

Edward's body relaxed, but his forehead creased in confusion. "If it's gone, where is the orphan girl?"

Appa turned away for a moment as if he had to hide his teary eyes from the delusional boy lying before him. "She's gone."

"Dead?"

"No, not yet I don't suppose."

"Gone where?"

"To the forest."

Edward launched himself upright, sitting for the first time since the attack. He cringed as the wounds in his stomach and chest were stretched and shifted. But for the first time his eyes were clear and his face was creased with something more than just pain or fear.

"Why did she go to the forest?" He demanded, jaw clenched in pain.

"To save your life."

"And why do I need saving?"

"You haven't been conscious for three days. I estimate you have a week left to live."

Edward's eyes darkened, but when he spoke it was not with fear. "Three days?" His voice shook with anger, "Is that how long she's been gone?"

Appa nodded, lowering his glistening eyes in sorrow, "She is hunting the beast. She promised she would bring back a sample of the venom that is killing you, so that I can create an antidote."

"And you allowed her to go? She won't survive out there." He growled, throwing aside the quilt covering his legs and moving to stand.

"Stay put." Appa demanded, his voice loud and resounding.

Edward looked shocked, but he settled back obediently. "So you're just going to let her die." He stated, every inch of him burning with accusation.

"You seem to forget that the child already survived that forest once, when she was much less experienced that she is now."

"Barely."

"As well as pacifying and sending away this mysterious beast of yours."

"You're just trying to convince yourself now that you've done the right thing in sending her to her death."

"You think I sent her?" Appa roared, launching himself to his feet, sending the chair behind him toppling over. "You think I am okay with my only child giving up her life? And for what? A boy who doesn't even speak to her! I could not stop her from going or I would have."

"She isn't even your daughter old man. She doesn't belong here. She has never really belonged here."

"Your parents have poisoned your mind boy. She is more a part of this community that you ever were. All you have ever done is consume our crops and get yourself into trouble. She understands the concept of serving like you never will."

"She is an outsider. She doesn't even remember where she came from."

Appa took a threatening step forward, his plump cheeks now red with frustration and his eyes burning, "Then why are you so intent on saving her?" He asked, his voice dangerously low.

Edward stopped short, his brow furrowing. He considered the question, but there didn't seem to be a proper answer to it. He couldn't say exactly why the thought of her alone in the forest enraged him so, only that it did. 

"I will go make you something to eat, then I will check your bandages. Stay still, we don't want to make your injuries worse." Appa stated, starting toward the door. Just before passing through he paused, and turned toward his patient. "Ruby really cares for you. And in some way, I think you care for her as well." Then, he turned back and Edward was left brooding in a web of confusion and pain.