Goldie and Red

Chapter 5 - The Aftermath

I rubbed my shoulder as I stepped out of the decimated lodge. No survivors. 

I recognised one of my arrows on the ground ahead and picked it up. I never ventured this far in the fight last night. A single shot must have carried it all this way. 

That meant the Air was with me.

I looked up at the village. How dare they destroy it. The Forest was an ancient refuge and almost always peaceful. They had no right. And all for what? Nobody seemed to know what they were looking for.

My job today was to find any wounded or stranded folks and take them to one of the remaining buildings where we had set up make shift shelters - places for people to get food, rest and look for their loved ones. My parents were in Fujin. I knew they were safe. They had moved up to the sky permanently a few years ago when I turned eighteen. I stayed in Terra with my grandmother, who was thankfully also safe. Long ago, she used her magic to surround our cottage with an enchantment preventing all except the two of us from being able to find it. Any visitors had to be escorted, and even after seeing my home, they would never find it again alone. After the demon tried to kill me as a child, she took no chances. 

My head burned and my shoulder ached. I'd never fought like I did last night. Thank god I knew how. 

I made my way back to the centre of the village and saw a few of my friends from training. They looked tired and bruised but I was relieved they were all standing. I headed over as they were talking, "Are you all ok?" I interjected. Jasmine, an Air Breather like me gave me a concerned glance. "Rowan, we were just saying we haven't seen Amber. Has anyone checked her house yet? Her parents are missing too." My heart sank. I hadn't even thought about her. My mind was so cloudy and all of us able to do so were thrown into rescue mode the second the King's Guard fled.

I turned away before any of them could answer and ran towards her house.

I stopped and tears filled my eyes as I saw the cottage. It was barely recognisable. 

As I stepped into the the living room there were so many bodies on the floor I could barely walk without stepping on someone. Many of the men were clearly attacked by an animal, her parents put up a fight. But I also noticed a few with stab marks and slashes. Was Amber really capable of doing this to Terra's most elite Warriors? No other explanation came to mind.

My heart shattered into a million pieces when I turned my gaze towards the window. 

Papa Bear. 

He was flat out along the floor with a gash across his head, still and silent. "No, please no." Tears ran down my cheeks as I dropped down to him and I flung myself across his body. He was cold as ice. I sat up and kissed his nose. He was the kindest creature I had ever met. I hoped whoever did this to him was also laying here lifeless. They deserved it.

I sat up and looked over from Papa Bear. I tilted my head in amazement at a small flowered branch growing through the window. It moved and grew in front of me. I couldn't believe it. Was it magic? I followed it until I saw what it was growing towards.

Amber.

A shot across the room and stood over her. She laid in a pool of blood originating from her side. "Amber!" I knelt down to her and cupped her face in my hands. "Amber, please look at me! Amber!" She didn't respond and I frantically checked for a pulse....I felt one.

"Help!" I screamed as I picked her up carefully. It was easy, she weighed nothing. I looked down to her pale face and started to hyperventilate. This couldn't be happening. 

A figure barged through the doorway and took her from my arms as I tried to catch my breath.

"We need to get her to Dr Wallace." I looked up to Alec's sturdy form. He cradled Amber like a baby whilst eyeing her body for injuries. He then glanced over to the floor where I found her. "Grab that, come on." I looked over and saw the golden sword gleaming under the mysterious branch.

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Alec placed Amber on a table in the back of the pretty crowded space. Dr Wallace's practice was one of the buildings that remained in tact because it was shielded by trees at the entrance to the Forest. 

She was so limp I couldn't bare to look. Dr Wallace ran over. "Where is she wounded?" He and Alec both rolled up their sleeves. "In her side I think." I said weakly. Alec suddenly ripped off her bloodied t-shirt and threw it aside before titling her sideways revealing the deep cut by her hip. He rolled her back and took a cloth from a basin of water to wipe the dry blood away. I stepped over to her head and starting stroking her hair. Even after all this, her hair was so beautiful. It spread around her neck and shoulders, curling out over the edges of the table. She looked so tiny laying underneath the two men in just a bralette and her trousers were ripped to shreds. Alec seemed so abrupt and cold as he moved her around, tending to the wound. It made me glare at him. But Dr Wallace was doing the same and I understood. They weren't concerned with being delicate, they needed to save her life. 

Dr Wallace leaned in over her side before switching his gaze to her face. Alec brushed the skin on her stomach. "Something's not right." Alec said as he lifted the cloth from the wound. "I think it's poison." Dr Wallace said. "What!" I gasped and clutched onto her hair. "How can she be poisoned?" It looks like a stab wound?" Dr Wallace walked round to Alec as he stepped aside. "The blade she was stabbed with was probably infused with it." Dr Wallace replied and took out a large syringe from underneath the table. "Can you get it out?" Alec asked with a quick glance up to Amber's face. He looked concerned. That meant it was bad. My heart dropped. "Please! She can't die!" I kissed her forehead and watched Dr Wallace place the syringe inside the wound. It started to fill with black liquid but I could only blink before I heard a shriek from below my face. I looked down and Amber's eyes were wide open and black as night. Tears streamed down her face and she started to kick and moan. Alec held her torso down so she lifted her head and shook. "You must hold her still, she'll tear the wound." Dr Wallace instructed. I placed one hand over her mouth and the other on her forehead and pressed down. "Ssshhh. Amber please, it's ok." I whispered desperately. I could feel her trying to scream, I held my breath. 

The struggling went on for what felt like forever. Another medical aid had to come over and help hold her still. Even at her weakest moment, she was so fierce. Suddenly, she stopped and her head tilted in relief, her eyes rolling back and her body calmed down. Dr Wallace pulled out the syringe now filled with the vile liquid. 

Alec exhaled and pressed the cloth back over her hip, before stroking her hair.

It was over.

I slumped back against the wall behind me and watched as Dr Wallace and the medical aid finished treating Amber's wound. I nearly lost her. She almost died. 

I could never let that happen again.