My Last Chance [Made in Abyss Fanfiction]

05| A Life's End Result

When I awake next, I'm at first confused about where I am. Actual blankets and a bed? Metal walls... Oh, right, I'm in Idofront. My face is tight and my limbs are numb as I rub my eyes, finding my cheeks sticky with dried tears. I wince as I wipe my face on my shirt before realizing I should've washed it instead.

"Ya finally awake, kid?"

I roll over, looking at Melva's side of the room. She's sitting on the bed, bad ankle hanging over the edge as she leans with her back against the wall. I purse my lips as I sit up. "I-I suppose I am now... You never woke me up last night."

She sighs in frustration, hitting her head against the back of the wall. "'Cause I fell asleep before I could wake ya up. Yeah, ya were right that I was tired as hell! An' the worst part is I actually got to sleep... But I have a feelin' we slept longer than we should've." She holds up a half-eaten ration bar. "Ya think they got coffee 'ere? If I'm eatin' more of these things, I need somethin' with flavor."

"How long will that dried meat last?" I ask, and Melva shrugs.

"A couple months. I just don't wanna eat any more of it, even if I hate these bars."

I'm in no mood to eat, at least not yet. I lean against the wall to take some pressure off my tailbone, which hurts less than it did before. This confuses me since I beat it up so much running yesterday. "I'd go out there and see what's going on since Bondrewd said he'd give us some time, but I'm not walking around this place by myself... I suppose we'll have to wait until they come to get us." I look at Melva's foot. "How does your ankle feel?"

She scowls. "It still hurts when I move it, an' that pisses me off. I mean, I guess I shouldn't be surprised since we were gettin' way too lucky so far." She takes a bite of her ration bar, bitterly chewing away. "I'm sorry, kid... I probably just delayed us for who-knows how long, even worse if they don't let us stay 'ere until the both of us are healed."

"No, don't apologize," I say despite myself, though there's sincerity as well. "It's not like you tried to hurt yourself. We were both running for our lives, either of us could've made that mistake. Even if you hadn't hurt your ankle, we shouldn't be moving right away. Sciro said we hadn't torn any of our muscles, but our wounds weren't insignificant. Combine that with my tailbone and our blood loss, and neither of us are fit to go down to the Sixth Layer."

Melva's silent for a moment, but then she smiles warmly. "Th-thanks for tryin' to make me feel better, kid. I just don't wanna feel useless."

"I know how that feels," I mutter, but I still try to keep the mood up. "You're anything but useless. I mean, you've saved my life more times than I can count."

Her smile becomes a grin. "That Silkfang was the start of it all, an' I learned I could carry a kid with one arm that day!" We both laugh a bit, even if my face flushes from long-buried embarrassment. Our voices echo a bit in the small room before dying out, and we fall into a more comfortable silence. I'm about to ask Melva for a ration bar when loud knocks on the door to our room nearly make me jump out of my skin.