Personified

The Lock Strikes Back

"Oh my god he looks bad." Mary said as I hauled in a beaten battered teen inside. "What the hell, Lewis what happened?" "I don't know, but he is breathing. Foot is swollen a definitely infected though". "Where did you find him Lewis, this infection looks bad. Worse than bad.'  I thought the same thing when I found him in the woods next the Guard safehouse. "I found him pretty far out past his hut, I don't know what he was doing but it probably started with him running into the woods... after I came to give the towel he stole."  

"Dammit Lewis, you scared him out.' "Yeah, I have a feeling I know why." Mary just runs and puts a towel down in the guest bed, so he wasn't laying on bloody leaky wounds. He is in really bad shape. Thank God for Mary, if she didn't have experience with this I don't know if Markus would even have a chance. 

Mary's experience with the wounded actually came from her father. A highly abusive, but brillant doctor. Her father taught her how to treat wounded people of all severities, if the patient wasn't rich enough for his service, he would toss them too Mary. Who would usually do it free of charge? Her Father's name was Quintus, he's dead now after a botched surgery ended with him contracting a still unknown bloodborne disease. Till this day I can see the same level of focus and stern look her face as she faces her father as she sets up a kid who got a bad cut from a broken window or resetting a man's broken arm after arm wrestling his very large son. I still don't know if she hates doing what her father did or loves knowing that she will carry on a legacy not rooted in greed and ego. 

Around an hour after, Mary had wrapped and sewn Markus's deeper cuts and broken bones. "Year he used an herbal painkiller, probably left in the shamans hut, his eyes are still bloodshot, and he is probably still hallucination." "Oh god please don't tell me he has an herbal addiction." She laughs a bit. "No, he's been running and walking on that foot. He probably broke his foot and found the painkiller." "Why in the world would he do that?" "Well, knowing the level of paranoia he is known for his probably already broke his foot but flipped his dick when the properties of the painkiller, that shaman used to make some potent stuff. Some of which beat a few medical grade drugs." 

Never would have imagined that this is how we'd get him in our house. I hoped it was going to be a nice event after a month of me bringing him food and letting him meet some people and Mary of course. Maybe, like actually walk him inside; not how I ended up having too, carried in my arms with limp barely hearing him breath. At least he is still breathing and safer than he would have been. I just hope this a permanent show of faith. 

"LEWIS HE'S UP" I instantly sprint up the stairs from the kitchen and stick my head in the guest room. "Markus...?" "Hi." He said in a very mink and cautious voice. "I know this isn't the best, but no one knows you are here but us." He just nods with a surprisingly calm look.  He is definitely very uncomfortable, but for now he will have to deal with it.  "Do you remember me?" he nods his head. I'm really surprised he is so responsive. 

"Markus... You are here on your own terms. But until you are fully healed, we really shouldn't let you leave." His pupils dilate a bit. A very obvious sign of some panic. "Your foot is broken, and I found you covered in cuts. When you are ready to talk, I'll will be here. Talk about anything too... Even about Anna. I heard you calling to her in your sleep." Markus looks like he wants to speak or maybe cry. I can't fully tell. "I'm gonna let you rest okay. Anything happens you can give me or Mary a shout. Or just hit your door." 

"I think he'll be okay. Do you think he will? Mary?" "I think he has a damn good shot if he eats and drinks this" It's a bottle of antibacterial. The color is a staunch green that looks very unappetizing.  "I'm sure he will choke it down. When he knows how important it will be." My worry is that he will panic and leave in the night after he takes it. He is a very free spirit; his spirit just happens to fear for the body more than the mind.  

Mary and I are going to bed in an hour our too. We are entirely exhausted from our day. We have so much to prep from. We were going to help Markus either way, but I wish the circumstances were less dire. It would have definitely been better for all of us. But maybe this will help, because honestly this is forcing us to have to get involved in a way that we know would be help him, while also forcing him to learn we are not in any way a harm to him. This might actually be best way for this to work out, effective but sometimes the effective outcome isn't THE best outcome. This shouldn't have turned into such a painful beginning. 

Mary and I just got ready for bed. She's readying a book, and I'm actually reading too. I usually don't read, but it's something I wanted to read. It's a little silly for a man in my late 20's, but it's a book about some of the history of recorded magic. Magic's been disproven for over 200 years now, but there are still massive holes of doubt in its disproving. Which has led to more books covering it, just like the one I have now. Its title is "The Mythical Myth: Magic?", and it has actually been more spear pointed on the subject of are why magic is currently disproven, but the historical records showed dozens on dozens of witnesses of people who have seen, met, knew, and even to the extent of lived with. "The total accounting of all magic events reported before the disproving, is up to 4671." This book was written under a pseudonym, but rarely gives the information source. The most of statistics I have read about so far all seem to be almost alarming on the proving side of the argument.  Apparently, there are even interviews and eyewitness accounts of unexplainable re-creatable acts of the people said to wield magic.

I need to read more. Tomorrow I need to read more, it's absolutely insane, the more I have read the more I believe more that Anna was someone different. Not just different, as she was to everyone, but not like the usual person. I know everything about Anna, and so much of it as a kid seemed almost insane, but I was a kid and as I got older it seemed less obvious. As if Anna stopped doing things as well over the years. I can remember one day when I saw Anna just playing with a squirrel like she was laughing and chatting with it, or the day I fell into the pond a few minutes from the yard, and knew I got bit by something.  You could see me thrashing and Zach yelling for help as I was underneath the water's surface. Zach even remembers it... I think. As young as I we were, I still remember how fast the pulling stopped as Anna yelled "How many times did I tell you two dimwits to stay out of the pond. Who knows.. what is down there?".  The problem was also her reaction because I know she saw me thrashing, but still reacted so calmly. I didn't even have more then a bruise and a cut on my foot, but the pull alone dragged me under the water. Zach was terrified after that for the rest of the day. He never even set foot in the pond ever again, but I... snuck out of the house to look at the pond. Anna was tossing chunks of meat into the pond walking away cranky about a "hateful jackwagon". 

Anyways, just on a understated note. Anna didn't swear. Not even light profanity.