Meet me on the battlefield

Chapter 4

Bolt turned his head, to see what Ocha was seeing. Nothing. There was nothing there, except for trees, shadows and bushes. Confused, he looked back at Ocha, still staring.

"Ocha there's nothing there."

She didn't say anything. But she had seen something that he had missed.
She saw a black thing come out from behind Bolt. The thing looked at her, it was bloody and scarred with wounds. It came a little closer, and she saw that it looked like her. Almost identical, only black, shadowy and horrifying to look at. It gave her a crooked smile, at the same time Bolt turned around to look. The shadow crept around him, staying out of his sight, and grabbed Ocha's throat, clenching it with a strong grip. It seemed to reach down inside her and take something out. When Bolt turned back, the creature quickly hid under the ground, gone from sight. It left a gushing wound on Ocha's neck. Bolt jumped up in shock.

"What happened to your neck!?"

He scooped her up, while she was trying to put pressure on her wound. She was in agonising pain, but she couldn't say anything at all. He carried her for what seemed like hours until they saw the village up ahead. Bolt sighed with relief and started heading over there. As soon as he got to the village, he searched for a doctor or hospital. One woman, around the age of 20, found them and told them to follow her. They arrived at a small hut and inside was a surgeon's bed. He placed Ocha down and the woman started examining it. She put a gauge on it and started putting something wet into it. Iodine, he guessed.

"How did this happen? This wound, it's so deep it almost goes straight through."

"I'm not sure," Bolt replied anxiously. "We were in the woods, and I turned my back, and next thing I know, she's bleeding, like crazy!"

"I'm going to need you to go into the waiting room. I will do the best I can. She should be ok; you brought her in before she had lost too much blood. But she would be in excruciating pain, and the pain might just kill her."
The woman pointed to a door, and he went inside. It was a small room, with rows of chairs, a reception desk, and a water tank. He slouched down onto a chair, thinking about Tusta, his father, the song that he hated so much, and Ocha's neck. Before he realised, he had fallen asleep, dreaming about what life would be like if nothing bad ever happened. For sure his father would still be alive, he and Ocha would live together, happily, and he would be free from all the stress he had in his life. Then, peaceful darkness overcame him, and he fell into a deep and calm sleep.