Amusements; or, a Winter Novel

Chapter 7 - Selfish Machines

Chapter 7 - Selfish Machines

"Oh my God!" Willow cried out. "Hunter! Hunter!!!"

"What?!" asked Hunter.

"John is on the floor!" Willow exclaimed. "He's bleeding!"

"What?!!" Hunter exclaimed.

Then they both went down the stairs in a hurry.

"Yo!" Gus said. "John's bleeding!"

"Should we call an ambulance?" Amity asked.

"Is he even still alive?" Luz asked. "That's the real question here."

"Ok, I'm going to flip him over." Gus said. "Ok? 3,2,1, go!"

"Oh my God." Willow said.

"Eh, he'll make it. Just a couple of cracked ribs, no big deal. Nothing Willow can't fix." Gus said.

"Are you this stupid?" asked Luz. "Somebody could die from that height."

"But I think Gus is right." Willow said. "With a bit of help, I might be able to save him."

Then they took my body over to the house and in Willow's herb room.

"Ok, it's been 3 hours, but he should be ok." Willow said. "Luz, go wake him up."

"Got it." Luz said.

Then I saw some form of shining light and the hottest feeling on my skin, and that's when I woke up.

"*retches on a nearby bucket* Oh, oh god.' I said.

Then I vomited on a bucket close to me.

"Yeah, that's what I told you would happen." Willow said.

"But it worked!" Luz said. "Nothing like my sun spell would do the trick."

"Ugh," I said in an emesis stage: "what happened. August, why am I here, and what happened?"

"Well," Gus said: "Willow found you on the grass from the second-floor window, and we tried to wake you up but you wouldn't budge. So I flipped you over only to find that you had broken ribs protruding out your skin, glass shards all over your body and face, and worst of all, the top of a gnome statue piercing your stomach and thigh."

"Oh, so that's why my leg's killin' me." I said.

"It took us hours," Gus said: "but we took out the glass shards and the gnome, we fixed your rib problem, and Willow says that while you might still vomit blood for quite some time, you'll make it. Honestly, you should be glad that you're still with us and didn't bleed out because a gnome statue pierced your side."

"Oh, wow." I said. "Damn. Hey, Hunter. Does this mean that I now owe you one, or does this make us even?"

"Nope, it means we still owe you one." Hunter said. "After you saved my wife and helped me bring her the gardening stuff, we still owe you one."

"Oh, then I guess I'll make it even." I said. "By, how about this? Anytime you come to the Rat's Coffeeshop, at night, when it's supposed to be closed, all drinks and food are on me?"

Then a few days passed.

"Hey Rodrigo! Donnie! I got an order for 3 deep-fried mozzarella sticks and a coffee shake!" I said in the back.

"One coffee shake and 3 deep-fried mozzarella sticks, coming up!" said Rodrigo.

After that whole mishap, let's just say I unintentionally made some new friends.

Anytime they would come at night, I would teleport using my magic from my house to the coffeehouse in order to treat them. Drinks are on me.

I even introduced them to my cat, Kuma, whom they adored with sincerity.

You know, I never thought that there would be others like me out there: people who escaped the Boiling Isles, escaped Belos and the Collector, and made it out alive. As well as being, well, quite frankly, weirdoes like me.

My family is long gone, but I got a sort of pseudo-one right here.

For the first time in my life, I feel belonged.

And honestly? I wouldn't take anything from it.