The Angel of Death

Chapter Two

Chapter Two

I reached the infirmary quicker than I thought I would. It was slow, only a few of the beds occupied when I walked in. One of Will's siblings who I didn't recognise was bent over a younger camper with dark skin and dreadlocks, muttering about blunting training swords.

"Hey," I said "do you know if Will's in right now?" They jumped, spinning around to face me. "Uh, who're you?" They asked, confused eyes sweeping me, probably checking for life-threatening injuries. I smiled.

"I'm Nico," I told them, and their eyes widened briefly before their mouth curved up in a smile. "Just wait here," they said, holding out a hand to demonstrate. "He's in the back, I'll go get him."

They rushed off, and I stood, slightly awkward, in the middle of the infirmary, trying not to look any of the other campers in the eye. A few seconds later, Will came hurrying around the corner, slightly out of breath, his sibling following a few steps behind him, smirking.

"Nico!" Will said, smiling. "You're back! It's been so long!" He came up and hugged me gently, having to lean down a little, as he was about a head taller than me now. I blinked in surprise before curving my arms over his back, just as gently.

"Yeah, I am. Maybe for good this time," Will pulled back in surprise.

"That's great news! Everything went well with your dad, then?" I nodded, smiling. He smiled back. Then his expression shifted to one of concern, very suddenly, and he stepped back to look me up and down frantically. "Are you injured? Why are you here?"

I laughed. "No, no, I'm fine. I just wanted to stop by." I hesitated for a second. "But I may also be injured." Will sighed heavily, rolling his eyes but smiling all the same. "I knew it. You only ever come in here when you're hurt."

"It's literally the infirmary, Will." He waved my statement away.

"That's not relevant. Let me get my stuff, and we can go back to your cabin?" I nodded, grateful and surprised that he had remembered how much I hated being treated in the infirmary. I always felt like I was on display.

Will disappeared into the back rooms, emerging with a cloth first-aid bag in his hands. I followed him out of the building, and let him lead the way to my cabin.

"You've changed," he said after a few moments. I shrugged. "Well, it has been a while. You've changed too." I looked closer at him. "Actually, no, you haven't. You're just taller now." He laughed.

"You look good, though," he hummed. "Happier." I didn't reply, not really knowing what to say. That was an odd thing to notice about someone.

                                                                                        ...↞⇹↠...

We reached my cabin, and I pushed the door open, closing it after Will. I walked over to my bed and sat before I noticed he hadn't followed. He had stayed by the door, watching as I made my way across the room.

"Is it your leg?" He asked. "You're limping." I blinked in surprise, nodding. "Yeah, actually. My ankle." He nodded, coming to kneel at the edge of the bed where I had stretched my right leg out. I used my other foot to toe my shoe off. I wasn't wearing a sock, but rather my foot and ankle were wrapped thickly with white bandage stained reddish in some places.

Will gently rolled my pant leg up, chewing on his lip. He prodded carefully at my ankle, and I hissed when he pushed on a sore spot. He hummed in the back of his throat, reaching for his medical kit. "So, tell me about the last while. Obviously you've been around a bit?"

He was using a tactic whenever he had to treat something he thought would be particularly gruesome or painful, to distract the patient. But he also sounded like he genuinely wanted to know. I sighed, humming.