Eight Intertwined

143 - Wounded

Alfyn's mind remained a constant haze as he moved through the Rivira Woods toward Miguel. He was desperate to calm the screaming inside of his own head, but it was far easier said than done. Alfyn wanted to make this right, but there was only one way to do that... And Alfyn was surprisingly alright with it. He hated that more than anything if he was being honest. 

If Alfyn was to stop Miguel and save the child he had taken hostage, then he would likely have to kill his own patient. If Miguel was as dangerous as the others in the town claimed, then this was bound to come down to a battle of who was the superior fighter, and Alfyn really hated having to admit it. He hadn't liked the idea of having to kill Vanessa back in Goldshore even if he had grappled with the concept for ages. Now though... There was no way for him to get away from this without killing Miguel. It was an instinct in the pit of his stomach that refused to leave him alone, and Alfyn was desperate to get away from it even if only for a while. 

It was almost frightening just how calm he was about all of this. Even though he had wanted so desperately to believe in the goodness of his patient even to the point of lying to himself, he wasn't surprised by what had happened in the slightest. Alfyn hated that all it had taken was Ogen aiming a few harsh words in his direction for everything to fall apart in his mind. He didn't think his convictions had ever felt quite this weak before. He knew what he had to do, but that didn't mean he liked it. This went against his creed as an apothecary. 

But hadn't he already broken that creed time and time again? Alfyn had helped killers to heal after they had taken the lives of others. There were truly miserable people in the world who had been killed over the course of the travelers' journey, and Alfyn... He couldn't say confidently that he would have saved their lives if he had been given the option. It went against everything he had ever been taught, but he found himself thinking it treacherously and horribly regardless. Ogen would hate Alfyn for everything he had done and would do, and that bothered Alfyn far more than it had any right to. 

The other travelers were navigating through the trees behind Alfyn, but the apothecary didn't notice them anywhere near as much as he should have. His heart was screaming in his ears, and as much as he wanted to look over his shoulder and try to reassure them that everything would be alright, he just couldn't do it. He knew what they were rushing into, and he was sure already of how it was going to end. He was watching a massive explosion, but all he could do was stare rather than do something to stop it. Miguel had made his choice, and at this point, Alfyn had to be the one to douse the flames after the fact instead of move to prevent the fire entirely. He was too late to keep anyone from getting hurt, so his only option was to mitigate the damage that monster did to others. 

Blood. 

Alfyn paused for half a second at the smell of blood, and he glanced down to see a small splatter of red on the grass just in front of his left shoe. He had to wonder if Miguel had reopened his injuries when he was running with Timothy through the trees... But if Alfyn had patched him up as well as he knew he had, then that wouldn't have been possible. Alfyn had worked quickly and well enough to ensure Miguel was able to get back on his feet very soon after the final surgery ended. The blood must have come from someone else... Miguel wouldn't risk reopening one of his injuries after all the work and trouble he had gone to in order to see them healed in the first place. 

Alfyn really hoped he was wrong, but he already knew he wouldn't be. 

The woods opened up into a clearing a short distance ahead, and Alfyn saw Miguel facing away from him and looking down at an indistinct shadow on the ground. Alfyn knew he should have tried to take advantage of the element of surprise to fight back, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. His rage boiled over, and it manifested itself as a simple screamed word. "Miguel!"