Stay True

Chapter 6

How...why...what is happening?!? Clara could not think. She could not breathe. Time stretched and then snapped. She fell hard, but she could breathe again. She reveled in the feeling before opening her eyes. She saw Mouse on the floor beside her, Colin sitting up and staring at her, and Marcus...was breathing? How? He died...

Colin stood up so quickly it made Clara feel dizzy to watch. Her head spun and she closed her eyes and put a hand to her head. She felt Colin's hand on her arm, urging her up. Clara stood as best she could, but a fierce headache had taken up residence behind her eyes, and she kept one hand pressed to her forehead as the other helped her steady herself.

Now that Clara was upright, her head pulsed and throbbed. She swayed for a moment as she took in the scene. Mouse was still lying on the ground, unconscious. Marcus was still breathing, and his breathing had steadied enough that it seemed as though he was asleep.

"Colin?" Clara rasped. The hand that was holding her head dropped to her throat. She coughed, wiped her mouth. Her hand came away red with blood. "Oh...oh!" Clara fell to the ground again. Colin frantically tried to help her, but there was nothing to be done. Clara pushed him away as she coughed again. Soon the floor was spattered with blood.

Eventually, she felt ready to talk again. Colin's murmured words of encouragement that Clara suspected as spells helped her regain her speech and fill the void that it felt her mind had become. Her voice was still rough and scratched, but she did her best to convey her thoughts. "Colin...what happened?"

He shook his head. "I'm not sure. With all of your coughing and such, I was unable to examine Marcus or Mouse, although I have my suspicions..."

Talking became too much of an effort. Resting her bloodied hands on her knees, Clara questioned Colin with her mind, which had returned with surprising strength.

Are they both alive? Clara asked. When Colin started to give her an answer, Clara shook her head quickly, sending another wave of dizziness through her. No, I know, I know. You have no idea. I meant for you to check.

"Oh," Colin said. He went over to Mouse first and checked for a pulse. After a few seconds of feeling around Mouse's wrist, Colin said, "He's alive. Just barely, but he's alive."

Clara sighed with relief. Unfortunately, her sigh sent her lungs into frenzy again, and she had another coughing fit. She waved off Colin's attempts to help her and instructed him mentally to check on Marcus.

Colin was a lot quicker with Marcus. "His heart is strong," Colin said, disbelieving. Colin double-checked that Marcus had a pulse not only in his neck but also in his wrist. "He's definitely alive." Colin's voice was full of wonder and he started murmuring to himself. "How is that even possible...he was most certainly dead...and now Clara's like this...and Mouse is alive too...but how? Even if he was a...he should have died...a life for a life..."

Clara could make neither head nor tails of this, so she decided to focus on not being that "life for a life" and continue breathing. But soon enough, she decided she had to know.

Colin? It was still too much effort to talk.

"Yes, Clara, what is it? Can you speak?" Colin asked, his voice full of concern. Clara glared at him. He knew her well enough that he should have know that if she had been able to speak, she most definitely would have been. Colin's interest was quelled.

What is wrong with them? And what were you talking about? I could not make it out.

Colin had to try to remember to answer aloud. It was almost like having someone whisper something in your ear and expect you to answer completely out loud, to the whole world, and even though no one was listening Colin did not want to be heard.