Crowns and Guns.

Tears (part 1)

I sit in silence, next to Kelsey's hospital bed. Her body and nightgown are drenched in sweat, and she is shivering. Dark lines, looking like lightning bolts, are running from her hand and feet, and are spreading fast, almost reaching her shoulder. She twists and turns, and waves her arms, as if she is trying to swat away invisible flies, occasionally sitting up to cough up a mixture of black liquid and red blood. The stump of her missing arm is bandaged up, but I can see black ooze seeping through the bandages.

Commander Warner, Kelsey's father, is pacing back and forth, in front of the bed, while the doctor is injecting another dose of antidote. I can see the wall behind him. It is covered with drawers to store corpses. I always found the layout of the hospital to be very inappropriate. Patients could see the morgue. The place where they would end up if they didn't make it. The commander stops and looks at the doctor.

"Why isn't this working?" He shouts.

The doctor shakes his head. "She lost a lot of blood, her body might not be able to fight the toxins as efficiently. But don't worry, she is in good hands."

The commander kicks the hospital bed. "That's not good enough. I want a guarantee she is going to be alright."

"I can't give you one sir. But we are doing our best."

The commander rushes his hand through his hair, his face red. Kelsey looks up to her dad and faintly smiles. "It's alright Dad. Please calm down."

He shakes his head. "No, Kelsey I won't calm down. I already lost your mother to those god-forsaken elves, I won't lose you too."

Kelsey starts crying. "I am so sorry, Dad." She sobs. "This is all my fault. I am the one who stole the booze, and the guns, and convinced the others to sneak out. May didn't even want to go, she just tagged along because she was worried about us."

I stand up, pulling on the top part of my dress. "Sir," I say. "Can I talk with you alone?"

Kelsey grabs my hand. "Please don't leave me alone."

I squeeze her hand twice. "Don't worry, I'll be right back. I just need a private moment with your Dad. It will only take a minute."

He steps back, out of reach of the hospital bed, and I follow him. He stops in the hallway.

"Sir." I swallow twice. "I take full responsibility for what happened last night. Those recruits were under my supervision, they were my responsibility, I will accept any punishment you demand. But please go easy on the remaining recruits. They have gone through a lot."

Commander Warner places his hand on my upper arm and squeezes. He traces my scar with his index finger. Every inch of my body is telling me to break free from his grasp, as I imagine the large black elven claws wrapping around me. But instead, I take a deep breath and try to hide my discomfort. The commander is already angry with me, no reason to add fuel to that fire.

He suddenly lets go of me and steps back, he stares at me, his mouth wide open, and his eyes blinking rapidly.

"Sir?" I ask, unsure of what to say.

He shakes his head and then stares at me. "Sorry, can we talk about this later? I need to do something urgently." He walks past me, towards the hospital ward's exit.

"Sir," I yell after him. "What is so important? Can it really not wait?"

He turns around and shakes his head. "Sorry, this is too important." And walks out. Just like that.

As he walks out, I see June standing in the corner of the hallway, wearing her grey fleece. The moment she spots me, she comes running towards me. She looks up at me, with her bright blue eyes.