Manifest: A Shattered Future

Episode Two: The Girl Stolen from the Past

Episode Two: The Girl Stolen from the Past

A cool breeze swept through the street and carried the scent of blossoming flowers. Though he had almost reached his destination, Romulo smiled and leaned over to smell a rose in a nearby garden. But when he tilted his head, some strands of his auburn hair fell upon the wet dirt. He straightened out his back and looked around, hoping that no one had seen his blunder. But when he saw Altair standing just outside the infirmary with a disapproving stare, Romulo chuckled and shook his head. 

"It's a beautiful day to stop and smell the roses, wouldn't ya know?" Romulo said to his friend.

But Altair simply shook his head and pulled his glasses off his face. He briefly wiped them with the edge of his gray shirt, returned them to his face, and answered, "Shouldn't you take this more seriously? We still haven't found that conjurer from last night. His monoliths are totally recharged by now. He could attack again as soon as he wants."

Even as he approached from a distance, Romulo could see light wounds and gashes on Altair's dark skin. Trying to stifle his optimism, Romulo remarked, "We just have to wait for news to come in. No way we can patrol everywhere. Speaking of which... what brings you to the infirmary?"

"They woke me up early. They asked me to rig up something for some patient they've got in there. Some energetic girl's missing a leg, so I fashioned her something. To be honest, it's no better than a plunger, but I don't have time to come up with anything else," Altair explained.

"Funny you should say that, she's actually the one I came here to see! Did you get a chance to talk much to her?" asked Romulo.

"Of course I didn't; you know me better than that. I helped her affix the seal to her stump, told her how to screw in the pegleg, and left it at that. My time's better spent on strategizing, anyway."

"It's a shame you didn't get to talking, 'cause you both have a missing memory in common. She's got no clue who she is or how she wound up here," Romulo remarked.

Altair chuckled and teased, "That is completely different. I probably lost my memory as a battle injury. She's just forgetful!"

Romulo shook his head with a quiet laugh before stepping inside. But to his dismay, when he entered the infirmary he saw that it was filled with overworked medics and wounded patients – including both conjurers and civilians. Because Elena had comparatively light injuries, Romulo knew the medics would relocate her to a back room so as not to take up space. Romulo poked his head into several back rooms until eventually he found her sitting on a white cot, playfully fumbling with a pair of monoliths.

"Heh, you should be careful with those! You wouldn't want to manifest something here by mistake. Where'd you find those things anyway?" asked Romulo.

Elena giggled and answered, "I had them with me when I washed ashore! There was kind of a lot going on, so I didn't really notice until after I got here. They look just like the ones you used to fight that guy on the beach! I even found a few spell cards with me. I hope this doesn't sound crazy, but I kinda had a dream about it... using them, I mean. Like I manifested a sorcerer to help me fight."

"That's... fascinating. I didn't realize when I saved you that you were a conjurer just like me! That's what that was, right? A memory from your life before?" Romulo wondered.

But Elena shook her head nervously and explained, "I don't think it was real. I mean it felt real. It felt like I had just lived it days ago, but the world wasn't anything like this. There were cars, and a lab, people shuffling into tall buildings. It didn't look anything like this. And besides, I didn't bring out my sorcerer for war. It was like a game with a friend. We were practicing. We didn't want to hurt each other or anyone else. We played a long game and then went out for fast food. A fried chicken sandwich. That doesn't sound like anything I've seen here."