DESOLATION

2, Tesia S - How?

Stace,” Tesia’s voice echoes off of the cold walls of the cave they have made their home in these trying times, she's only been a part of the group for a week now but feels ever so close to all the members. Her grimy tennis shoes squeak on the hard damp moss coating the ground like a blanket, hanging vines producing light from the glowing fruit they bear. A glossy sheen of moistness coats the walls as a faint yellow light shines on them. She walks in the dimness of the cave, body trembling with nerves.

She calls out to stace again, her voice traveling farther down into a hall, a groaning sound echoing back to her. She stops dead in her tracks, a chill running down her spine. “Stace?” She calls out wearily, running toward the sound as it grows louder and more pained, a foul smell tainting the air. Tesia feels her heart pounding in her chest as she continues on, an uneasiness settling in her stomach and making her feel sick down to the marrow of her bones. 

As she gets to the opening of wilo’s quarters, bandages and black beds strewn all over, the room a mess. A ginger headed male rolls in pain in the middle of the floor, a pink mist wafting from his body. He groans in pain, making animalistic growling sounds, his back turned to tesia, her body now frozen in fear. She stares at stace with tears in her eyes, her body numb with fear as he halts all motion, slowly turning to her, his eyes a cold white. His arms limp and bent out of shape, pieces of flesh fall off of his face, dark blood dripping from the deep gashes there. 

. . . . . .

“Stilez!” Stace holds onto my shoulders gently, a panicked look in his eyes, “Oh, you scared me half to death Tes. I heard you shouting my name in here so I got worried, glad you're okay though.” He smiles at me sweetly, the edges of his green eyes crinkling. I push down the fear that's trying to kick through my throat and bubble through my mouth, not wanting to worry him further. I’ve had this dream a lot over the course of meeting the group, stace turning and ripping me to shreds. None of know what causes turning, seara sometimes sits and mumbles to herself about it, staring into space.

Stace’s face turns to concern when I take too log to respond, his lip curling in confusion.

“Why are you looking at me like I did something terrible?” He says softly, an edge of pain in his voice. I raise my knees to my chest and look at him and smile, “I dunno, maybe youve just got a little bit of breakfast on your face.” I answer him, cursing at myself mentally to work more on not letting secret feelings ink through, I cant be thin paper. 

Stace nods just as we hear footsteps walking more panicked than we’ve heard since Seara got her ears damaged. We both rush out of wilo’s room quickly, I try to as quickly as stace but my ankle still hurts from spraining it the other day. I limp my way out after Stace, his body rigid in front of me. I push past him and see what made him stop, a blonde male with a deep wound in his shoulder, the skin there seeming to already be rotting. I stare in horror, my body just as stiff as stace’s next to me.

Lauren says something but I cant focus on her words, something about this newcomer seems off, my mind races. I try to brush away the feeling of horror from my throat, thick and slimy as I stare at wilo checking the males pulse. I feel someone grab my elbow which jolts me back to life, my gaze setting on seara, her face serious but kind. I let her guide me to the tabel, sitting down and bringing my gaze to the male again, quincy and stace carrying him behind wilo. 

Seara looks at me in concern, “He got attacked by one of those things…” she says, her voice barely above a whisper. She sounds shaken up, so I look up to her, a tear falling down her cheek. She looks guilty, “I could’ve probably stopped it from getting him if I had shot the arrow instead of just staring at it, It was like I couldn't move, like I was paralyzed.” Her voice is shaky, more tears falling down her face. 

“I dont think you couldve stopped that thing from doing that to him, its not your fault Sea.” I stand up, holding her gently and rubbing her back. She used to be the best soldier in our village, swinging from treetops and having fun with it. Her crossbow slung to her shoulder, a wide smile always adorning her face, but now she just looks serious and tired all the time. It makes me sad seeing Seara in such a sad state, she no longer holds the bravery and confidence of the person I once knew.

She sobs into my shoulder, lauren running up to me and sighing, “Wilo needs you two, she needs all the help she can get in there. Also, Seara, you did great out there, dont beat yourself up. Your still the great warrior of the jungle here even if this isnt Vira.” She walks away back to the direction she came, seara letting go of me and wiping her face clear of tears and snot. I look at her, smiling, “You should feel really proud of yourself, its not everyday Laur compliments someone like that.” Seara lets out a snotty laugh, smiling at me and walking towards wilo’s room, the healer room.

As I follow behind I’m hit with a wave of nausea as I smell something thats similar to rotten flesh. I put a hand over my nose, closing my eyes and breathing in and out to get rid of the feeling, carrying on. Going even further, the hall lit by the glow berrys and glowing lichen, a pale pink mist drifts from wilo’s room, a sense of unease hitting me in the gut. As I walk into the healing room something in my mind goes off blaring danger signs, my eyes setting on the male, still passed out, his shoulder a dark purple color, no longer torn apart. My eyes widen in fear, the feeling of fear making my knees weak.

The others look at the male with a similar look, confusion etched into wilos face instead of horror. She grabs a potion of healing, pouring some on the wounds, a hissing sound blares through the room loudly. She puts the healing down and picks up a harming, pouring some on his shoulder, the dark purple turning into an almost human pink. She nods like she does when she finds something new out, putting the potion down and feeling the males forehead. Her eyes widen in shock as she mumbles something in the empty room, the words echoing off of the walls.

“How is he not dead right now.”