Breathe

Chapter Eight - Wounds

Everybody had already gone home so quietness ruled in the nearly empty hospital. It was just a little after dawn and, for the past three days, Noah had sat beside a water tank where Sam lied unconscious after being beaten up in his sleep. The warrior's hand was wrinkly from holding Sam's under water, but what pained his heart the most was the guilt: it was supposed to be him all bruised and dented, not his dearest friend, he should've heard something, sensed something. What good was being a warrior when he couldn't even defend his home?

Sam's hand started to move, squeezing Noah's, who practically jumped out of his skin, getting pulled back to reality from his dark thoughts. When he looked at the boy his beautiful blue eyes were open, staring at him and a small, pained smile formed in his lips, followed by a confused look as he gazed around the room.

"Hey stranger! It's okay, you're fine!" Noah said removing his hand from the water and looking to the side of the tank. Sam, with a lot of effort, did the same, putting one hand in the glass, where Noah's rested. "You were attacked in my house, I think they were targeting me, well I'm pretty sure after the afternoon we had... Your mother tried to blame me, but Zed didn't believe any of that, he could see I was genuinely worried about you... I'm so sorry Sam..." The warrior's voice was choked by the weight of his guilt and the tears that threatened to well up in his eyes.

"It's not your fault... The only person at fault was the one who assaulted me!" Sam said and the sound resonated to Noah through some weird circles in the tank that made it hearable. "I'll be okay, now it hurts a little but in a couple of days I'll be as good as new!"

"You shouldn't be so cheerful..." Noah dropped his hand, gazing at the floor a dark gloomy aura hovering over him.

With great effort Sam emerged, sitting in the tank and gasping in pain as he did, his hand reached to Noah, raising his head so that their eyes would meet, quickly withdrawing after to support his weight.

"Don't blame yourself, it's counterproductive and you'll just sadden everyone around you! You should smile, that way you can lighten the whole room!" The boy poked seriously, although getting his cheeks a bit flushed.

"You really like to exaggerate things!" Noah said with a small smile blooming in his lips, which made Sam smile too.

A nurse entered the room while they talked, now in a much better mood than before, checking the tubes, not once looking at either of them, which saddened Sam. The people of his village had been brainwashed, not even after the attack they saw the truth.

"Are you feeling well Sam? Do you feel any acute pain?" She finally asked when she realized that she couldn't ignore him any longer without it having possible repercussions on her job.

"No, only when I move too much, but nothing excruciating." The boy answered daily, laying back on the tank. The woman nodded in acknowledgement and made some last adjustments, taking her leave after, leaving both boys behind to go back to their little bubble of happiness, it was just so much better with the two of them.

---

Both Ava's conversation with Decim's mother and then with Jerry made her conclude what she already knew deep down: she did not belong there, even though she wanted to. Decim, Lavinia, James and even Nona had been very welcoming and made her feel like she was part of the family and part of their tribe, but she wasn't and she never could be. She was there to gather knowledge, not become one of them and, now that she realized that, everything would be easier.

That made her feel more alone though. She also missed her father and friends a lot, which didn't help. Basically, she was lonely even if she spent most of her time surrounded by people. Ava, Lavinia and Decim were all still friends but she was noticing more and more their inside jokes, their secret smiles and jibes that she just didn't get; it was those little things that hurt more and made her miss home the most.