Broken

Chapter 8

I couldn't say that I was surprised to see the subway tunnel filled with flood lights and dozens of people when we finally left the instance. Though I did feel overwhelmed by it all. It was almost surreal to be part of the 'real world' again, even if we had only been out of it for about two days. Seeing people in suits and uniforms, talking on phones, and holding steaming tumblers of coffee just felt so off somehow.

I was barely conscious when the seven of us were swarmed with a mixture of first responders and Association officers. There were questions abound, of course, but it was even more evident that we all needed immediate medical care. As the portal to the instance faded out behind us, and the tunnel was now solely lit by the spot lights, we were all rushed for the nearest topside exit where emergency medic tents were set up.

"I need to call my mom." the teenager wept to my left. She had held up quite well until we were hit with the first blue sky we'd seen in what felt like an age. Then she broke down; the medic escorting her tightened the blanket around her shoulders.

"I am sure that she's already here." comforted a woman in uniform, rubbing the teen's shoulders over the woolen blanket. "There have been plenty of civilians looking for their loved ones, Hon. Someone will track yours down for you, I promise."

She wasn't lying. Sealed instances always attracted a crowd of Association agents and reporters, but a sealed portal with a train full of civilians locked inside had really attracted a crowd. The association had cordoned off a parking lot out here, filled with tents and black government vans, agents and medics. But beyond the yellow tape and geared up security, were the crowd of looky-loos and distraught families. Men, women, and children hoping that their family member had been one of the incredible few that had made it out alive.

A memory of a young couple cooing over their baby briefly flashed in my mind, and I winced. Death in instances were common, but the loss of civilians was a cruelty I had little experience with, and it weighed heavily on my heart. That poor woman who'd lost her family at the start of the instance was now gone as well, having died during the time the twins and I had been dealing with the Cryst-Canis. I didn't know if it was a sort of kindness for her, that she did not have to go on without that adorable baby and her lover, but I did know that somewhere, out in that crowd, was the rest of their family. They had lost three loved ones in this...

Suddenly, even before a healer, I desperately wanted to see Yejun. 

Once we got to the medical tents we were all separated. It was almost cute how the twins didn't want to leave my side, but I managed to convince them to go, by reminding them that no 'brother' would want to see their 'sister' topless during a medical exam. I was reluctant to play into their silly need for this odd role play, but it did seem to cheer them up and they left; Eric planting a quick kiss to my forehead for good measure, causing me to swat at him. It made the boys chuckle, but given the state of my poor broken and bruised body, wasn't the smartest idea, and I yelped as my obviously broken bones ground together.

I know that life and death incidents can make for some strange human interactions... but who the heck 'adopts' a random woman into their strange family after only a couple days. Heck, given their insistence on calling me 'Lucky Charm', I wasn't completely convinced that they even really knew my name.

After that, the kind nurse shooed them out of the tent and into the care of other medics near by.

"Aoife!" A strangled call came, about fifteen minutes after my nurse had left. I was wrapped up like a mummy and told to 'hang tight' as I waited for the Association healer to come and see me.

I felt myself grin for the first time in a long while as a very disheveled Yejun burst into the tent. The man who had escorted him gave me a curt nod before exiting to give us some privacy. Outside I could see several other bedraggled people being lead though the forest of tents, likely being taken to the other survivors.