RE:WRITE

58.0 Grayscale_Chapter 18: Mud

"Wake up dear." Someone shook me awake.

I groggily rubbed the sleep out of my eyes. The world slowly swam into view, wobbles and waves stilling as the ripples of unconsciousness died out.

Where am I? I thought. Damn it! I shot up ramrod straight. The Goddess. Runir. The smoke. Kai. Where –

"A lively one, aren't you?"

I turned to face the voice, and saw a kindly old lady looking at me with an affectionate smile. Her apron was splotched with grease, and her oaken hands were full of calluses accumulated over decades of work.

"Where am I?" I asked aloud this time. "What happened..." I rubbed my forehead as a sharp pain shot through my skull.

"Careful, dear," said the old lady. "You were hurt very badly when I found you. Worse still, you were mumbling in your sleep. Nightmares, I reckon." She waved her spoon at me. "That's what you get for swimming in the swamps, dearie. Full of nasty things, that swamp."

Huh?

"Been telling them to drain it for years," she continued prattling. "But they say the evil spirits will escape. Flummery, I say. Scared themselves, those government pennies. One egg or two, dear?"

"Huh?" I voiced, staring at the bleached bones holding up the old lady's hair.

"For breakfast, dear. One egg or two?" she repeated.

"Ah, one's fine," I replied, completely caught up in her pace.

"No, no, that won't do dearie. You're young, you need your energy. Besides, you're recovering, you need the protein. Listen to Granny Nipa and you'll be back on your feet in no time," she said as she cracked two eggs over a frying pan, lit her stove with a spark-stone, and began frying two eggs.

As Granny Nipa bustled around behind the kitchen counter, I looked around the room. It was a cozy little room, with knitted sweaters hanging over the couch, and photographs framed and placed on top of the shelves.

"Did you find anyone else at the swamp?" I said, thinking quickly. Runir being the Demon Lord complicated things, but I still wanted to know where my friends were.

"Sorry dearie, seems only you were silly enough to jump into the rapids," she said, speaking over the crackling sounds coming from the pan.

Shit, so now I'm lost too, I thought, as I inspected my body. Everything seemed to be in place, although there were some nasty bruises on my stomach.

Maybe it's for the better, I thought, spitefully. Runir was the Demon Lord. The fucking Demon Lord! God, I feel so stupid.

I picked up one of the photographs on the shelf. A younger Granny Nipa greeted me with a warm smile, a little girl shyly burying her face in her clothes. Must have been her granddaughter.

Amy and Kai were no better, damn it. They obviously knew what he was, but they never told me! Hell, they could have at least told me to watch out for Runir. What if he'd stabbed me in the back to get rid of me?

I picked up another picture; this time the little girl's face was visible, although her eyes were hidden by her long, navy blue hair.

Damn it, why did he have to be the Demon Lord? Tears trickled down my cheeks. It's unfair, damn it! Why me? Why is it always me? First Rusty, and now Runir; why is everyone I love, always a fucking traitor?

"Breakfast's ready dear, come wash your hands!" Granny Nipa called.

"Coming!" I said, wiping the tears off my face and replacing the photo on the shelf.