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My mind was fuzzy as the outlines of people hurried around me. I shivered in Wren's arms when a cool breeze hit, the scent of sea salt burning the inside of my nose. We had been hauled onto the vessel that was suspended over us. From what I could see, there were several upper layers to the boat. Strung up on the highest point possible was a black flag with the emblem of a golden crown engulfed in flames.
The rebels.
There was a large number of people on board, all on different levels, shouting and running around. Adara, Calix, and Ragan stood next to us. I had never seen Ragan so rigid. It made sense. She wanted nothing to do with these people. I didn't know why, but I wasn't sure it mattered. We were safe from Lord Tanmos and that was the only thing that mattered to me.
Well, also that I would eventually be able to hold myself up again.
Of the many people buzzing around on the main deck, only two of them stood out to me. One boy, one girl. They were both dressed in clean grey tunics with loose, matching pants. Their attire was almost the complete opposite of those around them. Everyone else's clothes were worn or tattered and not uniform, resembling more of what I expected the rebels to look like.
The two in the grey uniforms caught sight of our battered crew and began their way over. As they approached, I noticed their gazes fixed upon me. The girl loomed over me, the sunlight above making her features indistinct.
"Is she going to be alright?" I heard Wren's voice above me.
The boy next to his companion responded. "We'll do the best we can. Right now, it would please the captain to have you settled below deck. If you and your friends will follow me."
Suddenly, we were moving. Wren grumbled something about my weight under his breath, and I fought the urge to slap him. Not that I could've anyway.
The pair led us across the deck and to a large metal door that I assumed led to the first level of the ship. The door was tugged open by a burly man standing guard. A cool breeze blew my hair back from my face. Wren hugged me closer to his chest as he followed our guides into a dim lit hall that stretched across the length of the vessel. It was cramped inside, only allowing me to see the back of Adara's head as we made our way through. We stopped near the end of the hall in front of a door with a sign that read 'Clinic' on it. Oh.
"Please, come in and make yourselves at home," said the girl. She had wavy brown hair that fell just below her shoulders and bright royal blue eyes. She looked young, around mid-twenties if I had to guess.
We were ushered into the room. It was bigger than I expected, due to the fact that we were on a boat. There were chairs set up on one side of the room next to a closet that I assumed contained medical supplies. In the center of the room, was a medical table. Wren carried me over to the bed and lightly laid me on it before moving to sit in the last unoccupied chair.
Everything hurt. I was certain Maddox had shattered all the bones in my toes and fingers. My left shoulder burned as did my nose. I could feel the dried blood on my face from where the Esthin man had broken my nose.
"Ember, you look like crap," Ragan called from somewhere in the room.
I opened my mouth to respond, but all that came out was a gurgled groan.
"Sound like it too," she snickered.
I rolled my eyes. I hadn't even noticed that the two in the grey tunics had left the room until I heard the door latch back open. Soon, they were both standing over me. The boy had a syringe in his hand.
His partner placed a light hand on my good shoulder. "Ember, my name is Gemma. This is Calloway," she introduced as she motioned between her and the boy. "We're going to inject a sedative so that you won't be in as much pain when we mold your bones back together."
I gave a slight nod, knowing there wasn't much I could do. With that, Calloway sunk the syringe into my arm. I watched as he pushed the sedative into my body, hoping that this wasn't a trick and that they weren't injecting poison into me. That was the last thing I needed. Maybe I was acting paranoid, but my level of trust in people had crashed through the floor in the past twenty-four hours.
My eyes became heavy, signaling that the sedatives had kicked in. All of my fears and worries faded into nothing as darkness consumed me.
YOU ARE READING
Chasing Embers | 1
Fantasy"She was the spark of the revolution, and chasing embers is impossible once the fire begins to burn." - For all of her life, Ember Matthew's horizons had consisted of the North Pacific and the skyline of West Seattle, but she had always craved more...
