The Element Keepers

Chapter 4 Recovery

(Author's note: The following chapter contains tragic and gorey imagery. It begins during a flashback. Reader discretion is advised.)

Seth sighed and leaned against the wall of the hollow of the tree. He glanced at Eric's motionless body, his wounds treated and wrapped in bandages. It had been two days since they were attacked by the demon children and the red haired teen remained unmoving. He was battered horribly, even worse than the blonde initially thought. Broken bones, opened wounds, and bruises littered his body. But at least he was alive.

After the battle, the blonde half carried, half dragged his unconscious friend back to the forest. There was a large tree with a hollowed out base that acted as shelter. The two had stumbled upon it when they were younger and called it their secret base. It had vines at the entrance that camouflaged it perfectly. It was the first place he could think of where they could hide and recover.

The nearest town was a three day trip on foot. With no means of transportation, Seth had to make due with the supplies they had on them. He was grateful to their master for insisting on giving them medical supplies before sending them home. He didn't think it was necessary at the time, but was glad their master wouldn't take no for an answer.

Seth sighed again and closed his eyes. He thought about the battle against the inhuman twins. The more he thought about it, the stranger it seemed. First, who were they? Or even more so, what were they? They were not human from the strength and ability they showed. Why were they in Cerna? Did they have something to do with its destruction? Why did the children attack them?

Not finding answers to those questions, he thought about his battle. Where did the vines that wrapped around the foot of the child come from? The dirt streets were compacted from years of traffic, making it impossible for any vegetation to grow on it. Also, he hadn't noticed any greenery on the streets, not so much as a weed. Even if something had managed to grow, the demon would have just stepped on it without any consequence. That was the strange thing about it. The vines were wrapped around its foot. It was as though they had grown for the purpose of halting its movements. But it's impossible for plants to grow so quickly. And for them to grow after thinking that he could defeat the child if he could just stop it from moving, was a strange coincidence.

Seth's thoughts then shifted to the fireball that consumed the second child. All evidence pointed to the attack coming from Eric's hand. But... People can't control fire. For all the years he knew him, his friend never displayed such abilities before.

Another bizarre event was how their wounds were healing. Even the shallowest of scrapes require a few days to fully heal. Yet somehow, Seth noticed his and Eric's less serious wounds had healed in one day. Neither of them showed such healing abilities before. Maybe they healed a bit faster than the average person, but nothing to this extent.

Seth shook his head. None of it made sense. The more he tried to reason it out, the more it confused him. Suddenly, he heard a groan of pain and movement across from him. The blonde snapped his head up and looked at his friend who was slowly coming to.

A feeling of relief washed over him as Seth watched his friend get up carefully, seeing him flinch a bit at the pain that most likely followed. Eric held his head in his hand before muttering to himself. "What happened...?"

"That... I'm not too sure myself," Seth responded, a slight frown on his face. No matter how many times he thought about the events, only more questions remained. Eric looked at the blonde, then dropped his gaze and sighed.

"At least we're both okay," muttered Eric, confusion still evident on his features.

Seth nodded slowly. It was true that they had that to be thankful for, even if they didn't understand how. "How are you feeling?" The blonde asked as he handed his friend a canteen of water.