Warden's Fantasy Shorts

Holy shit, you are lost

The prompt is bolded.

-----------------------------------------------------------

     "How are you here?" The boy before her flinched at the gruffness of her voice.

     "I-I got lost."

     "How does one get so lost that they–" Emma paused and coughed, spitting up a mouthful of blood that she tried to hide from the child before her. "How did you end up between worlds? 'Cause I mean, there's lost, then there's ending up here."

"I don't know," the child said as Emma adjusted her grip on the wound in her side. "I got lost in the woods while playing hide and seek, and then I found this little house and knocked on the door. Then I ended up here."

Emma hacked up another mouthful of blood, then sat down when she began to get dizzy. "what did the house look like?" she asked, staring at the child.

"Um," the child startled at her intensity. "It was small, made of stone–"

"Log framing?" Emma demanded. The child nodded.

Emma tried to lurch to her feet but, hindered by the wound in her ribs, she collapsed back to the ground. She growled as she gave in and started to pull out her medical kit from her bag and take care of her wound, brushing off the worried fussing from the child. "That sonuva–" she paused and hissed as she scrubbed at the gash in her side. Throwing the cloth aside, Emma pulled out a needle and thread and began to stitch her wound. "I don't know what would be worse," she muttered to herself, "Attacking the kid outright or just sending him here to die." She stayed silent as she finished stitching and bandaging herself.

"Well," Emma said when she was done. "At least he sent you here, rather than just–" she cut herself off and gestured at her side rather than try to bring herself to say the words out loud. "At least here you have me to help you. Not that that a– not that he knew that." Emma stood up. "Come on. I gotta get you out of here and back home."

The kid stood up and nodded.

"Alright. Let's go."