King Me

Nobody Left Behind

Yancey found a tablet of the otherworldly food placed into her hand by Adoltlin, who bent in so he wouldn't have to yell over the wind churning through the vehicle, "You still look a pale shade of death; eat up, or you will release a final breath."

Yancey put the tablet into her mouth and swallowed. She waved her hand, beckoning for water, and Adoltlin must have taken the hint for next he gave her a flask. With a swing, she tasted pure alcohol, coughing, spitting it out on the floor. She shot him the best glair possible with her current health, and he gave a devilish little smirk in return. "Next time, let words fly, and true intent might be nigh," He finished his clever little response with a hand clutching a canteen, and Yancey spun the lid off, gulping down water. 

Aurelia spun around to face her, "Are you well enough to take to feet?" She asked, and Yancey weighed the question. She was woozy, legs of jello, and gave an honest response by shaking her head. Aurelia gave her a firm nod, "Very well. Adoltlin, Conner," Aurelia called to them, and Conner glanced up from the back. "Our plan remains unchanged. We must set up an ambush for our trailing foe, and perhaps lady luck shall smile upon us this day,"

Yancey had to reprocess this information. She glanced out the back, detecting no trailing enemy, "But we ditched it, didn't we?"

Aurelia shook her head, "You have only returned to us for fifteen minutes. Our good Ren Sato has been attempting to deter our follower for nearly seven hours,"

I've been out for that long?! Yancey's concept of time was slipping further each time she blacked out. It was strange; she felt she knew everybody in the vehicle for a lifetime, and yet had been blacked out for most of the journey.

"Here, good Sato," Aurelia called, pointing towards a choke point in the road, where a few buildings sat tight around the road. "From there, it may move as fast as it wishes. We need only aim for where it intends to be,"

Mr. Sato slowed to a stop, and Aurelia, accompanied by Conner and Adoltlin, excited. Yancey tried to get up, managed to almost get entirely our of the seat, before Aurelia took notice. "Stop, Yancey! Your injury will only slow us," 

Yancey still continued, but Aurelia hurried back, forcing the weak Yancey back into the cabin with ease. "Stop, Aurelia! I need to do my part!" Yancey protested, struggling with the little woman.

"Enough!" Aurelia scolded, "You have fulfilled your obligation. Faust desperately needed blood, and you provided, time and again." Even Aurelia's rare words of praise did little for Yancey.

"Please, I want to be useful. I need to pull my weight," Yancey begged, but Aurelia shook her head. The door slammed close and Mr. Sato sent the car screaming off down the street.

Buildings flew past, wind whipping through the vehicle. Yancey felt her eyes burn. She wanted to cry again, but she restrained the impulse for once. She was sick of being the whiny loser of the team. Mr. Sato called back to her, "We are both unaccustomed to the dreadful art of war,"

Yancey pushed herself up, "I need to find my place, or I'm going to die without ever accomplishing anything except being a blood bank. You can drive, and that makes you valuable even if you can't fight,"

Mr. Sato shook his head, "Have faith, Miss Yancey. Even your random choice of kings has gotten us this far. I know you are capable of great things, especially now that your edge is honed,"

The words of wisdom of the old drift king make Yancey feel a touch of hope. She contemplated his words, but the pained breaths of Faust in the back caught her attention. She looked back, and looked the necromancer over. He was starting to look a touch better. Which is to say, he looked like he wasn't on the verge of death anymore. His bare chest laid out across his black jacket beneath his torso seemed all the more pale with the emphasis of the black background. But he didn't have any redness, which means he didn't have an infection. The mysterious white-haired man just might pull through. Hell, the whole team might.