Evan's boots fell heavy on the steps as he descended into the bowels of the ship. The corpses of the fallen haunted his mind, and instead of retiring to his bunk where he knew sleep would evade him, he decided to get answers.
The acrid stench of vomit tinged the insides of his nose as he stopped a few steps away from the lowest deck. Evan reared his head to the side as if it would avoid the smell. When it didn't, he continued. There, on the stool beside Tahlia's cell, sat one of Evan's crewmates. The silver oak leaf with one chevron pointing down the neck that was pinned to the man's lapel told Evan he was a private. The silver open-palmed pin on his other told him he was a medic.
"Private Cobbs, you're relieved of duty. Get some rest, Leaf. I'll take over."
The boy looked up. He was pale, with a greenish tint to his skin. The bucket that sloshed beside him confirmed he was the one who'd been vomiting. Evan wrinkled his nose at it.
The boy couldn't have been much older than he. His eyes were bloodshot and pinned wide open. It was clear his nerves had been frayed from the battle.
Evan watched the boy convulse once more. He held his hand to his mouth, but nothing came of it. Seemed he'd already emptied everything he had.
Cobbs stood to attention once his body allowed him. "Sir... but it's my watch."
Evan waived his hand dismissively. "Don't worry about it, private. I can't sleep, but you should."
Cobbs moved to salute Evan.
"At ease."
The private held himself half between attention and salute. He was unsure of what to do while waiting for the command to register. Evan noticed the red stained hand, covered in the dried blood of others. He wondered if he was one of the medics to attend to Riza, or perhaps prepare her body.
"There was..." the private's hand began to shake as he too took notice of it. "So much blood, sir. I tried to stop it; I really did, but her leg was gone!" His voice jittered as he stared at his hand.
"Whose?"
"My Sergeant's, sir. It was taken while we worked on another Leaf. I saw it happen. It was there one moment, then..."
"Did you save either of their lives?" Evan interjected.
Cobbs looked at Evan. His lips curled against their will and tears spilled over the boy's eyes. "I tried to stop it. I put my knee in her groin like they taught us, but I'd already used all of my chord on the other Leaf. It couldn't have been more than a few seconds before her eyes grew—" The boy wretched and grabbed his bucket. He dry-heaved over the thing.
Even turned away, closing his eyes. Once the boy stopped, he looked at him again. He noticed his armor was stained the same red as his hands. "Go get some rest, Cobbs. That's an order."
"Y-yes, sir," Cobb's responded.
"And clean yourself up first. You look like crap."
"Yes, sir." Cobbs pushed passed Evan towards the stairs.
"Private." Evan groaned.
"Sir?"
"Take your damn sick bucket with you!" He grated through his teeth.
"Right, sir!" Cobbs jogged back passed Evan and grabbed the bucket's handle, taking care not to spill any of its contents as he returned up the stairs.
Evan turned his gaze toward Tahlia. She sat on her bed, staring back at him with her crimson eyes. Evan couldn't look into them—their resemblance to similar to what he'd witnessed today. The door to her cell hung open. It was clear the private had been too busy freaking out to pay any attention. Evan was impressed he'd held it together enough to at least man his post.
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YOU ARE READING
Elegy of the Leaves
FantasíaWar steals that which we want most to keep safe. And for those who live on the isles of the Everblue, the fear of war has rooted itself deep within their hearts and stalked the edges of their dreams. For Evan Montresser, that fear hasn't taken hold...