Displaced

Chapter 34

The man came to life with a roar, struggling against the four Feelers holding his limbs still. Rudra was used to such reactions by now. Most of the people he'd healed so far reacted that way. Just as familiar with the situation as he, the four Feelers pulled the man off the ground and carried him off to the side. A second group of Feelers took their place an set down another corpse. As he'd done hundreds and hundreds of times already that day, he reached out with that new sense of his and pushed her time back, rewinding the deceased to before her death. This time the patient's eyes refocused and she froze, glancing about in confusion just before the Feelers lifted her off the floor and moved her out of the way. Whoops. He'd rewound this one a bit too far.

It had become clear rather quickly that Rudra was not actually "healing" people. Every so often he'd "heal" somebody a little too much, and instead of coming back to life fighting, they'd be confused. Apparently, these people didn't even remember the battle where they'd died. They remembered doing something else before the battle and then suddenly they were back in Pholis with nothing between. That's when everybody had realized that he wasn't healing people as much as he was reverting them to a previous point in their lives. It made for an interesting thought, but Rudra didn't feel like it actually mattered. Somebody had suggested that he try doing the opposite and pushing somebody forward in time, but he refused to even consider it. To rob somebody of their life, even by a few days, counted as violence in his eyes.

The process continued as the day wore on. Thousands of people who'd met their ends suddenly drew breath again, but as night began to fall it became clear that there was still much to be done. Looking about as he stood up for the first time in hours, Rudra realized that even with all that work they hadn't even finished a third of the dead.

"Uuunnggh," he moaned as he stretched out his stiff back. "I think that's all I can do for the day. Anybody know where I can get something to eat? Preferably something spicy. I've been craving that for weeks!"

A soft cough came from his side and he turned to find a small woman with silver hair and droopy dog ears standing nearby. "There is plenty of food at your new home," said Tepin Silverfall.

"How long have you been standing there?"

"Long enough," she replied wearily. She turned to the nearest Feeler, who was having a conversation with two others nearby. "Pardon me, sir."

The man she spoke to ignored her, instead continuing his coversation with the other Feelers. Tepin coughed, but still the Feelers ignored her.

"Hey!" Rudra barked. Finally, the Feelers paused, turning towards them with scowls of irritation on their faces.

"With your permission, I request that this Shell be dismissed," Tepin said quickly with a respectful bow. The man let out a harumph and gave a dismissive wave before returning to his conversation.

"Come with me. Once I show you to your house I can go home," Tepin said as she grabbed Rudra's hand and led him away. Without a word, several guards joined them, taking places in front and behind. Apparently he needed to be guarded around the clock. He wasn't thrilled by the prospect, but he knew he needed to accept it. His ability was far too important to the Stragmans to allow even the smallest chance that something might happen to him. They walked in silence for a while, riding elevator platforms and crossing rope bridges as they slowly worked their way higher.

"So you're the leader's helper, right?" he asked after a while.

"I assist the Chos in her duties," the small woman curtly replied. "Why do you ask?"

"That makes you pretty important, right? So people should know who you are."

"As much as they would care about a Shell, yes."