The Dark Path : The Start of Darkness, The Beginning of True Struggles

Chapter Seven

- Chapter Seven -

Everything that happened from that point on was a blur. I remember what I saw although it was bits and pieces but I could not remember what I heard. All I remember was silence. I remember Nystrom’s worried face as she scampered over to me. I remember her calling someone with a device that was attached to her military outfit. After a few moments, I saw CIM soldiers and medics rush in.

The rubble was cleared away and the medics brought me away in a stretcher. It wasn’t the normal type of stretcher. It looked a lot more advanced. Whoever the CIM were, they had technology that was way ahead of modern technology.

It was blurry after that.

When everything became clear and I could hear, I found myself lying in a medical bed with a quilt draped over me. I had bandages around my chest, one of my arms and one of my legs. Nystrom was sitting in a chair next to the bed I was on, fast asleep. When I moved a bit, her eyes opened and she looked at me.

“So, you’re finally awake. You really know how to make people worry about you,” she said.

“I did what I had to do. I saw you were in trouble and I had the sudden instinct to protect you.”

Nystrom frowned and looked away. “You didn’t need to do that. I can handle myself!”

“Sure you could…” I said as I smiled at her.

Nystrom looked at me. “Hey, why are you smiling? Are you making fun of me?”

“Oh, wouldn’t you like to know.” I teased her.

“Yes! Yes, I’d like to know!”

“Oh, you’d like to know?” I beckoned to her come closer. Near her right ear, I whispered. “I’ll never tell you.”

Nystrom’s face instantly turned red and she screamed in frustration. “Honestly, I worry about you and this is what you do to me?!” Nystrom stomped over to the door and opened it, appearing to leave the room. Before she left she turned around and looked at me one last time. “Jerk!” With that, she slammed the door. I could hear her stomp off.

“Ah well.” I laid back on my bed and decided to relax.

The door opened and this time it was Miles who came in.

“Sheesh. What’s her problem?” he mumbled as he looked outside the room.

Miles looked at me and pointed at me. “You…I need to have a few words with, old friend. What’s the big idea of ditching me? I thought we were buddies. What the heck, man?!”

“I don’t know why you’re surprised. I thought you’d know by now how I think. Just because you didn’t want to go doesn’t mean I was going to stay put here.”

Miles sighed and shook his head. “I heard you and Nystrom were caught in some near-death trouble. You really are something else, aren’t you? You’re like a…a…a crazy bastard. Yeah, that’s what I’ll start calling you, a crazy bastard. Seems to fit you.”

“Eh, call me what you want.”

“Sure. Anyway, according to the medics, your injuries were pretty bad. A few broken ribs. Sounds painful. How are you holding up?”

I tried to sit up but my upper body hurt too much for me to move a lot. “Not too good. I might be like this for a while. Onto more important things, what are the orders from the CIM superiors?”

“Nystrom has been ordered to take us to their one of their central bases. They didn’t give any further information. In other words, I only know that they’re taking us there. The superiors didn’t tell Nystrom what they intend to do with us once we got there.”