Tim and Liv unfroze and ran towards Amanda, collapsing against her with zero awareness of her injuries. Amanda hissed, but still extended her arms and pulled them both to her chest. The embrace seemed to make things worse, as their quiet whimpers gave way to deeper, full-body sobs.
My ears were ringing, my head was heavy, like it was stuffed into a motorcycle helmet. The clearing felt like a graveyard: no chittering, no fighting, nothing but the echo of crying resounding through the space. To them, it was probably a relief that everyone got out alive on the other side of the fight, but I was struggling to connect with this emotion. Actually, I was struggling to connect to any emotion at all right now.
Some rational corner of my mind recognized that the hollow emptiness spreading inside me wasn't normal. It dragged me back to that night seven years ago, when I'd almost killed a person. This same cold disconnect stayed with me for years. But there was nothing to do about it now. I'd unpack it later in the only way I knew how: hours and hours of self-exertion.
We needed to leave. Blood always attracted predators.
I turned and limped toward our scattered backpacks
The hutchet sleek with goblin's blood tried to slide from my grip. I dragged my hand across the unbloodied part of my leggings, then wrapped my fingers tight around the handle. Hooking my backpack with my free hand, I limped back toward the others. We all needed that first aid kit.
Amanda sprawled on the ground, with the kids crying on her chest. It looked like a funeral.
Liv looked up as I approached, her hand tightening instinctively around the slingshot she still clutched. The kid was a fighter.
Her face nearly broke me: puffy from crying, cheeks streaked with tears. My sister had looked just like that when I left. I forced the thought away before it could drag me under.
Amanda finally noticed me, too.
"Liv, hon, can you please make sure Tim gets to drink some water and wash the scratches on his hand, ok?" She asked her daughter, pointing towards our bags by the bikes.
"But mom…" she hiccupped. "I want to stay here… With you."
"It's ok, honey. I'm here. Not going anywhere. Just… Can you do this for me? Then bring me some water?"
"Ok," Liv finally agreed and peeled Tim off her chest.
"Should I check on them first?" I asked, kneeling beside her.
"I did…" she breathed out heavily. "Tim'll have a few bruises, but otherwise they are well."
"What's wrong?" I whispered when the kids were finally out of earshot.
"I was stabbed in the stomach. It's not very deep, but it was a dirty claw, and… I keep applying pressure, but the bleeding just won't stop."
I nodded, studying her carefully. The torn remnants of the hoodie obscured the scratches on her stomach, but her right hand pressed hard against the lower abdomen, near where her appendix would be. The sight dragged me back to just a week ago, to the first time I'd seen an abdominal wound up close.
My [Heal] and [Splice] were still on cooldown. We'd have to try something else before she bled out.
"Did you look over your cards? You got some from the kills, didn't you?"
"I guess, I did. Have not checked yet. Wanted to make sure kids are fine first."
"Go, check now. After my first fight, I got a very strong white [Heal] card. Saved a life with it. Could be a starter reward, since I never gotten another one. But we have to get lucky sometimes, right?"
Amanda nodded, and her eyes lost focus. She mumbled under her breath, still using words to navigate the menus. I probably should be checking my own cards, too. But I couldn't afford a distraction and leave Amanda and the kids unattended.
"My first offer is [Mother's Instinct], [Leap], and blue [Bash]."
Her voice was weak, and I understood her disappointment. None of those were healing cards.
"Just choose one. You should have another Hand waiting. You have two kills."
Amanda nodded and focused again. Then her face relaxed, and the corners of her mouth lifted in a weak smile.
"I have a white [Heal]," she whispered happily. "Chloe, I have it!"
"That's great," my shoulders sagged in relief.
We'll be alright now. I checked on the kids. They were done with the water, and Tim was heading our way. He wasn't crying anymore.
Amanda whispered [Heal], and I looked back in time to witness an astonishing display of magic. All her wounds and scratches closed up. The only sign she'd been injured at all was the drying blood streaks.
"Wow," she breathed out. "I feel ok now. No, I feel great. Like I've had a good rest. And I am so hungry, too," she smiled.
I smiled back. That was a familiar side effect.
Amanda sat up and looked me over.
"Oh, fudge, are you ok?"
"Yeah, I will be. Want to leave asap, but gotta check my cards. In case I got [Heal], too," I indicated towards my thigh.
"Need a hand?" Amanda waved around at my face, neck and leg. "Not that I'd know where to start with that screwdriver, but I can clean the wounds. I'm a pro at that."
"No, it's ok. I have supplies in the bag. Just give me a moment."
That earned me a doubtful glare, but I didn't budge. I could take care of myself just fine.
"Ok, I will check on the kids. Holler if you change your mind."
Amanda pushed herself up and walked toward her kids with a spring in her step.
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I let myself hope, just for a moment, that I'd pulled another white [Heal] from my Deal.
I settled against a tree trunk and pulled out my small mirror and medical kit. Too weary to tackle the worst of it yet, I started with my face. Three ugly scratches carved across my right cheek, stinging like fire when the sanitizer hit them. Not deep enough to panic over, at least. My [Heal] would handle any infection, leaving no scars if I were lucky.
The screwdriver lodged in my thigh was another matter entirely. I stared at it, gathering my nerve, then yanked it out in one quick motion. Pain blinded me, and I had to rest my head on a tree before continuing to wrap the wound with the torn leg of my thermal leggings. There went my cold-weather gear.
After cleaning the worst of the blood away, I checked my reflection again. New scar tissue dotted my throat: pale pinpricks in a half-moon pattern. Nothing against the mark on my forehead, but injuries were adding up. A few more months and I'd be more scar than skin.
Patched up enough to function, I opened my Deal Hand notification. There should've been four cards. But the interface wouldn't let me scroll through them, only open and close the first notification. No way to compare options, no way to strategize combinations. Absolutely useless design.
In my first Deal, I had green [Spear], blue [Leap], and green [Patient Teacher]. It was interesting to get something other than immediate survival skills, but being a good teacher wasn't even close to the top on my list of priorities. And I didn't have a proper spear on hand, so I chose [Leap].
The new [Leap II] card description was: Instantly leap forward up to 10 feet. Beware of obstacles. Obstacle impacts deal reduced damage. Cooldown 20 minutes.
I was happy to get more distance and cooldown decrease in one upgrade.
My second Deal was blue [Tissue Splice], green [Axe], and blue [Battle Focus].
Both [Axe] and [Battle Focus] were tempting choices. It wasn't very clear what the [Battle Focus] intiailed, as a picture of a clenched fist with a subtle glow didn't help me understand the context. But it sounded useful. At the same time, I had an Axe available on hand, and [Tissue Splice] was invaluable in healing wounds.
I chose [Tissue Splice]. Keeping my blood inside my body remained priority one. The updated card description was reassuring, too.
Fuse two edges of tissue up to 1 inch deep. Cooldown 45 minutes.
My third Deal was all blue: [Heal Wound], [Battle Focus], [Covering Strike].
Again, [Battle Focus] and [Covering Strike] sounded tempting, but I could also probably do those things without a special card. As I had only approximate ideas of what specifically two other cards entailed, I decided to choose [Heal Wound].
However, when I opened the card description, there was no change in wording, only a line, "Progression towards the next card upgrade 1/2."
Well, that was anticlimactic. This system should really come with a manual.
My fourth Deal was blue [Pyromaniac Torch], green [Axe], and blue [Killing Blow].
I picked [Axe]. I was still annoyed about not getting a [Heal Wound] upgrade right away, and I didn't want to waste another Deal without getting an upgrade to [Pyromaniac Torch] either.
I was going to open the Deck to read through a new description when I heard Liv's startled shout.
When I opened my eyes, Amanda was [Leaping] toward Liv. The girl stood frozen by the large fern bush. Behind her loomed a big Banana lizard, its body glowing bright. And I knew what was coming next. It was going to spew a yellow ball of magic.
Amanda must have known it, too. Her [Leap] barely reached Liv, and she fell sideways to block the girl's body from what was coming.
The lizard had been aiming at a child, and the trajectory of a projectile was low. Amanda shielded Liv, and the yellow ball hit her square in the solar plexus. She dropped like a sack of potatoes. The lizard, drained to sandy brown, scurried away. I rushed toward Amanda, horror flooding through me.
Even from here, I could see the massive hole in her abdomen, where her stomach and spleen should have been. The whites of her ribs peeked through charred, blackened flesh. Even if my healing cards weren't on cooldown, I doubted I could fix that.
Wait. Were they on cooldown? I'd just upgraded [Splice].
I dropped to my knees beside her for a second time today and opened my deck, praying the timer had reset with the upgrade.
It hadn't. 41 minutes, 9 seconds glowed above the card.
I ripped off my jacket and pressed it to Amanda's abdomen. Desperate to do something. Anything. She was shaking, struggling to pull in air. I grabbed her hand.
She didn't even get last words, like in the movies. One second, Amanda was fighting for breath. The next, her muscles went slack, her eyes lost focus.
My vision blurred. I wiped at my face with my free hand. Was she dead? Just like that? Gone.
I pressed shaking fingers to her neck. My fingers were numb. I scratched them with my nails, trying to bring back the sensitivity.
It felt like I was observing my body move on its own, watching from somewhere above the tree branches. I forced myself to focus. Ordered my hands to feel for a pulse.
Nothing. Just cold numbness creeping through me.
Another good person was dead. What was the point? Why push forward? There was only pain and blood and exhaustion. Nothing I'd done since deciding to live on my own brought me closer to a safe haven, existing only in my head. You work and suffer and sweat and bleed, and it all falls apart anyway. Sandcastles at high tide. Why even try?
I think I wept. My cheeks were wet. My vision kept blurring.
That was okay. There was only carnage around me anyway. Nothing else to see.
I fell on my hunches and bumped into something. Slowly, I turned around and saw Liv's body. She was sprawled on the ground, face down.
"Liv," I called.
The reality registered, and I started moving faster, flipping her around. Liv blicked slowly, eyes unfocused. She was pale, so pale. And way too cold.
"I… I stepped on it." She whispered back, and a realization shot through me.
I rolled up her pants, looking for a bite site. Right there on her calf were two bloody dots, the surrounding skin already shifting from red to purple.
What now?
I pulled the leggings off my wound and twisted them into a makeshift tourniquet around Liv's leg. You have to cut off circulation to prevent poison from spreading, right?
What can be of use in my Deck? My healing cards were still on cooldown. But I had a [Poison Tolerance] that saved me last time. Was there a way to give this card to a girl?
"Liv, honey," I called her. "I will try to give you something. If you see a screen pop up, choose accept, ok?"
"Yeah… like the Deal Hand?"
Had she heard Amanda and I talking before? Or did she get integrated into the system?
Not the time. I focused on the card and swiped in all different directions, willing it toward the girl. Something triggered; I couldn't say what exact motion, but a prompt appeared.
"Would you like to pass the card? Yes/No"
I agreed, and the card disappeared from my Deck.
"Liv, do you see it?" I asked, shaking her lightly. She gave me a slow-blink, like she was about to fall asleep. "Accept it. You hear me? Choose "Yes."
"Yes, accept," she breathed out, before her eyes closed and didn't open again.
Her pulse was weak but steady.
The [Rapid Recovery] would help, too. I shook Liv's shoulder, but she didn't wake.
Would it work if I just gave it to her? She'd said "accept" for the last one. I tried pushing the card at her again, swiping in all different directions. Nothing. No prompts appeared this time.
It was another 50 minutes until my Healing card was off cooldown. Poison resistance had to keep her alive that long. It had to.
Chloe's Deck (9/10):
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Blue Card: [Leap II]
Instantly leap forward up to 10 feet. Beware of obstacles. Obstacle impacts deal reduced damage. Cooldown 20 minutes.
-
Blue Card: [Heal Wound II]
A medium burst of healing for a single target area you touch. Cooldown 1 hour.
Progression towards the next card upgrade 1/2
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Green Card: [Spear]
Basic proficiency with spear weapons. Grants +5% damage and improved accuracy when wielding spears.
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Green Card: [Poison Tolerance]
Dulls the worst poison effects, giving your body time and chance to fight it. Does not work on lethal poison dosages.'
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Blue Card: [Pyromaniac Torch II]
Fire recognizes a kindred spirit. Go on. Light it up, and the fire will stick to your target. Just be careful what you feed it. Cooldown 10 minutes.
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Blue card: [Pathfinder]
Read the landscape and identify the safest routes by using subtle signs like animal tracks, worn earth, natural markers, and subconscious knowledge. Cooldown 6 hours.
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Blue Card: [Tissue Splice II].
Fuse two edges of tissue up to 1 inch deep. Cooldown 45 minutes.
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Green Card: [Rapid Recovery]
Recover 10% faster from injuries and fatigue.
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Green Card: [Axe]
Basic proficiency with axes. Grants +5% damage and improved accuracy when wielding an Axe.