Death Flag

by Richard Haygood

  He saw it coming. He watched it happen like a train wreck happening in slow motion, but in his pitiful state, there wasn’t anything he could do to stop it. The young girl came flying out of one of the rooms, her curly, blonde hair bouncing along above a giant stack of linens, and crashed directly into him before she even realized he was there. He reflexively braced himself and took a half step back away from her, cringing at the pain that flared up through him over the simple action. The girl bounced off of him like a ball ricocheting off a stone wall, the linens went flying, and the young blonde hit the stone floor with a loud crash, looking bewildered as to what had happened.

  Madison muttered a few curses under his breath and stared down at the strange nurses uniform the girls all seemed to wear here.

  “Oh my god!” she exclaimed, staring up at him. “What are you doing there? You shouldn’t just stand around in the middle of the hallway like that. What if I had gotten hurt?”

  Madison glowered at her for a moment, the dark spots clearing out of his vision. “Rae,” he said as calmly as possible through clenched teeth.

  “Of course. Oh!” She jumped back to her feet in a flash and looked him over. “You look like shit,” she said disdainfully. “And you kind of smell like it too.” She turned her nose up and looked away as if his smell was actually offensive to her. “Do you not even own a decent pair of clothes? Every time I see you, you’re wearing just filthy tatters.”

  Madison just stared at her. He didn’t trust himself not to say something he was going to regret at the moment if he opened his mouth, so he chose to remain quiet instead.

  “Well?” she asked expectantly. “Aren’t you going to pick those up?”

  Madison closed his eyes, took a breath, and then turned away from her, once again limping his way down the hallway.

  “Hey!” she called after him. “Where do you think you’re going?! You’re just going to run into me and then leave me to clean up the mess. So rude! I guess everyone was right with what they’re saying about you!”

  Madison ignored her and kept hobbling ahead a few more steps. This was exactly how she had been when he first met her when he woke up in bed with her watching over him. Pompous, self-absorbed little— Wait.

  “Ryder,” he said, turning around until he could see her again. “Ryder said for me to use the spring. Tell me about that.”

  Her eyes grew slightly wide and she studied him suspiciously. “Are you sure?” she asked shakily, clearly unsure whether or not she should trust him. “You didn’t hear him wrong?”

  “No,” Madison said confidently. “I heard him correctly.”

  “You wouldn’t lie to me?” she asked, all her former vanity and bluster gone and replaced with a meek trepidation.

  “No,” he answered again.

  “You’re positive?” she asked again, twirling one of her blonde curls around her finger. “Why would he do that?”

  “I’m positive I heard him, and I’m positive I’m not lying to you,” he answered as calmly as possible before taking another breath. “And considering I don’t even know what the spring is or what it does, I don’t have a clue. But I’m guessing it has something to do with all this.” Madison waved his hand up and down his body, indicating his tattered clothes and burns.

  “Ok, well, I guess if Ryder said so . . .”

  Rae had been an absolute bitch when Madison first met her. She was self-absorbed and only interested in herself. Until Davion came in. After that, she had turned into a submissive and complacent mouse, hustling to do anything and everything he had told her. Whatever strange personality quirks she had, Madison was glad to know that he could at least rely on the fact that dropping a Guardian’s name had gotten him somewhere with her.

  “Okay, come with me,” she instructed almost politely. “Just leave those things there. Someone else will clean them up in a bit.”

  Okay, maybe not exactly Jekyll and Hyde transformation, but close enough.

  She led him forward and down the hall, pausing several times to wait on him to catch up. Rather than continuing on, however, she quickly turned out a side door and held it open for him while he exited onto a stone patio. Even though it was midday, and the sun was directly overhead, the patio was cool and comfortable, hidden in the shade cast from several trees. There were four lounge chairs with cushions, a small fountain trickling water in the corner, and two wooden doors, each set on opposite sides of one another along the far wall.

  “Rest here as long as you want,” she said as she turned to leave. “The spring is just through that door on the left.”

  Madison watched her go and then limped his way over to one of the lounge chairs and braced himself against its back, using it for support to hold himself up. It was strange for them to be there since the entire patio was shaded by the branches of a large tree and probably would be most of the year, but he was grateful for the support nonetheless.

  Alright. What now? He sighed. I guess it’s just the way people are around here: no one ever bothers to explain a damn thing.

  He looked back and forth between the two doors. There was a symbol on each, most likely a word written in some language he wasn’t familiar with, but other than that, they were completely plain. There wasn’t any hint or clue to tell him what might be behind each. Ryder had told him to use the spring, and Rae seemed to know what that meant—she had brought him here, after all—but that didn’t tell him what ‘the spring’ was or what he was supposed to do to use it.

  Well, hell. I’ve made it this far. Shaking his head, he began shuffling his way toward the left door. He pulled it open and immediately felt a warm blast of air smack him in the face. Despite being midday, the patio was rather cool and breezy, so the humid air that rushed out was a stark contrast and caught him off guard. What in the . . .?

  Madison stepped inside and found a small stone room. It was constructed from the same type of white stones as the rest of the infirmary, but they had been cut much smaller and were almost the size of bricks. Everything in the room was dripping with water, and the air felt thick and balmy with heat. He breathed in deeply, catching notes of sulfur in the air, and it finally struck him what Ryder meant by ‘spring.’ Madison had been imagining some type of wind-up medical contraption, but he had been completely wrong. He meant spring as in ‘hot spring.’

  A quick look out of the opposite door confirmed that he was correct: there was a large pool of water there that was practically radiating heat. Amazingly, it seemed to be a completely natural formation. There weren’t any signs of cutting, stone carving, or construction, only a broad pool of water that was bisected by a large wooden fence and surrounded by high, natural-looking rock walls on the other two sides. There were a few large, greyish stones jutting up out of the water in places, but otherwise, there wasn’t anything else that was noteworthy. The small stone building was likely intended to serve as a changing room of sorts, and although he had never been in an actual hot spring like this, he had heard of them before. If he was right, one side was divided for men and the other for women.

  He stepped back into the small building, dropped the boots he was still carrying into a corner and carefully began peeling away his tattered clothes. Rather quickly, however, he realized that he couldn’t quite raise his arms above his head in the right way to get his shirt off due to his burns, so he ended up just tearing it apart and letting it drop to the floor. He hesitated when removing his pants. He wasn’t exactly a stickler for modesty, and he had already confirmed that he was alone, but there was still something uncomfortable about the concept of being naked where someone else might see him. There was a certain vulnerability that went with it that he never could quite get past. In the end, it didn’t take much for him to convince himself that he might as well just get it over with. I’ve been naked in locker rooms and public showers before, so what the hell. If this is going to fix these burns, I might as well get on with it. Besides, maybe this world doesn’t view modesty and virtue in the same way we do. The
Romans had communal baths, right? And they still exist in certain parts of the world, so maybe this is just normal around here. Or maybe different rules apply because it’s a hot spring and not a bath? Oh, who the hell knows? He glanced down at the bandages wrapped around his left wrist indecisively.

  He didn’t want to risk someone seeing what was hidden there, but he had already checked once that he was alone, and he’d do so again once he was in the water. They were as badly abused as the rest of his clothes, so he’d have to change them if he wanted to keep wearing them anyway.

  Madison stepped back out into the area with the hot spring and waded out into the water. He was thankful for the fact that there was a natural slope to the ground where he entered since he didn’t think he could have managed to lower himself in at the moment. He had been right about the water’s temperature. It was warm around the edges, and the farther out he waded, the hotter it became. He made it halfway across the pool rather quickly, finding that the water level was about waist-high on him there, and peeked around a large boulder that was jutting up from the water. Once again confirming that he was alone, he waded around to the back side of the large rock and settled down into the water, cautiously allowing it to wash up over his burns. Someone had positioned a small rock underneath the surface there, so he sat down on it, leaned back against the larger boulder and stared up at the sky.

  The sky was a deep blue with thin, wispy clouds streaked across it. If he didn’t know any better, or let himself think about it, he could have fooled himself into thinking that he was back home. From what he had seen so far, this strange world he was trapped in wasn’t incredibly different from his own. The ocean was still ocean, forests were still trees, and the sky was still blue. All in all, he actually considered himself somewhat lucky. Sure, the trees were strange colors at times, and everything was trying to kill him, but it could have been worse. He could have ended up on a completely-barren planet with mole people or in a world where everything was sepia and fuchsia toned.

  He chuckled at that thought. At this time on any other day, he’d probably be moving crates and waiting for a lunch break so that he could rest for a bit. I wonder what day of the week it is? He was suddenly conscious of the fact that he didn’t know the time or the date. It had never seemed to matter before, but he was suddenly rather curious. I arrived on that ship at night. And then I think I washed up on shore the next day, but I was unconscious the entire time, so I can’t be sure. And then those slavers marched me for two days? Or three? Then I was unconscious for four more and this is day two since then? Trying to keep track of time made his head hurt. He had been in and out of it too much for anything to make sense. Ironically, he had slept more since arriving in this world than he had in months back home. True, most of it was either adrift on a piece of scrap timber or unconscious in a hospital bed, but sleep was sleep.

  Eugh. Madison leaned forward and looked down at the burns on his chest and side. They were pink and raw, and something about the water was starting to make them itch. It was just a tiny, little tickle that seemed to cover the expanse of the burns, but he was particularly conscious of it nonetheless. I guess there’s something more to this than just a normal hot spring. Madison sighed and leaned back again. That would make sense, wouldn’t it? He wouldn’t have told me just to come here for a relaxing visit. He just wants me healthy for tomorrow so that someone else can beat up on me again.

  He let his mind drift for a while after that. He stared up at the clouds as they slowly crept across the sky and let the water do whatever it was it was going to do. He stayed like that for quite a while, enjoying the solitude and the quiet. He didn’t expect to get very much alone time for a while, given that his days were likely going to be filled with training and classes and whatever else it was they had planned for him, and he was actually happy to just relax for the first time in what felt like forever.

  Eventually, however, that came to an end. It took him a moment to recognize the sound since he had drifted off into his own little world, but the knocking of the door slamming shut brought him out of his hazy daydreams. He heard the quiet patter of feet slapping on wet rock as someone walked over to the pool and then someone’s hiss as they tested the water. A moment later, he heard them wade out and fully submerge themselves.

  Great. So much for that. Now what? I doubt that guy even knows that I’m here. Based on the way everyone was acting, I don’t think this place gets many visitors. You might even need permission from one of the Guardians to get in here. So, what’s the rule of courtesy in times like these? Do I tell that guy that I’m here? Oh, hey dude, we’re naked in a bath together. That’s cool. Nice to meet you. I’m Madison. Well, I guess it will only get worse the longer I take. I don’t want him to think that I’m some kind of pervert back here hiding by myself so . . .

  “I told you to wait on me!” someone called out, causing Madison to freeze halfway to his feet. He was lucky he had the buoyancy of the water to help support him, or he would have fallen flat on his rear otherwise.

  “I don’t need your help!” a second voice responded. It was high-pitched and slightly forceful.

  “You shouldn’t be moving around on your own yet! Do you know how much trouble I will get into if someone finds out that I let you come out here by yourself? There’s no way I can stand to get in trouble again! They’re already upset about me dropping that stack of sheets earlier, but that wasn’t even my fault! How was I supposed to know that guy was going to come running down the hallway at just that time!”

  Madison rolled his eyes back into his head and groaned to himself. You’ve got to be kidding me . . .

  “Just go away!” the second woman insisted. “You make too much noise. I can take care of myself. I don’t need you.”

  “You had a punctured lung and two broken ribs a little over an hour ago, Shayna! You shouldn’t even be out of bed yet, much less moving around on your own. Oh my god, I’m going to get into so much trouble for this. Why can’t you just do what you’re told for once? Why do you have to be so—”

  “Shut up!” Shayna cried out, nearly shouting. “Do you want everyone to find out about you and—”

  “Okay. Fine. Be like that. Why do you have to drag that into this? What did I ever do to you?” Rae proclaimed.

  There was a moment of heavy silence following the sound of a door slamming as she turned and left. After a few long seconds, Madison heard the other girl sigh loudly and settle down into the water, muttering to herself.

  Well. What the hell am I supposed to do now? Should I just wait until she goes away on her own? No, waiting any longer is definitely just going to make it worse than it’s already going to be. He sighed heavily and rubbed the skin on his chest. It didn’t hurt to touch it any longer, but he could still feel the dull itch there letting him know that the healing waters were still working.

  “There’s an easier way to deal with her, you know,” he called out loudly, his voice resounding off the stone wall ahead of him and bouncing back the other direction.

  There was a loud splash as soon as he spoke, and then several more followed it. He imagined her hearing a male’s voice and freaking out as she searched in every direction for the speaker.

  “Wha—” a small, curious voice answered back, but he cut it off before she could continue.

  “Rae, that is,” he continued. “That’s who that was, right? Rae? There’s an easier way of dealing with her.”

  “Who’s there?” she called out in the same small but curious voice. There was a bunch more splashing and then the sound of someone wading around through the water. It stopped long before it reached where he was hidden behind the rock, however, and turned back in the other direction.

  Madison grinned, devilish thoughts entering his head. “I’m your guardian angel,” he called back, his voice filled with mirth.

  “Angels aren’t real!” she responded, and he heard her settle down into the water again. “And you aren’t going to fool me. I know you’re not an an
gel, and I know you are on the other side of the divider! So just stay there! And no peeking! I’ll know if you try!”

  “Would you?” he asked. “And I’d say I’m pretty real. We’re having a conversation, after all.”

  He heard something from her that sounded like a tiny growl, and he actually had to cover his mouth to stop from laughing out loud.

  “Just be quiet!” she insisted, a slightly-annoyed tone entering her voice.

  “Oh ho!” he cried boastfully. “But where’s the fun in that? You haven’t even properly thanked me yet.”

  “Thank you? Why would I thank you? You’re just some annoying guy who can’t keep his mouth shut.”

  “Wow! That’s pretty mean,” Madison called back.

  She didn’t respond, so he sat silent for a few minutes. The smart thing to do would be to just stay where he was for a while and wait for her to leave, but he didn’t really have any idea when that would be. There was also the fact that he couldn’t possibly pass up the opportunity to mess with her a bit more. He broke the silence and called out, “You still haven’t thanked me, you know.”

  There was a small splash as she moved around in the water, but she didn’t respond.

  “So, why did you start that fight this morning?” he asked. “Did you really get upset and attack him when he rejected you like everyone is saying? Was it because he said you were too young for someone like him?”

  “What?!” she shrieked. “I did not ask him out! I. Do. Not. Have a crush on him!” Part of her words were punctuated by the sound of her fist slapping the water, and it was all Madison could do to contain his laughter.

  “So, it was because you’re too young then?” he pressed.