*
After another hour of walking, the weary group stopped to rest. They had reached a break in the tree line, with the oaks and pines finally drawing back from the river to form a clearing. With fatigued bodies, they dragged themselves up the embankment, Kingston going first and Barsch being passed up after. They lay on the grass for several minutes, with only the sound of laboured breathing breaking the peaceful moment. As Alza pulled off her mud encrusted boots, Kingston crawled over to where Barsch had been laid. The boy was still alive, but his skin had grown pale and his chest barely moved as he breathed.
He placed a hand on Barsch's head, noting that his fever had not died down as he had hoped. Lowering his gaze, he gently lifted a blood-soaked bandage –made from using left-over cloth from the litter- from Barsch's burnt back. It was a sickening sight. Although most of the skin had scabbed over, blood still flowed freely between flesh that looked like overcooked meat. There was a pungent smell in the air, which made Kingston cough harshly. The scars Barsch had gained during the fight with the cóyotl had been twisted by the acid, now looking like jagged wings spreading out from the middle of his scorched back.
Kingston then turned his gaze to Barsch's face. His eyes were still shut tight but murmurs escaped from his cracked lips. Always the same words, always the same plea for his mother to wait for him, to embrace him, to love him. It was almost too much to bear, but Kingston knew that Barsch needed someone by his side, even if he would never know.
Eventually, he raised his head, finally tearing his gaze away from his fallen friend. “Maloch, how much further?”
The lumbering re-mech had been using the opportunity to recharge his power cells, making use of a small solar array that had been hidden in his left shoulder. Maloch's eyes glowed as he talked, the power of the sun helping to replenish some of his lost vitality. “We are not far now. A few more hours and we shall arrive at our destination.”
Kingston breathed a sigh of relief, but his worry for Barsch had not faded. The boy was fighting, that much was clear, but he was still losing. They needed to find something to help him, to keep him alive until they reached the station.
While sitting beside Barsch, his gaze happened across a bushel of bright yellow flowers. “Of course! I'm such a bloody fool! There's plenty of medicine around us to use. Nature hurt him, and nature will save him!” he thought, leaping to his feet.
“Maloch, can you scan the area for Greenpin flowers? And Dyrtail poppies?”
Maloch looked at him with uncertainty, but proceeded to scan nonetheless. As he did so, Kingston explained why he wanted the plants, though his audience was limited to an unconscious boy and an uncaring girl.
“You see, back when I was in the army, they taught us about the different plants and roots that could be used to make salves, which were sometimes the only things that were available. There were salves for poisoning, shock, burns, and many other maladies that one could find on the battlefield. If I'm right, a mixture of Greenpin petals and Dyrtail nectar will help with Barsch's burns and his fever.”
“Scan complete. I have located several plants of the required genus nearby. Would you like me to accompany you in their collection?”
Kingston stood, using Lanista to support his weary muscles, before saying, “Thank you Maloch. Please, lead the way.”
The re-mech nodded once before moving towards the tree-line, his broad black frame standing out from the green and brown leaves. Kingston turned to follow, but a stray thought made him stop. Alza was sitting by the riverbank, feet dangling over the small stream below. Her face was hidden by her silver-white hair, but he thought he detected an air of remorse coming from her. Compassion briefly overcoming his distrust, he called out, “I'm sorry for yelling at you earlier. This is my fault, and I shouldn't have asked you for help. Sometimes when people are worried... when those they care about are wounded, they do irrational things. Forgive me.” Alza didn't reply but her back straightened, as if some huge weight had just been lifted from her shoulders. Kingston turned to go, his own conscience a little clearer.
“Next time... I will be stronger... I won't let him be hurt again.” Had she really said that? Or had he merely imagined the words? He couldn’t tell.
Still, he was glad for her words –real or imaginary- and, after looking at Barsch's bandaged body, said, “I'll leave him in your care. Please keep him safe.” Before leaving the wounded boy and the ethereal girl, he drove Lanista down point first into the hard soil, resolute to follow Maloch without relying on anything but his own strength.
Alza turned to watch the Maloch and Kingston go, her violet eyes regarding them with a mixture of apathy and curiosity. She waited until they were out of sight before she stood and made her way over to where Barsch slept. She wore a strange look as she knelt down beside him, a slender hand reaching out towards his sweat-soaked brow. His fever still raged without an end in sight. His shallow breaths were arrhythmic and ragged, punctuated by occasional gasps of pain and indecipherable murmurs.
“You are an enigma, Barsch La Tergan. You hurt yourself to save others, without even thinking. You sacrifice your own body, and yet you lash out at those who try and do the same for you. You fight in ignorance, protecting those who do not deserve your kindness. You know nothing, about me, about the true nature of this world, about yourself, and yet you still fight. You make no sense…
Taking a deep breath, Alza continued, her voice barely above a whisper.
“But... back then, when you said that you would protect me, I felt... for the first time since I awoke... like I belonged.”
Alza, acting on an impulse, leant forward, her face mere inches from Barsch's pained features. She knew in her mind that she was incapable of having normal emotions, and that her concern for him most likely came from a desire to repay him for saving her, but knowing that did not stop the faint blush from heating her snow-white cheeks.
“There is something that I have never told you... something that I should have said a long time ago. From the moment we met, we have been linked. Somehow, I changed you, and in return, you changed me. You have seen things that no human was ever meant to see, and, because of me, even your dreams are no longer your own.”
Around them, all sounds had vanished. The birds in the trees had stopped their harmonious songs, the wind was gone, and even the unseen insects had been rendered mute. For the first time since their journey began, for the first time since the fighting began, they had found a perfect moment of peace. The only sounds left in the world where Barsch's slow gasps of pain, and the discord in Alza's chest.
Alza knelt even closer, her lips a hairs breadth from Barsch's. Her voice was low, barely audible, as she said, “When I was in the glade... when I thought I was going to die, I felt you for the first time. I didn't know if you were an enemy, or if you were a figment of my imagination, but I still reached out desperately, and our minds connected. I was lost. I was so alone... I'm sorry for what I did, I'm sorry for what I did to you. If I hadn't, you wouldn't have come after me...”
Alza noticed that her hand was trembling, but she forced herself into a state of calm. “I… I formed a bond with you... and I used you. I made you think that you had to care for me, but I was the one who was controlling your thoughts. It was selfish of me. From our link, I know that much at least. But I was lost, and alone, and I couldn't be sure that you would help me if I didn't trick you.”
Alza slowly drew back, a hint of sadness clouding her pure features. For a being who declared that she was emotionless, it took all of her self-control to stop the tears from welling up in her guilty eyes. “But now, with you like this, I see that I was foolish. It didn't matter if I tricked you or not, you would have protected me regardless, because that's the kind of man you are. Whether it’s a girl with no past, or an old man, or even a re-mech, you will risk your life to save them. Although I cannot undo the bond that binds us, I can at least remove the false feelings that I implanted in your heart. When you awaken, I w
ill be just another person to you… and you will be free.”
Alza stood, her feelings of guilt and regret threatening to boil to the surface and overwhelm her carefully maintained masquerade. “At the end of all this, if I regain my memories and my past, I hope that you will say those words to me again, that you want to protect me, even at the cost of your own life.”
Her moment of honesty done, Alza let her emotionless mask slip down once more, blocking her off from the pain of her guilt and betrayal. She could still feel it, but it was as if it was happening to another person, in a far off place.
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