The Other Side: A Second Chance

As I leaned over Isa, my mind raced as I examined the wound on her back. My heart slammed against my ribs as I tried to think of a way to help her. Yet as I searched through my mind, my thoughts were interrupted by the ground trembling and the loud, horrific roar of a fighting machine as it tore through trees and shrubbery. With nowhere to run and only the small ditch, I and Isa fell into, I grabbed my unconscious mentor and friend and dragged her as best as my tiny arms could muster against the wall of the ditch, and I began to panic.

I clung tightly to Isa as I buried my face in her throat, covered my mouth, and tried not to scream or cry as the ground shook like an earthquake. Overhead, a massive metallic foot landed near the small ditch we lay in as one of the Rusivite fighting machines howled and walked over us as it made its way towards the battle at the small finishing village we had just fled from.

Why didn't you warn me of that one?! I panicked in my mind as I remained still.

"I don't know." The voice responded curiously.

The fuck, you mean you don't know?! I almost said it out loud as my head perked up with a furious expression.

"What I mean is that for some reason I have been having issues sensing a few of them." The voice explained. "Like the ones in the village. I didn't notice them until they'd woken up. Same for the one that just went past you. It's almost as if when these things sleep, they can somehow mask their presence from me."

Right. Sure, that doesn't ease my fears at all.

"I wasn't trying to ease them to begin with." The voice said it in a deadpan tone.

As the sounds of the monster grew more and more distant, I released my breath and moaned pathetically as I sniffed and wiped my eyes. Fresh tears were beginning to form as I looked over Isa's pale complexion. A sticky pool of blood was forming in the dirt beneath her as the wound on her back continued to leak large amounts of gore.

She's dying. She's dying, and I don't know what to do. H-How can I save her?

"You can't. It is best you leave her; she's served her purpose. Taking her now will only slow you down." The voice said it emotionlessly.

A deep fury welled up within me, and out loud, I snapped, "The fuck do you mean?! I can't leave her!"

"Shouting will only draw them to you, and thus both of you will die."

I opened my mouth to protest but closed it. I couldn't argue with that logic, and it infuriated me. I sulked back onto the dirt and pounded my fist. Listen here, whoever the fuck you are. But my friend is not some tool; we aren't some pawns in your game!

"No matter what I say, it will not quell your emotions, so I will not bother arguing with you. I am merely stating facts. She is a burden to us now."

She is my friend! I sobbed, tears pouring down my cheeks. A friend. Do you not know what friends are? Have you not had someone you cared for?!

The voice didn't respond immediately.

Hello?! So, you're just going to fucking leave me? I sniffed and sat back in the dirt and began to cry, my voice hiccupping as I moaned and gripped my knees. My family is gone. My teacher is dying. My home is destroyed. Monsters are roaming everywhere. I felt alone—so alone. No matter what I do now, I'm fucked. I'm fucked.

"I hate this life!" I cried. "I fucking hate this life! This is a nightmare!" I sniffled and buried my face in my knees. "I'd rather have my old life back." I sobbed.

I'm not a doctor. I don't know how to save her. Momma hadn't gotten around to teaching me healing magic yet, and now she never will… I choked another sob and fell quiet.

Yet, after a moment, the voice returned. Though sounding much softer. "Perhaps if you check her bag, you may find something."

My head perked up, and my heart skipped a beat. Her bag! You're right; I'm a fucking idiot. I never thought to check her bag!

I shifted my body away from Isa to give myself space, then I carefully grabbed her and rolled her onto her back as her bag was strapped to her right half. I could see her face grimacing with agony, and I muttered my apologies as I then reached for it.

I carefully pulled the bag away from her and opened it. Revealing the pistol hidden within, a few random trinkets of hers that I couldn't tell if they were useful or not, and a scroll!

"A scroll!" I gasped and reached for it; the parchment was visibly damaged by water. Most likely during the ferry incident. Yet maybe the ink on it was spared. I pulled it out of her bag and began to unroll the crinkly paper. The whole time, I begged internally that it was one of those healing spells my mother used.

Yet as the scroll came undone, my heart began to sink as I saw signs of smeared, ruined ink. "No, no, no, nooooo…" I began to moan as I held the unwound scroll out before me, my arms shaking as tears streamed down my face. "Noooo, no!" I sobbed as I tried to read the illegible text.

In a fit of rage, I tossed the scroll aside and cried as I threw myself onto Isa and hugged her unconscious body. I gripped her tightly as I cried. "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!"

"Pick up the scroll again." The voice spoke gently.

"Wa-waah?" I moaned pathetically. "I-it's ruined, though," I whimpered. "I-I can't re-read it…"

"Perhaps not. But I know the words." The voice spoke softly, like that of a caring father. "The written text on a scroll does not in itself carry power. Instead, it is the words that are spoken. I believe I know what spell is locked within that parchment. I can teach you those words, and with them, that spell."

With no other choice or idea, I sniffed and crawled towards the muddy parchment and picked it up. Yet while I did so, I angrily spat, "I thought she was a burden… Why do you want to help now?"

The voice didn't respond right away, yet when it did, it was soft, almost like he was muttering, "Because you reminded me of someone, that is why. Now do not ask any more questions. Your friend is running out of time."

I blinked, rubbed my eyes with my free hand, and nodded. I sniffed, crawled back over to Isa, and held the open scroll out before my eyes. The ink was smeared and splotchy, and I could only make out every other word. Though I wasn't the one trying to read it, instead I held it out for him.

"I'll want you to concentrate on my words. Focus on mending the wounds in your friend's form and restoring her to proper health. The better you focus your attention, the stronger the power."

Like any other spell I did. Sometimes I put too much power into them, though. What if I do too much here?

"Thankfully, there isn't really any harm you can do when curing someone. Are you ready?"

I gulped nervously and nodded, though I remembered he couldn't see me, and said, "Yes." Out loud.

There was a brief moment of silence, and within, I felt my anxiety rising. Yet before I could prod him and ask what was taking so long, he spoke.

"Slyondra, goddess of life's gentle flow, grant us your healing in our time of woe. From your realm of birth, where the Current sways, send forth your blessings to light our way. With your touch, let the wounds dissolve and fade. In your embrace, let pain be gently swayed. Heal this one with your loving grace and restore their body and spirit in your sacred space. Rejuvenate!"

As the man in my head spoke, I shakily closed my eyes and repeated his words out loud. I recalled the memories of my mother healing myself and Varis long ago as I mimicked her actions. Deep within, I felt a surge of magical energy bubbling forth from my gut. The pleasurable warmth radiated throughout my body as the arcane energy came forth.

As I opened my eyes, I nearly gasped when I saw the glowing aura emanating from my body. The green particles of light sparkled around me like small, dancing pixies. The scroll before me burned within my hands, yet the heat didn't hurt me. Instead, it was welcoming. It was comforting, and as I neared the end of the incantation, I reached out with my right hand and placed it on Isa's shoulder, near the wound on her back. Upon uttering the final word, a surge of blissful magic came through me, and I gasped and trembled as the power shot through my entire core before funneling through my arm, up to my hand, and into Isa.

Her body radiated with green energy. I shivered and groaned as I watched in awe as the minor injuries covering her body began to switch themselves closed and fade away entirely. I shook as the aftershocks of magic coursed through me, and as I shifted to see the wound on her back, I was amazed as I saw the metallic piece of shrapnel being shoved out of her back and dropping onto the bloody mud below. As if being stitched by an invisible hand, the large wound on her back began to regenerate flesh and skin, pulling itself together like a spider's web, until eventually, it was back to looking like smooth skin.

My eyes widened as her skin gradually began to restore itself to its original tan color and the grimace on her face relaxed. A soft sigh escaped her lips as the green magic faded and the scroll disintegrated in my hands. As the pieces of dust drifted off, I fell back onto my rear, panting softly as I closed my eyes. My body was riddled with goosebumps as the aftershocks of magic ran through my system before they too faded. I took a deep breath and smiled gently as I reached up to wipe the tears from my face.

"Thank you… Thank you for helping me."

Yet the voice did not respond.

 

---

 

Isa was still unconscious by the time night had fully enveloped us. I knew our location wasn't the safest, yet unfortunately, my weak little girl's body wasn't strong enough to drag the tall and strong-muscled serelli woman.

Moments like this make me wish I was still a man. I whined to myself as I tried to drag Isa, only moving her a couple of inches before falling back and feeling like I had just run a marathon. The fighting at the beachside village had faded, and I didn't know if it was a victory for us or not, honestly. I didn't want to find out.

I recalled the other day at the hollow tree how Isa camouflaged the entrance, and I decided to take a page from her book and do something for us. In the cover of the night, I crawled out of our little ditch and scurried, not too far off, towards the foliage to grab some large, fallen branches and leaves to hide us.

Having taken Isa's large knife from her bag, the thing felt like a short sword compared to my size. I used it to cut the branches to suitable sizes and slice large leaves. As I dragged them back to our little hiding spot, I shivered as the cold air rolled off the river and blew towards us. The forest did great at blocking much of the breeze, yet the chill still made my teeth chatter slightly.

Neither of us was dressed for this kind of weather, and Heinmarr was notorious for having warm days yet freezing nights in the spring. I debated whether I should start a fire. The ditch did provide natural slopes, as ditches do, that would block the light. Which would make it harder for anything peering into the woods to see us.

So, I decided I would do just that, though as an extra precaution. I would do the hobo fire method we've been doing throughout the week. As I got the foliage over to the hiding spot, I did my best to prop up the large sticks to make a frame, as I learned by watching Isa. Using the small vines, I recall from the old primitive videos and observing Isa herself, I lashed the large leaves and foliage together to make a pseudo-bush. It wasn't perfect.

Though I doubt the giant machines were smart enough to know the difference, at least I hoped. When we were nice and covered, I took a sharp stick and began to stab at the earth, digging a small hole, which I then piled in a small pile of dried leaves and sticks. I then took out my trusted wand, uttered the incantation for the spark spell, sent a tiny bolt of fire into the hole, and ignited it. The hobo fire wasn't the best at providing a wide array of warmth. Yet it made our little primitive camp a teensy bit more comfortable.

Finally. I sat back, reached into my magic pouch, and pulled out the cooked bits of jabber. I stabbed the little meat chunks onto a tiny stick to make a little kebab, and I held them over the fire to warm them. After a minute or so, when the meat was sizzling and steamy, I pulled them off and began to quietly munch away as I watched over Isa.

Perhaps it was the fire, or the smell of roasting meat, or a combination of the two. As Isa began to stir a little and slowly, her eyes began to open, and she groaned as she rolled onto her back.

I shifted to my knees and came over to her as I whispered, "Whoa, whoa, don't move. You might still have some sore bits."

Isa grunted and said, "I'm sore, that's for sure." She sighed as she stopped moving and side-eyed me.

For a brief moment, I was nervous as she looked pissed, but then I saw her lips shift into a smile. "You saved me?" She asked.

I gulped and felt my heart flare up as I nodded, and my emotions started to whirl within me. I sniffed and wiped my eyes once again as I felt happy tears beginning to form.

"Mhm!" I grunted and took a deep breath. "You had a scroll in your bag. It-it was all messy, y-yet the man in my head taught me how to read it and told me about the incantation for the spell."

"The man in your head?" Isa looked up at the makeshift shelter I had strung over the ditch. "Did he teach you this too?" She pointed at my shoddy work.

I shook my head. "N-No. I whipped it up after remembering how you did it."

Isa's weak smile widened as she said, "You're really smart, Luna. Too smart."

I shook my head. "W-well it's my smarts that saved your butt." I said as I puffed my cheeks before letting off a small chuckle.

Isa grunted as she tried to sit up as she planted her hands behind her, and then gasped when her hand bumped the bloodied piece of shrapnel beside her. She glanced down at it, and I pointed to it.

"That's what was in your back." I smiled proudly. "The spell pushed it out of you and sealed up your wound."

Isa picked up the triangular chunk and observed it. "I'm surprised this didn't kill me outright."

I shivered and said nervously, "I-I'm no doctor, but it looked really bad. Bu-but you're good now! Right?" I shifted anxiously.

Isa looked at me and smiled before nodding. "Yes. I feel a little sore, but I feel much better." She crawled around the fire and came over to me before pulling me into a hug. She buried my face deep into her bosom as she held me close. "Thank you, Luna." Isa audibly sniffed.

I could feel her shaking lightly as she held me, and I placed my food down and wrapped my arms around her as best I could as we hugged.

"Thank you for saving me," Isa choked out and rubbed the top of my head and back.

I sniffed as well, and my emotions flooded out of me. "I was afraid of being alone…" I said softly as hot tears streaked down my cheeks and onto her breasts. "I didn't want to be alone."

"I know you don't," Isa whispered huskily, "and I'm not going anywhere." She took a deep breath, regaining her composure. She pulled back and placed her hands on my shoulder. "We're a team." She smiled. "We stick together; we work together. If we do this, we'll both make it out of this alive."

I took a deep breath as Isa wiped my tears off my cheek with her thumb. I nodded and said, "Y-yeah! Like an adventuring party." I beamed.

Isa laughed at this and smiled widely. "Yes! Like an adventuring party. We're adventurers now." She patted the top of my head before leaning in and kissing me on the forehead, causing me to blush and my smile to widen as my heart swelled with joy.

I saved her. I thought. I actually did something… Maybe we can get through this.