Rain had started to pour by the time Zayzal and Sera burst from the dungeon's entrance. The cool droplets bounced off their skin, but neither had the luxury to mind the weather. The treacherous Harz Mountains loomed around them, their silhouette darkened by the gloomy sky.
"The SUV! There!" Sera yelled over the rain, pointing towards their parked vehicle that was hidden behind a cluster of trees.
Zayzal quickly fumbled with the keys, unlocking it as they approached. Sera, still carrying Anders' limp form, opened the back door and gently laid him down on the seat.
"Don't pull out the ice spear," Zayzal instructed as he turned on the engine. The roar of the SUV's ignition seemed deafening in the sudden silence that had enveloped them. "It'll make the bleeding worse."
"I know!" Sera snapped, her voice laced with worry. She hesitated for a moment, her hands hovering over the ice spear protruding from Anders's gut, but then she pressed both hands firmly around the wound. Blood seeped through her fingers, warm and slick. "Just drive!"
The SUV's wheels skidded on the wet ground for a moment before gaining traction. As Zayzal drove the vehicle out of the woods, he kept glancing in the rearview mirror as if expecting to see Kaldrik chasing after them. But there was nothing—only the dense canopy of the forest and the relentless rain.
"W-We… cough cough… need to head south," Anders managed to gasp out, his voice weak but filled with urgency. "To Göttingen. If it's still there... they can help."
“Not Schneverdingen?” Zayzal asked back, but Anders shook his head.
“T-Too far.”
“Alright! I’ll look for Gottingen! Just hold on!” Zayzal yelled back before focusing on the road. He didn’t know what was there, but if Anders said they could help then all he could do is trust him.
Sera looked down at him, her heart clenching at his pale face. "Tch. I should’ve killed that bastard," she whispered, pressing harder on the wound.
The slick roads were a challenge. Zayzal navigated the twists and turns with skill, relying on his memory of their path into the mountains. As the forest thinned and they drove into more open land, he jumped onto the first road in sight before he noticed a [27] sign in black and yellow leading off onto a Motorway.
There was a very long Motorway in Germany, one that he recalled went south. Swerving onto the onramp, Zayzal sighed in relief that there weren’t many cars out on the road.
Soon, he noticed signs on the side of the road. One caught his eye that said: [Göttingen–40km].
‘Thank fucking god!’ Zayzal nearly got on his knees and started praying after he saw that sign. He had no idea where they were. If he somehow got lost, Anders was screwed.
With a new sense of direction, he cranked the speed up to 140 km/h and began cruising down the Motorway.
Zayzal pressed the accelerator down as rain streamed across the windshield, the wipers frantically trying to keep up. Sera's hands were soaked with blood, her arms aching from the pressure she applied to Anders’s wound. The sound of Anders's labored breathing was loud in the close confines of the SUV.
Twenty harrowing minutes later, the form of Göttingen loomed into view, a mix of old-world architecture and the stark, modern lines of the University Medicine Göttingen building standing out on the periphery. The relief was almost palpable in the car after seeing this.
"...Th-That’s… it," Anders croaked out, pointing weakly as they approached the sprawling complex of the medical university.
Zayzal didn’t hesitate, taking the exit ramp that curved towards the town. As they drew closer, they noticed that the streets were oddly empty, save for the occasional scurrying shape that Zayzal recognized as goblins.
One of the creatures, emboldened or just careless, wandered too close to the road. With clenched teeth, Zayzal felt the thud as the SUV connected with the goblin, ending its life in a matter of seconds.
As soon as the car came to a stop near the entrance of the university, Zayzal leaped out, spear in hand, and sliced apart the remaining goblins. He couldn't risk them following inside.
The university's emergency room entrance was just ahead. They could see the flickering lights and the sliding doors, half open as if left in a hurry.
“Help! We need help!” Zayzal bellowed as they rushed towards the doors, Sera carrying Anders with all the strength she had left.
Their calls echoed eerily in the empty entryway until a figure emerged from the shadows—a young woman in a lab coat, her hair tied back in a no-nonsense bun, and eyes wide at the sight of them.
“Oh my god, what happened?” she exclaimed, rushing forward to help guide them through the maze of corridors.
"He’s been impaled!" Sera urged, her voice rough with desperation despite the situation being very clear, what with the ice spear sticking out of his body.
The woman realized her mistake and didn’t ask any more questions about that.
“How long has he been like this? Is there any more damage? Are you his friends or family? What do you know about his medical history?”
She asked a series of questions as she led them through a labyrinth of hallways until they reached a white lab with a sturdy chair in the center that seemed to serve as a makeshift examination table.
“Put him here,” the woman said, gesturing towards the chair.
Anders was gently laid down, the makeshift spear of ice still jutting from his abdomen. The woman didn't flinch at the sight, her hands moving swiftly to gather medical supplies. Sounds of footsteps running down the hallways echoed in their ears, presumably other people coming to check out what was going on, but nobody paid any attention to that.
Sera stood back, her hands and arms smeared with blood, feeling suddenly useless as the woman began her work. Zayzal hovered near, his eyes fixed on Anders's face, not wanting to leave his side.
The woman hurriedly stripped Anders of his clothes and tossed them at Zayzal before she got to work. Other people soon burst into the room, immediately joining the woman in her operation, but Zayzal and Anders just stood there, watching.
They weren’t going to leave until he was better.
***
A few hours had passed, and the once frenetic pace of the lab now settled into a muted hum of machines and the occasional murmur of medical staff at work.
Anders lay on a makeshift bed, a pale shadow of his former self, his chest rising and falling rhythmically. The ice spear was gone, replaced by a series of neat stitches and bandages.
The woman who had taken charge, Dr. Ebersbach, approached Zayzal and Sera, her face weary but composed. She wiped her hands on her lab coat, a sign that the immediate emergency was over.
"He's stable, for now," she began, her voice soft yet carrying a weight of authority. "We've done what we can with what we have here. The spear... it was unlike anything I've ever seen, but we've managed to remove it without causing further hemorrhaging."
Zayzal and Sera leaned in, hanging onto her every word.
"He's lost a significant amount of blood. Under normal circumstances, we'd perform a transfusion, but our supplies are limited, and this isn’t exactly a hospital. The spear did a number on his internal organs. We've stitched everything up, but some of the tissue was... it was necrotic. We had to remove it."
Zayzal swallowed hard, his face stricken. "Will he... will he make it?" He whispered, fearing the answer.
Dr. Ebersbach sighed, her gaze drifting back to Anders. "Honestly, it's too soon to tell. He's strong; that's evident. But his body has been through significant trauma. The fractures, the burns, the frostbite... It's a miracle he's alive."
She paused, allowing the gravity of the situation to sink in.
"His recovery is going to be long and arduous. There's potential for complications, infections... and, with the frostbite, there's a chance of necrosis setting in. He needs time, rest, and care. However, I suppose that with all the craziness going on in the world today, it’s certainly possible to recover."
Zayzal's hand found Sera's, their grip tight. "Thank you," he managed to say, his throat tight with emotion.
Dr. Ebersbach gave them a nod. "We'll do everything we can for him. Anyways, there’s a bathroom down the hall. You both should wash up and get some rest. You look like you've been through hell."
As the doctor walked away to attend to another matter, Zayzal and Sera took seats beside Anders' bed. They were covered in grime and blood, their faces haggard with exhaustion and worry. They didn't speak; there were no words that could cover the gravity of their situation.
Eventually, Zayzal sighed and got up. Sera followed, and the two of them made their way toward the bathroom.
After washing up, they walked back into Anders’ room and conked out on the chairs. Neither of them said anything; they just needed to rest. All of today’s problems can be dealt with tomorrow.
Rain had started to pour by the time Zayzal and Sera burst from the dungeon's entrance. The cool droplets bounced off their skin, but neither had the luxury to mind the weather. The treacherous Harz Mountains loomed around them, their silhouette darkened by the gloomy sky.
"The SUV! There!" Sera yelled over the rain, pointing towards their parked vehicle that was hidden behind a cluster of trees.
Zayzal quickly fumbled with the keys, unlocking it as they approached. Sera, still carrying Anders' limp form, opened the back door and gently laid him down on the seat.
"Don't pull out the ice spear," Zayzal instructed as he turned on the engine. The roar of the SUV's ignition seemed deafening in the sudden silence that had enveloped them. "It'll make the bleeding worse."
"I know!" Sera snapped, her voice laced with worry. She hesitated for a moment, her hands hovering over the ice spear protruding from Anders's gut, but then she pressed both hands firmly around the wound. Blood seeped through her fingers, warm and slick. "Just drive!"
The SUV's wheels skidded on the wet ground for a moment before gaining traction. As Zayzal drove the vehicle out of the woods, he kept glancing in the rearview mirror as if expecting to see Kaldrik chasing after them. But there was nothing—only the dense canopy of the forest and the relentless rain.
"W-We… cough cough… need to head south," Anders managed to gasp out, his voice weak but filled with urgency. "To Göttingen. If it's still there... they can help."
“Not Schneverdingen?” Zayzal asked back, but Anders shook his head.
“T-Too far.”
“Alright! I’ll look for Gottingen! Just hold on!” Zayzal yelled back before focusing on the road. He didn’t know what was there, but if Anders said they could help then all he could do is trust him.
Sera looked down at him, her heart clenching at his pale face. "Tch. I should’ve killed that bastard," she whispered, pressing harder on the wound.
The slick roads were a challenge. Zayzal navigated the twists and turns with skill, relying on his memory of their path into the mountains. As the forest thinned and they drove into more open land, he jumped onto the first road in sight before he noticed a [27] sign in black and yellow leading off onto a Motorway.
There was a very long Motorway in Germany, one that he recalled went south. Swerving onto the onramp, Zayzal sighed in relief that there weren’t many cars out on the road.
Soon, he noticed signs on the side of the road. One caught his eye that said: [Göttingen–40km].
‘Thank fucking god!’ Zayzal nearly got on his knees and started praying after he saw that sign. He had no idea where they were. If he somehow got lost, Anders was screwed.
With a new sense of direction, he cranked the speed up to 140 km/h and began cruising down the Motorway.
Zayzal pressed the accelerator down as rain streamed across the windshield, the wipers frantically trying to keep up. Sera's hands were soaked with blood, her arms aching from the pressure she applied to Anders’s wound. The sound of Anders's labored breathing was loud in the close confines of the SUV.
Twenty harrowing minutes later, the form of Göttingen loomed into view, a mix of old-world architecture and the stark, modern lines of the University Medicine Göttingen building standing out on the periphery. The relief was almost palpable in the car after seeing this.
"...Th-That’s… it," Anders croaked out, pointing weakly as they approached the sprawling complex of the medical university.
Zayzal didn’t hesitate, taking the exit ramp that curved towards the town. As they drew closer, they noticed that the streets were oddly empty, save for the occasional scurrying shape that Zayzal recognized as goblins.
One of the creatures, emboldened or just careless, wandered too close to the road. With clenched teeth, Zayzal felt the thud as the SUV connected with the goblin, ending its life in a matter of seconds.
As soon as the car came to a stop near the entrance of the university, Zayzal leaped out, spear in hand, and sliced apart the remaining goblins. He couldn't risk them following inside.
The university's emergency room entrance was just ahead. They could see the flickering lights and the sliding doors, half open as if left in a hurry.
“Help! We need help!” Zayzal bellowed as they rushed towards the doors, Sera carrying Anders with all the strength she had left.
Their calls echoed eerily in the empty entryway until a figure emerged from the shadows—a young woman in a lab coat, her hair tied back in a no-nonsense bun, and eyes wide at the sight of them.
“Oh my god, what happened?” she exclaimed, rushing forward to help guide them through the maze of corridors.
"He’s been impaled!" Sera urged, her voice rough with desperation despite the situation being very clear, what with the ice spear sticking out of his body.
The woman realized her mistake and didn’t ask any more questions about that.
“How long has he been like this? Is there any more damage? Are you his friends or family? What do you know about his medical history?”
She asked a series of questions as she led them through a labyrinth of hallways until they reached a white lab with a sturdy chair in the center that seemed to serve as a makeshift examination table.
“Put him here,” the woman said, gesturing towards the chair.
Anders was gently laid down, the makeshift spear of ice still jutting from his abdomen. The woman didn't flinch at the sight, her hands moving swiftly to gather medical supplies. Sounds of footsteps running down the hallways echoed in their ears, presumably other people coming to check out what was going on, but nobody paid any attention to that.
Sera stood back, her hands and arms smeared with blood, feeling suddenly useless as the woman began her work. Zayzal hovered near, his eyes fixed on Anders's face, not wanting to leave his side.
The woman hurriedly stripped Anders of his clothes and tossed them at Zayzal before she got to work. Other people soon burst into the room, immediately joining the woman in her operation, but Zayzal and Anders just stood there, watching.
They weren’t going to leave until he was better.
***
A few hours had passed, and the once frenetic pace of the lab now settled into a muted hum of machines and the occasional murmur of medical staff at work.
Anders lay on a makeshift bed, a pale shadow of his former self, his chest rising and falling rhythmically. The ice spear was gone, replaced by a series of neat stitches and bandages.
The woman who had taken charge, Dr. Ebersbach, approached Zayzal and Sera, her face weary but composed. She wiped her hands on her lab coat, a sign that the immediate emergency was over.
"He's stable, for now," she began, her voice soft yet carrying a weight of authority. "We've done what we can with what we have here. The spear... it was unlike anything I've ever seen, but we've managed to remove it without causing further hemorrhaging."
Zayzal and Sera leaned in, hanging onto her every word.
"He's lost a significant amount of blood. Under normal circumstances, we'd perform a transfusion, but our supplies are limited, and this isn’t exactly a hospital. The spear did a number on his internal organs. We've stitched everything up, but some of the tissue was... it was necrotic. We had to remove it."
Zayzal swallowed hard, his face stricken. "Will he... will he make it?" He whispered, fearing the answer.
Dr. Ebersbach sighed, her gaze drifting back to Anders. "Honestly, it's too soon to tell. He's strong; that's evident. But his body has been through significant trauma. The fractures, the burns, the frostbite... It's a miracle he's alive."
She paused, allowing the gravity of the situation to sink in.
"His recovery is going to be long and arduous. There's potential for complications, infections... and, with the frostbite, there's a chance of necrosis setting in. He needs time, rest, and care. However, I suppose that with all the craziness going on in the world today, it’s certainly possible to recover."
Zayzal's hand found Sera's, their grip tight. "Thank you," he managed to say, his throat tight with emotion.
Dr. Ebersbach gave them a nod. "We'll do everything we can for him. Anyways, there’s a bathroom down the hall. You both should wash up and get some rest. You look like you've been through hell."
As the doctor walked away to attend to another matter, Zayzal and Sera took seats beside Anders' bed. They were covered in grime and blood, their faces haggard with exhaustion and worry. They didn't speak; there were no words that could cover the gravity of their situation.
Eventually, Zayzal sighed and got up. Sera followed, and the two of them made their way toward the bathroom.
After washing up, they walked back into Anders’ room and conked out on the chairs. Neither of them said anything; they just needed to rest. All of today’s problems can be dealt with tomorrow.
