Wearied by pain, I flitted in and out of sleep, content to sink into the couch. Content to yield to it my wakefulness. I ought to be keeping better watch, I ruminated during the fleeting lapses of my consciousness. But I convinced myself it wouldn't matter. If enemies came our way, seeing their approach would do us no good. We were in no condition to fight or run.
Knocks on the door startled me full awake.
I jumped up from the couch, and Saber likewise jerked upward. Despite her lack of sight, she managed to find the grip of her sword as it rested against her hip. I scrambled to grab my gun.
"It's me," a muffled voice came from outside. I recognized it as Jack.
Thank goodness. The one thing I had been hoping for. His arrival.
I looked out the peephole to confirm, then quickly pushed aside the cabinet barricading the door to let him in. He slipped through the doorway, out of breath but otherwise in seemingly good shape. Soon as he entered, I shut the door once more and barricaded it. Hopefully no one had trailed him here.
"You're at 180," was the first thing he said to me. He was staring right above my head, presumably at my HP bar. And then he scanned the rest of the room. Saber on the couch, equally injured. The two corpses on the ground that we still hadn't cleared yet. And then back at me, at my gun and the towel wrapped haphazardly around my body. Only then had I noticed that the towel's white fabric had been dirtied thoroughly by my bloodied coughs.
Jack, glistening with sweat, slumped down at the dining table. "You said you were OK," he said to me. "So that was a lie."
I checked back on my notebook messages.
"I said I was going to be alright," I corrected him. "And I am."
He peered up, a pained, frustrated look in his gaze.
"Hun, a stiff breeze could kill you both."
"Well thanks." I rolled my eyes. "I certainly wouldn't have noticed without you saying."
The washing machine beeped a musical tune. It had completed the washing cycle, and the drying cycle too.
"Let me go change," I said, dismissing myself to fetch my clothes and retreat to an empty bedroom. Junk cluttered the floorspace inside: Empty water bottles, unwashed clothes, an infrared dish-heater, and an assortment of electronics chargers and cables. I fully re-equipped myself, coat and pointy hat and all. As I smoothed my attire over, two quick knocks sounded on the door.
"Come in," I said. As I had expected, it was Jack. He eased the door close behind him.
"We should talk," he said.
"I mean, yeah. What's on your mind?"
Jack stood with his arms folded, in the corner of the room. "I should be asking you. What do you have planned, if anything?"
"Rest up, and set off, I suppose."
"How long to rest?" he asked.
I shrugged. "Until we're at two-thirds HP?"
"How long's that gonna take?" he asked.
"I don't know."
"We've gone over this," Jack sighed. "We can't afford to stay in the same place. The Bounty Hall will get reinforcements. Cirrus could've fetched a Seekflower by now. One of their top killers is in the area, whoever sent the rats. We can't stay here. Not for more than five, ten more hours, I reckon. Can you heal up by then?"
"I don't know," I admitted, exasperated.
Jack rubbed his temples. "Sophia. That's the best you can give me?"
"Saber and I are poisoned," I explained. "Our HP regeneration is messed up. It'll probably wear off soon. Ten hours sounds doable."
"And if you don't get better in ten hours?"
"We'll figure something out," I said.
"We'll need to do better."
"Then why don't you come up with something!" I hated being questioned like this. As though I, alone, had the job of getting everyone out of here alive.
But Jack merely nodded. He closed his eyes, then opened them slowly, raising his sight up to meet mine. A heaviness weighed down upon the room.
"I will need to be honest with you," he said slowly. "You're out of commission. And Saber too. If anything happens, I know you need me to bail the both of you out. And trust me, if I could, I would give anything to get us all to safety. But I can't. We've messed up too much."
My stomach churned. Deep down, I feared he spoke the truth.
Jack lowered his voice to a bleak, bitter whisper. "If the Bounty Hunters come for Saber, there is nothing I can do. She is blind and on death's door. She can't run. If they come, it's over."
He looked to me. I merely stared back in silence.
"I know you know it," he continued. "We'll need to shelter her here. We'll set off, go find the abandoned mall. And then our best shot is to bring a rescue party back for her."
I bit my lips. Jack asked the impossible from me. I had already promised her, that I'd stay at her side.
"...And if the bounty hunters find her first?" I pointed out.
"Let's hope they don't."
"We need to do better," I replied, throwing his words back at him.
"Well be my guest," Jack spat. "Are we just gonna stay here and die together? Look, I had no bounty. I was fine. The rats went for you and Saber. But they're not targeting you. Nor me. The only one they're after is her. The best shot we have of reaching the mall, is the two of us. I don't have the strength to save you both. But please, I'm begging. Let me at least save you."
I closed my eyes. I was tired. How much was my life worth? So much that Hei should sacrifice himself to save me? So much, that Saber should sacrifice herself for my safety?
Hei. If only you were still here. What would you do? Surely you'd be able to do something. Right?
"I'll save us all," I told Jack. "If the hunters come, I will kill them all."
"Sophia, stop. This is suicide. You…ugh. What the heck are you saying?"
"Why should I be the one running away every time?" I cried out. "Why can't I choose to save anyone? Hei…Hei had the choice. He saved me again, and again, and again. And I…"
"You're not Hei," Jack whispered to me. "And you don't need to be him. None of us can be him."
I knew that. I knew I was never in the same league as him. I would never have been able to face down 6E12, the way he did. The things he did were impossible for me.
But even so. Even so, I too could fight for a miracle.
"Give me ten hours," I told Jack. "I'll make something happen."
"What are you gonna do?" he asked, frowning.
I glanced at my railgun, then at the dish-heater on the ground. I shall do what I do best. I shall create a magical item. Something to surpass even the Seekflower.
A radar.
Wearied by pain, I flitted in and out of sleep, content to sink into the couch. Content to yield to it my wakefulness. I ought to be keeping better watch, I ruminated during the fleeting lapses of my consciousness. But I convinced myself it wouldn't matter. If enemies came our way, seeing their approach would do us no good. We were in no condition to fight or run.
Knocks on the door startled me full awake.
I jumped up from the couch, and Saber likewise jerked upward. Despite her lack of sight, she managed to find the grip of her sword as it rested against her hip. I scrambled to grab my gun.
"It's me," a muffled voice came from outside. I recognized it as Jack.
Thank goodness. The one thing I had been hoping for. His arrival.
I looked out the peephole to confirm, then quickly pushed aside the cabinet barricading the door to let him in. He slipped through the doorway, out of breath but otherwise in seemingly good shape. Soon as he entered, I shut the door once more and barricaded it. Hopefully no one had trailed him here.
"You're at 180," was the first thing he said to me. He was staring right above my head, presumably at my HP bar. And then he scanned the rest of the room. Saber on the couch, equally injured. The two corpses on the ground that we still hadn't cleared yet. And then back at me, at my gun and the towel wrapped haphazardly around my body. Only then had I noticed that the towel's white fabric had been dirtied thoroughly by my bloodied coughs.
Jack, glistening with sweat, slumped down at the dining table. "You said you were OK," he said to me. "So that was a lie."
I checked back on my notebook messages.
"I said I was going to be alright," I corrected him. "And I am."
He peered up, a pained, frustrated look in his gaze.
"Hun, a stiff breeze could kill you both."
"Well thanks." I rolled my eyes. "I certainly wouldn't have noticed without you saying."
The washing machine beeped a musical tune. It had completed the washing cycle, and the drying cycle too.
"Let me go change," I said, dismissing myself to fetch my clothes and retreat to an empty bedroom. Junk cluttered the floorspace inside: Empty water bottles, unwashed clothes, an infrared dish-heater, and an assortment of electronics chargers and cables. I fully re-equipped myself, coat and pointy hat and all. As I smoothed my attire over, two quick knocks sounded on the door.
"Come in," I said. As I had expected, it was Jack. He eased the door close behind him.
"We should talk," he said.
"I mean, yeah. What's on your mind?"
Jack stood with his arms folded, in the corner of the room. "I should be asking you. What do you have planned, if anything?"
"Rest up, and set off, I suppose."
"How long to rest?" he asked.
I shrugged. "Until we're at two-thirds HP?"
"How long's that gonna take?" he asked.
"I don't know."
"We've gone over this," Jack sighed. "We can't afford to stay in the same place. The Bounty Hall will get reinforcements. Cirrus could've fetched a Seekflower by now. One of their top killers is in the area, whoever sent the rats. We can't stay here. Not for more than five, ten more hours, I reckon. Can you heal up by then?"
"I don't know," I admitted, exasperated.
Jack rubbed his temples. "Sophia. That's the best you can give me?"
"Saber and I are poisoned," I explained. "Our HP regeneration is messed up. It'll probably wear off soon. Ten hours sounds doable."
"And if you don't get better in ten hours?"
"We'll figure something out," I said.
"We'll need to do better."
"Then why don't you come up with something!" I hated being questioned like this. As though I, alone, had the job of getting everyone out of here alive.
But Jack merely nodded. He closed his eyes, then opened them slowly, raising his sight up to meet mine. A heaviness weighed down upon the room.
"I will need to be honest with you," he said slowly. "You're out of commission. And Saber too. If anything happens, I know you need me to bail the both of you out. And trust me, if I could, I would give anything to get us all to safety. But I can't. We've messed up too much."
My stomach churned. Deep down, I feared he spoke the truth.
Jack lowered his voice to a bleak, bitter whisper. "If the Bounty Hunters come for Saber, there is nothing I can do. She is blind and on death's door. She can't run. If they come, it's over."
He looked to me. I merely stared back in silence.
"I know you know it," he continued. "We'll need to shelter her here. We'll set off, go find the abandoned mall. And then our best shot is to bring a rescue party back for her."
I bit my lips. Jack asked the impossible from me. I had already promised her, that I'd stay at her side.
"...And if the bounty hunters find her first?" I pointed out.
"Let's hope they don't."
"We need to do better," I replied, throwing his words back at him.
"Well be my guest," Jack spat. "Are we just gonna stay here and die together? Look, I had no bounty. I was fine. The rats went for you and Saber. But they're not targeting you. Nor me. The only one they're after is her. The best shot we have of reaching the mall, is the two of us. I don't have the strength to save you both. But please, I'm begging. Let me at least save you."
I closed my eyes. I was tired. How much was my life worth? So much that Hei should sacrifice himself to save me? So much, that Saber should sacrifice herself for my safety?
Hei. If only you were still here. What would you do? Surely you'd be able to do something. Right?
"I'll save us all," I told Jack. "If the hunters come, I will kill them all."
"Sophia, stop. This is suicide. You…ugh. What the heck are you saying?"
"Why should I be the one running away every time?" I cried out. "Why can't I choose to save anyone? Hei…Hei had the choice. He saved me again, and again, and again. And I…"
"You're not Hei," Jack whispered to me. "And you don't need to be him. None of us can be him."
I knew that. I knew I was never in the same league as him. I would never have been able to face down 6E12, the way he did. The things he did were impossible for me.
But even so. Even so, I too could fight for a miracle.
"Give me ten hours," I told Jack. "I'll make something happen."
"What are you gonna do?" he asked, frowning.
I glanced at my railgun, then at the dish-heater on the ground. I shall do what I do best. I shall create a magical item. Something to surpass even the Seekflower.
A radar.
