The Forgotten Rogue

Chapter 55

A few haunted seconds claimed the silence of the burnt down village as Emeric stared at the bloodied hand that peeked out from the pile of corpses. His fearful eyes searched for movement once more...That slightest twitch that signified the presence of life.

The fingers remained still...Lifeless...

Emeric wanted to leave, to follow his father. He wanted...No, needed, to get away from all the corpses...Stripped of their armor...They drew him back to his past, reminding him of the horrors he'd done...The lives he had taken. Yet, he knew what he had seen. The hand had moved. Right? Emeric couldn't leave when in good conscience he knew that there was a chance that one of the Etreshians had survived the attack.

With a halfhearted swallow, Emeric stalked towards the blood stained limb. His feet almost refused to move...A hidden emotion dragging him back...Was it fear? Terror from his past? He wasn't sure, but his spine was tingling with a sense of danger. Emeric wanted to bolt.

"What's wrong?" Hunter's voice broke through the cloud of doubt that rose over Emeric's head. Emeric swallowed, but didn't answer as he placed his fingers on the wrist of that one hand that seemed to haunt his very being. The skin was cold to the touch...Pale beneath the blood that marred it.

Emeric gasped with shock and nearly fell back when the hand moved and gripped his wrist. The pulse was weak, but there...Emeric was tempted to jerk away from the deathlike limb that grasped at him, but he frowned and forced himself to remain still.

Although the grip was barely hard enough to apply any pressure, Emeric could sense the emotion that the victim felt...The sheer terror that Emeric might leave him there to die, stuck beneath the bodies of fallen men, comrades...Brothers...

The victim's hand was trembling with the effort of keeping his hold. Emeric almost felt tears rise to his eyes. He found himself gripping the mournful hand that grasped at him. He needed the injured Rogue to know that he wouldn't leave...That he was going to help.

"Oh gosh..." Hunter's exclamation made Rayhan turn back to them...To the pile of fallen Etreshians. That was when he also saw it...The hand clinging onto the last strand of hope...Emeric. He rushed to Emeric's side along with Hunter. The hope that at least someone had survived nearly drove Rayhan to the ground...He needed to know what had happened to his people.

"Help me get him out." Emeric said through a tight throat, still gripping the bloodstained hand.

Rayhan and Hunter started dragging bodies off of the pile, lightening the loud that pressed the lone survivor down. Emeric pulled at the arm...It didn't budge. He was afraid to pull harder, fearing that he might hurt the victim more than his current injuries were paining him.

As the load decreased, Emeric increased his efforts. He tightened his grip on the hand, grabbing just above the wrist, and then pulled with a steady force. Gradually, the body started slipping out of it's cage as it came free from the weight that pushed it down.

The victim came out stomach down, crying out in pain as hidden injuries came back to life with searing pain. The familiarity in the voice nearly made Emeric faint...It sounded so much like him...He had to be sure...Hunter and Rayhan gripped the other arm and aided Emeric. The mangled body dropped to the floor, limp as a rag doll...

The victim whimpered in pain, clutching at his torso. Emeric couldn't make out his face. Only half of it was visible as he lay face down, pressing his forehead into the ground, trying, but failing to ward off the crippling pain. A savage laceration ran diagonally over the brow before turning down next to an unfortunate eye which was swollen shut and marred with blood. The damage would most likely cause blindness. The black tussle of hair was plastered to the Etreshian's scalp and forehead with dried blood.