The Green Guardian

Chapter 43: The Bittersweet

        "John! What happened?" Evie asked the scuffed-up crane.

"Ah! I'm dying! I'm dying!" he shouted. John rocked back and forth on the ground and showed Evie his wing. "That freaking undead army broke my wing all over again! A bird who can't fly is not a bird at all!"

Mateo twitched from where he lied. John's whining stressed him. Aside from that, both he and Euphorbia felt that something had happened to the basilisk. After all, the two fairies and the monster were connected. Euphorbia dropped from Sam's shoulder, but luckily, he caught her.

Mateo tried to get up. His chest heaved, and his legs shook. He did not open his eyes.

Maria fought against him. "Mateo! Mateo!" She glared at John. "Evie, will you shut that bird up? He's stressing him out!" By accident, she hit Mateo in the tummy with her elbow.

He let out a sharp but painful yell. His knees shot up under his blanket, and he coughed.

"Oh my God! I'm so sorry!" Maria slapped her palm to her mouth. She felt horrible. The sight of Mateo crying from the overwhelming agony did not help. "I'm so sorry," Maria repeated. She tucked her face in his chest.

While Krysta attempted to calm him, Evie slapped John across the cheeks a few times. "Pull yourself together! What happened? Where's the basilisk?"

The grief was too much for John to handle. He screeched into the atmosphere. Smaller birds took off in flight.

Mateo was so stressed that he ripped off the oxygen mask. He threw up all over his blanket.

"Oh my God!" Maria yelled. "John, stop! Please!" she begged the crane. She removed the blanket from Mateo.

Edger took it from her. He hastily flew away and tried to look for a stream or puddle he could wash it in.

Evie lugged the panicked John to his feet and led him away from the group.

Mateo fell into Maria's chest. "Don't let me die. Please," he sobbed. He rubbed his hand across her baby bump. "I want to hold her. I want to see her grow up."

Maria brushed tears away from his splotchy face. "You're going to hold her, Mateo. I know you will. Mateo? Mateo!"

Mateo started to slip in and out of consciousness again. He did not move in Maria's arms.

She tugged his shoulders. "Mateo! No! Stay with me! Please!"

Ranger Krysta had no choice. She ripped her walkie-talkie-like device out of her pocket and called the Union. "Hey, Professor Eryx? It's Krysta. I need you to send an ambulance ASAP. Mateo is not going to survive the trip to the tree on foot. We need to get him there today. Can you send the helicopter, too? We'll airlift him to the hospital as soon as the ritual is complete."

"Oh, Mateo," Maria cried. She glanced at Keegan. "Mr. Madison, just accept him!"

Keegan clutched his head.

Charlotte tried to comfort him by patting his shoulder. "His life depends on it. He's losing the battle. He needs you, baby."

Crystal leaped into the mix, annoyed by the party's slow progress. "Let's move, guys, or else the enemy will catch us."

"What about Evie and John?" Charlotte fearfully asked.

Sam set the weakened Euphorbia back on his shoulder. He brushed the dirt off his pants. "I'll get them. What's important now is that you guys get Mateo somewhere safe, at least until the ambulance arrives."