Soulbound - A Double Life Story

-The First Found-

Impulse

      My heart is pounding, I lean against the cool stone cliff. I brush my brown hair out of my face, swatting at a mosquito in the process. I run my hand along my right shoulder. It aches with a dull throb, but that isn't what scares me. I was eating a berry when it happened. It felt as if an arrow had been shot full speed into my shoulder blade. I could almost feel the blood running down my back, but as I whipped out my sword there was nothing. Nothing but the sweet berry patch I had been picking clean. It had been days. Days of randomly hurting wrists and ankles. Random cuts and bruises appearing. Nothing I had caused myself. Sure there were a few I had caused, I tripped on a rock and fell down a 6 foot drop a couple days in, but that was only a small twist. 

   "Ah! Skeleton!" I chuckle a moment, shaking my head at Bdubs' antics, I felt horrible for whomever he was Soulbound to. They must be going through as much as I was. I mean this is the first time it has been a skeleton but I swear every zombie we find attacks him. I smile a moment before standing and rubbing my shoulder again. "Impulse help! Ack!" I see an arrow fly over the boulder next to me and lodge itself in the course dirt. The feathers on the end blowing slightly in the wind tunnel that was the Gorge. I pick up my shield, the iron clanking against the rock as I scale part of the cliff. 

   "Jesus Bdubs!" I jump down and slice my sword at the skeleton, unfortunately I can't quite reach its neck and only swipe the air between its ribs. It draws it's nobly wooden bow and shoots an arrow. I dodge just in time, but I still feel the pain. It feels as if the arrow has lodged itself into my side. I run forward, wincing, and slice off the skeleton's head. The bones fall to the floor and I stare at them a moment before holding a hand to my side, expecting and arrow to be sticking out. Instead I feel nothing and instead hear a hiss of pain. As I turn around my jaw drops and I run over to my partner and friend. His headband is crooked and parts of his wispy white hair have fallen into his face. His grin (as always, missing a few teeth) has turned to a grimace and he holds his side gingerly. This is not what surprises me. What surprises me are the two arrows. One in the back of his shoulder and the other lodged in his side. As the reality of the situation dawns on me I suddenly feel my side become sticky. I look down, only to realize that I am also bleeding, from the same places. The red splotch on my shirt grows slowly as I limp to Bdubs' side, collapsing in front of him. I begin to rip part of his shirt to safely remove the arrow and both of us hiss in pain. 

   "Impulse?" Bdubs looks up his eyes trained on my shoulder blade where a second red spot is spreading. "How...? OH CRAP" He jerks as I swiftly remove the arrow from his side, watching as the blood spreads faster. The makeshift bandages fall from my pocket as I dig for them. Only to be picked up by Bdubs who hands them to me. I carefully wrap his side and torso, being sure to keep plenty of pressure on the wound. "Impulse look," he says softly, "Your bleeding stopped." I look down, indeed the blood has stopped spreading and when I lift my shirt I see a thin white film covering my own wound. 

   "We're Soulbound then?" I say, moving to his other side and examining the arrow in his back. He turns his head to look at me, his familiar grin painting his face.

   "You betcha!" He says chuckling, "You've gotta get me a ring though" A flush spreads across my face and I laugh as he removes his shirt, with help from me.

   "A ring? Why a ring?" I pull the arrow out of his back and we both hiss in pain. This arrow did not lodge very deep so it isn't bleeding as much.

   "Well we're stuck together." I hum in agreement, trying to focus on bandaging his shoulder and not the fact that Bdubs isn't wearing a shirt. "So may as well make it official" I nearly choke. I hastily tie the knot over his shoulder and hand him back his bloodied shirt. I feel my own shoulder stop leaking blood as we stare at each other.