Fog of Shadows

Chapter 4

On her way through the academy courtyard, the doctor noticed the amount of damage the storm actually caused that she had overlooked in her haste to get to her brother. Most of the student's and locals walked around with cuts and bruises; she was quite surprised how many of them had actually not visited her to help them aid in their healing; both physically and mentally, but she knew that she could not force them to let her help them, though personally, she wished she could.

"Good morning Dr. Jacklyn." the voice addressing her directly startled her out of her thoughts and she found herself looking at one of the two recently graduated captains.

"Oh, good morning Captain Flinn; how are you and your crew dealing with the outcome of the storm?"

"I have met up with my first and second mate and have discussed some of the damages with them, but I have been unable to find the rest of my crew; have you seen them by any chance?" asked the young man smiling politely at the doctor.

" I have seen them, shortly after you and Alisea have brought me that young women you found on the beach, to be more exact, Alisea, Donnie, and Myri came to visit her about an hour after you brought her to me, I told them to keep their distance from her though." At this the young captain frowns; not at his crew visiting the young women, he was sure that Alisea would have told them all about her and would have brought them to her for a visit, but at the doctor warning them to keep their distance from the young women.

"Why should they keep their distance from her, is she sick?"

"That's just it, I'm not sure if the young women is sick. I have gone through my normal procedure and have found some oddities, some of them being that the women has little to no bodily fluids, which would concern me if she were showing signs of dehydration, but she seems to be perfectly fine. I have also been unable to find a pulse on her, but maybe I have just made a mistake and have not listened closely. For these and my personal concerns, I have ordered everyone, who wants to see her, to keep a distance from her, just in case the woman has some sickness unknown to me and it spreads to others. I hope you understand my concerns"

The young captain nodded but personally felt that the young women posed no threat to anyone since it was he and Alisea who found her and brought her to the doctor. Thinking that the rest of his crew and his girlfriend were probably still with the young women, he asked if he may follow the doctor back to her small hospital cottage and as expected the doctor allowed it. As he followed the doctor, a thought crossed his mind; where did the young women come from and was she the one who caused the scratched on the bleached tree trunk; was she holding onto the trunk while the storm-tossed and turned her around in the ocean like a rag doll? Once at the hospital cottage the doctor stops shortly past the threshold.

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"Away from what?" Asked Myri, only to have the answer to that be, that the young women sat upright in bed and once again grabbed Alisea by the sleeve.

"You won't send me back, won't you?" asked the women, completely ignoring Myri and instead of looking Alisea directly in the eyes. Alisea, so dumfounded by the women's reactions, could hardly do anything but look back at the women and note how glowingly green her eyes were, almost as green and glowing like polished emeralds.

"Umm...No, we won't be sending you back...it's difficult to do so if we don't know where you come from." Was the answer she was finally able to give the women who has not stopped staring directly into her eyes?

"Ma'am, where did you come from and what were you running away from?" Asked Myri, now more curious as of the women's origins then concerned over her friend's safety. At this, the strange, young women's eyes focused on her, but her hand still tightly clutched onto Alisea's sleeve.

"It's none of your business. I will tell you when I feel like it and at the moment I don't." spat the young women in a harsh and almost hostile tone before directing her attention back to Alisea. "What's your name, young lady?"

At the sudden sweetness of her voice towards her, after hearing her practically attack her friend for a benign question startled her, but Alisea knew better than to show a person, who might be mentally unstable, her feelings, and concerns.

"My name is Alisea...Alisea Windjackle from Monster Island." This was the answer she usually gave when asked about her identity. The women squinted her eyes at Alisea, almost like trying to remember every single detail of this young woman, and while the strange young women was looking at Alisea like a tiger would at his prey, the room became uncomforting quiet. The four women practically jumped when the doctor opened the door and stared at them with a look of anger, disappointment, and concern.

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"I thought I told the three of you to keep your distance from her until I have fully observed her." Said the doctor as she found the strange women clasping the sleeve of the young captain as if it were a life raft. Flinn, confused about what the doctor was saying, stepped into the cottage and stared in shock as the unconscious women from earlier, was holding his girlfriend so close that, if she wanted to hurt her, they would not be able to reach them in time to stop it. To further frighten him, the young women seemingly almost crawled onto his girlfriend's lap after she spotted him; yelling and sputtering incoherent words of how she should not let him get close to her, all the while Alisea looked back and forth between him and the women; a look of confusion and fear clearly visible in her eyes.

"Ma'am there is nothing to be afraid of he is a friend; he and I found you unconscious on the beach by a tree trunk." Said Alisea while gently stroking the women's fiery red hair; trying to comfort and calm her down before she would hurt herself or anyone else.

"Don't trust him. Don't trust men in general!" at this point the women was once again staring in Alisea's eyes like a prisoner begging a judge for a lesser sentence. Flinn wanted to push past the doctor to aid his girlfriend, but the doctor stopped his efforts with a single look; a look that gave him some reassurance that Alisea would be alright and that his interference would just worsen the situation. Simultaneously the doctor motioned both Donnie and Myri to step further away from the women with a beckoning motion of the hand; reluctantly the two girls left the side of their friend's side, looking back only once to see their friend nodding to them that it is alright for them to leave. At this point, Alisea was certain that the women either must have suffered a serious head trauma, sunstroke or was simply mad. After a good fifteen minutes of stroking the women's hair and the doctor coaxing her with promises of protection, the women eventually let go of Alisea and laid back down on the bed with a racing heart; still shaking a bit, but visibly calmer than earlier. The doctor prepared a syringe with a narcotic to fully relax the women and allow her to get some rest and within seconds of injection, the strange women swayed somewhere between consciousness and unconsciousness.

"My name is Willow." Said the young women to Alisea in a sleepy, almost whispery voice as Alisea was about to get up and leave, making her stop in her tracks.

"Nice to meet you Willow." Said Alisea with a friendly smile.

"Please don't leave me." Begged Willow while trying to reach for Alisea, her limbs visibly getting heavier as the narcotic was taking over the women's body.

"I have to leave to survey the damage done to my ship by the storm and to see if anyone needs any help, but I promise I'll be back before you wake up, is that alright with you?" at this point the Willow lay calm, asleep and unresponsive on the bed with a small smile on her thin, dry lips.