Survivors

Chapter 9: Xain

Chapter 9: Xain

            I’m walking into Section 5 when I’m almost immediately yanked by my arm from behind. I didn’t even hear anyone approach me from behind, and it was so quick that I didn’t have time to react. As I’m stumbling trying to keep up, I catch sight of the red-orange hair and immediately know who it is.

            “Kat, what are you doing?” I ask while trying to keep up with her.

            “Jada’s hurt,” she answers without slowing down any, “She’s in the infirmary.”

            “Wait,” now I pull myself together and catch my footing. I come to a stop and pull Kat with me, “What happened?”

            “She fell on a glass vase and cut her legs and arms badly,” Kat starts, and it looks as though she might burst into tears, “A maid found her lying on her bed with a trail of blood. She’s lost a lot of blood and they’re operating on her now.”

            The last time I saw Jada was in the dining hall about an hour and a half ago. She looked upset with her friend, Melissa—so upset, that she stormed off.

            “How long ago did this happen?” I ask with a sigh, trying to mask the concern in my voice.

            “The maid found her about an hour ago,” Kat looks at me in the eyes this time, “She was so weak when the medic saw her that he almost pronounced her dead. She’s...asleep now.”

            I sigh and hug Kat close. She must not have known what was happening, because her hands are locked onto my chest. I look down to see that she has burrowed her face into me. I don’t know if it’s because I feel strange or not, but I push her away and grab her hands and walk, asking her to lead me to the infirmary. She once again picks up speed, but this time I’m able to keep up.

            The infirmary is crawling with people, more than I have ever seen. There are medics running around with clean and dirty utensils, and fighters with various injuries. There was one with a bloodied patch over his eye, and even a couple of body bags being carried or rolled out. What happened? I guess I missed a match.

            Kat points over to an area—room 15—and pulls me through the crowd. The area around the room seems reletively peaceful, as if untouched by the chaos around it. We very gently pull the curtains back and see Melissa curled in a corner, head buried in her knees. Kat lets go of my hand and kneels beside Melissa.

            “Mel,” Kat strokes Melissa’s silky blond hair and grabs hold of her hand, “It’s okay, Mel, she’s going to be fine. We’re very fortunate that the maid came by to clean her room and discovered her.”

            “But it’s all my fault,” Melissa looks up finally, revealing that she’d been crying for a while. She’s pale white with a reddish tint, and her face is drenched with tears. Those icy blue eyes are now filled with red spots.

            “It’s not your fault,” Kat continues to try and pacify Melissa.

            “Yes it is,” Melissa nearly shouts the words. She looks at me, “I told her that I was happy that your friend didn’t give up the fight, because I didn’t want to lose her. I said it was necessary.”

            I guess my hurt flashed across my face, because she’s crying harder now. I walk over towards Jada’s body, which is covered in white, medicated pads. There’s a tube delivering some sort of clear fluid into her arm. I place my hand over her cool forehead, and then smooth back her hair. She’s just a little girl.