Naihabi Ridge

Chapter Fifteen - Comrades, Part II

Avi

The three of us were silent as we came upon a group of collectors running down the hallways. For the most part, Master Romia seemed like the only one who knew exactly where she was going, with Oriole and I trailing behind almost cluelessly.

When we were still on the roof, we ran atop the building for several minutes, then we dropped down through a hole that I assumed was how they came in, and we started down the labyrinthine hallways once again. Since then, we had passed and either hid from or defeated several groups of collectors, but we hadn't come across any more soldiers since the commander.

My strength didn't feel any different since the voice had warned me, but that didn't mean it wasn't making a difference, since I was almost positive it was. The voice didn't seem like it was lying and as such, I wouldn't dare chance it.
    
"Once we come around this corner, we should come upon the hallway where the rest of the refugees are being held," Master Romia signaled us to stop as she peered around the edge, "and for the sake of us all, I hope you know what should happen next."
    
Oriole murmured beneath her breath, "There are so many things dependent on luck right now..."
    
And then we turned the corner.
    
The hallway was anticlimactic. It looked almost exactly like all the others, except there were several more doors to each side. We started down it, and a chill crept up my sleeves to my neck and I shivered.
    
It didn't take very long for us to get to the first door in the series, and Master Romia wasted no time silently slipping the door open. She peered around the edge of the door and I saw her eyebrows furrow. I inched forward behind her and she opened the door completely, taking a step inside. Oriole and I followed suit, and I took a look around the dark room. There was a white table near the wall and a huge curtain that ran from the ceiling to the floor, hiding what was most likely more than half of the room. I took another step forward, then my movement came to a halt as a smell met my senses and I saw Oriole grimace from beside me. My eyes widened and I ran forward, yanking the curtain to the side.
    
The room was filled with rows and rows of table-sized white cloths lying on the floor, something lying under each one. I ran forward and I heard Master Romia yell for me to stop, but I didn't. I skidded to a stop next to one of the cloths and I moved the corner of it to the side, and my breath caught in my throat. My hand started shaking and I dropped the cloth, fully revealing a face of the deceased, and Oriole gasped. Master Romia walked forward and felt for a pulse, even though we both knew this person was gone.

The boy couldn't have been any older than me, with an innocent face and a hauntingly peaceful look. His eyes were closed, which made him look like he was sleeping, and I knew that he had once had a life to live for and a future to hope for. Master Romia let out a long breath before she replaced the cloth and stood.

I looked also at the remainder of the room, where the rows and rows of cloths like this laid, each one holding a body now belonging to death. How many were in this room? How many had died?

The smell of decay lingered in the air, a stagnant stench, and I became nauseous from so many things at once. Unsteadily, I got to my feet and started walking forward, though I didn't know exactly where I was going.

"Warden, I saw that one move!" I swiveled around as Oriole and Master Romia ran to one of the cloths. I raced over to them and froze. My stomach leapt up to my throat and lodged itself there.

In front of me, barely hanging on to life, was Lindo. He laid there under the cloth except his head, his eyes sunken and his cheekbones prominent as if he'd been starved, and dried blood was splattered everywhere.

"P...pl—ease..." he breathed, and then, with an immense amount of effort, reached out a shaky hand toward me. I took his bony fingers in my own and he rasped, "Kill me."

My eyes widened and I stumbled back a step, letting his hand fall to the cold ground. The blazing fires and explosions of my home flashed in my mind and I bit my lip, tears stinging my eyes. I couldn't look away from Lindo's dying face, at every feature and crevice, at the loss of hope in his eyes. I wished I were still back in Mithle, with my parents and Hannah and... and Lillian. My family. They would know what to do. I never would have been in this situation if it hadn't been for the night raid. So much death... so much pain...

Master Romia was shaking my shoulders, telling me something. I buried my head in my hands, shaking, and backed away from her. They weren't my family. They could never be my family. Mom, Dad, Hannah, and Lilli. They were irreplaceable. What was I thinking? I needed to get out. To get back to them. Then everything would be fine. After all, this was all just a nightmare. I would wake up to find everything normal again. I would wake to my family, go work with my friends, live at my home, and all would be normal again.

But what was normal? Was it even real anymore? Tears streamed down my face and I clenched my hands into fists and fell on my back on the ground. I just laid there, letting everything happen around me. I closed my eyes, putting my hands over them, ignoring everything. This wasn't my fight. This wasn't where I was supposed to be.

"Are you ready?" The voice said.

I was sick of it all. As long as I could go back to my life, I was ready for anything. If that's what it would take to wake up from this nightmare, then so be it.

The voice seemed resolute as it repeated, "Then so be it."

I gasped as all the strength that I had dissipated, and I clenched my jaw as the pain and aches returned. They seemed much worse than before, but... if this is what it would take... if this is what it would take, then so be it.

So be it. I took a deep breath, racked with a thousand types of pain, then the world dissolved from around me into pure, untainted blackness.

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Yo. If you liked the chapter or have any questions or improvements or you catch one of my mistakes (cause I make so many), then let me know! Votes, questions, and comments are always welcomed. (*'꒳'*)

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