Oriehn

Chapter 42- Taliesin

Chapter 42- Taliesin

My ears were ringing, but I could still hear the voices. The screams of those who survived the initial blast vibrated through my skull, as if we were speaking over an unreliable radio frequency.

The high-pitched static failed to mask my heartbeat, though. It rose above the noise as if taunting me, mocking the fact that I was still alive to experience the pain.

I tried to move, to sit up, but panicked when a barrier prevented me from doing so. Breathily, I whimpered, afraid to look. I squeezed my eyes tightly, before opening them wide.

The warden that had tackled me to the ground had shielded me from much of the explosion. His eyes were glazed over, his white uniform scorched and bleeding a bright red. It was all over me, his blood. It covered my skin, plastering the stolen clothes to my body, as if they were painted on in a crimson shade, and not the pristine white from before.

I tried to move his corpse, push it off onto the floor beside me, but a pain ripping through my body from my abdomen caused me to cease my movements.

"Ah," I felt my lips moving, but couldn't hear my own voice. I felt my lungs expanding, asking for more air, but could not hear what I was expending the air on. I looked over the warden's body, my heart clenching.

A large piece of shrapnel had lodged itself in his back, gouging through his spine. From the angle and its apparent size, it looked to have pinned me to him upon impact, which would explain the searing pain along my side.

I tried to roll over on top on him, to lift myself off of the shrapnel, but my limbs were growing heavier and heavier. My eyes were shuttering closed, and a haziness was filtering in, and I was sure that it was because of the blood loss.

But in my state of numbed consciousness, I looked around, unable to see the familiar midnight blue that ran inherently through my veins; but there was red, everywhere, plenty of red, and far too much to for one man.

Panicking I touched my wound, my hand inserted between our two bodies, and raised it to my face. The ringing came to an abrupt end, but my heartbeat was still there, faint and fast. I heard footsteps, as if the echoes were being suffocated, but I did not look behind me. I could only stare at my hand.

"Look," A voice sounded from through the cloud, its words barely able to pierce into my mind. "Look, this one is still alive."

Boots, hard and made of leather, came in multiple pairs and surrounded me. "He's a warden," The voice echoed. "Why is he staring at his hand like that?"

I looked over, scarcely seeing a face, before choked breaths and deep whimpers vibrated my chest. "I-"

"Look, look," hands ran through my matted hair. "He is trying to say something, that traitorous brainwashed soldier."

"I-I n-not m-my blood," I sobbed, tears escaped as I could only watch my hand. "N-no-not m-my blood."

"Not your blood?" Soft circles were being drawn into my scalp, and I leaned back, eyelids growing heavy. "How can it not be? It is everywhere."

"Come on," A deeper baritone called over. "Let's leave him. He deserves to die, just like the rest of the wardens."

I clutched weakly at the hands, running through my hair, felt the tears well up and then ebb away. "N-not m-mine," I sobbed. "C-can't be."

"How do you know?" The hands stilled. "How is it not your blood?" It sounded as if she was speaking through cotton.

Eyes closing, I fought hard to make them understand before the thought slipped just out of my grasp and onto the tip of my tongue. Solid, sharp contact was burnt into my skin and my eyes opened once more, to view a feminine figure with kinky, dark hair and soft brown skin, as is she had rolled in wet earth.

"Hey," She snapped, noise honing into the air like a dagger. "Answer my question. How do you know that it isn't your blood?" She shifted her gaze over to something I couldn't view, and furrowed her brows.

"Start moving the body," she whispered, "I will keep him occupied. Don't jostle him, and leave the shrapnel in."

A murmured ascent hook around my ear before it floated away. "You are going to be fine," She directed at me. "I need you to answer my questions first, though, before we can move you."

"Who are you?" I whispered hoarsely, eyes hooded.

"I could ask you the same," She soothed my pinched brow. "If you keep your eyes open, and if you keep talking I will tell you. Okay?"

"Okay," I shifted my head lower in what I hoped passed for a nod.

She breathed heavily, and looked up briefly, grimacing, before she looked back down and smiled softly. "My name is Robin," She wrinkled her eyes at the corner. "You know? Like the bird, before they went extinct?"

I exhaled in a sigh, voice rough. "Your parents named you after a dead bird?"

She laughed, careful not to move my head from her lap. "Yeah, so-"

I arched my back in pain, squeezing my eye shut and feeling as if my heart would beat right out of my chest. "I told you not to jostle it, Astor!" Robin exclaimed. "Be careful," I leaned back, sweat cooling my body, and I began to shiver. "What did your parents name you?" Robin rushed out hurriedly. "Not Robin?"

"Not Robin," I shook my head weakly. "Taliesin. Sin for short."

"Most parents tend to name their children virtues of the lord. Sin is a new one," She smiled.

"I-I was named after a war hero."

"I have never heard of him before," She trailed off, confused. I shuttered my eyes, and I felt her panic rise. "And you never answered my question," She told me, patting my cheek softly. "Stay awake. Tell me that."

"How do I know?" I asked, to reassure myself that I remembered the question. "H-how d-do I kn-know that i-it isn't m-my blood?" I began to stutter softly. She nodded, eyes flickering up and back to me repeatedly.

Dark spots created a vignette around my vision, the ramparts on the partial pieces of the ceiling fading from view as I lost my grip. I closed my eyes, finally able to control my breathing and move it into a slower pace. I caught my breath and held it, trying to force the words out but failing.

"How do you know, Taliesin?" Robin questioned pleadingly. "Keep your eyes open."

"My b-blood isn't red," I closed my eyes, and this time, I was not able to raise them again. I was too tired. Softly, I sighed and finished my answer, my chest feeling heavy. "M-mine i-is blue."