Harm and Harmony

-Chapter 63-

Day: 44 (Food Drop-Off)

Days Left: 5436

Lives Saved: 0

Corinna broke away from the chimaera's embrace and showed Harmony the sword and the mask that she had stolen.

"You won't be able to wear someone else's mask," said Harmony.

"Oh..." Corinna sighed but was still excited about the sword. "What should we do with the mask then?"

"During the next blood moon, he will be drawn to it."

"Which would lead him here." Corinna nodded in thought, staring down at the mask. The design was strange. It looked similar to a black wolf but had a manic smile that spread upwards towards the ears. "So, should we hide it somewhere?"

"Maybe..." Harmony scratched her cheek. "If we put it somewhere hard to reach then that means one less person we have to deal with at the food drop-off."

"Okay," said Corinna. "We'll think of something."

Day: 46

Rhea hesitated outside of the room, holding the small bouquet of red flowers in one hand and a bag of books in the other. She had always hated hospitals. The corridors were cold and smelled of sterilizing soap, causing Rhea to only breathe through her mouth to avoid it. There was also another reason why she always hated hospitals...

Strolling into the ward with a forced smile, Rhea passed by all of the beds. "Good morning!" She nodded and gave a simple greeting to the other patients.

"Ah, wait," a voice croaked, stopping Rhea. It was a woman barely older than Rhea herself. A clear tube was attached to her wrist.

Rhea turned and stepped closer to the patient's bed.

"Aren't you that Corinna girl's grandmother?" asked the old woman.

"No, I'm her great aunt," Rhea corrected, her smile wobbling a little upon hearing her great-niece's name.

"She hasn't been here for a while now, about a month, I believe. Nothing bad has happened to her, has it?"

"No, no. She's just... she just moved away," Rhea lied. "So, she won't be able to visit anytime soon."

"Oh, well that's good for her." The patient smiled. "She only just finished university and now she's finally living in her own place. She can start being an adult now that she isn't still living with her parents."

Rhea nodded, wanting the conversation to end, but the old woman kept on talking.

"Anyway..." The patient motioned to a book about the history of architecture on the nearby counter. "I borrowed that from her, and I've finally finished it. Could you please give it back to her? When she visits again, we can discuss it together."

Taking the book, Rhea avoided eye contact with the patient, a method to prevent herself from revealing the hurtful truth. 

"Yes, I'll take it to her," said Rhea, giving a quick farewell nod before heading back to her original destination. Despite having almost visited as frequently as Corinna, Rhea had never spoken to the other patients in the hospital before. In the past five years, she had only ever interacted with her family, staying inside to look after the children. Even before then, Rhea had trouble talking to strangers. Yet Corinna made it look so easy. Rhea was almost ashamed that she was envious of someone far younger than she was.

Eventually, she reached the end of the ward. After preparing herself, Rhea pushed back the curtain. "Good morning!" She replaced the withering flowers in the vase on the bedside table with her fresh new ones. "And how are you today?" After no response, Rhea continued to adjust the flowers, doing anything that meant not having to look at her father in that bed. "I brought some more poetry books." Rhea set them aside, next to the vase. "I was thinking of reading some to you again."

There was no answer.

Daring a look, Rhea raised her head, seeing the thin and wrinkled old man lying in bed. The duvet sheets were pulled up to his neck, almost smothering him. "Here, let me sort that out." Rhea lowered the sheets away from his neck, her fingers flinching whenever they touched him. "That any better?"

"Is that you, Corinna?" asked Ernest Best, his eyes stared straight forward at the blank wall. "Where is Corinna?"

"No, dad." Rhea swallowed. "It's me, your daughter Rhea, again..." She sat down on one of the nearby chairs. "Corinna can't visit, remember? I told you last time that she's-"

"Where is Corinna?" Ernest mumbled. "I want Corinna."

"Shall I read us a poem? I think I shall." Rhea grabbed the book of poems and began reading it out quickly. Her throat grew dry and sore, causing her to pause awkwardly in between words.

As she read, her mind wandered back to her argument with Elena from the other day. She wondered what could have happened if she had fought more; if she had been the first one to volunteer instead of Corinna; if she hadn't had been so old and frail and weak. It was all her fault. She told Corinna about the protest, persuaded her to believe her own ideals. And now Corinna was imprisoned in a hell dimension for it. All because of her.

Clearly, everyone would have preferred Corinna to be the one to stay. Her father, Amelia, even some random stranger. She should have been sent to The Eternal Abyss.

Throughout Rhea's poetry reading, Ernest remained silent. She did not know if this was perhaps because he was listening or had gone into a daydream. Regardless, Rhea continued for half an hour before stopping. She left the book on the side table and then kissed her father's forehead. "Goodbye, dad. I'll see you tomorrow."

He did not respond, his eyes still vacantly gazing at the wall.

Rhea was about to leave but then turned back. "Corinna is still alive," she blurted out, no longer caring if the other patients heard. "Though we haven't seen much of her on the broadcasts, Henry has reassured us that she is doing fine. She's strong, that girl. Corinna's a fighter."

Day: 65 (Blood Moon/ Food Drop-Off)

Over the past few weeks, Corinna continued to train herself even without Harmony. She had to be ready for the next food drop-off for this time it would be during a blood moon. It was all that she could think about. The recordings of her memories were no longer a priority, and her notebook was left inside the house for safekeeping. 

The mask that she had stolen they hid amongst one of the larger piles of objects at The Land of the Lost. The owner would have to dig deep to retrieve it. His sword Harmony kept as Corinna could not wield it along with her spear. Instead, she borrowed Harmony's dagger, the very one she had stolen from the chimaera when they first met.

Once they had both armed themselves, they exited the house and into the outside world. The blood moon hung in the sky, casting scarlet rays of light onto the dead grass.

"You ready?" the chimaera asked the young woman.

Clutching tightly onto her spear, Corinna replied, "ready." 

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