September in Salus

September 19, Pt. 4

 Victoria screamed as Caelum fell to the ground. The silence was shattered. There were other yells from the crowd, and people pressed forward, but she didn't hear anything else. She dove forward, laying a hand on Caelum's chest and reaching for his wrist with her other hand. His pulse was faint and erratic. He was growing paler by the second.

"Caelum," she whispered. "Oh my god, no. No. Please." Victoria knew that behind her, Mr. Gray was lying unconscious, but no one was giving him a second thought. Faces peered down at her and Caelum.

Someone crouched next to Victoria, and she looked over at her father. He was looking at Caelum with a heartrending expression. "Dad," Victoria pleaded, "is there something we can do?"

Her father looked down and shook his head.

"What do you mean?" Victoria could hear her voice growing shriller. "What do you mean, there's nothing we can do?!" She pressed her hand to Caelum's neck where the shot from Mr. Gray's gun had grazed him. Maybe Will was right, and there was nothing she could do, but she wouldn't believe it.

Suddenly, her hand felt warm. She felt an odd surge of energy. Caelum's eyes fluttered open. "Victoria?"

There was a collective gasp from the crowd, and then people started muttering. Victoria couldn't hear what they were saying, but Caelum was looking at her with an expression of utmost shock. "You just-"

Dr. Nichols, who'd been standing in front of the crowd, hurried forward. "Victoria. I didn't know you were a healer."

Victoria's eyes widened. "I'm a healer?"

"It appears that you are. No one recovers from charys shots, but it looks like Caelum just did."

Caelum sat up. "Wait. Victoria, you have magic?"

"I do?" Victoria's heart was pounding so hard she was sure it must be audible over the silence of the room.

Caelum grinned. "You must."

Everything started to hit Victoria at once. A healer? She had magic? She smiled. "I- I can't believe it."

Caelum returned her smile, leaning forward to pull her into a hug. "Thank you," he whispered.

"For what?"

"Saving my life."

"Anything for you. I mean, I couldn't just let you die. Then I wouldn't have any friends."

Victoria couldn't see Caelum's face, but she could tell he was amused. "Of course you would."

"Yeah, sure."

There was a scuffling, and they both looked over to where the last standing cloaked figure still held Eli tightly, keeping him from breaking free. Several Salusians had surrounded them, and Caelum struggled to his feet to see what was going on. Dr. Nichols walked over and held out his gun. "Let go of Eli."

Eli was paler than Caelum had ever seen him. He was no longer fighting, and he was instead slumped in his captor's arms. Caelum could tell that Eli's captor was struggling to hold him, but he gasped, "No. Please. You don't understand."

"Don't I?" Dr. Nichols didn't waver. "Release him. You're going in the cell with the rest of your accomplices."

Eli's captor didn't reply. Instead, he let go of Eli, who stumbled before finding his footing. Dr. Nichols moved forward, clicking his gun to yellow, but before he could pull the trigger, the cloaked figure pulled back his hood. The surrounding Salusians jerked back as if they'd seen a ghost.

Eli passed out.