Don't Forget

#27 Out of the Ashes

     Vikk has done terrible things to earn his keep in the assassins' house, much of which he will never tell anyone about. All those years were based on Red's vague promise that the soldiers would come.
     And just as he and Sub were going to leave, Mitch found him. It was like pieces of himself being returned with two of his unit members at Vikk's side. A small hope that the universe does cares.
     Mitch coughs when they both pull a board out from a pile of ruble. The cave isn't getting any cleaner.
     "This one is probably big enough to just lay him on. Then we wouldn't have to worry about digging for unburnt cloth", Vikk runs a hand along the singed wood.
      "I doubt anything is unburnt. Sky really did a number on this place", Mitch humorlessly chuckles. The two lug the board back over to the small crevice. They get back in time to see Lachlan already back out. He's crouched down and looking back into the tunnel.
"Hey! We found a big board for Sky", Vikk shouts out to him. Lachlan looks up at the words, but there's a tense and strained look in his eyes. Sky's not dead, is he? Vikk's never been very close to the assassin, but he would never want to see him dead.
"So, Jason and Sky aren't the only ones to survive the fire", the General explains, "Just don't over react. I have my reasons for arranging this". Mitch raises an eyebrow in confusion.
Before Vikk can voice his questions, someone else comes out of the tunnel feet first. Quinten struggles to pull Sky out of the narrow space by his feet. Getting him in was hard enough. Jason crawls after them with his leg not being of much help.
     Vikk stares at the squid for a full minute before his brain registers that Quinten's not even looking at him. A squid should be attacking with unquestioned loyalty to their King. More then that, the squid in front of him looks shockingly human. He looks over each of Sky's injuries as Jason crawls out to join them.
     "So I'm guessing that.... He's a doctor", Mitch uneasily shifts on his feet. The thought of a squid loose in his camp makes him feel uneasy.
     "A sorcerer, actually", Lachlan awkwardly shrugs, "He's probably the only reason that Sky is alive.
     "You're friend is pretty unusual. Is there any chance that Sky has magic, too? Even a weak gift?", Quinten ignores the three soldiers and speaks to Jason.
     "No way. There's never been anyone in his family with magic", the Zemrlt shakes his head.
"Well, I'm not to sure what else to do. Sky has some sort of healing factor. It's like what sorcerers have", Quinten finally looks up at the others. Being able to use his healing magic in a meaningful way distracts him from fear. "The best thing I can do is keep him asleep for the healing factor to kick in".
     "A sorcerer's healing factor? You mean that he heals slowly in his sleep?", Vikk hesitantly questions. It's hard for him to put trust in a squid.
     "Exactly that. But he's stuck in a really unstable state", the number motions to Sky's twitching and mumbles, "Keeping him asleep will trap his mind in whatever has him so restless".
"I'm still trying to catch up to the fact that Lachlan's trusting a squid", Mitch mumbles only loud enough to hear. Vikk silently agrees with him.
"I know that this situation looks bad, but the most important thing is getting the people, and Sky back to Mitch's base. I'll figure something out from there", Lachlan is in no mood for complaints. The entire day has just been one big mess. There's still much to do with all the people displaced, and an exhausted army.
     "You're right. It's bad to breath in all this ash. Can we move to Sky onto the board?", Vikk turns to face Quinten. He's decided to trust the kid as long as he doesn't set off any red flags.
The squid immediately picks up on the thin strand of trust. If he's going to continue down this path, Quinten has to earn their trust. All he knows so far is that squids and humans are fighting. And squids just attacked Jason's home.
"Yeah, you can move Sk-Sky. I-I'll just try and keep him asleep. Using my m-magic too much on him could mess up his own healing factor", the number stutters.
Mitch narrows his eyes a little. He doesn't trust Quinten not to hurt Sky. He still reluctantly helps Vikk and Lachlan lift him onto the board.
It doesn't look like the assassin is loosing any more blood, despite the large wounds. He's still deathly pale and twitching. Any word he says is all gibberish.
The General insists to carry one end of the board. When Vikk tries to grab the other end, Sky almost slides off with how uneven the two sides are. Mitch takes the end quickly to try and balance it out. The assassin is heavy for how skinny he looks. How many extra knives is he packing?
Quinten and Jason quietly talk on the way back up. Vikk is still confused about how the Zemrlt knows Sky. Even his family history, apparently. And a squid who won't fight?
"So Quinten, what exactly are you?", Vikk speaks up. The squid looks up at him, apprehensive.
"I........ I think my mother was a sorcerer", Quinten squints a little like it's hard for him to remember, "They keep squids like me in a place called 'The facility'. There's a lot of kids with mi-mixed blood there".
"And why are you here now?".
"Um, well, I can use my magic to heal, yes. But I c-can also control water", he looks back at the waterfall with a pained expression, "I was trying to do what they told me. None of us numbers have any idea about what's happening in the real world".
"So you're the one who let the squids in threw the back door", Mitch gruffly growls. It's habit that he picked up from Jerome nearly a decade ago.
Quinten drops his head and stares at the ground. Gaining the Captain's trust will take a lot more than healing Sky, who was injured because of him.
"You mind helping me convince an entire army to not kill the enemy?", Lachlan grimly chuckles. That's not gonna happen. Even if Quinten didn't get attacked immediately, someone would stab him in the back.
Vikk takes off his army jacket that had just been given to him. He hands it to the squid, who gives him a grateful look. It'll have to do for now. The sleeves and collar with hide his heritage, but there's no hiding that the base has been burned because of him.
Silence follows the group for the rest of the march. Vikk grimly thinks of it as a funeral procession. Sky would be dead without this mysterious healing factor that stopped his bleeding.
Quinten pulls the jacket a little tighter around himself when they exit the tunnel. Every soldier is busy preparing the people to leave. More squid troops could appear at any time. A few soldiers immediately notice Lachlan, and they nod in greeting. Ty is upon the group like a rat to fresh fruit.
"What the hell was he thinking?", he spits in anger and worry, "That's a lot of blood, don't tell me that's not a lot of blood". Ty's quiet after that, biting his thump nail and hovering around Sky.
      "Who're you? Are you and Sky close?", Jason asks the street rat. He's curious about Ty's reaction.
     "Well, he's teaching me to fight like him", Ty softly answers. He's not sure of Sky considers him a friend or not.
      Quinten cringes a little bit at all the commotion, staying close to the group. Vikk can't help but notice how he looks at the sky and trees in wonder. Is it really the first time that he's been on land?
Lachlan quickly makes his rounds. Besides a little shaken up, there are no injuries. Sky almost gave his life to make it so. Even as an assassin, he's gained the General's respect. Sky isn't as horrible a person as everyone assumed.
      Vikk helps the army prepare to move out within the hour. It's late, everyone is tired and stressed, but it's dangerous to stay. Mitch's camp is the closest defendable position.
Quinten insists that Sky is stable, but he still looks terrible. He definitely needs to be brought back to camp.
Loosing the base is a devastating blow, but it could of been a lot worse. The real question is how the army is going to retaliate.