Luminescence

Twenty-four.

This Minecraft music gives me all of the feels.😔 Don't forget to vote and comment!

This chapter is dedicated to owlwriter3 ! Thank you so much for supporting this book!

________

A shaky gasp escaped my lips, as the first thing that registered in my mind to do was to grab the first aid kit. But with the condition he was in, there was no way I could leave him alone.

Hudson was lying on the ground in a heap of pain, shivering and afraid of everyone, or anything that might touch him.

It reminded me that even though Hudson was evil, he was still a delicate human being like the rest of us.

"Mara," he whispers shakily, unsure if he could finish his sentence. His eyes were filled with pain and regret as I cup his face with both of my hands. He attempts to speak, but his words came out as soft chokes. He was having trouble breathing.

Hudson was shirtless. And on his chest lied a series of angry bruises, as I could tell he had been punched in the gut ruthlessly. Sweat dripped down his forehead, and my hands could feel his cheeks burning up with a disgustingly high fever. His eyes were so swollen, you could've thought he had an allergic reaction. He wore nothing but a pair of sweats and boxers which he probably struggled to get on.

I wanted to scream at him until my lungs burned for joining that hellhole of a place called the Plague. They were the ones who did this to him, when he did absolutely nothing wrong. But at the same time, I wanted to give my life up for him. Hudson was the closest person I had in this world. I felt something for him that my years of loneliness couldn't decipher.

Seeing him like this made my insides burn with anger and sadness all at once.

"Mara," he says hoarsely. I held a finger above his lips so that he wouldn't say another word. But he removed it, shaking his head back and forth as he continued. "Please say something... Say anything," he pleads.

My eyes are wide with disbelief. I didn't know what to say or do, as my eyes couldn't leave the countless abrasions and infected cuts that covered his body. I kneeled down to him so that I could be eye level with him. His gaze held a thousand silent words yearning to be spoken.

"Why?" I manage to ask with all my remaining strength. "Why would they do this to you Hudson?"

Great. I was supposed to be mad at him, but my hormones thought differently as a small tear formed in my eye.

And for some reason, when I look back down to him his expression was content. The pain in his eyes semeed to diminish all at once, but his fists were still ghostly white from being clenched.

"Hudson, how are you so calm when you're literally on the brink of fading out?" I exclaim to him. "You're covered in the worst injuries I have ever seen! Come on, sit up," I demand. "I'm going to heal you."

He softly smiles as he shakes his head, his floppy hair moving with the motion. "I don't need your powers, Mara. Hearing your voice and knowing that you're safe healed me just fine."

I attempt to cover the growing blush that covered my face as I carefully grabbed an uninjured part of his arm to help him sit him up. "Okay, sappy romantic. Become a poet after I finish healing you."

I couldn't help but hear the loud thud of my heart through my chest. Hudson was doing something to me, yet I couldn't explain what.

"I'm serious, Mara. Using your powers—your healing powers is very energy-consuming. Doing so may knock you out for hours, or even days. And trust me, I am not worth your energy."