Wolf Heart

Chapter 39

JAMES

Autumn leaves danced with the whispered wind. It overflowed his lungs with sweet, cloudy tastes of marshmallows cooked over a fire. He winced when his throat tickled and sliced through his entire chest. He laid in the grass, where his knees filled with lead. Wind embraced him, and he knew if he woke up, the frozen moment would continue.

A soft whir answered him.

Rayan... he's using my datacam. Again. I told him to leave the photography to me... Another soft whir responded to his breathing. Maybe I should stay here... pretend I don't hear anything. He found comfort in the waving grass while it echoed with his breathing.

His throat pulsed with embers, and he coughed. Mucus stuck to his tongue as he tried to free himself from its burning claws.

"... stabilizing... transport to Camp Shennen..."

Huh...?

Everything went silent.

Rayan?

He struggled to open his eyes past the grey field, no longer underneath the small tree in Rayan's backyard. Golden barriers rushed through him while a vita-monitor beeped in his ear. Unable to see the beautiful night sky full of rainbow stars, or the autumn wind in the air to guide him home. He squirmed with the pain tearing through his chest, causing one of the faceless scrubs to rush to him.

I can't...

"... we've got a response from him..." a disembodied voice said while wetness slicked across his brow. "...tell General Falae..."

An ashen haze swallowed him once more. Holographic sheens hugged him tight and close with the blankets wrapped around his entire body. Air pushed through his nose as he tried to keep his eyes open, to find clarity in the frozen moment. He switched his attention to the faceless while features bloomed when they came closer with a concerned expression, where deep shadows rested under their eyes.

"What's the ETA on that damn transport?" they questioned another pair of scrubs at the flap. "Bad smoke inhalation..." Another one. It echoed through his mind as the Medic checked him over. "...think we're losing him..." their voices disappeared into the field of ash, and he wanted to sleep underneath the tree which danced in the autumn wind.

Rayan sat at the edge of the pond, drawing quietly on a sketch pad while he observed and caught what he missed. His head pulsed, and he pressed his hand against his temple when Rayan turned back with a curious, concerned smile. It fluttered between a beautiful day and fiery hell.

"...detox levels are too low..." another voice joined the fray, fluttering the dream. "...It's a wonder his lungs aren't burnt beyond repair." Shadows tore apart the dream and returned him to the darkness. "Up the levels of the regenerative nanosprites. Get more air into him... transports coming soon..."

Come back, Ray.

"How's the other boy's inhalation levels?"

"Minor compared to this one."

Who are they talking about?

His last memories tugged at crinkled edges. He wanted to return underneath the tree of autumn, where he slept softly, soundly. In peace and safety — until Rayan interrupted his sense of serenity with the whirs of the datacam he gifted.

I want to wake up.

Distant sirens woke him to a flaming gate through his eyelids, but when he tore them open, the ground rumbled and the environment changed. Medical transport. Monitors beeped around him with hooked lines, with him strapped into the medical pod while he tried to investigate the angles, to find his way back home. Air continued to hiss into his ears and pushed into his nose, while two Medics stood with their hands on the railings above their heads while their voices formed into nothing but white noise.