Chapter Sixteen

To Chase About a Girl– Part Two.

There was simply no sight of him. By the fifth day of him missing, Violet couldn’t sit still anymore and would roam outside of the cave herself, looking for him.

She ventured very close to the boundary of the Ice Ranges, even at the risk of exposing herself to her pursuers. Because she kept thinking, what if Aelius was just right there? Right around the corner, right a few steps ahead, collapsed?

But the further she went, the further she could not find him.

Then came the eleventh day. Violet was struggling to keep her tears from flowing. What if he really died? What would she do? What if she has to live her life without ever seeing him again?

Though struggling with despair and grief, she continued her search each day nonetheless.

And then, on the sixteenth day, she found him.

She saw it from a distance at first– from atop a hill, she was overlooking all flat snow plains below. And she could see just a small dob of black glinting back beneath the relentless sun.

“Aelius!” Down she went the hill, running as quickly as her legs could take her.

He was in a terrible state when she found him. A slash over his left eye which will blind him for life. Gruesome slashes up his entire body like claw marks. The tendons in his ankles sliced. Gaping holes in his body.

And yet, all of it, whatever had happened to him, was still no worse than the condition of his body from the poison reflux.

Violet tried to haul him back to the cave. But he was heavy, and time was running out. It was a miracle he was even still alive.

She’s never felt so powerless in her whole life. As she dragged him along, ignoring her tired and heavy breaths and the screaming pain from her lacking muscles, she began to weep.

“You can’t die, Ael. You can’t do this to me! Stay alive, stay alive, stay alive. I’ll fix you up, I promise. Just hold on. Hold on, Aelius.” Each step felt like an eternity, as Violet screamed and grunted while pulling him up, ignoring her own physical limits. “Please don’t go. Don’t leave me alone,” she cried and spluttered, her voice hitching and breaking. “Stay alive, please.”

*

Ah, it got me good, Aelius thought with a wry chuckle. One more. And one more again. He focused on using his arms to crawl his way through the snow.

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Shit, Violet’s gonna be pretty mad when she sees the state I’m in. But hey, she should see the other guy.

Crawl, and crawl again.

But damn, why the hell am I thinking about stupid crap like this right now. It’s not looking so good for me. To be honest, I don’t think I’m gonna make it.

His hunt had the tables turn on on him this time. It’s not the first time it’s happened, but it’s looking to be the last.

Crawl, and keep crawling.

This time he wasn’t hunting a Skal but rather, the master of one. It was the most formidable foe he’d ever encountered. It made the last one he killed look like a toddler.

Crawl, crawl, crawl.

“Ugh-arghhh!” Aelius coughed up a painful ball of black from his throat.

It hurts, it hurts, it hurts. He could barely keep his eyes open as he mustered what little strength remained to continue crawling through the snow.

The fight dragged on for so long that Aelius couldn’t return within the 14-day period. Now, he’s desperately trying to get back to the cave– to Violet.

It hurts so much. I just want it to be over. What did I even do to deserve this?

Crawl. Keep crawling!

It felt like the very fabric and seams of his body were being torn to shreds. Every cell wreathed in anguish and excruciating pain.

I thought I’d be happy if I could die in battle. That then, I would’ve spent a life of hunting those monsters, and I’d perish and be at peace.

He felt a tear trail down his cheek.

So then, why do I feel so much regret, right now?

“Raaaarghhhhh–!” Crawl!

One arm, and then the next. Keep going. Never stop.

You can’t stop.

In his mind, despite the pain, there was only one thing that kept him pushing onward.

A dash of flowing violet. A smile as bright as the sun, but buried in the cold snow. Defiant eyes of orange and flame. Passion. Life.

That life that would so rebelliously struggle against the never ending snow, in the corner of the world. A dot of fiery orange surrounded by white.

I’m so sorry, Violet, Aelius cried as the world began to go dark. If I could, I’d never let you be alone again. He couldn’t crawl anymore.

There she sat, on a rock in the cold, alone in her tattered dress, waiting for someone that will never arrive. Looking up at the snowing vast white sky, she is smothered by solitude.

The only person to bring colour back to her world… it looks like they won’t meet again.

And Aelius’ head fell limp into the snow.

It was the end of the line for him.