The wagon rocked and bounced lightly on the dirt road. The day had grown warm, and loose leaves rustled across the ground in the cool breeze. The day was so nice they had taken down the canvas covering to enjoy the sun. Adrock had been asking Darren questions about his world all morning, still confused as to how Darren came to be here, and how different their lives were.

“I can’t imagine lookin’ down at the world itself.” Adrock’s brows furrowed as he tried to consider it.

“Well shit, I can’t either, not really. Like, we have pictures and even live videos from stations in space, but I hear that doesn't really do it justice.” Darren replied.

“So you never left the planet?” Adrock asked.

“Nooooo, not even close.” Darren laughed. “Only a few incredibly smart people ever left, and they had hundreds of people helping them from the ground. It’s not something just anyone could do to liven up a boring afternoon.”

“Still though, amazing.” The patron shook his head as he stared up at the sky.

The horses clopped along leading them over a hill and to a series of cutbacks that would take them back and forth down a steep mountain face, when suddenly the cart lurched heavily to one side. It ground to a halt, yanking back on the horses who snorted their irritation.

“Well shit, we must’a hit a branch I didn’t see or somethin’.” Adrock said, confused. He stood and turned to climb down the short steps to the ground.

Darren climbed off with him in case he needed help, Silvia hopped down by Adrock to stretch her legs. They all looked over at the front wheel on Darren’s side and realized there was a rope tied around it that led up under the cart.

Darren pulled his knife and sliced the rope. “How would that even happen?” he asked.

“Look out!” Adrock yelled as he jumped back into Silvia nearly knocking her to the ground.

She turned and looked up at him, only to see an arrowhead pointing at her, inches from the center of her forehead. It was sticking directly out of Adrock’s back.

Just as Darren looked over at him a whirling black movement caught his attention from under the cart. A man in black armor, with a sleeved cloak spun out and rose with a sword. Darren looked into the slits that served as eye holes for the tribal mask the man was wearing, stunned as the blade came at him. Darren dove backwards and landed flat on his back, the blade passed inches from his face. He scrambled to get away as the assassin swung after him in a flurry of blows.

Silvia watched as Adrock fell down to one knee, ahead of them she could see another man in all black nocking another arrow. She charged and fired as quickly as she could. The small orb flew towards the man, he tried to dodge but she swept her hand over, trailing him. The orb hit his neck and formed thick vines that wrapped around his throat and constricted it.

Another man appeared from the woods and leapt at her with a curved sword, Adrock stood and caught the man in a bear hug mid-air. He slammed the attacker down in the dirt, dropping his heavy weight on top.

“Run!” the patron sprayed blood from his mouth as he yelled and struggled to hold the assassin.

Silvia charged another orb of Nature in her left hand while she selected Control from the Index for her right.

Get on the cart! Darren’s voice resounded through her skull.

She climbed up into the cart and fired another orb at the man down the road. Just as he ripped through the vines choking him the second orb was almost on him. It split into three thick wooden spikes, two that pierced through the soft leather on his side and into his ribs, and one that bounced off the black metal on his chest.

Darren partially blocked a blow from the khopesh with his knife and stepped in. It cut his arm slightly, but didn’t stop him from grabbing the man’s hand. He sliced a deep cut into the assassin’s forearm and yanked him forward, trying to get to the wagon. His attacker spun and ripped his hands free before swinging between Darren and the cart, cutting him off. Darren dodged and slammed his weight into the man’s chest knocking both of them into the horses.

The skittish beasts were already spooked from the yelling and commotion and that was all they needed to take off in a panic. They began sprinting down the road towards the cutbacks, almost running over the writhing archer with the wooden stakes sticking out of his side.

Darren landed on top of the assassin as they bounced off the horse’s flank. He drove his knife deep into the man’s chest before leaping off of him and towards the wagon, but it was already too far. He watched as Silvia stared back at him.

Keep going, don’t stop! he sent to her.

She nodded back and charged another orb in each hand. Suddenly he was almost blinded by an image from her mind of what was coming up behind him.

Darren turned just in time to dive off the trail and down the steep forest covered mountainside, dodging a swing from two more of the men in black on horseback. He wanted to go back for Adrock but couldn’t stop himself as he careened down the hillside. He bounced off a tree trunk and slid in dirt for several feet before getting his feet under him. He tried to slow down but could hear Adrock back on the road.

“Keep runnin’!” the patron yelled as he struggled to wrestle the one he had tackled. That was the last either of them saw or heard of the old man.

Darren looked down the hill and saw the road coming up again through the sparse trees and bushes. The wagon had made it around the first turn and was coming from the right, he could see Silvia standing in the back firing magic at the two men on horseback.

Silvia launched an orb that turned into a vine to wrap one of the riders, but he cut through it as it got near him. The other rider pulled out a bow and nocked an arrow to fire. She charged an orb of Control in her right hand as she made a stone slab with her left. She used the control orb to lift the slab into the air. As the arrow came at her she swung the stone in the way to block it. She turned the slab sideways and fired it with everything she had at the feet of the archer’s horse. The man gigged it to jump, but it was caught just below the knees. It tumbled forward and slammed hard into the ground, throwing the rider from its back. He landed on his head and neck, with a sickening crack he rolled to a stop just in front of the horse which rolled over him before struggling to stand back up. The other rider whipped his reins and gigged the horse harder to catch up. The pair pulling the cart slowed down as the trail turned up ahead, but not enough.

Darren angled his course downhill to try and reach the wagon, but it was already gone. As he reached the road he tried to leap at the rider but was too slow for that as well. He flew just behind the man and his mount and across the road, onto the next steep downhill toward the next straightaway.

As the wagon rounded the corner the right side began to tilt up with the speed the horses were pulling it at. Silvia fired an orb of Nature into the wagon and created a vine that she whipped out to grab a tree on the corner, connecting the two. It was just enough to jerk the wagon downward and keep it from tipping as they rounded the bend onto the straightaway, she let the vine burst into smoke as the wheels came back to the ground. She looked back as the rider leapt from his horse and onto the back of the narrow wagon. She could see two more riding up from behind.

Darren watched as Silvia charged and extended a long wooden shaft from her hand into the man’s chest. It hit his armor and nearly knocked him from the cart, but he grabbed the railing and held fast. She pulled the staff back and held it at the ready. This time Darren was coming in ahead of them, just before the wagon passed he jumped straight into the path. He almost hit Silvia, but had his timing right, he slammed into the man on board with his entire weight and both of them flew over the railing and into the woods on the far side. They fought and wrestled even as they rolled down the embankment, hitting rocks and trees as they went.

Silvia let the staff burst into splinters and smoke as she selected Combustion from her Index in her left hand and began charging an orb. The two riders were catching up and one fired an arrow at her. She ducked and sent the orb gliding towards him. He grabbed his saddlehorn and dropped onto the side of his horse as the orb passed through the space that would have been his torso. Silvia snapped to set it off, but it had gone too far behind. The explosion lit up the shaded forest road and spooked their horses, but only mildly slowed them down. She swapped back to Nature in both hands and hid behind the stuffed vylox still in the back. She created two large stone fists before selecting Control in each hand. She charged an orb for both and smashed them onto the fists. She felt a jolt on the stuffed creature as an arrow struck it. She rose and turned to face the riders who were almost at the wagon. She lifted her hands and the stone fists rose into the air on either side of her. One of the men pulled back in surprise as she punched the air with her right hand. The right fist launched forward and slammed into the man on that side, snapping him backwards in his saddle. Entirely limp he fell off his horse, tumbling in the road as his mount peeled off to stop as well.

Just as they began rounding another sharp corner the man to her left leapt onto the wagon. Him landing onboard was all that kept the wagon from tipping as the horses hadn’t slowed down at all this time. He leapt at Silvia and swung his khopesh at her head. She pulled her hand up to her temple, the floating stone fist flew in and pressed against her arm, blocking the blow. The sword chipped away at the stone, but it held together. The assassin kicked her hard in the stomach, knocking her backwards over the drivers bench and onto the yoke that connected the horses. As she reached back to catch herself the stone fists mimicked her movements and slammed into the ground on either side of the cart, exploding into a spray of shale as they broke apart.

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As Darren tumbled he wrapped his arm around the elbow of the man’s sword arm, locking it away from himself. As he stabbed at the man’s face, all the assassin could do was bring his empty hand up to catch it. The blade sank into his palm and out the back, Darren drove it all the way into the man’s throat as they rolled. They hit a tree and bounced apart, the knife ripped out of the assassin’s neck as Darren held onto it with all he had. He hit the ground, dove and somersaulted, he felt a sharp pain in his side, sure he’d cracked some ribs. The tight new skin from the vylox attack ached down his torso. He still managed to get back to his feet and charge downwards, unsure of where the cart was. He found it and saw it already passed him on this straight away, he’d have to push on to the next one to catch them. He could see one of the assassins advancing as Silvia tried to stabilize herself on the horse's backs.

The attacker held his khopesh up to strike. Silvia fired a small orb of Control as quickly as she could and hit the man’s cloak, she used it to yank him backwards by the tail of it. Off balance his sword swung just over her and cut one of the horses on the flank as he fell backwards over the bench and into the back of the cart. The wounded horse snorted and pulled hard to the side. The horses separating slightly caused Silvia to sink further between them. She wrapped her left hand in the harness and used her right to open her Index. As the horses charged it was almost impossible to select a spell but she knew she needed something more offensive. The man rose and came back too quickly. She charged and fired another orb of Control at his cloak, this time she wrapped the extra material at the bottom around his head and throat and pulled him backwards. She squeezed with all her will as she tried to climb one handed up the horses back. The wounded horse began to slow down as they rounded another bend in the road. Silvia could see another two riders trying to catch up to them from the last straightaway as she entered the next.

Hold on! Darren called in her mind as he caught up again. His chest felt like it was going to collapse as he sprinted downwards. He matched up his timing again and sailed out over the open space towards the wagon. Just as the assassin in the back cut the material of his cloak to free himself Darren landed right on top of him. Darren’s weight, falling from the height up the hill crushed the wind from the man in the mask and broke his sternum. Darren stabbed the attacker in the face over and over, breaking the ceramic mask from his head as the man screamed. Once he stopped moving altogether Darren dove over the drivers bench and caught Silvia’s outstretched hand. He hauled her back into the cart just as an arrow hit him in the back between his shoulder blade and his spine.

Silvia pushed him down behind the vylox as she hid behind the driver’s bench. She opened her Index and pulled Combustion into her right hand and Nature back onto her left and charged an orb of each. She stood, but before she could fire an arrow sailed into her stomach, just left of center. It sank in cleanly and the arrowhead poked out through her back. The pain took over her mind and she fell forward onto the bench.

Darren lifted and rolled the assassin’s corpse over the vylox and off the back of the wagon. The two archers dropped their arrows and took their reins, gigging their mounts to jump and steer around it. They cleared the corpse, but it gave Silvia enough time to fire.

She sent the right orb, then the left. The right one exploded just in front of them, scaring their horses and causing them to lose some control. The left she fired to a tree on one side of the path, it created a vine that stretched all the way across and attached on the far side. The smoke from the small explosion blinded them so they didn’t see the clothesline until they hit it. Both men snapped backwards out of their saddles and slammed into the ground as their horses ran on without them. One quickly rolled to his feet while the other bounced badly and slid on his knees before sitting up holding his side, they stared at the duo as they left them behind.

“I think we’re clear.” Darren called out as he reached up to grab the reins. He gained control of the horses but didn’t slow them down, in case more were pursuing them.

Silvia held her stomach and tried to stop the bleeding with a rag she pulled from the back of the wagon. The pain and blood loss was making her feel dizzy. She thought she might pass out.

“You can’t pass out, you have to fix yourself or you could die.” Darren reached over and shook her shoulder. Focus Sil! he blasted into her mind.

His voice jolted her awake. She clumsily selected Heal and loosely charged an orb. Rather than perfectly round it looked misshapen and rough, the energy ungulated chaotically. She pressed it to her stomach and felt the flesh trying to heal around the arrow. “We have to pull it out first.” she whispered in shock as she watched the blood pouring out of her belly.

“Fuck. Look at me!” Darren yelled as he grabbed her chin.

She stared at him and held his gaze as he reached down and snapped the arrow in half. She let out a scream that could’ve been heard for miles. She slammed her head into his shoulder and dug her nails into his arm.

Darren winced but pulled his arm away only to reach behind her back and pull the half with the arrowhead all the way out of her. “Focus Sil, you have to do it now!”

“A’right.” she slurred the word as she concentrated on another orb. It wobbled and changed shape in her hands as she pressed it to the open hole in her stomach. She felt the center of her torso burning outwards as everything tried to reconnect. The blood stopped pouring out as quickly, but the orb wasn’t enough. She was getting too tired from all the magical output. Her head fell to one side and she slumped over against Darren.

“Goddammit, wake up!” he shouted. Wake up! he sent with every bit of urgency he could, but it was no use.

The horses rounded the final bend of the cutbacks and were still trotting at a decent clip. Darren dropped the reins and pulled her satchel from her belt. He pulled up the Index on it and found bandages and a clotting rod. He pulled them out and jammed the thick spongy rod as far as he could into the hole in her stomach before wrapping it as tightly as possible with gauze and bandage as Leon had shown him. It was the best he could do while bumping in the cart.

He kept the horses moving until they were foaming at the mouth and the wounded one’s limp slowed them down. He didn’t allow them to stop, but kept them at a trot. He pulled a bow and arrows from her satchel. He tried to put on more of his armor, but between the arrow in his back and the broken ribs he couldn’t manage it. They slowed down more as the wounded horse lagged, he watched behind them as much as in front, but no one showed up and the sun began to set after a few hours on the trail. He reached out to Silvia in his mind and tried to stir her consciousness to wake. He felt a small movement as he pressured her. He closed his eyes and concentrated everything he had on her. He slid into her mind grabbed what he could and shook violently, yelling as loudly as the voice in his head could go.

Silvia jolted and rolled away from him, her hands shot to the railing and she tried to pull herself up. Where are they?! she sent out in a panic. She tried to stand, but doubled over and almost fell off the bench.

Darren caught her by her belt and pulled her back down. They’re gone. We’re okay, but you need to heal yourself. He tried to send calming thoughts to slow her down.

Silvia looked down and saw the bandage around her midsection, a wet red spot in the center where the blood was slowly leaking through. She undid the wrap and pulled the clotting rod out, letting out a long groan as she did. Almost hyperventilating, she charged an orb that was a little more well formed than before and pressed it over the hole through her. It began closing faster than it had on the first try. She shoved her forehead into Darren’s arm and gritted her teeth as the sinew and muscle snapped back together. Then just the layers of skin were closing up slowly, small strands reaching out and attaching in a web before filling in the middle. Finally it was just fresh pale skin in a circle as big as a coin. She leaned against Darren and saw the arrow still sticking out of his back.

“Gods, you’re hurt.” she said as she slowly reached for it.

He shooed her hand away from the arrow, his voice came out in a hoarse whisper. “I had to leave it in, I couldn’t risk bleedin’ more and us both passing out. Honestly my ribs are worse, I’m havin’ trouble breathing.”

“I’ll try to heal it, but I don’t have much left in me.” Silvia charged an orb in her hands and reached up under his armor, pressing the orb against his bare skin. She closed her eyes and could feel the magic flowing into him.

Darren grunted, but at this point he was becoming accustomed to the pain of being put back together. The fractures healing felt like someone was etching a message onto his very bones. He took a deep breath, the first one in hours. He leaned back in the seat and relaxed a little, not having to keep his posture upright just to pull in air.

“I can’t do more than that for now. I’m done.” she said, her Index and the symbols on her hands were dim and almost colorless.

They rode through the night, as the dawn broke Darren could see the main gate of Eufror up ahead a few miles off. They started to pass other carts on the road whose riders stared at them in shock. Covered in blood and with their wagon barely holding together, dizzy and barely able to speak.

“Gracious gods, do you need help?” a man on a lone horse asked.

“Ride back to the city, tell the guards, tell the keep.” Silvia told him.

He immediately turned and broke into a full gallop back toward the walls. Shortly after a few soldiers on horseback with another wagon rode out to meet them. They took over driving the patron’s cart and loaded them onto the new one with fresh horses. They ran them quickly back through the city and up to the keep.

Archard was about to drive the fastest mana carriage he had down to them when he saw them all coming up the hill. He and Erol ran out to meet them. Archard leapt into the cart and yanked the arrow from Darren’s back and healed him as they continued up to the main doors.

Darren and Silvia could both feel their minds slipping away, out of their control. Now that they were in safe hands and lacked desperation, they couldn’t hold themselves together anymore. The energy they’d used and the damage they’d sustained finally took over and their eyes shut against their will. Both passed out and couldn’t be woken.

The guards began to panic but Archard waved them off. “It’s okay, they’re out of the woods now. They just need rest. Thank you all for getting them this far. We’ll take it from here. Drop their wagon and their possessions off at the stable.” He lifted Silvia from the back of the wagon as Erol picked up Darren. They walked them inside and straight to the lift. They took them to Silvia’s room and set them both in her large bed. They took off Darren’s armor and sat over them.

“What the hell do you think happened out there?” Archard asked.

Erol just grunted as he put a finger through the hole in Silvia’s clothes where the arrow had ripped through. “Bandits maybe?”

“We’ll have to wait until they wake up to know any more.” Archard dragged a chair across the room and sat next to Silvia.