The sound was coming from right behind the drop pod, at first I was a bit startled cause I wasn't so sure another elf wasn't setting a trap for me. But there wasn't much of a choice available to me about whether or not I was going to go check it out. I just had to be a little bit more careful and watchful.

I moved around, my figure hunched to present a smaller target, and my weapon at the ready. Three steps in and my guard was raised as I noticed the grass at my feet wet with blood. This was even more of a reason to raise my guard up as I really didn't want to get ambushed again. But just to be sure, and to be fully prepared against any unwanted situation I used a (Light Heal) to deal with the wounds left on my body from the fight, especially the one on my foot left behind by the dark elf.

I held the assault rifle a little tighter as I noticed a cluster of reed like grass about a meter tall, and the Combat boots that poked out of it. I increased my pace but still took slow steady steps to ensure that this wasn't another trap. My eyes met here her panicked one a few seconds later, I narrowed my gaze and raised a finger to my lip, ignoring the metal sticking out of her chest as I looked around. The current area was silent, but the forest was still alive, I could hear the sounds of birds and the wind through the trees, but still that didn't reassure me, elves could blend really well with a forest. I crouched down and moved closer to her position and asked.

"Cadet Malkova how are you doing this fine afternoon, I see your habit of having hard things shoved into your body has followed you onto Alfheim." I let loose a chuckle at her expense loving the annoyed look on her face.

"Well Samson, if you can figure out a way to get this thing out of me without killing me, I can let you shove your hard thing into the same bloody hole!" I looked back at her, and the annoyed gaze she sent my way told me she didn't find my earlier joke funny. Even if she was dying, she would do so with her fucking head held high.....the tenacity of Terran soldiers were not to be trifled with, after all even I, the boy with no miracle survived a night of being assaulted by Yurkets and have slain some dark elf crown prince, we're made of tough stuff.

"I would love to heal you, but our current location is too exposed. Can you move?" I asked her as I bent down with my gun still pointed at the forest, my voice lower than normal.

"No, the fucking elf you just finished fighting with had stepped on the piece of metal, apart from causing some damage to my organs he had split my fucking spine in two, or at least grazed it enough to cause severe damage. I'm paralyzed from neck down Samson." She said to me as a frown covered my face, her injuries were a lot worse than mine, but still.....

"How the fuck are you alive then? By all rights you should be fucking dead by now."

" I'm a fucking chosen of Hades bitch! Death is my fucking dildo!" I scrunched up my face in annoyance at what she just said.

"Did you have to say that, you should leave that bloody mantra back at the academy, I don't care if you fuck death, one thing I do know of is that he's coming for you. So tell me how much time you have left so that I can come up with a plan to get us to a secure location and a safe place." She looked at me with an annoyed look, but in the end still had to fold, her survival depended on me and even if Malkova was known as one of, if not the most trouble prone cadet, she was also one of the most gifted so she knows when shit gets serious.

"I still have about an hour left before I kick the bucket for good. But a proper and safe estimation would be 30 minutes. Can you find help by then, I'm sure getting to a safe location would take a bit of time."

I didn't say anything to her but instead got up and went into her drop pod. I picked up everything in it, from her weapons to the bag she carries along. Then I initiated the self destruct sequence and then without missing a bit I went to her location and picked her up in a bridal style and ran into the forest. My movements however, shocked me, I was twice if not three times as fast as I was a day before, and I wasn't to encumbered by the weight of the things I was carrying. Within the ten seconds countdown I was already over a hundred meters away that the explosion was just a loud sound in the distance. Malkova was just as shocked, but that sound would probably bring enemies our way so I had to work while I run. I turned to her and said.

This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

"I'm sorry but this shit is going to hurt like a bitch." She looked up at me confused, but realized quickly what I meant as I bent my head forwards and ripped the metal in her body out by dragging it with my teeth.

"Hmmmmmmmm! Nnnnggggg!"

Malkova is tough as nails, she didn't even scream out loud knowing her voice would probably alert enemies to our presence. She was smart and very strong willed. Be that as it may I couldn't run forever, let's just see how many Light Heals will get her back to her feet, or at the very least fix her spine so that she can shoot while I ran, because as it stands, I think we're being followed.

"Light Heal!"

Unlike my body, I didn't exactly know what point to really heal in Malkova's. In mine I could somewhat see or rather feel the injured location in my head, but for someone else's, that awareness was quite weak and it needed a lot of concentration. Running while healing wasn't helping matters, but I didn't have a choice. Plus I was hoping and praying that Malkova's injuries weren't a break like mine, as that would mean having to reset her spine so that it healed right. Or else she would have to go through this injury again later to properly heal. But I needed her hands to start working again, whatever was chasing us was drawing closer.

"Samson we're being chased you know?" She called out to me with a nervous laugh.

"Yeah I know, just give me time to work, I'm trying my best here. Light Heal!"

There was a loud twang and my head seemed to scream out loud forcing me to roll forwards with Malkova over a high root. I felt said root shatter behind me and I knew someone either just shot a bullet at me, or a very powerful magic coated arrow. Well that just increased the pressure on me.

"Samson?"

"I'm on it! Light Heal!"

*Snap!*

" Finally! Eat lead bitches!"

I was still carrying her, but she had picked up her assault rifle hanging from my shoulder and pointed it behind me. Looks like it only took three heals to get her upper body functioning again. So hopefully it would take the same amount to fully heal her spine before I shift my focus to her open wound that was now bleeding all-over me. Hopefully we live long enough for that.

"Light Heal!"

*Ratatatatatatatatatata!*

*Thud! Thud!*

I heard two impacts behind me, Malkova was always really good and swift with her aim, she was our cohorts number one sniper. Though her Russian heritage also meant there were times she lost control and spewed bullets at 30 rounds a minute into the bodies of practice dummies with startling precision and pinpoint accuracy. She was the best person to have watching your back.

"Light Heal!"

*Shirk!*

"Arghhhh! Fuck! Malkova!"

An arrow found it's way into my shoulder, burrowing all the way through and throwing me off balance as I crashed to the ground and we both rolled over each other and couple of roots and hard rocks until we feel info the embrace of a giant oak tree with a concave like base. We were fucking trapped.

"Light Heal!"

"Thanks Samson, my legs are working now. Though what do we do about this big hole in my belly?" I got back up to my feet with an annoyed look on my face as I said to her.

"Walk it the fuck off!" There was no more time to play, we had three elves on us and they had murder in their eyes. And those eyes seemed only catered for one person and one person only..... Me.

"Samson? What did you do to the elves? If looks could kill you would be ten times dead with not even a speck of you left behind." Malkova asked as looked at me and shakily got back up to her feet. I threw on extra Light Heal on her, to improve her chances and get her solidly on her feet before answering.

"You know the elf that did this to you, the one I killed back at your pod's crash site?" I asked her.

" Yeaaaaah?" She replied with more of a question than an answer. I turned to her with a small tired smile and said.

"That was probably their crown prince."

"Fucking shit!..... we're going to die." I couldn't refute her words, I looked back at the trio of very pissed off dark elves and answered.

"Yeah..... probably."