Mark absentmindedly rubbed his chest, the burning sensation had not yet subsided, even though he had ample Prana to throw at the situation. Mark had lost track of the time he spent hunched over Daphne's corpse, unwilling to leave her side.
The only other sound in the room had been Sam’s sobbing, but even that had quietened to nothing.
Eventually, the silence was broken again by the sound of fabric rubbing against itself, Jonathan stood up from beside Sam.
“I’m sorry you two, but we need to leave, we will mourn later.”
Mark’s head snapped up and he glared at the guy with fire in his eyes. Mark couldn’t leave her not now, not when he wasn’t there to save her. If he left now something might happen to her.
Sam’s response was just as defensive and when neither of them said anything Jonathan spoke again.
“Our people are fighting out there as we speak, they need us.”
Mark's glare turned to a painfilled frown.
Daphne would have kicked him for not already going out there to protect her people.
He needed to leave to make sure more people didn’t die, his brain knew this, but his body refused to release the vicelike gripe he had on the edge of the bed.
Mark didn’t know how to respond when he felt a comfortable pulse of calm stretching out from his chest. The pain did not subside but his heart calmed.
He had work to do, he always had work to do, and no matter the loss, until the day these things got him, he had to keep pushing himself.
Letting out a breath Mark released his grasp on the sheets and got up to lean over Daphne, planting a tender kiss on her forehead, vowing in his mind he be back.
Standing to his full height Mark gave Jonathan a level stare, which he returned with a nod.
Sam was another story, she still didn’t want to tear her eyes off Cara’s form, a haunted look in her eyes.
Mark stepped around the other side of the bed and lowered himself so he was level with her. She didn’t look at him until he bumped his forehead into her temple. When she turned to him Mark took her hand with his and with his other he placed it over the top of Cara’s pale wrist. Saying his goodbyes to the brave young woman.
When he was done he got up slowly, lifting Sam with him. She didn’t resist but a panicked look entered her eyes as Mark guided her to stand.
Mark looked down into her eyes, and he tried to send as much comfort as he could manage in the situation. But all that got through was pain and loss. Sam must have seen it, and when he tried to step in front of Cara's body to block her from view, she lay a hand over his, bringing him to a stop. Swallowing, Sam’s eyes became unfocused as though she were interacting with the system and then suddenly there was a brief flash of light filled the room, moving the Mana in waves around them. When it faded glowing tattoos had swirled their way onto her face, eerily similar to the ones Cara had held before all of this.
Mark’s eyes widened as he realized what she had just done. Jonathan did not look happy either but neither of them said anything. This was how Sam wanted to honor Cara, what more could they say? The silence spoke volumes, even as the glowing marks receded into her hairline.
When Mark tried to move again Sam followed his lead, finally letting him block her vision as they headed for the door. Jonathan stepped out, and by the time they got to the threshold, the urge to turn around just once more burned in Mark, but he refused it. Helping Sam cross into the hallway was all that mattered now, whereupon Jonathan closed the door. He took the lead and Mark followed after him, Sam in tow.
With every step away they got, the weight on Mark's heart got heavier, but he just kept his eyes on Jonathan's retreating form and did his best to keep up.
When they got outside the smell of putrid smoke hit them once more, even though some of the fires had been put out.
There were more of their people here than when he’d arrived, but they must be the team Karter had promised.
Mark spotted Ethel near the front and when Jonathan arrived, he pulled her into a bear hug. It had not registered when he got here, but Ethel being on the frontlines must have worried Jonathan greatly.
Ethel’s eyes fell on Mark and Sam containing equal amounts of sorrow and reassurance.
Breaking away from Jonathan, Ethel came toward them. Boe wandered up beside Mark's leg and out of habit, Mark dropped an arm down to sink his hand into the soft fur.
“I’m so sorry it turned out like this my boy, she saved my life-”
Mark held up a hand. If he heard about her bravery now, he wouldn't be able to keep going.
“We can talk about it later when there's more time, all I want to know right now is if her killer is still alive”
When Ethel shook her head, Mark couldn’t tell whether he felt more relief or disappointment.
Mark glanced back at the ruined building. At the small piece of safety, he’d tried to build in this hellhole. There had been no shortage of dead inside but he had to hope that some of his people survived.
“Can we account for Abby, Carl, or…Donny?”
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
Mark wasn’t sure he could handle the loss of another loved one, but he had to know.
Jonathan was the one to answer.
“We brought over half the healer to the hotel. Carl is safe, and I’m sorry but Abby didn’t make it… Donavan was last seen alive being carried away by one of the Corrupted humans.”
The shock caused Mark to pause.
“What?! Why in the hell…”
Jonathan just shook his head.
“I do not know”
“We have to go after him,” Mark said.
If there was a chance he could save him, Mark had to try.
“We can’t, one person cannot compare to the thousands we have here Mark, he’ll have to take care of himself until we can send out a team to find him.”
Jonathan was words were harsh and emotionless, but Mark couldn’t just give up on the guy.
“I can find him on my own. That guy has been through a lot, this isn't fair to him.”
Sam who was still clutching his wrist like a liferaft, squeezed his wrist to get his attention.
When Mark turned back to look at her, he saw her tears were gone but the hollow sadness in her gaze remained.
“Mark listen to me, you have done more for Donovan than anyone could have expected. You searched the apocalypse, brought him home, and cured his mind. You even gave him a purpose, please let go of some of that guilt.”
Mark stared at Sam who wore her vulnerability on her sleeve. He wasn’t used to seeing her like this. So much so that his next words just slipped out without much thought.
“I can’t let him die I left him with her.”
But Sam shook her head.
“Mark, he left with her back then. All I’m asking is for you to stay. Help us defend our people, we need you with us. When the time comes, I’ll be right there beside you, and we’ll find him.”
Mark tried to organize his jumbled thoughts. What was she saying? It was his fault, not Donny’s.
He wanted to retort, but he realized they were right about one thing. He could be selfish now and go off on his own to rescue Donny, or he could protect the thousands of people he’d promised he would.
The choice was not easy yet it was the quickest one he’d made in ages.
Mark's next words came out at a more measured pace.
“I’ll stay and make sure everyone is safe, but as soon as an opening presents itself I’m looking for him.”
Both of them nodded and Ethel was next to speak.
“Mark, I'm sorry but what happened with the guardian and where's Chloe.”
Her question brought up unwanted memories, but Mark explained what had happened. Letting them know the Guradain threat was neutralized but Chloe was gone. He had looked for her when he’d gotten out but didn't find a trace.
Everyone looked as shocked and hurt as Mark felt by Chloe's betrayal, but Ethel pushed them forward.
“We need to get moving. Karter has had reports of a massive flood of non-combatants from the south we are heading there now to group up with our people and gather information.”
When they decided to move, it didn’t take long to gather everyone living and make their way out of the area. Mark's eye brushed over the area’s destruction once more, catching on the clinic, standing there like a tomb. Mark swallowed the lump of longing that demanded he head back inside.
This place had held a fresh start for many people and just like that, it was gone and buried. Turning away Mark tried to busy himself with the group's wounds. Jonathans were by far the worst, with the amount of Prana he had funneled into the guy his wounds should not be this bad, but it was obvious by the way that fresh damage was accumulating that he had abused his Aura. He’d suppressed the Aura’s backlash for so long that his body was playing catchup, and punishing him accordingly.
Luckily there was still ample Prana in Jonathan's system that Mark could make use of, but it felt like every time he repaired something the Aura would lash out in a new area. It required a majority of Mark's attention to keep him in the positives. Sam’s wounds on the other hand were much easier. A couple of broken bones and some internal bleeding were all that he had to look into.
The group they had with them now was around fifty strong and Mark sent a construct around to heal those who were wounded. Nothing too serious, beyond that Mark knew he had another decision to make.
Should he evolve [Sculpt Mana] or wait til after all this had passed? [Telekinestic control] had improved greatly and he still wanted to test its limits, but there was no telling if this outcome would be equally favorable.
To get both his mind off the last hour, and perhaps hers, Mark asked Sam what she thought on the matter.
She could immediately see the attempt for what it was but didn’t seem to mind, choosing to indulge him. Jonathan remained eerily silent while walking beside them, even as Mark healed him, he kept his head forward and gaze focused on the horizon. They were all dealing with this in their own ways, at least Mark could keep himself occupied and Sam out of her head.
“Mmm, my advice would be to evolve the spell. Sure it may change. And I have noticed a correlation between the number of evolutions and the resource cost, but overall, I have never been disappointed with the evolutions I’ve gotten.”
Mark nodded at this, it was all the encouragement he needed. Calling up the prompt for the spell, he had just hit evolve when their outer perimeter came into view, and it was not what he was expecting.
The buildings in this area were lower and would normally be desolate, except for their patrols and the odd neutral individual or group. However now it was packed with people all attempting to push into their territory. Some looked to hold no affiliation, but there were a good number of small factions here too. Most of them looked to be from the Guilds, but there were one or tow others too.
Those who didn’t want entry were moving around their territory to circumvent them. Some wanted to pass directly through their territory but were shot down by their people.
Tensions were high and their perimeter guards weren't budging. Mark recognized one of Karter's men, Galahan leading with his quiet authority. When he saw they arrived, he nodded to them and fell in step with the four of them.
“Good evening everyone, Major Karter told us to wait on you for a decision, but people are getting antsy. How do you want us to proceed?”
Seeing as they were on the ground, and could see exactly what was going on Karter was leaving the decision up to them.
Mark looked out over the thousands of people and realized they weren’t just looking for safety, they were running from something.
Up ahead, the narrow road gave a direct line of sight to the wall from here. It still stood in all its glory but near one of the upper portions, Mark could make out countless car-sized indentations across its surface. As though something had crawled its way up and over the massive structure.
Fighting and tiny explosions were going off in the distance, whatever it was the loyalists had engaged it.
The screams of panic and fear began to move through the crowd. Mark's eyes narrowed to search for their source. But it did not take long to find it, near the back of the mob, hurried bursts of movement could be seen.
Corrupted were chasing the stragglers, their number was few and far between but it was only a matter of time before this whole area became a chaotic mess of pressing crowds and hungry beasts.