B12

Bronwyn walked to the edge of the camp, near the western wall. Her tent was still situated there, apart from any other tents. She cradled Olivia in her arms as she walked; she was still unconscious but breathing more normally. Bronwyn pulled open the tent flap and laid Olivia down on her pile of blankets, saving aside her favorite, blue one to pull over her and bundling another under Olivia’s head to keep it slightly elevated. As she went to pull her thick navy blue blanket over her friend, she was startled to find a very sleepy Hops curled up under it. “Well, hey there, little buddy, sorry to wake you, but I’m gonna need this blanket.” She laid it over Olivia and reached out her hand to pick up Hops, who nuzzled into it, but then let out the smallest yawn and scrambled over to sleep on top of Olivia's chest, tucking everything but his big fluffy tail into his shell. His tail, he curled around to block the front of his shell and was soon letting out a faint, purring snore. Bronwyn sat there for a minute at the tent opening, “Glad to have you back, Hops; watch over her for me, just for a bit.” She closed the tent flap and stood up.

Bronwyn walked around to the side of her tent, where she had a large barrel of water collected from the nearby stream. She sniffed the water, wondering how long it would be potable, but it seemed fine after a couple of days. She put a few ladle-fulls in her cooking pot and ignited the fire underneath. Her hands and arms were covered in blood, soot, and grime. She wanted to be rid of it. When the water was hot but not quite boiling, she dipped a mostly clean cloth into the pot and began scrubbing her arms and face. It wasn’t a hot bath, but it’d do for now. She repeated the process until her hands and arms were pink from the hot water and the scrubbing. She rinsed the cloth and laid it over the pot’s lip once more.

She stretched back in the soft grass, but she couldn’t close her eyes; her vision swam with inky black tentacles, glowing red eyes, and that hideous beak every time she did. She heard footsteps coming from behind her, “Arthur, I told you I’d come to tell you everything as soon as I was ready and she was awake.”

“Well, I do believe that’s the first time I’ve been mistaken for a man,” chuckled Maria Rios in her soft motherly voice. “Don’t worry, dear I’m not here to pry or even ask you any question. I heard you may have had a rough go of things on your recent outing, and as my mother always said, ‘soup warms the heart as much as it does the body.’ I’ve got two bowls of my new favorite recipe here; it’s an egg drop soup with some mushrooms from the forest. The eggs are from those bright ribbon-tailed birds we have flying all over the place. Would you believe they keep their nests in the little purple-blue shrubs? Not the trees? Well, anyway, I won’t talk your ear off. There’s a bowl for each of you here, and if Olivia isn’t up to eating, why don’t you just have two and feel extra warm.” She placed the bowls on a log Bronwyn had pulled over to her fire on the second day of the orientation. Maria walked up to her, kneeling and placing her hand on Bronwyn’s shoulder. “If you need anything, dear, I’m here to help, even if you just need someone to listen.” She stood up and started to walk away.

Bronwyn sat up, “Maria, wait.” She stood up all the way and turned towards the older woman. “I… oh never mind; it’s stupid anyway.” Bronwyn sighed.

“Spit it out, dear, or it’ll eat you up from the inside. There’s no point holding things in.” Her voice was firm but caring.

“I,” Bronwyn’s voice caught in her throat, “Well, I was just wondering if I could maybe have a hug?” The faintest tears welled up in her eyes, and she tried to will them away, to no success. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me! I’m so damn weepy and emotional…”

“Shhh,” Maria didn’t hesitate, interrupting Bronwyn and immediately striding over to her with arms wide. She embraced her as if she had known her for her whole life. “Well, that’s not stupid at all!”

Bronwyn rested her head on Maria's shoulder, not quite crying but taking big, gasping breaths, her throat feeling constricted with emotion. “I don’t know what to do, and it’s all my fault. I led them out there. I wanted to go on my own; I knew I should’ve gone alone! I watched them die! There was nothing I could do; I was too slow, too weak. I watched them die, and I ran!” She had tears streaming down her face now. “And what if Olivia never wakes up? What if her brain was damaged, and that ointment didn’t help? I carried her upside down for over a mile! I’m such an idiot!”

Maria held onto Bronwyn tightly, listening to her vent her frustration. “Come now, dear, you’re hardly being fair with yourself. I’m sure you can be very persuasive, but all those who went with you didn’t go just because you asked them to. They went because they believed it was what the colony needed, and they were right. You found something terrible out there, didn’t you? Now we know we need to put a stop to it. What if you had never gone, and it came in the night? I don’t know what it was, girl, but it had to be bad. Do you think two guards would have slowed it down? How many people could it have taken or killed while we felt safe behind our wall?” Bronwyn limply let go of Maria and slumped down to the grass.

“I’ve never felt so helpless. It was like we were children, and one minute they were alive and becoming my friends, and the next they were gone,” she said quietly, looking down at the grass.

“Oh, Bronwyn. I’m so sorry. Loss is something a lot of us had to get used to back during the conflicts, but you’re young, and, from your reputation, you’re used to winning, aren’t you?”

Bronwyn looked up, eyes narrowing, “This isn’t about me losing. It’s about my friends dying. It’s about being helpless. He was fucking taunting us while he ate Emmet.”

Maria blanched a little, but she pressed on, “Still, Bronwyn, it’s not on you. They were all adults and, they knew the risk they were taking. As for Olivia, give it time, the body needs time to heal, and some wounds are more than skin deep. She may be fighting a battle in her mind right this moment.”

Maria squatted in front of her and held Bronwyn by her shoulders, “Be strong and stay by her side. That’s what she needs right now. Don’t dwell on the fact that she got hurt or that you ran; rather, think about how she’d be a hell of a lot worse off right now if you hadn’t carried her out of there. There’ll be time to figure out what’s next after you’ve rested.”

Bronwyn wiped the final tears from her eyes and took a deep breath. “Thank you, Maria. I needed to hear that more than I realized.” She smiled for a moment but let it drop slightly, “But listen to me: no one else is going into that cave. I know what I need to do, and I need to do it on my own. I’ll finish what we started.”

“You do whatever you think is right, dear, but remember, there’s no shame in accepting help. Now eat that soup before it gets cold.” She squeezed Bronwyn's shoulders one last time and gave her a warm smile before turning around and walking back the way she’d come.

Bronwyn took a quick look in the tent to see if Olivia had stirred, but she and Hops were still soundly asleep. She scooped up both the bowls of soup and sat down by her fire. She hadn’t even realized how hungry and tired she was, but after a couple of minutes, she found herself leaning back against her log, two empty bowls beside her, slowly drifting off to sleep.

In her dreams, she felt herself being pinned down by huge spider-like legs, slimy tentacles constricting her throat so tight she couldn’t breathe. She woke with a start, gasping for air, eyes wide, head spinning around, looking for a threat that wasn’t there. She took a deep breath, “It was just a dream, just a dream.”

Judging by the light, it was near or slightly after midnight, which meant she had slept for the better part of a day. She lifted the tent flap and found the two still sleeping, just as she’d left them. She crouched inside and sat down at Olivia’s side. Her pulse seemed stronger, and she was breathing normally. Bronwyn put her hand over Olivia’s and let out a strained breath she didn’t even realize she was holding as she leaned back against the support post of the tent.

“Bronwyn. Bron, wake up.” Olivia’s voice was soft and crackly, and she gently squeezed Bronwyn’s hand as she spoke.

Bronwyn’s eyes shot open “Olivia! Oh, thank God you’re awake. What do you need? What… what can I get for you?” She stammered.

“Water, please.” Olivia was barely able to speak; her voice sounded so dry. Bronwyn immediately scrambled out of the tent returning swiftly with a mug of water from her barrel.

“Here, let me help you sit up.” She set down the mug and put an arm under Olivia, slowly lifting her into a seated position. She winced slightly but seemed okay for the most part. Bronwyn handed her the mug and helped hold it as she lifted it to drink. “How do you feel? Does it hurt anywhere in particular? There’s a little bit of healing cream left, I tried to put it on all your injuries, but I’m not sure if I missed any. There were so many. I, I’m so sorry, Olivia.” Bronwyn’s voice trailed off as she looked down.

Olivia placed the mug in her lap, lifting her hand up to Bronwyn’s cheek. “What do you mean you’re sorry? I thought I was dead! You must have saved me, silly.” She lifted Bronwyn’s head, looking her in the eyes. “Without you, I never would have made it out of that nightmare, right?” She dropped her hand down onto Bronwyn’s arm and smiled at her. “I owe you my life, Bronwyn Tallow.”

“Olivia, I’m the whole reason you were….” Bronwyn started before Olivia shushed her.

“Stop. None of that matters. You risked your life to save mine.” Olivia finished the water in her mug and laid her head back down on the makeshift pillow. “You’re a hero Bronwyn. You’re my hero.” She closed her eyes. “Thank you for watching over me, but I can’t take up all of your time, even if I want to. You better get out there. The people need their hero too. I’ll be fine; just promise me you’ll come back.”

Bronwyn placed her hand over Olivia’s and smiled, “I promise.”

She stood up outside of the tent and closed the leather flap. Sitting down on the log by her fire pit, she started to strap on her gauntlets. As she tightened the last strap, she felt Hops’s familiar weight climb up her side and onto her shoulder. “Hey, little buddy, I’ve missed you.” She nudged him with her head. “Ready to go explore some plains and get some levels?” Hops gave a small chirp in reply and nestled down into her hair as she started to jog towards the northern gates.