Thanks to a mix of life magica and the first aid kit, I’m alive after taking out the final piece of glass. I saved it for last because it is just to the right of the big vein on the right side of my neck. I’m pretty sure I only lived because it was shallow. I sigh as my life magica slowly closes the wound. I lean back against the crashed flyer and take a minute to settle my nerves. Then I stand and crunch my way inside what’s left of our transport.

Sam is alive inside what remains of the passenger compartment. He’s not exactly in great shape, but he’s alive. The dwarf he shot in the face, however, is not; having his skull caved in during the crash resulting in his brain leaking out was detrimental to his health. I feel bad for just a second and then I pull myself together. I have no idea what their plan was, but those dwarves were definitely trouble.

I heal Sam’s injuries using a mix of the medkit and life Magica. I’m not sure if he’ll be thankful, but I also fixed a few old injuries that appear to have healed (or been healed) improperly. I would expect to see a number of these from someone who has taken quite a number of beatings that damage bone and tissue but are not life-threatening. Odd. Based on what I can sense with my magica, a number were almost certainly causing him discomfort and some lack of function. Reflecting on it, maybe I was wrong to heal them without asking. I hope he won’t be too upset.

Well, either way, it is done and should be coming around soon. While waiting, I change into a new set of clothes without holes that would expose some things Vic would prefer I not. He has been trying his damndest to get me to let go of my elven lack of inhibitions, but I doubt it will succeed. I just don’t care and can’t imagine I ever will. It’s just eyes on skin. Humans are weird sometimes.

Now free of injury and wearing whole clothes and shoes, I make an attempt at assessing the current situation and any threats that could prevent a move to a secure location. Reflecting on Vic’s training, I recall what he tried to teach me in regards to situational awareness and decision-making.

“Observe, orient, decide, and then act, Aria. First and most important, observe using sight, sound, smell, feel and taste. Don’t rely on just one or two senses to determine your status and options. And above all, remember that your body is a tool and a weapon that can only be taken from you if you allow it or through evil. Use it to its fullest or everything you have worked for and accomplished means nothing.”

Okay. Assess the situation.

I step out of the remains of the flyer and crunch my way over the glass to the rear where I can see out but still hide if there is a threat. Using my sneakers, I kick the shards away so I won’t cut myself if something happens and I end up on the ground for some reason.

“Alright, here goes,” I say to myself.

Sight: I scan the area visually and find no immediate threats. Hearing: I turn my head slightly and attempt to listen for any sounds at all. I can hear the occasional clink of the flyer’s metal contracting or expanding behind me, a piece of glass falling from what used to be a wall to my left, a few soft booms from distant combat. No clicking or skittering of ants. Smell: The burning of the flyer overpowers any other scents in the area so that doesn’t help. Feel and taste are a no-go in this situation, so it’s down to visual and auditory observation only. At least for now.

All right, we have completed the “observe” step of the observe, orient, decide, act playbook. I need to orient where we are in comparison to the nearest defensive position and find a safe path there as the lady on the comm said. Just as I withdraw my mapping projector crystal from my right earring, moaning and shuffling sounds echo from the inside of the flyer. I crunch my way over and find Sam sitting up and checking himself out.

“Hey, Sam,” I say gently. “I did the best I could with your wounds. Hopefully, you’re feeling alright?"

He pats himself down, rubs his hands over his head, and looks at me. “You used your life Magica on me?” he asks.

I respond with a slight nod and his face closes off. “You saw my injuries?” he asks in a neutral tone.

I nod again, but raise my hands in placation. “Your private life is yours, Sam. As I said before, it is none of my business and I don’t want to intrude. Please don’t be angry. I was trying to save your life and we need to work together to get to a safe place. I didn't mean to invade your privacy.”

His face relaxes and lets out his breath in a huff. “Fine. Where are we and where do we go?”

“I was just looking at that when you woke up." I show him the projector in my hand and activate it. A white transparent image of Sea Saddle City is displayed. I tap it and a tiny blue light shows our current position. He stands up and walks to the projector.

He reaches both hands towards the projection but then stops and looks up at me. “Mind if I manipulate it?” he asks. “We use these in our hunter team all the time.”

“All yours,” I tell him with a nod and smile.

Using numerous motions and gestures, he changes the displayed projection to be a magnified map of our local area with a blue line between us and the nearest defensive construct. “This safe zone is small but it’s certainly better than us being alone. You good with us heading there now?”

“Sure,” I say with a nod. “I’ve checked the area in sight and hearing range and I can’t find any immediate threats but that’s all I had time for.”

“Threat level is certainly high." He looks me up and down and says, “You seem fine. Healed yourself already I presume. What happened to your crossbow?”

“I haven’t had a chance to search for it yet. It flew off my wrist during the crash, but I don't know where." I turn from him and head deeper into the building. “Hopefully it didn’t break. I love that crossbow.”

“Your husband gave it to you?" There isn’t any intonation in his voice at all. Nothing negative and nothing positive.

I nod. “As soon as I showed a proficiency for crossbows, he bought it for me." I begin walking around overturning some furniture and looking behind or under obstacles trying to find my crossbow.

“Of course he did." That came out as a mumble but I heard it.

I sigh. “Vic isn’t what you think he is, Sam. He is a good man and a good husband. Not because he’s rich, but because he works incredibly hard to serve humanity. And he loves me." I turn away from my search and face him. “I’ve heard the rumors and, given the attitude you and the dwarves shared, you all think him a spoiled rich man and me along with him.”

I return to my search shaking my head. “That couldn’t be farther from the truth. He came from nothing – literally nothing – and earned every single thing he has in life. He works harder than anyone I have ever met and sacrifices more on a daily basis than you can imagine.”

I look under a sculpture of a large tiger and find my crossbow.

“Shit!" I yell as I pull it out. Or what’s left of it.

The arm of my crossbow is broken into three pieces and is only being held together by the infused string. Letting out a sigh, I put it in my ring and withdraw the backup Vic had bought me. I haven’t used this one more than a handful of times so it isn’t broken in and I don’t know its quirks or flaws.

Sam asks with obvious surprise in his voice. “You have two?"

I can see the shock on his face when I turn to him. “Vic always plans for contingencies. This is my backup, so I’m not as familiar with it. Even if it’s the same model, the precision using these is very high so even small variances could cause me to have an unfortunate miss or malfunction at an inopportune moment.”

Vic says going into battle with an unknown weapon is not optimal but you have to make do with what you have. As always, he’s proven right.

I turn to fully face Sam. “I tell you that so you’re aware of the risk. Now let’s go. If we can reach even a minor safe zone at least we will be in much better shape and can possibly have a longer discussion with HQ about what happened.”

He nods and we head out through a destroyed glass wall with me in the lead.