A Big Heart

If you’ve got people who care about you, rely on you, be careful of what you do. Your decisions will affect them. It’s too late to regret getting a friend hurt, after the fact.

. . . . .

It hurt. It felt like needles driving into every pore. “Come on. I just need to be able to move!” Graham thought. He needed more Qi to heal his wounds. His finger twitched and his eyes snapped open. The wolf was nearly upon him.

He grit his teeth. “Come on!” He pried his arm out, then the other. It was too late. He didn’t have any time left and he still couldn’t control his body properly.

He shut his eyes and turned his head away, waiting for sharp teeth to sink into his neck and steal his life away. Something swished through the air and the wolf yelped.

Graham looked and his eyes widened. “Robin!” She stood there, breathing hard, her posture like she’d just thrown something. “Why did she come?” The wolf shrugged off a rock, growling at her. She blanched, eyes flickering to Graham.

“Shit! She doesn’t know what to do!” He could hear his heart pound as he struggled to free himself from his stony shackles. Every movement hurt as if he’d spent the last week running a marathon, non-stop.

He pulled a leg out with a snarl, but the wolf was already running for her. “Robin! Tie up its feet! Use the vine!”

She gaped at him then nodded and turned to run. He frowned as he freed the other leg. “What is she doing? You can’t run from that thing; it’s too fast.” He fell to the ground, groaning at the impact. “I’ve got to help her. If she dies because of me… I’ll regret it for a long time.”

He could hardly put the strength into his arms to push himself up. What’s more was they seemed to be stuck. His elbows and knees wouldn’t bend and he could hardly turn his neck. “Fuck! What’s going on?! I need to move!”

Robin screamed and he searched for her. She’d wrapped the vine around the wolf, but now she was shaking on the ground. His eyes widened. “The electricity!” It must’ve traveled through the vine and shocked her. He hadn’t considered that.

He reached a faltering hand forward, digging his fingers into the sandy floor to drag himself toward her. “Robin! Run away! Just let me handle this!” She didn’t need to die for him. For his stupid selfishness. She’d been right in what she said before; this was foolish. He should never have challenged the wolf. Not without having a good idea of its strength.

The wolf bit through the vines to free itself and approached Robin as she lay panting on the ground. Graham snarled. “Hey! Over here, you fucking mutt!” But the wolf paid him no mind. It hovered over her, its legs shaking and foam dripping from its mouth. It seemed like it was on its last legs, but that wouldn’t stop it from killing them both. “Robin! Stand up and run!”

He dragged himself closer and closer, all the while having no idea how he would help her. He didn’t have the strength to save himself, let alone someone else. But he couldn’t just abandon her to her fate.

But it seemed fate hadn’t abandoned her. A large boulder whistled through the air and smashed into the wolf’s side. It kept going until the wolf had been crushed between the boulder and the wall. It let out a pitiful yelp as its fur faded to a grayish color, not quite the magnificent silver it had once been but not black, either. Its head fell, limp, and its eyes stared at the ground, unseeing.

Orion appeared from behind a crystal pillar, dusting his hands off. He helped Robin to her feet, making sure she could stand before he approached Graham.

Graham looked down at the white sand. “What should I say to him? They were both right. I nearly got Robin killed in this fight. How many times and I going to fuck up before I learn my lesson?”

Orion stopped, looming over him. Graham didn’t look up, too ashamed to meet his eyes. He still couldn’t move, so there was no running from this. Orion was silent a while before he coughed. “You alright?”

Graham shook his head. “No. I feel awful and I can’t move.” He laughed. “I’m such an idiot.” With tremendous effort, he pushed himself over onto his back so he could look at both of them. “Robin, Orion, I’m sorry. This was an awful idea.” He focused on Robin. “You were nearly killed because you came to help me…”

His chest hurt as if the wolf were alive and stepping on it, pressing harder and harder, digging its claws in. He moved a trembling hand, grabbing a scroll from his pocket. The scripture for Breathing Livewire. “One of you should take this, instead of me. There are only enough materials for one person to use it, but I don’t deserve it.”

This was the only way he could think of to make amends at the moment. Robin was the one who deserved it most, but she probably wouldn’t want it. That meant Orion would be the one to take it. That was fine. He’d figure out how to make it up to Robin at some point. And he’d apologize again about killing James. She deserved more respect than he’d given her.

Orion and Robin glanced at each other. Robin shook her head. Orion shrugged. “Sorry, Graham. We don’t want it.” He knelt, grabbed Graham, and threw him over his shoulder.

Graham yelped. “What are you doing?!”

Orion sighed. “You can’t move, right? There’s no other choice but for me to carry you.”

Graham couldn’t say anything, as it was the truth. Robin wrung her hands together. “Graham, I know I said I was against this, but I understand why you thought you had to do it. I came here to help because I wanted to, so it’s not your fault I got hurt.”

Graham grimaced. “But I told you to use the vine and, when you did, it shocked you. I should’ve told you more about the wolf’s abilities before, when I had the chance.”

Orion huffed. “Maybe you should’ve. But you didn’t. It’s in the past, no point worrying about it, now. We should just focus on getting out of here.” He paused. “Though, you will owe me one for saving you, considering you brought this situation upon yourself.”

“Yeah. That’s fair.”

Orion trudged forward with heavy steps, carrying Graham and dragging a massive wolf carcass behind him at the same time. It was hard work. Graham had told them where to go to find the room he’d found the new scripture in, and they were heading there, Robin walking next to him.

They were all quiet. He assumed Graham was reflecting on his actions and Robin didn’t know what to say. As for himself? He was too busy with his burdens for that. He let out a long breath. “I don’t know why I bothered to save this idiot. Picking fights for no good reason. Getting Robin involved because there’s no way she’d leave him alone. I feel like the only adult here.” That might even hold some truth. Both Robin and Graham seemed pretty young, probably early twenties.

“And here I am, nearly thirty, hanging out with these youngsters.” He grinned, holding back a laugh. Still, Graham had been right about one thing. Working together, they had defeated the wolf. Of course, Graham had done all the heavy lifting. Robin only kept it still long enough to give Orion a good shot. With the wolf so tired and wounded, it was no wonder it couldn’t dodge.

He was pulled up short. He swore and pulled harder on the wolf. One of its crystals was stuck in a crevice.

“Oh! Let me help,” Robin said, circling around to the wolf’s side. She stopped, staring at the carcass distastefully, her hands positioned as if she were about to grab it. She turned to look at Orion. “Actually…”

Graham, still draped over Orion’s shoulder, laughed. “Too gross, huh?”

Robin blushed. “I-It’s not… I mean…”

Orion frowned. “I’ll handle it.” He grabbed the back of Graham’s shirt and tossed him at Robin. She yelped and struggled to catch him. Graham groaned at the sudden relocation. “So, you can hold on to him, right?” He smiled and unjammed the wolf, getting a better grip to drag it along. It’d probably be easier to gut it for the heart and core, now, rather than do it at the room, but Orion certainly wasn’t going to be the one to do it. Robin probably wouldn’t either. If Graham wanted it done, he’d have to do it himself. But, he wasn’t in any condition to do so, so he’d have to do it later, when he could move again.

He could feel a pitiable stare digging into his back. Robin would just have to deal with it. It was about time for that fight to end, anyway. Maybe this would help things along? He glanced back to see Robin shift Graham into a piggyback, her face turning red. Was she that angry?

They continued on. “Considering all the effort he went through for it, I wonder if that new scripture will be any good?” He felt like Standard Script was good enough for most people. Super strength and the ability to heal most injuries rapidly? It was a good deal.

Would this new scripture give him the same things, plus lightning powers? Or would it be something different entirely? Despite the preoccupation of his mother and her entire family with Seekers, he’d never even known enough about scriptures to be asking these questions.

Lightning powers could be useful, though. He could subdue an enemy through paralysis rather than being forced to kill them. Any way he could avoid killing was great. Maybe he should take Graham up on that offer he made earlier? He’d already figured out how to circulate without the scripture—something that he’d had to do, as Graham gave their scripture to Gloria. “I don’t know why he thought that was a good idea.”

Robin had managed it, as well. They’d both been trying since that meeting with the giant lizard and it wasn’t as hard as he’d imagined it would be. Graham had managed it pretty quickly anyway, so it might not actually be all that impressive.

Whispers drifted forward to him. Graham and Robin were talking to each other. “That’s a start, at least. Hopefully, everything that’s happened will blow over and we can start acting more like a team. It’ll definitely be necessary to get out of here.”

He grunted as he had to pull the wolf over a low ledge. “I don’t think I’ll take the scripture. Graham did all the work. He risked his life for it. And I think he’s already learned his lesson. No need to punish him more for it.” He grimaced. “Besides, it’s not like I’ve never made a mistake.”

They’d go to the room Graham had found, wait for him to recover, let him do the ritual thing he needed to practice the new scripture, then they could focus on getting out of here. And maybe he’d take a look at that sigil that was carved into the ground. The sigilcraft book was very interesting and he might be able to learn something from it.

Robin sat against the wall, her knees pulled up to her chin. She made sure to stay on the opposite side of the room from the skeleton. She wasn’t very much interested in touching something dead, no matter how long it’d been.

A few hours had passed and Graham had regained his mobility.

Now he was using one of those crystals to dig out the stuff he needed from the wolf. It was disgusting. Then again, Graham was already covered in blood, most of it his own, so she guessed he just didn’t care anymore. Orion sat next to the sigil in the center of the room, that book of sigilcraft open in his hands. He’d read the book then glance at the circle, then read some more, then hum to himself, then read some more, then scratch his head, and so on.

There was a sickly splash as Graham succeeded in cutting open the beast’s belly. The stench of blood crept toward her as the red liquid pooled on the ground, assaulting her nose. She slapped her hands over her face, turning away from the gruesome sight. “I think I’m gonna hurl,” she thought.

Why did he have to do this in the room? Couldn’t he have done it outside with the door closed so she wouldn’t even have to see it? She blamed Orion for dragging the wolf in here for no explicable reason. She also blamed Graham for being so determined to use that new scripture. Didn’t he find it a little strange that it basically required animal sacrifice?! That’s creepy as hell!

She sighed and moved further from the bloody mess.

She didn’t quite understand why she’d gone to save Graham. “I didn’t want to fight the wolf and I told Graham I wouldn’t. Why can’t I stick to my decisions?” Of course, if she hadn’t gone, Graham probably would’ve died. She frowned. “I don’t want that, I just want him to be more reasonable. This place is dangerous, so we should be careful and not pick fights with strange animals!” It was just common sense, right? Sane people didn’t do things like that.

Considering all he’d done recently, she should be much angrier than she was. For some reason, she couldn’t hold onto that anger. She kept wanting to talk to him and rely on him. Even when he couldn’t move, he’d tried to save her. “He wanted to help me so badly, and he even offered to give up the scripture he’d fought with his life for, just to apologize.” She brought a finger to her lips, biting it lightly.

“And while I was carrying him, he apologized again.”

I never meant to hurt you, he’d said. I just want us all to survive and get out of here. I’m sorry I killed James, but he was attacking us. I did what I thought needed to be done.

He may have hit too hard, but she couldn’t fault his intentions. James had attacked them, possessed or not. It’s not like they could just let that happen. He’d even made sure Gloria was safe in the tower afterward and gave her the scripture so she’d have the chance to overcome her possession. “Not that that’s too likely…”

She bit harder, ignoring the pain in her finger. “Still, he didn’t apologize for stealing. Does he really think it’s okay, just because there are no police here? Am I the weird one?” It just went against her sensibilities. “I can’t just forgive him because he’s been nice. I can’t keep going back on my decisions. But, if I keep talking to him… I might change my mind.” She sighed heavily. “I’ll just have to ignore him, for now. It’s the only way I can stick to my guns.”

It was unfortunate. She didn’t like not talking to Graham. He was her friend, even though they’d only known each other for a day or two, and, in this place, she needed as many friends as she could get.

Graham ran a hand down his arm, wiping off the blood that had accumulated on it. Despite that, the appendage was still red, stained. The other arm was the same. “I’ll have to wash off later. I don’t want to circulate to use Thinwell, right now.” After all, that might immobilize him again. He’d come to learn that that was the penalty for overusing Qi. Damned if he knew why, though.

He’d successfully carved out the heart and the core from the wolf. No, the Lycris Hound. He had everything he needed to create the Lightning Seed and begin practicing his new scripture. He grimaced. “I guess I need to eat the heart now.” It was large, twice the size of his fist, and it still twitched occasionally. Not to mention the yellow fat deposits on its surface. Further, it was possible that cooking it would ruin whatever mystical properties it would bestow upon him to use the scripture, so he’d have to eat it raw.

He stared at the thing where it laid on the ground. “Nothing left but to do it,” he told himself.

Robin yelled at him when he picked it up, “Do that outside! I don’t want to see you eating that!” She shuddered, hugging herself and facing away from him.

“Hehe. Well, at least she’s mad at me for something understandable.” This was definitely going to be gross. He looked to Orion where he was sitting next to the circle. “Do you want to go ahead and combine the core with the crystal?”

Orion’s head snapped up, eyes blinking and swimming around in search of Graham. They found him. “Oh, yeah. I’ll do that.” He grabbed the bloody core, not caring that his hands were getting dirty. The core was smaller than Graham had expected, like a pebble you’d find in the road. It was a deep matte blue color that didn’t reflect any light but had its own inner glow.

He’d never seen the like.

He went outside, out of Robin’s view, and tore into the heart with his teeth. It was tough and stringy, being made of powerful muscle. It tasted of iron and was similarly hard to chew. “I can hardly believe I’m doing this,” he thought, grimacing as a piece of heartstring got stuck between his teeth. “I hope I don’t get any diseases from this.” The scripture would have mentioned a danger like that, right?

Wait, did Seekers even get sick? He didn’t know. Maybe they had their own super-diseases? That was a terrifying thought.

He choked down the last of the heart, waiting for some strange magic to encompass him, or something. Nothing happened. He furrowed his brow. “Shouldn’t there be… something? Some kind of powerful feeling?” All he could feel was an upset stomach and the taste of blood on his tongue. Neither were pleasant, though they were both certainly powerful.

He sighed. “I guess I won’t know if it worked until after I have the Lightning Seed.” His face brightened up. The hard part was over. Now, he just had to follow the instructions in the Scripture and gain his reward.