She twitched her toes, then her ankles, legs, hips, spine-ouch. She moved her spine slightly again, and was greeted with a sharp pain up her back, and learned quickly not to do that again. She continued with her fingers, wrists, shoulders, neck-that was the second thing she wouldn’t move again. Her damage now assessed, she slowly opened her eyes again, and found a strange scene about her. She was still in the warehouse, she must not have blacked out for too long. She glanced up to see soft faces looking down on her, even in the dim light they looked framed with white; her eyes hadn’t yet adjusted. Seth’s harsh features now took a softer, more concerned light, as they all did. She realized that the warmth she had felt around her were arms, she was being carried by Seth, Cal, Max, and Talar. Though she had nearly died, she was still surprised how comfortable she felt in the arms of her friends. She thought it strange that four of them were needed to carry her, but then they were all fatigued beyond measure.
“Thanks for joining us,” Seth said in his low, raspy voice.
“Yeah, well I thought I’d grace you with my presence,” she mumbled. There was laughter nearby, and she realized that Wyd and Mira also followed. She was now growing more conscious of her own body, as though her mind was crawling slowly back into it. She hung in midair, cradled by four separate points; it was not exactly a comfortable situation.
“Yeah, guys? You can put me down now.” Her voice cracked slightly, sounding softer than usual. She missed the usual bite to it.
There was a grumbled response as she was placed lightly against the wall. She tried to hide a cringe at the pain that raced up her back and neck. More arms touched her shoulders, trying to help her get into a sitting position.
“Thanks, but I think I can sit up on my own.” Her voice held certainty that her mind didn’t; could she sit up on her own? The arms retreated, but she still felt the warmth of bodies near. Now she could feel more pain setting in as the detached feeling faded; her left shoulder had surely suffered damage, and she’d taken a hit-probably a fall-to a hip.
“Don’t take it personally,” she heard Mira’s voice say, “she’s not big on the whole help thing.” Nameh laughed in response to her friend’s truth, the laughter rattled in her chest, sounding sick and weak.
She hated weakness.
“You don’t sound well,” said Cal with a worried tone.
“I’m fine, it’s just my back and neck, I took a pretty hard fall. Just have to walk it off, I think.”
“Ha, walk it off.” Cal seemed genuinely amused at this thought. He cracked his fingers-yes, actually cracked his fingers, and placed their tips just inches from her neck. His eyes closed and she immediately felt warmth flow down her back and neck. It was as though she were in a hot shower and the water was trickling down her skin as well as beneath it. When the warmth subsided, all the pain she had felt was gone, but the fatigue was still there.
“So, a Healer,” she grinned, “impressive.” It truly was impressive, she hadn’t met a healer before, but Cal struck her as the type. She was beginning to think that all talents were determined by suitability to personality.
“Why don’t we get her back to The Corner.” Talar said as more of a statement than a question. She saw that he was now in human form, and looked ragged and tired. In fact, everyone looked this way: smeared makeup and blood, torn formal clothes, and drawn expressions.
“Wait,” she said. “Where’s Gwen and Eve?” The responsive looks on their faces were not comforting. The silence that followed added to the dreadful feeling in the pit of her stomach. As usual, Max was the first to form the words.
“We…weren’t fast enough.” He seemed as though he couldn’t say anything else, but that was all that needed to be said. The feeling that filled her was what she had come to expect; sorrow was nearly absent, anger and rage threatened to spill over her control. Her hands tightened into fists; she had promised herself that she would allow none of them to die. Images from the short amount of time she had known the girls flashed through her mind. Gwen in the deep blue dress she had worn, and Eve in the soft yellow.