Carmine

The wall's serene light blue compensated for the thick red that surrounded me. The dreadful calm he looked up at me with froze my pulse.

Canus breathed out as I pushed the cloth down on his shoulder wound. The cloth got badly ripped at the shoulder down to the bottom.

“My my, my darling,” he winced. “It’s good that I get to s-se—” He sucked air for a second as Janilla got some water and washed away the blood, but the wound was too big, and no matter how much pressure we applied he still bled.

Sandream lifted him from the back. “Apply it behind him!”

Janilla pushed the wrapping and started weaving it. She spun it around his body with great haste.

“Sandream, Sandream, please take care of Carmine, with your life. Do this for me—if you can. Carmine, I-It was g-g-good to see you again,” Canus said.

I grabbed his head with my bloody hands. “And you will see me again tomorrow, just survive today, okay? Oka—” A knot caught in my throat as his eyes stayed still.

No life or brightness rested in those eyes.

Sandream breathed out and let him down slowly. “He is gone.”

I closed my eyes and a wave of negative emotions sliced through my gut and made me pinch my mouth. An itch to throw up consumed me. This was a jest, right?

My head fell gracefully on his, I let it down slowly. A kiss laid on his forehead, I raised. Opening my eyes, a tear flowed. I swiftly wiped it away and stood almost slipping in all the blood caked upon the floor of this small room.

I stood staring down at his still body. Five laid almost lifeless, only his rising chest gave his very pale skin any sign of vitality.

Janilla spoke, “Carmine we need to leave, your enemies might be leaving—but this situation—

Then it came, the worst of negative emotions, anger. I took off my Sector Bloom. “Erot, you conniving cunt screw you, you hear me! Screw you! I know you hear my thoughts you think you are God! I'll kill you! You hear me! You ugly little sea witch come out here and kill me yourself! Ugly! Coward! Whore! I swea—"

Janilla grabbed me from behind and dragged me which caused both of us to slip and fall over. I pushed Janilla off me and got up. “Let go of me!”

Janilla said, “Carmine we need to leave.”

I whipped my head back at her. “And then what?!”

Janilla sank back from my outburst.

“I am dead either way!” I cried out.

“That is not true. Remember there is a chance, a prophecy that you are destined to kill her,” Janilla said as she got up, blood seeping from the hem of her dress.

“Right, I am a singularity, right. Only guess what?” My tone got dark and brooding, “My chances are one coin compared to her ninety-nine hundred!”

Janilla corrected me, “Ninety-nine.”

“It does not matter! I still have a low chance. Look at him! The great King of Tiam is dead! Dead! I almost died! You were useless!” I pointed at Sandream. “And you were useless!”

Janilla opened her mouth, but could broker no rebuttal.

I continued, “Th—how am I supposed to kill a God when I have no skill at war or hellish weapon, just a useless bunch of rejects? I, I am a disgrace.” I sighed and closed my eyes as the anger settled into my out-of-control heartbeat.

Sweat rolled off my cheek and mixed in the blood smears streaming down to the root of my neck.

My fingers twitched to the encroaching tension in my bones.

I wanted to vomit and cry, but that helped no one. Life, that was all I had. I could not lose myself to this overwhelming terror.

Breathing out, I said, “Sandream can I ask for your assistance in getting us out of here.”

Sandream kept up this tight flat line in her lips. I could not tell if she was smiling, sad, or just unimpressed. More so than that, her peerless gaze, was like Five, yet without purpose or direction.

Sandream said, “You need’t not ask.”

I replied, “Lead the way Sandream.”

Janilla came closer and asked, “You sure you are okay?”

“No, I am not. Can we go please?” I asked.

Sandream nodded her head and put on a new mask slipped from the inside of her gown. We carried Five together. Mostly Sandream since she had the most strength. We traversed the halls and with a struggle avoided the majority of soldiers now walking the halls looking for Corona and her people.

The ones we ran into ignored us and focused on their mission of finding that witch.

Those walls closed in on us. Our options were low and we reached the fields behind the granary.

I kept my mind sharp on my surroundings as we hurried down an alley. A secret door sat in between two statues hugging the wall of a neighboring study.

We went down the winding stone stairway and through the narrow rugged stone passageways. The air was putrid and I got sicker with each step.

We reached a small quaint room with a big barrel at one corner, while there laid a grill over a hole in the ground.

I looked at Sandream and waved my arms at her. She punched the wall and a square section sank into the wall. A door pushed out and moved back smooth as butter.

Sandream said, “The King's personal horses are in here. We can take the green passage and leave, but only at night. We cannot go out yet with the barracks nearby. We can wait it out here and go under the cover of night.”

“I rather leave now, but I guess it makes sense. But—Five, how, wh-what will we do?”

Sandream took up Five’s sword. She looked at it with sad eyes. “Janilla close the door. I do not want you guys to see this.”

I narrowed my eyes at her. “What are you planning?”

“The arm needs to go. He will die if he keeps it. If he loses it, his body will heal.”

I stupefied before twirling in shock. “Unbelievable." I sighed. It kept getting worse. Was I going to lose Five too? Five's eyes showed nothing that indicated fear. Where was that frustration she saw briefly when she met him back at the chapel?

The frustration of knowing fear was on his doorstep, where was that terrible weight?

Was he trying to put on a brave face or had he give up?

He said the extinguishment of his life would be his future.

There was no way in any damnation story that would happen as long as I lived.

“No one will look for us here?”

“No, they will not. None of the basic soldiers know, only the closest people to the King.”

“Thank you I ju—”

“It would be what he wished for. Even though I would rather kill you myself.”

I stepped back. “Why?”

“Because of you, my King is dead.” Sandream sat on the ground and breathed out. I stared at Sandream who avoided my stare as if saying that was normal. Then her eyes peered into mine. “I hate you, but as he commanded I will protect you.”

The darkness grasped and spread out. Janilla struggled to close the door behind us, left in the darkness where my thoughts got no solace. Five hung by a thread, while our breaths labored into the void.