A/N:
This is a little short story I wrote up a while ago. I don't even know what genre it properly fits so hopefully my guess isn't too far off.
I hope someone enjoys it.
Forgotten Mercy
Tanner gasped for air, the forest around him seemed to twist and turn. He stumbled as best he could but each step felt heavier and with each step his body twisted in agony. He dropped to the ground and began to crawl. His muscles grew heavy, his breathing grew strained. His vision turned and faded. He shook his head and continued to crawl. He reached a large oak tree and curled up next to it. It took some effort but he managed to get his back to it. He drew his weapon, an old rifle with an axe blade on it's stock. Simple, but it got him through some serious predicaments. Now he was running out of luck. He had a few days worth of food, a few days worth of water. He had bandages, which he applied generously to his torso. A thought came to him that he should preserve it. He might need to reapply it. He carefully removed a layer and tied it. He leaned back and gasped again. He had to keep moving, but just another moment of rest was required. He closed his eyes. The pain seemed to drift away.
He awoke with a jolt. His body continued to ache. It was now night. He saw a dozen crows pecking at him. He tried to kick them away, but he had a bigger problem. He couldn't move his legs. He couldn't feel his legs. He struggled and panicked. His entire body from his torso down was gone as far as he could tell. He patted his legs desperately. Nothing. No response.
He felt tears dripping down his face. He banged his head against the tree. Why did he have to go solo? Why did he have to be such an idiot. He continued to bang his head against the tree. He hit it the wrong way and felt blood dripping down the back of his head. He shook his head and leaned back. It now hurt to lean. Why was he such an idiot? It was the only thought going through his head. He remembered Coraline. She always told him to watch his footing. One wrong step could cost you your life.
"Oh Coraline." He muttered. "I wish you were here. You'd give me an earful and I'd enjoy every minute of it."
The trees creaked in the darkness. A low rumble. He raised his rifle and scanned the horizon. Nothing. He leaned back. He reached into his bag and grabbed a bottle of water. He took a sip. He placed the bottle next to himself. He planted the bag beside him and dug through it. Sure enough, at least five days worth of food and water. Then he'd be roughing it. He needed to preserve it as best he could. He skimmed through his scroll. Noone close by. It was getting cold. He sighed and waited.
Time seemed to go by, pretty soon a day had come and gone. The most excitement he had was when a dear hopped through the forest beside him, sniffed him, then continued hopping. The birds had started pecking at his legs. He swung his axe blade at them. They fluttered off. He figured if he could catch one thats another day of food. If he could start a fire.
Night two he reached around and grabbed some twigs. It was colder than the last. He started to assemble himself a firepit. A couple of big rocks and a few twigs and leaves. Not a lot but it was all he could manage in his crippled state. He grabbed a firestarter from his bag and lit the bundle of twigs. A small flame burned. He held his hands over it and sighed in relief. There was a strange rustling sound and a puttering sound. He turned around and felt something cold land on his hands. He looked up and a droplet of water splashed him in the eye. He sighed. It started raining and in minutes it was pouring. He started to cry. At first a little, then a lot.
Day three came, the sun was high in the sky. A circle of cloud surrounded it and stretched off as far as he could see. The eye of the storm. He began counting the birds. They were his only company. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight. Eight little crows pecking at his leg. He grabbed his axe and swung it. He missed. Not like he could cook them if he got them. His fire went out in the rain. He was soaked, in pain, and tired. He wanted nothing more to be back in Haven academy in his nice warm bed, listening to Coraline yell at him for sleeping in. How simple things used to be.
Night three was colder than the last but uneventful. He was having trouble feeling his fingers. He was oddly happy he couldn't feel his legs, one less thing to hurt. He felt something approach him. A small rabbit glanced up at him. He smiled. It hopped onto his legs. He felt warmth for a moment. It then hopped off and ran through the woods. He frowned. So much for that, he thought. He felt like the gods were teasing him. He smiled and glanced at his rifle. He aimed it up at the sky. If he could shoot the gods right now he would.
Day four was another day of birds pecking at his legs. Nine, ten, eleven, twelve. Twelve little crows pecking at his legs. He swung his axe and they scattered. He was getting weak. He had trouble lifting his axe. Fortunately he was still well fed. He took a sip from his water. He tossed the empty bottle into the small pile forming beside him. He wished he brought liquor. That would be nice right about now.
Days began to fade. Day five he ran out of food. Day six he ran out of water. He thought about how he should have rationed better. Day six he started talking to himself. To better pass the time. He's been in this condition of 144 hours now.
"So, day six. All things considered, could be worse. I could be missing an arm." Tanner said dryly. "Then I couldn't scratch. Oh that'd be murder. Right Birdy?" He asked the bird. The bird continued to peck his leg. He swatted at it. It fluttered it's wings and flew off. His blue jeans had a dozen holes in it now. Blood was trickling from the holes. He closed his eyes and started to cry again. He didn't feel any pain down there but the thought crossed his mind that he might never walk again. "No legs, no hunting. No hunting, no friends."
"Wait, they wouldn't betray you like that?" He said to himself. "They would visit."
"Right, once a week, then once a month, then once a year." He replied to himself. "They'd forget about me eventually, well they'd move on at least. No sense hanging around their crippled friend. He'd depress them."
"Maybe you're right." He said. "Maybe I should just put myself out of my misery."
"No, think about Coraline." He said. He smiled.
Days seven, eight, nine, and ten went by. He was starving. His stomach was in constant pain from both the wound and from the hunger. He tried to grab one of the birds. Take a bite out of it feathers and all. His mouth was dry and cracked. He needed some water. Days eleven and twelve went by. Not much different. Only worse, and agonizingly painful.
"Does blood satiate thirst?" He asked. "Or is it too salty?"
"I don't know. I don't know. I don't know." He repeated. He glanced down at his legs. "Can you eat your own legs?"
"You'd bleed out." He replied to himself.
"Better off just shooting myself." He said. "Less painful."
"Why don't you?" He asked.
"Good point, why don't I." He said.
He reached for his rifle and placed it under his chin. The problem was he couldn't reach the trigger. He decided to try to get the trigger behind his toe. He reached down and removed his shoe. His feet had turned blue and purple. He placed the trigger carefully behind his foot and aimed the rifle under his chin. He pulled back, His arms buckled as he did. Sweet oblivion, he thought to himself. His arms jerked and the gun slipped to the left and fired. The recoil sent it flying off out of reach. He started screaming He didn't know for how long.
"Why! Why! What did I do wrong? I was a good person! Why did this happen to me?" He screamed at the sky. "Why you son of a..."
"Hello?" A voice called out. "Who's there?"
"No, not real. This is just cruel." He said. "Go away, let me die in peace."
"Are you okay?" A voice called out. He turned and saw a girl in a red hood, not too much younger than him. She knelt down next to him, examing hin wounds. Her eyes were wide. She glanced at his foot. "Oh gods. What happened."
"Your real?" He asked.
"Of course I'm real!" She said. She punched him lightly on the shoulder. "See?"
"Oh thank the gods." He said. Ignoring the fact he was cursing them only a few moments ago. "I got hit by an alpha, I lost my footing. Coraline is going to kill me for making her so worried."
"How long have you been out here?" Ruby asked.
"Twelve days under this gods damned tree." He said. "I'm going to die under this damn tree. Pecked apart by the crows."
"No you're not. Here's my food and water. I'll be back, I'm going to get my team and they are going to help carry you to the next town." She said.
"Don't leave me." He said.
"Don't worry, I'll be back." She said. She ran off into the forest.
"That's what I told Coraline." He said.
An hour, maybe two passed. He ate some of the food and felt a lot better, the water was even better than that. Finally he heard footsteps. Four huntsmen came running into view. The girl in the red hood took the lead. Followed by a man in armour, another man in a green, and a girl in pink. He smiled. Help, at last.
They struggled to lift him. He felt an agonizing pain that forced them to put him back down. They tried several more times but each time they tried to remove him from his resting spot he started screaming. They scratched their heads.
"I really am going to die under this gods damned tree." He said. They shook their heads.
"Jaune, Ren, Nora." The girl in red said. "Head to the next town, fetch their doctor, bring him here."
"Ruby, there could be more beowolves." Jaune said.
"I can't leave him alone." Ruby said. "You three look after each other and I'll watch his back."
"Who'll watch yours?" The man in armour said.
"He will." She said passing his rifle back to him. He felt it in his hands and smiled.
"I got your back red." He said feebly. "Just don't let me die here guys."
"Right!" Ruby said. "Go Jaune!"
They ran off into the woods. Ruby sat down next to him. He glanced over at her. She smiled at him. She was wielding a large mechanical rifle. She placed it next to her.
"So, what's there to do under this tree." She asked.
"Well there's talking to yourself, swatting at the crows, and crying like a little girl. Take your pick." He said.
"Oh really?" She asked. "Sounds fun. How'd you lose your shoe?"
"An experiment." Tanner said. He sighed. "I wanted to know if I could fire my rifle with my foot."
"Why would you need to..." She froze. "You were trying to kill yourself?"
"You figured it out, congratulations." He said. "Twelve days alone with nothing but pain and misery as company. You're damned right I was going to go for the easy way out. I'm a coward if you haven't noticed."
"Nope." She said. "If you were a coward why are you here by yourself?"
"Good point." He said. He started coughing. He was sweating pretty bad. "Oh dear." He said. He slumped over.
He woke up and it was nightfall. A roaring fire was next to him and he was bundled under a heavy blanket. Either that, or he was too weak that a simple blanket felt heavy. He saw Ruby grilling what looked like a crow. She glanced over at him and smiled. He smiled sheepishly at her. She ripped off a piece of crow and passed it to him. He took a bite. It tasted awful.
"It's delicious." He said. "Thank you."
"No need to lie." She said.
"What I've learned about girls, always lie when it comes to their cooking." Tanner said. She started laughing.
"Gods thats awful." She said. "You're awful."
"Hey, it's true." He said. "I told the truth once and I got slapped." He shook his head. "Coraline has such a temper."
"Coraline, is that your girlfriend?" Ruby asked.
"She's my, uh, friend. My parter, er, my team mate." He said. She didn't seem convinced.
"Right, so you like her right?" She asked.
"Well, she's my closest friend." He said. "So, I guess I like her, in a matter of speaking."
"What a dodge." She said. "I mean romantically dummy."
"Fine, I like her. Alright?" He said. "Is that what you wanted to hear?"
She started giggling. "You like her."
"Yeah laugh it up." He said. "She'd give me hell if she were here."
"Where is she?" Ruby asked.
"Haven academy."
"Is that where you are from?" Ruby asked.
"Yeah." He replied. He started coughing. Blood splatted his chest.
Ruby stared at him, she turned away for a moment. She turned back and smiled.
"Ruby, it'll be okay." He said.
She looked troubled. He decided it was his obligation to distract her.
"What's your name, like your whole name." He asked.
"Ruby Rose." She said. "What's yours."
"Tanner Hunt." He said. "So where are you from Ruby Rose?"
"Patch, just off the coast of Vale." Ruby said.
"I heard what happened to Vale." He said.
"It was horrible." Ruby said.
Tanner started wheezing. She bent over and patted his chest. He started wincing. His entire chest felt like it was on fire. She started pulling off his shirt.
"Come on, I need to check under your shirt." She said. "I need to see this wound."
He lifted his shirt. She gasped. He glanced down. His entire torso was turning purple, his veins were inflamed. He realized how much he was sweating. He shook his head.
"No, no, no!" He said. "Not like this."
"It'll be fine." Ruby said. She didn't look like she believed it. "Just keep still."
"It's about as much as I can do right about now." He said. "I'm done for."
"No you're not. I'm going to get you out of here." She said. She shook her head. "I can't lose you too."
"You lost someone?" Tanner asked.
"Yes, a good friend of mine. But you are going to be fine." She said. "My friends will get a doctor, we'll patch you up."
"I'm sorry Red, but I know a bad infection when I see it." He said. "I'm on borrowed time as is, it's only a matter of time now."
"Don't say things like that." She said.
"No, I think I see a lost cause here." He said. He shook his head. Sweat continued to drip down his forehead. "Should have just shot myself, saved us both the pain."
"Tanner." She said. Her eyes were starting to water. "Please."
"Make me a promise Red." He said. He pulled out a photo from his pocket. Him and Coraline at the beach, so long ago. "Find Coraline, bring this to her."
"You can do it yourself." She said.
"Promise me Red." He said. "Please."
"Fine." She said. She took the photo from him. "But you are still going to be there when I deliver it to her."
"That would be nice, wouldn't it?" He said. "You'd like her. She's ornery but she's a softy underneath."
"Tell me about her?" Ruby asked.
"She's got pink hair, who can pull off pink hair? Coraline could, that's who." He said. Ruby nodded as he spoke. "Her eyes are blue, deep blue. Like the ocean. She's so beautiful."
He slumped over. Ruby moved closer and began to shake him. She started to cry as she did. He started mumbling gibberish. His eyes weren't focusing on anything. He turned slowly and feebly towards her.
"Coraline, is that you?" He asked. His face looked blank.
"Yes." Ruby said. Tears ran down her face. He reached up and stroked her face.
"I'm so sorry." He said. "I never should have left you. This solo mission was a dumb idea and I know it now."
"It's okay." Ruby said. Her voice was going soft and squeaky now. "Everything is going to be okay now."
"I met a nice girl, her name was Ruby." He said. "She saved my-"
He went still. It was like the light just vanished from his eyes. Ruby sat beside him and started to sob. It wasn't just over him. It woke up some pains she was pushing down for some time. For Pyrrha, for her sister, and yes, for a man she only just met. She buried her head in her hands. The sun eventually came up, the others came running with several men in their tow, carrying a stretcher and a medical bag. They took a look at her, and then to Tanner and knew immediately. Jaune and Nora sat down next to Ruby and placed their hands on her shoulders. The doctor knelt down beside him and checked his pulse. He shook his head.
"What do we do with the body?" Jaune asked.
"Take him far away from this tree." Ruby said.
The villagers nodded and loaded him onto the stretcher. They escorted them back to the nearby village and had a small funeral. They buried him by a lake. It was no ocean, but it was hopefully close enough to Coraline's eyes. Ruby looked at the photograph. Haven was still a long way away, but now she had another reason to be there.