The Hero of my heart ( Chapter 3. )
The sun was setting, casting its golden rays across the landscape as the stars sparkled to life in the growing indigo sky. The sound of a owl could be heard in the distance and the night creatures rose to take their place among the living.
A sudden commotion was heard on the path below and Irene cried out and fell to her knees as a sudden blackness crowded her vision, and while a dizziness like any other consumed her. The world swam before her eyes and she had to lean on her hands for support after her body could no longer support itself. "Ugh, th - this is too much! I can't ... take it!" The pain increased from a dull ache to pure agony and she swayed where she was. She tried to rise to her feet but it was like her body was not her own, and it wouldn't cooperate with her no matter how much she pushed herself.
Mumkhar was still traveling with them even though the back of his mind it was screaming at him to leave her behind for the wildlife to finish off. He felt strange, simply put, and he didn't like it one bit, grinding his teeth in frustration and picking up his pace. However, he was quickly stopped as he realized that Irene's footsteps could no longer be heard behind him. He quickly turned around to see that she was on her side in the middle of the path and her breathing was labored. Making his way slowly back to her, he saw that her wound was now twice the size that it had been before, and it had started to yellow around the edges while the center was bright red. "Oi, Dunban! Get your ass back here. She needs your help and I ain't helping," he snapped.
A sigh could be heard and Dunban walked back to them both as worry could be seen on his face when he saw just how bad her wound was. "We must hurry," he said. "She doesn't have long before ..." He didn't want to suggest the last part or dwell on the worst case scenario. Without another word, Dunban propped his shoulder underneath her arm and helped her to her feet, still keeping his arm around her waist for support. "Come now, Mumkhar, I'm not leaving you behind either."
Mumkhar heard just how serious his voice was and that it was in fact an order. Dunban started off again but was walking much slower as he supported Irene like he was her own personal crutch. The almost unnoticeable quiver of his muscles could be seen as a sign that he was still formidable even though he was in a vulnerable state at the moment. Irene groaned as the sudden movement from Dunban sent a fresh wave of pain through her as she grit her teeth to keep herself from screaming out loud in pain.
"I hate this. Now I look like easy pickings! I never should have went out when there was such a bad omen as the storm itself …" Her words trailed off as the fever made her delusional. She clenched her hands into fists and tried to remember all her training from when she was younger, but it was all in vain as she snarled, "Why don't the heavens rain down on me now and put me out of my misery …" It suddenly dawned on her that she was making no sense now and must sound like a lunatic. "Great ... not only am I injured, but I'm loopy as well."
Dunban couldn't help but chuckle softly in spite of himself and could see the entrance to their final destination getting closer. "Come on, we're almost there," he called back encouragingly to Mumkhar as he sped up. Before long, he was directly in front of the entrance as he helped Irene over to a bench as he slowly lowered her down onto it. He then took off like a horde of mechon were on his tail as he arrived at a building, pounding on the door." Open the door, we have an emergency here!"
"Can't a guy get some sleep around here?" Someone hisses. Grumbling could be heard with the sound of thumping footsteps as the door flung open. In the doorway was a male Homs who was around eighteen years of age and had auburn hair that was spiky at the top, with brown eyes to match. He was dressed in his pajamas, his pant legs sliding along the floor. "Oh, Dunban, it's you! Well, you better have a good reason for waking me up at this time of day ... " He finally noticed the urgency and concern on his friend's face. "What's up?"
Dunban finally stopped tapping his foot as he let out the breath that he didn't realize that he was holding."There's someone who's heavily injured and needs help immediately. Now, are you just going to stand there or are you going to go get help? I need to stay here and keep an eye on her." Without waiting to see if his request was obeyed or not, he quickly turned around and made his way back to Mumkhar as he leaned against the wall that was close to them. Laughter could be heard as Mumkhar stopped his pacing and looked at him.
"Still acting like the big shot, eh, Dunban?" he snickered, eyes gleaming with mischievous intent. He quickly took a seat on the edge of a bench, but it was as far away from Irene as he could get, crossing his arms in front of him and pretending to look important. "Please tell me that you managed to get someone here who knows what they are doing so that way we can be rid of her?" He knew that the answer wouldn't be that simple from his own past experiences. Dunban briefly narrowed his eyes, causing Mumkhar to growl softly as he stood up, "Oh, I get it. You're probably hiding something from me. But knowing you, I shouldn't even bother asking what it is."
A gasp could be heard that was filled with worry and horror as Reyn made his way over to the group. "The mechon again?" Reyn exclaims. "At least she was able to beat them back. Those stupid pieces of ... of metal!" He rubbed the back of his head and slowly calmed himself down as he walked up to the bench Irene was on. " Well, welcome to Colony Nine. Sorry that you had to visit us like this in your current condition, but it's really great to meet you. I'm Reyn." He looked faintly embarrassed and grinned.
Dunban went over to him and lightly nudged him out of the way as he shook his head. "Enough. We don't want her feeling crowded."
They saw the doctor running over and picking Irene up an she was rushed to the emergency medical center as treatment was started right away. The noises of the other doctors could be heard and they were issuing one command after another. After what felt like forever, the doctor poked his head out and nodded to them. "It's safe to come in, but try not to be too loud." The doctor withdrew inside and Dunban stood up to make his way inside.
Reyn was next to get up and managed to smile in relief as he saw Irene resting on a bed, though her side was tightly wrapped in a large bandage. "Thank the Bionis that we made it in time. I would honestly like to put every single one of those scrap for brains in the scrap heap. If we don't stop them now, more people will die!" His anger surfaced again and he made his hands into fists and he clenched them so hard that they were starting to turn white. He sighed in defeat because no one seemed to be listening at all."All right, all right ... I know, wrong time. But we still need to do something."
Mumkhar was reluctant at first but after much arguing with himself, he finally got up and made his way inside next and he immediately noticed that she looked as if she was in pain while she was sleeping. "Reyn, you idiot. They'd destroy you. And I most certainly won't be carrying or helping you for that matter if you get injured! She was merely something that tagged along behind until I could get rid of her.," Much to the doctor's dismay, he was practically shouting now, and he wasn't finished yet. "I'd rather travel with a mechon then a slug like her! You must be dumber then I take you for if you honestly think that I would intentionally be traveling with that maggot!"
"Hey, no need to get all up in arms," Reyn barked.
"I heard that we have a visitor. Is this her?" a feminine voice spoke up. Someone else had entered. It was a female Homs who was the same age as Reyn, and had blonde hair and green eyes. She had a brown choker necklace on that had a pink pendant hanging from it, and was wearing a white tank top on with threads going across the front of it. Her sleeves started at her armpits and went down to about the top of her hands, which were folded over her orange-red skirt, several buckles crisscrossing in the front. A couple of the buckles were concealed and went down to her thigh-high brown socks, tucked into white boots. "Hey, Shulk, come and see who's here."
"Yes, Fiora? What is it?" they replied.
Another Homs of the same age with short, shaggy blond hair and blue eyes arrived. He had on a brown shirt that had wavy purple lines near the wrist and had red and white edging at the end of the sleeves and also had the same thing on the stomach as well. He had a red vest on over his shirt that had the collar spread out and a metallic zipper that was half-way open. He had shorts with brown and red tribal markings on them and bits of metal here and there. The rims also had metal around them. For his footwear, he had brown steel-toed boots that were open on the top. His sounded friendly and kind, like the one named Fiora.
"So we do have a visitor. I thought it was something else ... "
Dunban smiled as he started to leave and stopped in the doorway. "Sorry to cut it short, but it's getting late and she needs her rest. We shall visit again in the morning," The last bit was said as he returned outside. He stared at the stars and was thinking about how interesting the day had been while rolling his shoulder." She's different, that's for sure ... almost like Mumkhar, in a way." His tone had a thoughtful note to it as he made his way towards home.
It had to have been past midnight when Irene got herself out of bed and began sleep walking out of her bed, holding her sides, She fumbled for her weapon and headed towards the animalistic sound of growling. She suddenly attacked the source, which suddenly turned into screams of pain as she felt a sticky liquid covering her; her eyes shot open and she saw that it wasn't a monster, but a Homs. She ripped her gauntlets off of her shaky hands and steadily backed away, shaking her head. "Oh no, no, no ... what have I done?"
Mumkhar had been sleeping peacefully, but he must have only been half asleep because once the odd noises had started he was automatically out of the barracks with his claws at the ready. The only sight that caught his eye was that he saw that Irene was moving around sluggishly in the open.
"What could she be up to this time of night?" he asked himself as he kept to the shadows. A terrified screech sounded in the quiet air and he ran forward to see what had happened to warrant such a reaction. What greeted him when he got there was something that he had never imagined happening. He instantly noticed the Homs laying injured on the ground, but then he saw Irene with the evidence imprinted on her like a sore thumb. In that moment, he knew that she had done it - and that she couldn't be trusted. His eyes were blazing with rage. "You! You attacked the people who were kind enough to take you in! I should crush you like the bug you are right here and now."
Irene hadn't heard his stealthy approach beforehand, too focused on what had happened in front of her. What she had caused to happen. It was like she was in a different world as she tried to take in everything. It all came back to her like a wave crashing down and swallowing her whole. She finally turned around. "Mumkhar, I ... " Her voice was breathless as she saw the look in his eyes. The world seemed to slow down as he lunged for her, and she knew right then that the person who had saved her from her demise was now going to finish what the mechon had started.