Salvation

Part 3: Decay

Lucy sat on Lynn's bed, cradling the shoe box in her lap as she fought the temptation to open it. She observed the drops of dried blood soaked into the cardboard; a sign of the tribulations the vessel had been through with its bearer. Normally the sight of such a liquid would bring a smirk to the goth girl's face. However, knowing to whom it belonged, Lucy couldn't find the smile she would usually show.

"Hey, Lucy... Doing alright?" Luan said as she sat down next to her little sister.

"I guess..." Lucy mumbled. Luan, usually a jokester in trying times, didn't jump directly into a pun, prank, or any sort of foolishness, for she knew that her sister needed support from her family and not a joke, even though Lucy didn't outwardly express this need to anyone. Luan could only rely on her instincts as a sister to act as Lucy's rock in this dire situation.

"Lynn's going to make it out of this. I know she will," Luan said as she stroked Lucy's hair and then rubbed her shoulder. "And when she comes home, we're going to throw her a blow-out of a welcome home party." She smiled weakly as she attempted to comfort her bewildered younger sister. Lucy said nothing as she continued to stare at the damaged shoe box, the item now drawing Luan's curiosity. "What do you think Lynn put inside it?" Luan asked.

"I don't know. I've been at odds with myself regarding its contents... and whether or not I should open it," answered Lucy as her petite hands moved to the edge of the lid.

"Go ahead. Whatever's in there can't bethat big a secret." Lucy gently, yet hesitantly, opened the box. The two sisters looked curiously at the contents within the cardboard enclosure, both with a note of disappointment and also relief.

"So... this is what she was hiding?" Luan asked.

"Guess so," Lucy said with a sigh.

The shattered queen crept through the hollow carefully, constantly looking out in case the Highwayman made his entrance yet again. She realized that she was losing what sunlight bled through the treetops. Unable to sleep for fear that themonstrous swordsman would find her, she listened to the haunting sound of the howling winds amplified by the balding trees.

"If he is here, he would have found me by now," she reassured herself as she tightened her grasp on the sword's hilt, her only real defense against whatever might come her way. After what seemed like an eternity from her point of view, the night was chased away by the dawn as it warmed. Without hesitation, she resumed her trek. Miles that seemed to stretch on for days began to end as she saw the edge of the hollow come into view. The breeze brushed against the creamy skin of her shoulder, invoking an icy chill that radiated up and down her spine.

If you continue, the city will consume you in its corruption...

The woman paused, hearing more clearly the voices that she'd heard the previous day, the ones that possessed the warning of the Highwayman's arrival. She stepped back, hearing the voices had ceased. She looked on as the soft glow of the morning sun beckoned her. She stepped forward again only to hear the voices flood back.

Beware, Shattered Queen. Beware...

Despite the warnings, she continued, each step forward approached with caution. Inch by inch, the exiting path came closer and closer. She peered up to see black clouds quickly and eerily form, thunder rumbling loudly over her head.

Only death lies ahead...

The voices seemed to be following her, clouding her judgment and filling her senses with their cold and stagnant resonance. She looked in every direction the voices seemed to project from, only finding the same vacant trees. The closer she reached the edge of the hollow, the more an odor began to fill her nostrils. Strong, repugnant. The woman had no recollection of her past, but she knew the reek which left knots of nausea in her stomach. The smell that she had came to odds with was that of death, and it riddled the air surrounding her.

Don't look. No matter what, don't look...

Ignoring the warnings the voices held, the woman finally managed to arrive at the edge and see the forgotten city. However, it was not as she had expected. Upon her face was a look of horror. It filled her eyes, her mouth agape from the indescribable sight before her. Streets were filled with the decaying bodies of the deceased inhabitants of the once thriving metropolis, now reduced to amass graveyard. The forgotten city was indeed a city of death.

Inside ICU 519, Luna sat beside the bed Lynn occupied. Slowly succumbing to fatigue, she dozed off occasionally as she huddled herself into a fetal position, her attention fixed on the slumbering teen. Every stirring movement from Lynn hindered any attempt Luna made at much needed rest and she finally gazed up at the clock.

"Gah! 2:10?" Luna said to herself. She looked back to her sister's bed. "Sis, as much as I want to be by your side, I'm not going to be worth much if I can't get any sleep." Luna stood up and approached Lynn's side groggily, only to feel that familiar lump in her throat return. Tears quickly formed in her glassy eyes. "C'mon, Lynn. Please wake up," Luna whimpered as she brushed Lynn's bangs away and kissed her forehead. "Why… why?"

Before Luna could return to the seat she had occupied, she heard the hushed voice of her younger sister. With wide eyes Luna quickly turned back to Lynn's side to see her face grimaced and pale as if experiencing a nightmare.

"N-no, no," Lynn mumbled as sweat began to stream profusely from her pores.

"Lynn? What's wrong? Talk to me," Luna said quietly as she took Lynn's clammy hand into hers.