Chapter 5

"Fifteen miles to Exeter?! Eff off!" I said, annoyed. It didn't help that after this we literally had to cross the island to get to St. Albans. That was a total of 175 miles. It would take a good three days!

"Is that a lot?" Yugi asked.

"Maybe not to you, but where I come from, we have giant metal carriages that can take us long distances in short times." I sighed. "Well we better keep walking."

I don't know how long we walked, but we came to a river. I got a brilliant, yet horrible idea in hindsight.

"I'm taking a bath." I said, shrugging off my pack and jacket.

"Here?!" Yugi balked.

"Well I can't get used to hot water, since we'll rarely have access to it." I said, taking off my shirts. I left my bra and underwear on for decency's sake.

The water was surprisingly clear, I guess because it was a river. The water ran fast, but it was pretty shallow and the bottom was gravel. The water only went up to my waist, and because of that, the water was fairly warm.

I turned to Yugi. "Come on in! The water's fine!"

"But Yugi looked appalled. "I'm fine..."

"Kay, suit yourself!" I smiled. I dunked my scalp underwater and gave it a good scrub. Yugi looked like he had seen something horrible. Did I have leeches on my back or something? What the hell, I thought they didn't live in running water!

After I washed up, I got out of the river and checked myself for leeches. Luckily, I didn't seem to have any this time. I dried myself off with the outside of my coat, and realized I hadn't checked my back.

"Hey Yugi, are there any leeches on my back?" I asked, turning my back to him. He gasped. I looked over my shoulder. "What's wrong?"

"They're swollen..." He whispered.

"What's swollen?" I asked. I felt Yugi's fingertips running across the scar tissue of my back, tracing them.

"Lucy, where did you get these?" He asked, afraid. Did he mean my scars?

"I've had them for a long time." I said.

"Don't lie, Lucy. Some of these look very recent." Yugi said. "Such fine stitching... Where did you get your medical treatment?"

"My local doctor...?" I said.

"...Lucy, what happened to you? Why do you have so many haphazardly placed scars!" He asked. He was really concerned about me.

"I'm a domestic abuse victim."

"What?"

"My mother and father got a divorce when I was 9. My dad took my brother as part of his custody. My mother...she became a mean drunk. Once I found her with any sort of alcohol, I had to get out of the house. If I didn't, my back became a canvas that she painted with blood and bruises. It wasn't even the worst when she was drunk, it's when she was hungover. She didn't really like me to begin with, but the alcohol makes it ten times worse. I don't even know where she gets it, I begged all the local drugstores not to sell her any after she cut my back open."

I grabbed my red long sleeve shirt and slipped it back on. "I guess that's why I am the way I am. I need to get stronger so one day I can successfully murder her."

"Your goal is to murder your mother? Seems a bit questionable at best."

"We'll not in a literal sense. What I mean is I need to escape from her and murder her from my memories."

"That doesn't make sense."

I put my tshirt on and pulled on my coat. "Look, she can't hurt me here. We have nothing to worry about. Once I get home, if I ever do, I'm running away and never going back."

I got up. "But that's in my past, not yours. I don't want you to feel bad for me. It'll only bring your spirits down. So don't worry, be happy." I smiled. I picked up my bag and started back on the path.

"Come on! It's only six more miles to Exeter!" I said, waving Yugi on. He still looked sad. We walked on the path for at least three miles in total silence. The sun was starting to set.

"How do you live with her?" He eventually asked.

"Hmm?"

"Your mother. She's been doing this to you for six years, I'm guessing? How did you put up with it?"

"It's not easy, I'll give you that. But I guess... It's because of you."

"Huh?" He asked.

"Where I come from, you're a gaming legend. Not just you, but the entire Lancaster party, as well as some of the Yorkists. Your friendship inspired me, and I guess you could say it's kept me alive this whole time."

"I don't understand."

"Yugi, I'm going to level with you. I'm not from this time period. I'm from the future."

"I know."

"You knew this whole time? How?"

"The stitching on your back is far too advanced for today's medicine. It's otherworldly. And those other cuts don't look like they were made by a blade. They're too messy."

"So now you know the truth. But if that's so, why haven't you abandoned me or something? I'm a lost cause, right?"

"Lucy. Have you ever had a friend?" Yugi asked.

"Not a real one... Not one I could hug at least. You guys are my only friends..." I said, choking on my words. I was breaking down because for the first time, I was getting an idea of how lonely I really was.

"Hey, don't cry. Remember what you told me? Don't worry. Be happy." Yugi said, smiling. "I'm your friend now. And nothing will ever change that."

I sniffed. "That's right. Hot funk, cool punk, even if the dub's junk, it's still Yu-Gi-Oh to me."

"Huh?"

"It's a saying I made up. It means that no matter what happens, you'll always be my friend."

"Lucy..." Yugi said, and pulled me close.

"Look at us. We're less than a mile to Exeter, the sun's set, and we're bawling our eyes out."

"Um, Lucy?"

"Yeah?"

"What's that?" Yugi asked, pointing ahead of the road. A human figure shambled along the road.

"Probably some drunk. Do you have a knife?"

"You're not going to kill him are you?"

"Nah, just poke him a little. Drunks don't respond well to pain, so even if I do hurt him, he probably won't feel it."

Yugi dug around in his pack and found a small knife. I took it and approached the figure cautiously.

"Sir, are you okay?" I asked. The figure leered at me, and I jumped. His face was necrotic, pieces of flesh peeling at the eyes. I screamed and slashed at it. To my surprise, it dispersed into the air, as if it was made of gas.

"Illusions..." I murmured. I heard Yugi run up behind me.

"Lucy! I heard you scream, are you okay?" He asked.

"I'm fine. But zombie illusions... I wasn't expecting this. Come on." I said, grabbing Yugi's hand and running.