I'm Sorry

When Odette arrived at the infirmary, she expected to see William already set up in a cot with the transfusion beginning. But upon finding it empty she headed to Dr. Stein's private quarters. Just before reaching the door, Miss Marie stepped out and closed it behind her. "Good morning, Marie. How are you?"

The former Death Scythe stared lethargically through the floor for a moment before lifting her chin with a sweet smile. "I'm fine. How are you, Odette?"

She flicked her red hair over her shoulder. "I'm doing all right. Just finished up an exam. I thought William and Dr. Stein were supposed to do his blood transfusion this morning but they're not in the infirmary. Do you know where I could find them?"

Her smile went away now that she had been reminded why William had showed up in the first place. She opened her mouth hesitantly and spoke with caution. "Something's happened."

Odette's blue eyes turned serious. "What?"

She shook her head a little and blinked. "You—don't know where William is?"

"No. Like I said, he was supposed to be in the infirmary for the blood transfusion and he's not."

The blonde took a breath and looked over her shoulder before moving closer to Odette. "They've both—momentarily lost control. And—there was a fight. I broke it up and Stein is going to be all right now."

Her eyes popped and her mouth came open in a small gape. "… Then where's William,"

She shook her head. "I don't know. We have to find him now." Together, Marie and Odette went through the castle to places William was normally found: the cafeteria, the library, the pool area, the gym, the lobby where he would sit and drink coffee sometimes—but he wasn't anywhere. Odette became frantic and began asking passerby students if they had seen him. By the seventh student who claimed they had not seen him, the redhead checked her phone once more. Her breath came quicker and anxiety prickled in her throat. She caught another student's sleeve. "Excuse me, have you seen William around?"

"William? Yeah, he went racing out of here like a bat out of hell about an hour ago," the kid shrugged.

"Where?" Odette retorted, "Outside?"

"Yeah. Out towards the trees. He was in some kind of hurry or something, I don't know."

"Thanks," Odette sprinted for the door and ran out into the yard of the castle with Marie following behind her. Odette disappeared through the tree line and began calling his name. "William? William! Where are you? Make a sound!" She ran and ran, starting to back track when she thought she heard or saw something, circling the same tree for all views twice but ultimately leaving Marie in the dust behind her. Finally a light shone in the hazy darkness of the forest, a frosty red light that radiated pink until she found the source to be a large floating Kishin soul about the size of a watermelon. She ran towards it until she spotted a human body lying close to it. "William!" Her pace slowed when she saw dark liquid shining on the leaves around him. She whispered his name once more before stumbling close and carefully getting on her knees beside him.

He lay on his side with his eyes closed with a ghostly pallor shading his face. His upturned side was drenched in black. Odette's trembling hands lifted his head as her fingers searched for a pulse. A tiny slow throb in his neck filled her with overwhelming relief before reaching to his side where she lifted his shirt to find a serious tear under his ribs accompanying several large craterous puncture wounds. "Marie! He's hurt, we need help!" Her breath came quicker as she brushed back his dark hair way from his pale face. "William, hang on. Please hang on."

Back at the castle, William was rushed in through the halls to the infirmary on a stretcher by help of some instructors. The entire group of friends was waiting impatiently to see anyone who could tell them what happened. When Christian was the first to catch the sight of Marie, he pointed the rest in her direction where the meisters and weapons swarmed. However, Odette bypassed all of them and went behind the infirmary doors with her weapon. Christian's head nearly spun around trying to catch someone who would talk to him. "What the hell happened? What's going on?"

"Who hurt William?" Nikki shoved between her brother and Rachele.

Marie still struggled to catch her breath, her face white with worry and guilt. There were multiple answers to Nikki's question and that fact made her eyes water. She spoke breathlessly. "A Kishin monster in the woods."

"We have to see him," Katy demanded before marching towards the infirmary door.

Marie took a step forward. "No. You have to let Stein help him first. Please. Be patient." She clasped her hands together. "Have faith."

The group looked at each other and shifted their weight uncomfortably as the rest of the students dispersed. William's friends, however, lined the wall outside the door. Katy sat next to Rachele and they both stared at the floor. Nikki hugged herself between Kian and Christian. Tim took his place on his feet, pacing back and forth as he usually did but this time with more nervousness in his heel and a gimp in his step. After Marie had left to who-knows-where—maybe to inform Lord Death of William's situation—the rest of them waited to hear any kind of news from whichever side of the good-bad spectrum it came from.

Odette forced her breath slower through her lips as she held his face in her hands. His eyes were starting to open as a nurse cut his shirt away and peeled back the soaked black garment, now showing his torso shining with the dark mess. Her eyes traced down over his middle. She had never seen so much of his blood before. A lot of stupid things came into her mind right now. Like how she had never thought a person had so much blood in them. Another thought was how she had always subconsciously imagined that William's blood might be a mix of red and black because he wasn't a Demon Scythe. But she couldn't find a single speck of red. It looked as if someone had poured a jug of pure pen ink on him. She looked up at his face again when his hand lightly gripped her wrist. She watched his throat flex with a slow swallow. "I'm sorry," he said in half his usual voice.

Odette's mouth opened as if she couldn't wait to respond but no words came. Instead she put her hand tightly over his and the other hand smoothed back his hair again as tears brimmed her eyelids and began to blur her vision. She turned when a hand rested on her shoulder. Odette flinched a little upon seeing Dr. Stein looking down at her from around a broken nose and a blackened eye that had been cut to reduce swelling she imagined. His lip was also busted and now bore a black scab. A little out of breath again she stepped backwards away from her weapon.

The scientist looked over William with eyes of calculation and study. William looked back up at him, fighting just to see him and keep a breath longer than a second. Dr. Stein placed his fingers at the student's neck to feel his pulse. "… He's lost a lot of blood." He turned back to Odette. "I can repair his wounds but it will take time and patience. The good news…" He looked back at William. "And you still get your transfusion."

Odette stood awkwardly among them, expecting some kind of tension but there wasn't any. None that she could feel past her anxiety anyway. "So, he's going to be okay?"

Dr. Stein turned rigidly back to her and did not blink, his bruised eye giving him even more intimidating features than usual. "… Probably." He turned back around when William's arm softly tugged the sleeve of his coat.

William swallowed and stared up at him with half-lidded sunken eyes. "I'm sorry."

The instructor stared down his injured nose at him with not the slightest emotional reaction to read. But he held his gaze until William's eyes closed and his hand slipped away as he tried to breathe more evenly. For a moment more he stood staring down at him before speaking over his shoulder at Odette. "Leave now. I'll do everything I can."

Odette caught a breath in her chest and couldn't help but squeak. "You will?"

He met her eyes again and blinked assuredly. "Yes."

She let out a shaky exhale before leaning forward once more to kiss William's forehead and squeeze his hand. "I'll be here when you wake up," she whispered. He gave a tiny nod with his jaw clenched. The redhead backed away as Dr. Stein and a couple nurses slid on gloves and masks while closing around his cot. She more or less threw herself out the door and staggered into the hallway as if she had entered another dimension—one that was not much easier to breathe in unfortunately.

Katy bolted up and approached. "What did they say? Is he going to be all right?" Her friends' eyes all turned on her now, waiting with baited breath for her answer.

Odette licked her lips and nodded numbly. "I think so. Stein… said 'probably.'"

"… Probably. Probably is good!" Christian chimed. "That's a good chance! And Stein wouldn't lie to you! I think he's gonna be okay!" He wore an impossible smile now.

Odette nodded numbly again before sliding down against the wall. Here, Nikki and Rachele each took a shoulder and rubbed tenderly to soothe her, uttering soft words of confidence and peace quietly until she was finally breathing more like normal. However once a stable ground had been reached, Tim spoke up. "How did this happen? … Did he have a run in like me?" He gestured to his injured leg, which he still limped on even as he paced.

She stared at the floor between her feet while hugging her knees to her chin. "Yes," she said softly.

"What possessed him to go out there without his meister?" Kian said quietly, trying to maintain a sympathetic tone.

Odette recalled Marie's shaken words before they had searched the castle for him. Then the image of Dr. Stein's beaten face appeared in her mind's eye. She cringed. "He… The madness… It got to him."

Katy looked up at Tim and subtly to Rachele across from her.

Odette blinked a tear away and immediately dried the wet track it had left on her face. "I have to tell you what Marie told me. And what I saw… But you have to keep it secret."