The Burning Light with Shadows (A SOTAM Fan Fiction)

Heal (Tam's PoV)

"Tam? Tammy? Are you okay? Please be okay!" I heard Linh's voice call out. I tried opening my eyes, but my eyelids felt as heavy as lead. I couldn't make a sound or move. Everything hurt, as if I'd been punched about a billion times everywhere, then placed in a burning furnace.

The best I could do was try to shadow whisper. I'm here, I whispered softly. I heard a sigh of relief. "Don't worry, Elwin's coming. Everything will be okay..." Sounds began to fade in and out, and then I blacked out.

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"Tam? If you can hear me, squeeze my hand," I heard Elwin ask. I felt a hand inside my own. I weakly pressed two of my fingers into his palm. I heard a familiar squeal from my left. "Tammy Tammy Tammy you're okay!" Her voice was reassuring but much too loud for my ears. My head started pounding.

"Too loud," I groaned. I heard a muffled apology. I finally managed to squint my eyes open to stare back at Linh's pale, worried face. She looked like she hadn't slept in a couple days. "What happened?" I asked in a croaky, crackly voice.

I realized I was in the healing center in a half sitting half lying down position. I winced when I moved my arm to hold her hand. My whole body felt achy.

Linh coughed lightly. "Well..." she started nervously, shuffling her feet. "If you remember, Dex threw his explosive gadget in front of you by accident. Then you knocked Sophie to the ground, covering her from the explosion with your body. You both collided against the wall, but right before the gadget exploded, you protected everyone else with shadows. The only people affected were you and Sophie."

Tears started pouring down her cheeks. "An- and, you know the elves that got touched by that weird mist that passed out right after?" I nodded slowly. "After the explosion, they woke up. But the- their eyes were black. The force fields disappeared, and Gethen called out to them, calling them recruits. He held up a crystal, and they followed him through. Keefe and Biana..."

She sniffled. My eyes widened. "But- what- where's everyone else?" I stuttered. She looked down at her boots. "Foxfire's been put on hold for another month, and no one's been allowed in here except for the Healing Center. Havenfield was ruled unsafe, so they moved the animals to a special section of the Sanctuary, and we're all staying at Everglen."

I squeezed her hand softly, feeling some of my strength return gradually. Over her shoulder, I saw a girl with blond hair. "Hey Tam," Sophie called out toward me. She waved her right arm. Her left arm was in a tight cast, similar to the one she had when Umber had first attacked her. She seemed to follow my gaze to her arm. "I... well, I smashed my hand and arm against a table from the explosion," she explained. That's when I realized I couldn't feel my left leg.

I looked down to see it in a cast, not as large as Sophie's, but still making it pretty immobile. Elwin stepped forward. "And you, Tam, broke your kneecap on the exact same table somehow." He paused for a second. "Really should call this place the SongFosterKeefe Center at this point." He grinned. Linh giggled. I frowned at him. "Why do you use Keefe's first name, but you have to use my last name?" I complained. Sophie burst out laughing.

"I think FosterKeefeTam sounds weird though," Elwin noted. I glared at him. "And why does my name have to be next to Keefe's?" At that point, Linh was rolling on the ground laughing, and Sophie was wiping tears from her eyes. "What is with you guys' rivalry?" Linh asked. I rolled my eyes. "I... I just don't trust him that much. And he's annoying and irritating." The room suddenly went awkwardly quiet.

"Do we know where Keefe and Biana are?" I asked quietly. Linh shook her head. "We... no. And we don't know what that fog cloud substance is either. Someone managed to catch it in a bottle, and I think ogre scientists plus Elvin alchemists are working on figuring out what it is."

Elwin coughed to relieve the tension in the room. "Anyways, the two of you should be able to get out of the Healing Center in a couple days. Sophie will have to have a cast for another week, and Tam, you're stuck with crutches for the same amount of time." Both Sophie and I groaned. I had never used crutches, but after seeing Fitz use them...

Just then, Fitz ran into the room with an orange-tinted bottle.