Jason ran as fast as his broken leg could carry him through the snow. Even if he had his leg brace, it wouldn't have helped much, they had reinjured his leg worse than it already had been. His leg slowed him down, without his Spirit to assist him there was nothing he could do but endure the pain. But that was okay, he had grown used to it. Truthfully, he had no idea how he had survived so long in such a hellish place, let alone escaped. Well, he knew how he had escaped, but hadn't for even a second dreamed that his plan could be successful. He had run out of Energy months ago, so the Spirit he had bonded with hadn't been able to continue healing him and couldn't help in the escape. It had done enough though that his wounds were no longer fatal—should he receive treatment in time.
He could hear the sound of dark creatures chasing after him through the trees, snow crunching underfoot. If he got far enough, they would give up, they couldn't pass through the safe zone around the city, he just needed to get there first. He didn't know how far he was from the city or even if he was going in the right direction. All he did know was that the dark creatures were catching up and he physically couldn't move any faster than he already was.
Then just up ahead he saw the lit up markers that indicated the safe zone boundary through his one uninjured eye. He struggled to cross the invisible border, the boundary resisting against him but he managed to push through it with the last of his strength and collapsed on the other side, body falling into the soft bed of freshly-fallen snow. He tried to find the will to keep going but the city was still several miles out and he couldn't find the energy—physical or spirit-wise—to keep going.
He could see vaguely human shaped figures, coming from the direction of the city swarming around him through the snow and hear the distant signs of battle. Finally after all these months, was he truly safe? He found he'd lost the urge to care, the cold of winter was soothing the wounds in his overheated body, and the darkness was calling to him, he felt more inclined to answer than ever.
"It's the Protector! He's alive!" Such praise was the last thing he heard before he fell into a deep spirit coma. Not knowing and not caring if he would ever wake again.
YOU ARE READING
No Longer
Short StoryAfter escaping from a living nightmare, Jason Hartlís lapses into a coma while his body recovers and relives the events that lead to his imprisonment, torture, and corruption. When he wakes up, he won't be the same person.
