The Weaponsmaster

Chapter 4

Drea stared ahead at the place where Crystal used to be, bewildered. She sat on the ground as the boy stood in front of her, looking around cautiously as he held up his knife. She didn’t understand what happened, but he wasn’t looking too surprised. In the very least, she knew Crystal definitely wasn’t human.  She’d opened a rift in space just to get away with her now wolfish hand. Admittedly, that was pretty amazing.

The necklace was cooling off again too, becoming like ice against her skin as the black aura dissipated. Drea wanted to know more, but she had bigger concerns for the moment. She looked down at her arm, unnerved that she couldn’t move it. The bruises looked as if they were getting worse with the purples and blues smearing around her wrist like a shackle, the blood dripping down her dead fingers and paralyzed arm.

The boy stared ahead for another moment before turning to her. He concealed is knife under his shirt and kneeled down in front of her. “Here,” he said, gesturing towards her arm. Drea held it out warily, looking into his kind green eyes with a mixture of fear, sadness, and suspicion. He touched it lightly and gently, brushing his warm fingers over the wounds. He looked at it, inspecting the damage done with eyes sharp as eagles, yet unspeakable sympathy and kindness were hidden in them.  

Drea sat there quietly, still deep in thought. She wasn’t crying, tears just wouldn’t come, but her heart was skipping beats. She’d been in fights before, but they didn’t usually bother her so much. She’d never get nervous or scared; she’d fight when she had to. When she was younger, her quiet demeanor made her a target, but she had been able to fight back. School fights were little things though, this fight really would’ve ended with the dismantling of her body, beginning with her hand. She was just glad that it didn’t.

Real danger was so much different than just school fights with one’s life actually being on the line. It was definitely a new feeling for Drea, one she didn’t truly know how to handle. For some reason though, the rush of adrenaline and fear felt familiar, as if it had been embedded in her memories somewhere. The aura, the bloodlust, and that danger blended together in a way that she’d felt somewhere before, she just couldn’t quite remember where. Story of my life, she thought.

In another minute, the boy looked up at Drea. She was still staring down, deep in thought, so he lifted her chin to force her to meet his eyes. He wanted to make sure she understood. “Andrea, she hurt you pretty bad. She caused internal damage to the nerves and bones inside your wrist and broke up the muscles. It’ll take me a little while to heal it, so I’m going to move us. Alright?”

Drea understood perfectly, but she still had so many questions. She was having trouble getting the words out, so she simply nodded to show she understood. The boy leaned forward and put his arms under her. He lifted her in his arms and stood straight, then with one more look around, he jumped up quickly, disappearing from sight in an instant.

Jackie, Jenny, and Keisha stood behind the tree, watching the rest of the scene. After the three walked into some kind of portal, the boy leaned down and spoke with Drea. She had never looked so helpless in her life, not that Jackie could remember anyway. Then he picked her up and basically disappeared from sight.

They slowly came out from behind the tree, unable to take their eyes off of the spot where everyone had been. Drea was now gone, and from what they could see, she had been hurt pretty bad.

“Where did they go?” asked Jackie with wonder.

“Could be anywhere…” responded Jenny with the same wonder. They all continued to look around and at each other, unsure of what they should do next.

Then Keisha suggested, “Well, um, why don’t we all go back to Jackie’s house? I’m sure Drea will turn up there and then we’ll figure out what happened.”

“Yeah…” Jackie was still feeling shocked. “That sounds like a good idea.” The three of them turned around and began their walk back home. It felt lonely and quiet as they walked back towards the main gate in silence, unanswered questions whirling around in their heads.