Unmarked

Words of Evaporation

 "He isn't looking too good," Donovan said, as soon as we were both on top of the roofs of Oase. He had stolen these strange devices from the Followers of Andi. They had a small trigger and a hook at the end, allowing you to traverse upwards on top of the roofs.

"Who?" I asked.

"Osiris. He was injured. Arrow through the abdomen. Apparently, some of these people still use what they call 'primitive weapons'." He said.

"Are you serious?" I yelled, stopping in place. This was all my fault. If I hadn't dashed off to the Spirit Tree in my own naive curiosity, I would have been able to protect him.

"Yes, Cosmo. You mustn't stop. This situation is vital." He grabbed my wrist and nearly pulled me across the clay shingles of the rooftops. He turned back and looked at me. "It isn't your fault, you realize. " He said, reading my face.

"Yes, it is. If I hadn't run off to the Spirit Tree, I would've been with him during the attack. I could've protected him. His life is more important than mine. I can't fight."

"You could never have anticipated the attack, Cosmo." He said, letting go of my wrist as I kept pace. Donovan leaped over a gap in the dwellings and so did I, barely making it. "And don't ever say that again. I saw you in the hull of the ship. I saw you just now, fighting that Follower. You can fight."

We traveled the rest of the way in silence, the cold and dark aura of the night haunting us. Eventually, droplets of water hit my shoulders and back and it started raining. We slowed, as to not trip and kept venturing through what became a downpour. Eventually, we had traversed all the way across town to another town square, without a sigil in the middle. Donovan spoke up.

"We're here." He hooked his device around an ornate decoration on the side of a roof and scaled down. I copied his motions sloppily and reached the ground. He led me to the inside of the general store.

The inside of the store was neat, clean isles with wooden shelves on either side. The ground was a clean polished granite, which looked expensive. The shelves were still fully stocked, untouched. It seemed this building had survived both onslaughts of the Followers of Andi. We turned a corner and the shelves were stocked with bandages and rubbing alcohol.

"Osiris!" I rushed toward Osiris, who was leaning against the shelves. Lysander was leaning over him, snipping bandages with a pair of shears. I leaned over Osiris and gave him a light hug as to not disturb his wound. He seemed barely awake, barely alive, for that matter. His eyes were nearly shut and the smile he gave when he saw me was extremely weak.

"Cosmo. I'm not going to survive for much longer..." Osiris muttered weakly.

"Quit saying that!" Lysander yelled. "You're going to be fine. We'll get you back on that ship and-"

"Lysander. It's futile." Osiris interrupted. "The ship is heavily damaged. Even if it wasn't... the docks are a long distance away. If the ship was intact we would never make it alive."

"Osiris..." Lysander was crying. He tried to hide it but it became obvious when tears dripped against the granite floor. "There's' still hope, Osiris.... I can't just let you go like this..."

"Lysander. Set your feelings aside. I'm not worth crying over." He resituated himself to sit straighter and winced, grabbing his abdomen. I looked down and saw the arrow, protruding from his stomach. It was surrounded by a giant stain of blood.

"Not worth crying over? You're like my father, Osiris... you taught me how to spar. How to forage. How to start a fire. Everything that makes me who I am. You can't leave me right now..."

"Lysander. In these times, I'm lucky to have lived past 35. With our nation on the brink of war, you should not be focused on the old. Be focused on the young. Like Cosmo. He is a strong warrior and knight. He is crucial." At this point, I was crying. In fact, I was sure no one in that general store was dry-eyed. Donovan was tearing up, using all the strength in his body not to cry. One tear slipped as five rolled down my face and onto my ripped tunic.