Strange Ones: Volume 3

Separation

"I'm not protecting him, Adam," Blake said. "And he is not protecting me. We're protecting each other..."

~~~~~

Ren and Nona were coughing as they slowly pushed themselves back onto their feet. The air around them was surprisingly cold, but they didn't know where they were because their eyes were closed. Soon, Ren was on his knees for a gasp of air. When he finally opened his eyes, a mix of shock and confusion filled his expression. Somehow, he and Nona ended up in Camena's park, halfway far from the coliseum.

However, he had no time to ruminate about his location. All they needed to do now was defend the town from its possible destruction. As soon as he was standing on his feet again, Ren grabbed Nona by the hand and helped her stand. When she opened her eyes, she felt the same emotions he felt seconds ago.

"How did we even get here?" Nona asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Looks like Winter's glyph separated us in the process," Ren answered. "But we can't think about that because many people are going to die if we just stand here doing nothing."

"You're right. We need to focus on everyone and not ourselves." She nodded in agreement.

"That's my girl." He said, grinning and winking at her.

The two suddenly heard the sounds of groans of pain from far away. With their eyes wide, Ren and Nona turned around to find a human-shaped silhouette teetering to a tree. They both squinted at him and noticed that his left hand was covering a medium-sized vertical gash above his right hip. They examined him closely. He appeared to be in pain, he looked like a teenager, he donned white armor lined with gold, and he had blond hair. With that observation, Ren and Nona instinctively dashed to the boy, for it was none other than Jaune Arc.

Once the two neared him, their presence got his attention. But as soon as they finally reached him, he fell over, only to be caught by them.

"Jaune," Nona said as her eyes stared at the gash on his side. "What happened to you?"

"Yeah, who did this to you?" Ren wanted to know.

"I was fighting some Dark Ones changeling when he suddenly slashed me with a sword," Jaune answered with a wince. "Speaking of slash, does it look bad?"

"It's really bad," Ren nodded. "We're gonna have to take you to a hospital, man."

"How?" Nona asked. "The hospital is at least four miles from here and Camena is being raided by Grimm. How are we going to get there without getting killed in the process?"

Before any of the boys could reply, the trio heard the sound of a revving car behind their backs. Slowly, they turned around to find a gray van approaching them. Initially, a surprised Ren expected the van to run them over. Instead, it turned itself around until it pointed its rear at them. A startled Ren, Nona, and Jaune were frozen in their spot until the rear doors opened. Inside the van was Ivor and Stevonnie. The van was driven by Cole.

"Did I hear you say doctor?" Ivor said in an upbeat tone.

The trio was silent until Ren lashed out by yelling, "What the heck is with the positive attitude?! We are literally dealing with an invasion and all you can do is go all sunshine and rainbows?! I mean, look around you! Monsters are roaming the streets wanting to eat people and criminals are most likely trying to commit fiendish acts!"

While he rambled on and on about their dilemma, Nona brought Jaune over to the van and said, "Jaune needs medical attention. He's got a really bad gash."

Nodding, Ivor and Stevonnie grabbed Jaune's hands and gently pulled him into the van before placing him on the floor. Then, Cole gestured at the two to come inside. Nona obliged before grabbing the furious Ren's wrist and walking into the van, pulling him in with her. After that was done, Stevonnie shut the doors of the van before Cole stepped on the gas. With that, they drove off.