Chapter 2 - Promise

Chapter 2 - Promise

I awoke and held my arm as I screamed. Worried, I looked down and expected to see a gaping wound covered in blood. Instead, I saw a smooth cloth sling wrapped around a solid blue cast and my shoulder. I let out a sigh of relief and looked around the room. The technology in the room was more advanced than I had ever seen. Holograms floated throughout the futuristic room. Almost all advanced technology like this in the outer cities was limited to necessities. Yet another after-effect of the war.

“I must be in a hospital..”

As my heartbeat slowed, the holograms began to turn from a bright red to a simple green. I heard footsteps making their way towards my room, and tried to relax my aching muscles. The door swung open. A nurse walked in, followed by a doctor. They observed the numbers and images on the holograms. They conversed with themselves, the nurse left the room and closed the door behind her. The doctor sat next to the bed and gave me a serious look.

“How did I get here..” I asked the doctor in a soft, rumbled voice.

“You were brought in this morning. You are lucky considering the size of that wound. If you had gotten here even 1 minute later you would have suffered serious nerve damage in your arm. I have no idea how the man got you here in time. It must have been a miracle.” the doctor explained.

“Wait.. A man?.. Is he still here?!” I shouted as I sat up in the bed. My arm hit up against my chest, and a searing pain shot up my arm and coursed through my body. I laid back down and clenched my shoulder.

“He’s in the waiting area. You can see him if you want to, just make sure you don’t use your arm at all. Not only did you come in with a hole in your arm larger than a bullet, you have scrapes all over you. We don’t want to go through this all over again.” The doctor said with a distressed look on his face. “I’ll go tell the man you want to see him and escort him here.” He helped me sit upright, as I watched my arm and made sure not to make the pain any worse.

I looked around and observed all of the advanced machinery in the room. Holograms were everywhere and had many of my vital signs blinking on them. Even with all of the advancements in machinery and sciences, IV’s were still normal in hospitals. Alongside an IV for nourishment, there was a morphine drip connected to a long wire with a button on the end of it.

The door opened and the man peeked around the frame as he scratched the back of his head. He walked in with a look of self-disappointment and sat on the chair next to the bed. The man sat silent for a while, looked down, and fumbled the thumbs of his dirt-covered hands together. I grabbed his tattered shirt with my one good arm and pulled him close. The doctor gave me a grim look, so I let the man loose.

“You had better have a good explanation..” I said as I scowled.

“Listen, I just had a little too much last night. I didn’t mean for this to happen.” The drunkard said.

“I couldn’t care less about that.” I declared to the drunkard. “What’s important is you tell me what exactly you did back there!”

“I can’t really tell you..” He said as he scratched his scruffy chin.

I point to the nearest hologram on the wall with lots of numbers displayed on it. “Well, then you can pay the medical bill before you go.” I said to him.

His face became irritated and he rubbed the back of his head, contemplating the situation. He leaned towards me and murmured into my ear. “It’s pretty obvious I can’t do that.. Fine, but if you tell anyone that arm will be the least of your worries. Most people can’t use it or are told not to by the military. It was Magic.”

“Magic? This isn’t some fairy tale.” I murmured back.

   “You can believe me or not. I can’t let anyone find out I have this power. That’s the only reason I even stayed here. I’ll do anything you ask, but if it’s money you want, you are out of luck.” He explained.

   “Why save me then?” I questioned.

   “I would never willingly hurt a kid like you. I would never take away someone’s child from them.” The man said with a depressed expression.

   “Well sorry to let you down.” I said in a sad, sarcastic tone. “You could have just left me in a ditch and no one would have noticed.”

   The doctor left the room and a cold silence loomed in the air. The man’s head sunk, and he looked straight at the floor. Curiosity got the better of me, and a thought went through my head.

   “Can anyone use this ‘Magic’?” I asked.

   “Not everyone can learn to use it. A big part of it is having a body strong enough to handle its power.” he replied.

“Other than my arm, I’m sure I'd be fine. I want to learn how to use that magic. If you teach me I'll consider your debt paid.”

   “Would you keep your voice down!” He stated with an angry tone. “...I suppose I could teach you, but only after you have healed from that wound.”

   The man stood up and told me when and where we would meet for my training. He held out his hand and apologized yet again.

   “After all that happened, I guess I owe it to you to give you my name.” the man said. “I’m Jake.” Jake said.

   “Wrong hand you drunkard.” I said as I held out my non-injured arm. “My name is Tanner. Not that names matter. I’ll just remember and call you a drunkard anyways.”

   He shook my hand with an irritated expression on his face and left a piece of paper in it. He walked away with the lingering promise to let me in on his secret power. A week later, the doctor discharged me from the hospital. I looked down at the note to see an address written down.

After having traveled aimlessly for so long, the anticipation riled up my mind. I was going crazy as I laid in bed, day after day. I had always been prepared for the worst; however, without my supplies, I wouldn’t last long. The only thing I had left was my coin pouch. I counted the coins hundreds of times while recovering. Each time I sighed with disappointment at my five gold coins.

   After about a week had passed, I was able to leave the hospital. By now I had already talked to the doctor and the nurses and found out that I was in Valeria. That was the worst possible place for me to be. The nearest place I could go catch my own food was 10 miles back where I was, and the drunkard left all of my stuff at the camp. I reached into my pocket and pulled out the only thing left for me, my money pouch. It was torn and dirty, I was surprised it made it through the assault. Yet again, I counted out the coins and debated what I could do.

   “There’s no way this will last me until my arm is healed..”

   I walked down the main street, looking up at the bright blue sky, thinking of how I was going to survive on such little funds.  I passed by building after building and admired the size of one of the biggest outer cities there were. Even before the war, it was a rare occasion for me to come to a place like this. The main road had more people on it than I had ever seen before. That included merchant’s selling jewelry and food, families, and hungry refugees.

After I spent a week at the hospital, I was able to talk to people a bit better than before. I still had to relax, but it wasn’t as stressful. I started looking around and asking people on the main road for any available jobs; but with one arm, there was no luck. There was almost nothing you could do for work in the state I was in. Sweat dripped from my forehead and covered my shirt. I walked down the road for what seemed like hours, but my tiredness was because of my health. As I walked up to a nearby bench to rest, I noticed a help wanted sign on the window of the building behind it.

“I guess it’s worth a shot.”

I pushed through the rotary door and walked into the building.  The atmosphere inside the building was elegant. It was large, well lit, and packed with people dressed in suits. Each table was decorated with flowers and had savory food served on top of them. The aroma of the delicious food and colorful flowers filled my nose. Being used to traveling through defiled woods for years, the atmosphere of the building completely rejuvenated me through my senses, and my tiredness disappeared. Flabbergasted, I walked up towards the main desk. There was a woman sorting papers behind the counter. She had bright blonde hair tied into a ponytail. I didn’t want to interrupt her just to ask about the job, so I stood there waiting for her to turn around.

“Is she...”

I looked down rang the silver bell on the counter. She spun around, her hair flipping, and a welcoming smile on her face. With a shocked look on my face, I realized that it was the girl from the camp. Her face went from welcoming to worried in an instant.

“Oh my god! What happened to your arm?!” she shouted. “How do you get injured like that in only a week??”

“I’m fine... A lot happened but I’m okay now.” I said as I faked a smile. “Still, What are the odds that the inn I walked into to look for a job was the one you work at?.”

She laughed and I explained that I had been attacked by a drunkard. While we talked, a long line of people trying to check-in formed behind me. Neither of us noticed until a tall man with glasses came out of the back and glared at her with a grim look. He was dressed in a suit and tie, was well built, and had a shaved head.

“Sorry.. sir! This is a friend of mine, and he’s here for a job!” she declared.

The man looked at me with a straight face and waved for me to enter the back room with him. I followed behind him and looked back at her with a worried expression. The office was filled with papers and boxes top to bottom. There was hardly any space other than the man’s seat and mine. We both sat down and I tried to look as professional as possible. I kept my back straight, kept a fake smile on my face, and waited for the man to speak.

“You are looking for a job with an arm like that? Even with your physical stature, I doubt you can do much.” he said, as he kept expression cold and grim. “You are a friend of Ashe’s, so I guess I can test you out, but if you can’t impress me, there's nothing I can do.”

“Ashe..”

“I understand. I’ll do the best I can!” I stated in a confident pose.

He walked out of the room and I followed. He led me across the main area, and as we walked past, Ashe smiled at me, and my face smiled back on its own. He opened a door and inside the room was covered in equipment. Mops, buckets, brooms, and even laundry machines were inside. He stood next to the laundry machines and put his hand on top of them.

“This is the only thing I could think of that you could do, and we don’t need someone to just do laundry all day.” The man said as he sighed. “What else do you think you can do to help?”

“Well, you have a ton of boxes laying around the office and in here. Even with one arm, I am stronger than most people. I can easily lift things like that.” I said to the man.

He pointed down next to me at a stack of boxes labeled “cleaning supplies”. I bent down and lifted not one, but all three of the boxes with my one arm and placed them on my shoulder. I gave him a look of confidence and then placed them back down. Next, he showed me how to use the washing machines and tested me with that as well. After a few smaller tests, he led me back to the front desk. The long line of people was gone and Ashe waited to hear from the manager. Ashe’s face looked like a kid begging for candy, and when the man saw it, he let out a long sigh.

“You can work here for now, but it’s not permanent. You are lucky we need some extra help right now. However..” before the man could continue, Ashe interrupted. She jumped with joy and laughed while holding my hands. Worried, I moved my head, and saw the grim gaze of the man staring at me. The man let out a loud cough. Ashe stopped, and he continued. “HOWEVER! I can’t give you somewhere to stay for tonight. All of our rooms are booked. You are going to have to figure something out for tonight.”

The man walked to the front of the counter and signaled Ashe that she could leave. She let out a sigh of relief and stretched out her arms. We walked towards the dining area and sat down. I decided to order a big meal for myself, after forcing myself to eat scraps of bread and canned food for the past year. I tried to relax, but couldn’t stop thinking about what I was going to do for the night. I could afford a night’s stay but I doubted that I could get a room that late. The smile I had from earlier vanished.

“You know. You can always just stay in my room for tonight..” she said while fidgeting her fingers around.

Surprised, I inhaled some food and coughed, and reached out for a drink. I pounded my chest and managed to get the food down.

“If you don’t want to that bad...” she murmured.

“Sorry, I was just surprised is all. If you really don’t mind, I’d rather not sleep out in the cold.” I explained with a smile. “ I still think you trust me too much though.”

She ignored my last comment, smiled, and watched me finish my meal. After I finished, I felt bloated and didn’t want to move a muscle. Out of nowhere, Ashe grabbed my hand and pulled me out of my seat.

“Let’s go! We have to wake up early for work in the morning.”

She pulled me towards the stairs and dragged me up them while holding my hand. The climb felt endless, my breath getting heavy, and my stamina draining. I struggled as we continued up until she stopped climbing and pointed down the hall. She must have realized that I was having a hard time because she leaned against the wall and waited for me with a smile.

After I caught my breath, we walked down the hall to her room. She took out a plastic card and swiped it on the door handle. The door made a slight mechanical noise as it opened. I followed her in and walked through the hall. It was filled with beautiful furniture that reminded me of what my house had looked like before the war. I sat down on the couch and my muscles melted from the softness of the cushions.

She sat down next to me on the couch while giggling. After seeing her face, I couldn’t help but join in and laugh. She grabbed a remote and turned on the television. I got excited, not because televisions were rare, but because I hadn’t watched television in years. As we watched I had almost forgotten about the war and what it had done for me. I felt something lay against my shoulder and turned to see what it was. Ashe was asleep, with her head resting on me. The peaceful atmosphere; the distraction of the television; and the kind-hearted girl, all of them made me sleepy. I laid my head down against her and drifted to sleep.

Author's Note

Let me know what you think!