39 Road to Old Capital / A Fever You Can't Sweat Out

Previously, on Usagi Days: The Usagis chance upon an infrastructure manual detailing the location of "Project Ithaca". Their next course set, they head for the Old Capital.

- 39.1 - The First Day -

Ruby tried to focus on the road ahead, but Anemone’s constant squirming in the passenger seat made it difficult.

Anemone had changed her bandages four times already that morning, and each time the wound looked significantly worse. The area around the cat's scratch had become red and swollen, slightly warm to the touch. Clear fluid seeped from the cut.

"I'm fine," grunted Anemone, whenever anybody asked. "How much worse stuff have we been through? I didn't come all this way to … lose to a cat."

- 39.2 - The Second Day -

The next day, Anemone began to run a fever. She sat in the passenger seat, gripping her arm in pain, her face pale, sweating, hair matted. Ivy and Violet took turns helping to keep a damp cloth pressed on Anemone's forehead, as Ruby drove on.

They were down to the last of their barkroot essence, which they administered every half hour. (… Not that it was doing very much to bring down the fever anyway.)

Lucy frowned. She pulled out the die a few times, but the girls stopped her each time. (Ruby: "The SDF doesn't affect biological processes. It wouldn't do anything.")

Every time they changed her bandages, the wound looked worse than before. They had no idea pus could even look that color.

- 39.3 - The Third Day -

They stopped on the third day, and set up camp on a flat patch of land. Anemone, who could no longer keep food down, fell in and out of fitful, sweat-drenched sleeps, mumbling indistinctly.

As she tossed and turned in her sleeping bag, she made out snippets of the other girls' conversations, as they discussed what to do with her. She was so out of it, that she wasn't sure who was talking, most of the time.

"—useless barkroot! We need antibiotics!"

"Oh, gee, sure, plenty of those around, right? We'll just scoot on by the ol' phamaceutical factory, fire it up, and produce a batch of the good stuff!"

"Not helping."

"We can't stay here. … There's nothing out here. When's the last time we saw anything resembling a settlement? Not since the first day we left!"

"Fine. Fine, then we head back. To the Wastes. Even the Southerner's Outpost has healers."

"Those clowns couldn't even treat my upset stomach when we ate that bad batch of stew. What do you think they can do for Annie in this state!?"

"No, we have to keep going. All the way to the Old Capital. We got lucky with the gas, twice now. Who knows how long that's gonna last?"

"Lucy … roll … for gas."

"No! You're not rolling ever again. It's killing you, each time. You're not a tool, Lucy."

"Lucy … want … to help."

"We have to just keep going."

"But we don't even know if"—lowering her voice—"(we don't even know what's waiting at the Capital. We're going off some random, outdated manual we found in some stranger's cart. … And what in the world is R.A.B.B.I.T. anyway!?)"

"… We have to keep going."

- 39.4 - The Fourth Day -

Anemone's condition worsened.

- 39.5 - The Fifth Day - 2h00m -

"We should be there in two hours. Hang in there, Annie. You with us?"

"Unngh …"

"Just hang on for two hours. That's all, Annie? Okay. Please."

- 39.6 - The Fifth Day - 1h39m -

Anemone: "Onee-chan … it's cold in here … close … the window …"

Ivy: "Annie …"

- 39.7 - The Fifth Day - 1h04m -

Ruby: "We're so close, Annie. It'll be just like you always dreamed. Your sister's waiting, right? Ithaca Station …"—voice cracking—"… will have working technology. Lights, electricity—air conditioning. And …"

Ivy: "… and movies! Haven't you ever wanted to watch a movie! I want to watch my first movie, together with Annie!"

Violet, in tears: "Me too!"

- 39.8 - The Fifth Day - 0h34m -

Ruby: "We made a promise, Annie. Remember? We'd all take Lucy to the ramen stand one day. Are you going to break a promise to her? You'll make her sad!"

Violet: "The ramen shop! The old man! You were in the backseat that day, Annie, remember? He looked so happy to go for a ride in the Usagi. His ramen was so delicious, wasn't it, Annie? Right, Ivy?"

Ivy was crying too hard to say anything.

Ruby: "We're … almost there, okay, Annie?"

- 39.9 - The Fifth Day - 0h22m -

"The Old Capital! I see it! Look! Annie!"

"…Annie? Annie!"

- 39.10 - The Fifth Day - 0h05m -

"… even know where I'm supposed …"

"… I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO, I …"

"… Annie, please, I …"

"… where would we even …"

"… should've stayed in the Wastes …"

"… everything will be oka—"

- 39.11 - The Fifth Day - 0h00m -

Anemone looked around her.

She wasn't sure what was going on. They were no longer in the Wastes, that was for sure. Tall, abandoned skyscrapers loomed nearby. It must have been lively here, before the Orcs.

… She was so tired. She wasn't sure why. Had they just been on a delivery or something? She could barely keep her eyes open. Her eyelids felt heavy.

Oh … the Usagi. She was in the Usagi, wasn't she?

Yes—the magical self-repairing car that could turn other broken cars into working cars, and fill up its own gas tank, randomly. She started giggling—she couldn't help it! It was all so absurd!

Her friends were around her.

Ruby, in the driver's seat, as always. She was … crying? That was weird. Anemone couldn't remember Ruby ever baring her emotions like this. Come to think of it now … They had been through a lot together, huh? The Western Boundary years. Conifer Village. The Castle.

… Boy, was she tired. Had they just been on a delivery or somethi—… Wait, didn't she just think that? She wasn't sure. She'd been having trouble thinking lately. Did it have something to do with her arm?

… What were her friends yelling about? Anemone just wanted to sleep. She looked around, her vision swimming. Why was everyone shouting? Why was everyone sad?

Ruby. The greatest driver Anemone ever knew. Okay—the only driver she ever knew. Sure, she could make some rash, bone-headed calls every now and then. And she liked to act casual and cavalier about everything, but Anemone knew she cared a lot, deep down.

Ruby could make bridges out of thin air, but couldn't fix Anemone's arm—wait, was that the reason she was crying? If so, Anemone wanted to tell her it was okay. Ruby couldn't fix everything by herself. She had tried. And that was more than enough.

… Ivy and Violet. Anemone loved the way they fought, the way they bantered. Even in the most hopeless situations, those two would be cracking dumb jokes, like they were a comedy duo. Anemone kept a straight face most of the time, but inside, she laughed at every single stupid joke those two had ever made.

… And Lucy. They had only known her for a short time, but they wanted to make life happy for her. Perhaps because of the cruel fate awaiting her. … Had they succeeded? She wanted to show Lucy that, even though life was hard—even though stuff like Orcs existed, so did fire-kites and sandcastles, and watermelon on a summer day.

… Hold on a sec, Anemone.

Have you ever told any of them this?

Do they know how you feel about them?

Maybe you should do it now. You might not get another chance.

Anemone opened her mouth—but she couldn't speak. Her throat hurt. Dry. So dry.

Her friends—Anemone didn't understand why they all looked so sad.

Anemone didn't feel sad at all. Quite the opposite, really.

… Things were going to be okay.

Her friends—Why were they so sad? … Was it the arm?

But her arm didn't hurt anymore.

Nothing hurt, anymore.

She was going to see Onee-chan soon, after all.