"You Did Well"

Heavy thumps crushed the grass, and the rattle of clattering sticks drew nearer.

I was frozen by fear, as if it were grabbing me from underneath.

My feet were stuck to the ground. My knees shook, battling not to give in.

I kept quivering.

Behind the rustling bushes, each thud grew louder than the last.

As a breadth of thoughts rushed through my head, a frightened cry beside me brought me back to reality.

I had grown so absorbed in my own fear that I had completely forgotten about Yrish.

When I turned to face her, she had fallen to the ground, repeatedly attempting to get back up. Dread had sapped all of her strength.

Overcoming my immense terror, I rushed in her direction while grabbing my spear.

A huge shadow gradually emerged from the trees on higher ground.

“Stay behind me!” I shouted, putting myself in between her and the noises. I lightly tapped her shoulder, hoping she would understand what I meant.

The giant creature slowly came into view.

It looked like a porcupine but with far longer and thicker quills, and was easily two metres tall. A dark mass covered in long, tipped spikes, subtly reflecting the sunlight.

For a brief moment, our eyes locked, and it began storming at us from afar. The ground beneath us shook as it ran. Smacks resonated as its spines struck against the trees.

In those split seconds, adrenaline had already kicked in, and I made the decision to dash towards it. I needed to put the most distance possible between that animal and Yrish.

Even if it meant I was going to die, I wanted to at least scare the beast away.

As it neared, it seemed to notice the weapon in my hand and abruptly stopped. Instead, it launched some of its quills in my direction.

It all happened too fast.

When I finally reacted, my right leg had already been hit. Sharp pain shot through my body. Several other darts had only slightly grazed my arms and stomach.

I leapt towards it, gripping my weapon as tightly as I could.

I managed to pierce through its skin, sinking the spear in its back, which was now conveniently accessible after it fired its spikes.

The beast thrashed violently, squealing in pain.

It turned, ran, and leapt.

The thing threw itself against the trees, seeking to free itself from my grasp as I clung to the weapon still lodged in its back.

Its thorns stabbed and carved the surrounding trees as it jerked, panted, and drooled while I pushed the spear deeper.

When its quills hooked onto my clothing, the creature managed a weak, twisting tug. A series of small, painful stings ran down my back.

After minutes of relentless struggle, my strength gave out. The spear slipped out. I was flung into a tree, the back of my head slamming against the trunk.

Stunned, I saw the creature flee through my nauseous vision.

I let out a straining grunt as I pulled the quill out of my leg and applied pressure to the wound.

Touching the back of my head, I could feel the warmth and viscosity of my blood dripping down my hair. I was bruised all over. The cuts painted my clothes red.

The beast had fled. The forest fell silent.

I forced myself upright, gasping, and looked for Yrish.

As I looked back, my blood went cold. My jaw dropped.

Some of the thorns that had missed me were now jabbed into her.

I hadn’t heard any screaming. My face turned pale when I found her lying down, three darts embedded in her body.

I limped towards her, desperately dragging myself across the ground after falling.

Tears streamed down my face as I noticed where she had been hit.

One quill had gouged her right shoulder. Another one had pierced her stomach. And the third one punctured close to the heart.

Blood rapidly oozed from her wounds. With a body as frail as hers, there was nothing I could do. I didn’t know what to do.

I was incompetent enough to fail to protect the only thing I cared about.

Picking her up, I put my left hand below her head and lifted her knees with my right, laying her on my legs.

The moment she saw my face, she started to smile. She likely knew her time was running short.

I began weeping, trembling under the weight of my sobs. My shoulders jerked with each ragged breath. The salty taste of my tears filled my mouth. I tried to stop, but couldn’t.

“You did well!” she coughed, smiling.

“No… I wasn’t…” I choked between sobs. “I wasn’t able to do anything at all…”

“I… did well!” she continued, coughing harder and harder.

“Yes… you did!” I exclaimed, failing even to smile.

“I… did… well!” she said, smiling gently, interrupted by a cough of blood.

“Yes... You did well as always,” I praised her, my face contorting uncontrollably.

Snot dripped from my nose. My tears soiled her beautiful dress. I felt her heartbeat rapidly slowing down. Her skin froze my fervent body.

“You… did… well!” she blurted with a little voice, losing her strength to continue.

“No!” I cried. “I-I didn’t… you did!”

Her eyes no longer met mine. Her once-glinting gaze had grown dull. Her pupils dilated, fixed in place. Her cough worsened, spewing large amounts of blood.

Unable to see, she reached around blindly, searching for me.

As she grabbed my hand, she murmured, “You… did well.”

“You… don’t need-eed to talk anymore!” I cried and begged. “That isn’t… true. You… You are the one who did well!”

She continued to mouth the words, but the sound ceased to come out. Her breathing became heavier and raspy. Her lung had probably been punctured as well.

She held onto my hand with the last remains of her strength.

“Every-everything is going to be… to be alright!” I lied. My body trembled. Tears cascaded down my cheeks.

I squeezed her hand tighter.

“You… are-are going to-to be okay! I promise!” I lied. I continued trying to smile even though there was no point anymore. My breath wavered.

Her cold touch, her pained smile, her bloodied dress. They all crushed me.

I was the one responsible for this.

I broke the promise.

“You are… so, so strong! You’ll-ll be fine!” I lied. I disgustingly lied through my teeth, stuttering between panicked chuckles.

“Every-every-everything… is going to be fine… fine!” I lied. I just wanted her to hear my voice, so I lied. I continued to lie. I needed to keep talking.

It felt miserably disgusting. I was constantly on the edge of vomiting.

After several minutes of fighting, dragging on like hours, she gave one final grin. Her eyes sank slightly, and her pupils turned a milky colour.

Her small hand, struggling to hold onto mine all this time, finally let go.

“Yrish?” I asked, raising my voice.

I hoped to get another reaction out of her. I hoped for her gentle smile to return to her face. I hoped to see the bliss in her eyes once more.

There was no reply.

A poignant pain anchored to my heart. It hurt way more than any injury from the fight. It left a disgusting taste in my mouth.

“Yrish…? Yrish! Yrish!” I kept calling her name. I shouted. My voice cracked.

“I can’t bear-bear-bear you-you leaving me now-now! Please come back!” I screamed, quivering harder than ever.

“Please!” I pleaded. I kept pleading.

It was too much for me.

I broke.

I quickly turned away from her and puked, gasping.

I cried there for what felt like an eternity. I crumbled to the oppression of the now-silent forest.

After calming down, I plucked the quills out of her body and ripped parts of my shirt off, wrapping them around her wounds so no more blood would spill.

I was left hollow.

The sobbing wouldn’t stop.

The sun had already set, and the moon glowed softly, as if consumed by darkness, in the starry sky.