31: One Step Short

Gong… Step, step. Gong… Step, step. Gong…

"Stop! Can ya 'hear' me? Stop it!"

I knew I'd gone too far. I'd been horrible to her. She was the only one who bothered to listen, to care about me—a stranger she found and needed help. I wanted to crawl into a hole and die, never able to bother her again.

What can I do? What can I… say? Should I just stay quiet? Will that make things better or—?

"Fabri?" My voice was barely there, a cowardly whisper. Maybe I hoped she wouldn't hear me.

Nevermind. Please, just ignore me.

Fabrienne offered a grunt of acknowledgement. Of course she heard me. She always did.

"I…"

I'm sorry. I… I overreacted. I didn't mean it. I never should have said any of… Thank you for always coming back, for saving me. I wouldn't be alive without your help. Please, can I carry something for you? Are you okay?

"Are…"

The words died in my throat, though she more than deserved to hear them. I couldn't bring myself to apologize and actually tell her what I needed to. I doubted an apology from me would have even come out the right way. I'd probably make everything worse.

"Are we… almost there?"

Idiot!

The heels of my palms shot to my temples with a thud she seemed to ignore.

Maybe she should hit me, or yell, or… No. Look at her. Why would she waste any effort on someone she hates so much?

"A-aye. We're making better time than I thought we would, considering…" Cough. "Even at our current pace, we'll be home—We should reach Docheo before sundown. It's… nothing to worry about."

I slowed down, hoping the increased space between us would prevent me from bothering her any further.

The sun crept closer to the mountains, and the stream we were following ended with a bubbling spring. From that point, even the treeline veered off and to the east. We were the only ones as far as I could see.

Keeping the same direction we'd been traveling, Fabrienne eventually pointed to an old wooden post in the distance—a waypoint. When we arrived, a worn path from repeated heavy wheels began. Civilization, finally.

Shortly after starting this last leg of our trip, Fabrienne stopped at the top of a hill. It almost looked like she was wobbling again and had to catch her breath, but that couldn't be right. She waved me closer, urging me to speed up. I guess what I saw was just her eagerness for me to catch up again, but my feet wanted me to take a rest.

"There! Over there! Ya see it? Well, do ya? It's Docheo, we're here!"

Her excitement was contagious. She was almost bouncing, thrusting a finger at a blurry silhouette. There might've been buildings far in the distance. If that was true, I'd finally get the help she promised: a bed, real food, and maybe a way home if the jewel worked the way I hoped.

Continuing along from there were stretches of rickety, weathered wooden fences enclosing a tall, dusty-golden crop. It swayed in the gentle breeze and was maybe even ready for harvest. Everything was so surreal after the nightmare we experienced along the way. I half expected to see a scarecrow propped up in the field, waiting to break into a song about wishing for a brain.

Gunguh.

"Fabri?"

The sword was at her feet again. She wobbled forward, slammed her good foot down before falling, and pushed herself into a limping run. I wasn’t sure if she found a new strength in being so close to home, had been holding back since the versipur attack, or just wanted to get away from me.

Stopping her was out of the question, but her speed was nothing compared to what I'd seen when we first left the ruins. Catching up to her might've even been possible if I wanted to. Before chasing after her, I had to grab the sword. I wouldn't just discard it like she so easily had. The weight felt heavier than I remembered, and it almost slipped from my hand. There was something slick coating the crossguard.

"What's all over it?" I looked at the sword again, and then at my hand. I nearly dropped the thing on my foot when I realized what it was. "Blood?"

I'd been so petty, so jealous, and so angry about her keeping the weapon away from me. I missed all the signs, oblivious and not bothering to even try paying attention. Why would I? She'd have told me to mind my own business, but I still should have tried, right?

A faint trail of dark spots speckled the ground. I looked closer at the path we'd been walking and found more drops. If I'd taken the sword back when I had the chance, she never would have made it this far, let alone seen her home again. We both needed help, but she needed it more.

"No. She has to… She needs to slow down! This is… She's only going to make herself worse, right? Why won't she slow down?!"

No wonder she urged us on whenever I requested a break, but she could've just sent me ahead to get help. We both knew I was good at running away. I proved that in the worst way possible. Then she would have been relying on her friends to come rescue her, and not being weighed down by my uselessness. I wanted to be angry and yell at her for hiding how severe her injuries were all along, but first I had to catch her. I took off, desperate to close our increasing gap.

"Fabri, stop! Wait!"

The sun was already half hidden by the mountains when Docheo was close enough to see properly. A cluster of scattered buildings waited for our arrival, but one rose above the rest and dwarfed everything else, an imposing central tower.

How the hell is something like that standing? Did one of Fabri's nasties…? Does this world have heavy artillery? Is living around it even safe?!

Built of steel or concrete, its modern construction was a stark contrast to the rustic charm of the lazy windmill and water tower on the eastern side of the settlement. The behemoth was in disarray and stuck out like a sore thumb. I never imagined seeing anything like it in the world after being stuck in the ruins or seeing Fabrienne and the bandits. Possibly on the verge of collapse, large holes revealed what looked like beams or rebar jutting out from inside with dangling cables. It had to be some kind of resource for the rest of Docheo.

The buildings below it, the bulk of Docheo, were a mix of log cabins, stone houses, and low walls that might have been corrals. I couldn't make out animals in them, let alone any people yet. Metal roofs capped most of the buildings that were almost mismatched with patches of whatever materials they had available.

It was a fair-sized village; I guess. I wasn't really sure what to compare it to since I'd lived in the suburbs back home. I wanted to jump for joy, but the walls of varying height surrounding the settlement screamed "keep out" to me. The disjointed settlement felt nothing like the safe harbor Fabrienne so lovingly gushed about.

The worn path quickly became a dirt road heading directly into the heart of Fabrienne's home. A large hand-painted sign hung over an open gate in the foreboding wall. I hoped that proved to be a "Welcome" for us, but my doubts continued growing. Several figures emerged from the growing shadows and closed the bent metal-framed gate.

"Uh-oh…"

The ones who stepped into the light wore outfits just as jumbled as their home. Some wore wide-brimmed hats, and others had helmets. They also had armor similar to Fabrienne's, but where hers had been mostly leather, theirs included pieces of metal on their chests and limbs reflecting the sunset.

Please… be friendly.

More of them gathered at the gate as we got closer, and they held weapons.

I did my best to catch up to Fabrienne. The gap closed more with each step propelling me forward. Her limp worsened, but she barrelled ahead regardless of how much she'd slowed down. The trail of blood I followed was no longer spattered drops. Her bleeding turned to puddles painting and soaking into the dirt, turning it red.

She needs you! Hurry!

"Get ready! Someone's heading this way!"

"Sir, it's Fabri! She's finally returned, but—!"

"Why is she moving like…?! Something's wrong!"

"She's being chased!"

"Who is that?!"

"Sir! He's got a sword!"

"Stop that bandit, now!"

"She looks hurt! Someone send word to Asa! We need Asa!"

"Is he the one who—?!"

"Sir! Sir! He's not resonating!"

"What?! How can that…?!"

Their shouting was a distraction. I ignored them and focused on Fabrienne. Nothing else mattered. She needed someone, and if I could do anything for her, I had to. Her speed drastically plummeted.

GO!

Her limp became a wobble.

MOVE!

She could barely stand.

FASTER!

The weight of the sword I held on my back vanished.

GET… TO… HER!

Each of Fabrienne's steps looked like her last.

No. She's…

She stopped and swayed, clutching her side.

She's going to fall!

Nothing would stop me this time. Even if she told me to back off.

HELP…

I wouldn't listen to her. Not this time.

YOUR…

I was almost there.

FRIEND!

Her body went limp.

Friend? But…

She fell forward.

CATCH—!

Thud!

"FABRI!!" Her name tore through my throat.

Her knees hit the ground first.

"N-no…"

I froze as the rest of her body crumpled forward and landed in a heap. A dust cloud swirled up and swallowed her.

I… failed. I failed… her. I wasn't… enough.

"Where's Asa?! Get her here now, or we're going to lose her!"

A handful of figures raced towards her from outside the gate while others worked to open it. They'd arrive soon enough, but I was closer. I felt like the only one who could do something. I had to before it was too late because… because I…

I did this.

I hurt her.