Issue #5-Chapter 10

After waiting for Silverus to return here to continue making a potion for Eugene, I turned to the other table and the doorway towards the end of the hall. The potions were doing fine as usual; they wondered why he hadn't returned yet. I wondered what was taking Silverus so long. He was taking a long time to check on something outside.

Then I turned to Aleke who was leaning against the wall and carried her crossbow. She was being on the lookout for any incoming lycan in here. I could sense the seriousness in her eyes. “Um, Aleke.”

“Hmm?” Aleke turned her face to me.

“Do you know what was taking him so long? He's taking a long time to check on something outside.”

Aleke returned her attention to the secret doorway. “I have no idea but I bet he was rescuing another survivor.”

“‘Rescuing?’”

“Yeah, rescuing. I just hope he survives…at least for Eugene.”

“Yeah…” Whenever I thought about Eugene, I hoped he remained alive just in time for Silverus to heal him. I also wondered how Eugene was doing right now. I hoped no lycan found him. I really hoped not. I swallowed my saliva the moment I thought about it harder.

When the sound of the door opening up and the footsteps echoed in our direction, Aleke smiled and carried her crossbow at ease. She then shouted Silverus' name out of curiosity, and Silverus answered back, adding, “I'm here.”

“Oh, thank goodness you're here! We were worried sick about you,” Aleke exclaimed.

Although I smiled at Silverus' return, I crossed my arms to prevent him from lusting after me. It was about time too. Just in time to save Eugene.

It really is Silverus! Thank God he's here! Let's hope we would quickly finish up making this potion and get out of here to meet up with Eugene. Let's jus' hope so…

By the time the footsteps reached the doorway in the distance from us, our eyes had spotted no one other than Silverus. There was no survivor with him and the lamp shone his light upon him.

Me and Aleke gasped the moment we saw him covering his hand over his wound. He panted as if death was approaching him.

“No…” Aleke dropped her crossbow on the floor and dashed her way towards Silverus.

I did nothing but watch Aleke carry him in my direction. I couldn't believe in my own eyes that Silverus was wounded, but it happened apparently.

“Silverus, what happened to you?” Aleke asked.

“I failed to rescue a survivor on time and three lycans attacked me,” Silverus explained, “One of them bastards managed to scratch me while I fought them all off. I was glad to kill them all.”

Aleke grinned at Silverus even more. “Well, that's good to hear.” She turned to his wound. “Anyway, we better get you healed up and finish that potion for Eugene.”

“Right on, Aleke. Right on.”

“Well, I'm glad to see and hear that you're okay, Silverus,” I said when looking at Silverus the moment he and Aleke walked past me.

Silverus grinned at me and gave me a nod. “Thank you and I'm happy to be back to see you again.”

As soon as Aleke leaned Silverus against the wall, I reluctantly took a look around to help Silverus heal from his wound. Yet I had no idea where the first aid kit was. Failing to find it, I bet the first aid kit didn't even exist in the medieval era, did it?

“Aleke, grab me the white potion and a piece cloth at the table,” Silverus pointed at the other table when he turned his head to it.

Aleke turned to the table and Silverus back and forth, nodding at him. “Alright.”

I watched Aleke stand up from the floor and searched for as well as grabbed the items that Silverus called for. She took them to him and lifted his shirt up a little. She began to place the droplets of the white potion on a piece of cloth and wrapped the cloth around his stomach, out of an attempt to not only stop the bleeding, but also to heal his wound.

Although Silverus was taken back by the sting he felt from his wound, he closed his eyes and opened his gritted teeth. Aleke noticed it and said, “Oh, sorry about that, Silverus. But it had to be done.”

Silverus nodded his head without even looking Aleke in the eye, and said in his relaxed tone, “It’s alright, Aleke. There's no need for you to apologize. I can fight off the pain after all.”

After that, Aleke began to wipe the blood off of him, the walls and the floor. Silverus grinned at Aleke while he watched her clean for a little while. Then he turned back to me and announced, “So in case you're wondering about the potion, I should be able to finish it once I get done healing, okay?”

“Okay, and how long does it take to heal you?” I requested.

“About a few minutes.”

Well, that's going to take a bit longer now, does it? I turned to the wall behind me, facing Eugene's direction. I sighed and frowned at it, hoping Silverus was healed quick enough to make it to Eugene on time, before those lycans would kill him in one swoop.

“Relax, I'm sure we'll get to him in no time,” Silverus said when I immediately turned back to him, “I promise.”

Let's hope so. After I turned to the wall and Silverus one more time, I just darted my eyes at him. “So how did you guys meet Eugene? When and how did you guys get separated? This was something that Eugene didn't get a chance to tell me earlier.”

“Oh, that? Well, that's a bit of a long story.” He then closed his eyes and his cheeks were reddened all of a sudden. I didn't know why he did that, but I didn't like it one bit. I narrowed my suspicious eyes at him, hoping he wouldn't lust after me. “But I'll be glad to tell a lovely lady like you that though.”

Aleke stood up from the floor and looked down at Silverus, right after she used the other cloth to wipe the blood off of her hands. “I'll fetch some water from the kitchen. I'll be right back.”

Silverus looked up at Aleke. “Alright.”

Once she left the room, Silverus turned back to face me. “Okay, now where was I…” He looked up at the ceiling and thought about what he was going to say for a little while. “Oh, yeah.” He returned his face back at me. “Now here's some story time…”

When Aleke shouted Silverus's name, he returned his attention to her. He saw Aleke lean against the wall and she turned in another direction and him back and forth. Panic was written all over Aleke's face while she panted deeply. Her sweat was forming all over her body, leaking some parts of her clothes. She had no weapons in her hand at the time.

Ignoring the ravens and the crowds' caws above him and Aleke, they were outside standing in the alleyway, surrounded by fog. The cold air hitted their skins, and the smell of death and decay entered their noses. Although lycan's roar echoed near them, he turned to that sound’s direction and saw a huge black silhouette with its glowing red eyes. Its growl charged against their ears.

“We need to hurry! Those monsters are coming this way!” Aleke continued in her louder voice.

Silverus quickly turned his attention back to Aleke and said, “I know, I know, I know. You don't have to tell me that!” He turned back at the monster charging back at him, aiming his crossbow at him. Looking down at his arrows, he saw his arrows weren't made out of silver and he wished he had arrows made out of silver. But since he didn’t have any, he was determined to stun the enemy. Remaining calm, he glared at it and narrowed his eyes tightly. “Here goes nothing.”

By the time he shot his crossbow at his enemy, the monster screeched out of pain and just kneeled down, panting deeply. He looked down at his arrows and saw there were only several of them remaining.

Damn, I better conserve my arrows. I'm getting low on ammo here.

He turned back to Aleke and pointed his head towards the alleyway. “Let's get going before that monster chases after us again.”

Aleke gave him a serious look on her face and nodded, “Okay.”

Aleke and Silverus turned to the other side and dashed towards the end of the alleyway. They looked back and forth to see if that monster would rise again right after they left the area. They were relieved to see it remained stunned.

Yet they ran further enough and stopped running for a second, bending themselves forward and panted. They looked back and still saw no sign of the lycan heading towards them.

“Looks like we lost him,” Silverus said.

Aleke grinned when she gazed at the direction she and Silverus ran from, then turned to him. “Yeah, I think you're right.” She stood up straight while gazing in that same direction. “But we better hide in one of the buildings in this area. That thing could come snap itself out of it and track us down. The worst part of it all was we don't have the spices to prevent it from tracking us through its scent.”

Silverus also stood up straight and continued gazing at the same exact direction as Aleke did. “Yeah, I think you're right.” His eyes wandered around to determine which building to enter. “But which building would we stay in though?”

The moment Aleke turned to Silverus, she watched him search for any building to hide from the lycan. Yet so far they struggled to find one. With crows and ravens' caws interrupting the silence in the area, all the buildings and street lights stared down at them, glaring at them. There were no lights within each building and the doors appeared to be closed shut. There was blood splattered everywhere, yet there were barely any corpses, or even a living person, around there. They were even relieved to see no werewolf in sight.

Silverus and Aleke turned to each building in the area, knocking to see if anybody was inside before opening the door by force. All the doors refused to budge, leaving Aleke and Silverus hopeless.

“Oh, you've got to be kidding me,” Silverus complained when he and Aleke stood by the last building of the area, frowning at it. “Not only no one's home, but the doors wouldn't open.”

“Yeah, I guess you're right, Silverus,” Aleke agreed when she turned to him. “Let's go to a new area.” She turned back to the other direction and saw no lycan coming after them. “We're lucky that lycan isn't coming after us.”

Silverus turned to the same direction as Aleke and grinned out of relief, when he didn't see the same lycan as they did last time. “Yeah, I guess you're right, Aleke.” He turned back in a similar direction. “Let’s get going.”

Aleke turned back to him and nodded with a smile. “Okay.”

As they tried to decide whether they would head back to the same location as before or not, the old man's scream interrupted them and made them turn around. They widened their eyes and Aleke turned to Silverus and the direction of the old man's scream back and forth. It sounded like someone was in trouble and they needed to head there for a rescue this instant before someone was killed off and taken to the witch to be eaten.