Page 7 of Crimson Promises
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I never realized death had a smell until I was lying on that battlefield, a gold arrow through my thigh. Lilac blood rolled from my wound like tears. Singed flesh, decaying corpses, and a mix of vomit and urine surrounded me. Faces of my friends, my brothers lay frozen on the floor like discarded pieces of trash.
Blood and dirt were caked underneath my fingernails. I placed both palms on the mud underneath and tried to push up and give myself leverage to scoot back. To move. Do something.
Out of the corner of my eye, a pair of forearms attached to a body crawled slowly, breaking free from being trapped underneath a pile of bodies. Squeezing my eyes closed, I lay back down and splayed my arms at an awkward angle across the ground.Play dead.My head cracked against the floor.Fuck, that hurt. Son of a bitch. I bit the inside of my cheeks to prevent a scream from escaping. Better that than the other side discovering me alive.
Some things were worse than death. I knew things were bleak, but that didn’t mean I had to surrender willingly. I’d come this far to try and fuck up the patriarchy. Why stop now?
A finger jabbed my left tricep. I remained as still as a mime and held my breath. The individual’s finger dug into the open wound just above my elbow. I could feel the discharge skimming the edge. A hiss escaped my lips. I tried to feel around the ground with my eyes closed for any weapon on the slight chance that I could knock whoever this was out. Perhaps toss them back under the pile of bodies that they came from. Now, that would buy me some time.
“I know you’re alive. Open your eyes.” A deep voice rumbled.
All I could grasp with my right arm was a rock the size of half a fist. I bent my arm at the elbow, getting ready to wind up and bash whoever this was in the head, when the bugger whispered, “Ben, open your eyes. You better be alive after I crawled my ass over here.”
Trying not to wince, I turned my battered body towards his. I opened my eyes against the blinding sunlight. Dark spots danced in front of my eyes each time I blinked.
“Jos, is that you?”
“No, it’s Michael here to add an arrow through your other thigh,” he said sarcastically.
“You’re alive.” I sounded incredulous, reaching out my hand towards him.
“No shit.” He paused, trying to look over my shoulder. “Where is everyone else?”
I stared at the ground.
“Dead?”
I nodded.
“Everyone?”
I nodded again.
Jos rolled onto his back. We both stayed there staring at the sun. It felt wrong that the sun shone when the earth was bathed in blood and gore. The weather favored the victors, after all.
We had laid there long enough. Years of drills and commanding a unit was a well-defined muscle memory.
“Come on, Jos. We gotta go. We can’t stay here too much longer.” As I sat up, I muttered a curse under my breath. I blinked a few times, trying to clear my vision. There was double of everything. I dragged a long inhale through my nose and wound up coughing loudly instead.
Jos knocked my pectoral while yelling in a whispered tone, “Hush!”
I drew up my thighs and placed my forehead against them. “I’m good now.”
“We should head east. Most of Heaven’s legions had come from the northwest. Hopefully, some of our squadrons are still standing.” His gaze swept left to right, assessing any potential dangers. That’s why I had chosen Jos as my second lieutenant.
Joshua Fidus was everything I wasn’t. He deserved a much better friend than me, yet he stuck around for all those years. Jos was technically part of The Gifted. He grew up privileged but wasn’t ignorant of the discrepancies within our realm. He took action. Jos looked out for me, snuck me into his parents’ place when I needed shelter, and kept me fed. He was the family I chose but never had the privilege of having. He knew I couldn’t stand by and do nothing. Not when I had the opportunity to make real change. So here he was, quite literally in the trenches with me. Guarding my back, as always.
“I’m pretty sure I have a concussion at the very minimum. I’d likely lead us straight into the arms of our enemy. I willingly put my delicate health in your hands.”
Jos rolled his eyes. “You always were too much of a smart ass for your own good.”
I grunted. I knew I was losing too much blood and couldn’t make it as far as Jos could.
“I think…I think you are going to have to go on without me. My injuries are too great. I’m just going to slow you down.”
“Don’t even think about spewing some of that heroic crap. We’re in this together.Libertati vel mortis.” His hand was clenched in a fist, and he beat it against his heart once.
