Chapter Three
Emptiness. It was all just a peaceful void, a vast and endless ocean of nothingness yet its gentle black waters soothe the soul. Until a crash of thunder is overheard in the seas. A crash that comes down fierce. Crashes down to the head of a man.
Eyes wide open and the sea unfolds to the sight ahead. A slight buzzing is heard in the atmosphere, which condenses itself into the pained cries of a girl. Behind this crash, words of hatred fill the air with a bitter venom leaving from her mouth.
The man below is still, unmoving, his soul struck down by the bolt of lightning, thunder ringing in the ears of all who watched. Deep breaths, deep like the wound in her heart. The girl’s screams grow louder, her fierce hatred spreading towards all.
The sound of metal hits the floor, clinging across it as the club slides away from the hands that struck the lightning down to earth, down to the man. The sea condenses back into nothingness, but the water was tarnished into crimson.
A deep dark crimson, deep to drown the ones who sail it, thick as the skin of those who choose to cross it. And she crosses it. The sea cracks, unveiling and sucking down all into a hole, a hole of hate.
She doesn’t fight back as she slides down the hole; and instead of swimming upwards, she moves down along with the current. The hole opens along with a pair of eyes, blue as the sky and coated with tears. The one she loved was struck down with a gust of wind.
A gust, violent and hostile, sharp enough to draw blood. Blood of the ones who were also sucked down into the hole along with the two; she who could not forgive, and she who could not forget.
Both intertwined by hate, the two sides of a coin, similar yet opposites, heads, and tails. The gust of wind was made from the girl’s hands, the girl whose screams were filled with agony, the girl who chased after her source of hate, the girl who devoured the souls of those in her way.
The blue eyes cried, tears flowing down freckled cheeks, dropping shakily to a bloodied floor. The same blue eyes then truly open, to a sight-unseen before by them.
Nurses and volunteers rushed into the room, bringing all kinds of tools as people gathered around with their eyes widened. Abby woke up panting, her heartbeat raced as she looked at her surroundings, beside the bed she was laying on was Lev and she let out a sigh of relief.
Abby thought quickly before reaching over to a pair of scissors that sat on the table next to her bed along with gauze for her wounds. “Stay back!” Abby said fiercely as she got up from the bed, her nostrils flared as she went besides Lev’s bed, placing her hand on his shoulder as she shook his shoulder to wake him up.
“Wake up!" Abby urged on, her eyebrows furrowed as she pointed the scissors at the strangers that surrounded them. “No need to panic, miss, we’re here to-” one of the nurses began, putting her hands slowly in front of her to try and calm the blonde woman.
“Who are you?” Abby demanded, despite her weakened state she would still give it her all and fight back against any threat. Lev slowly came to his senses, the drowsiness of sleep making his voice slurred “What’s going on-” Lev’s words were cut off as he rubbed his eye tiredly, only to see the group of strangers in front of them.
Lev got up quickly, a little too quickly and his knees felt weak but he kept his posture, his eyebrows furrowed as he moved in closer to Abby. “We found you on the beach.” One of the nurses explained, to which Abby listened intently to her words.
“We saved you and brought you here.” a volunteer added, making Abby slightly relax a little but she kept the pair of scissors pointed at the group of people. “Where are we?” Abby asked, her voice stern yet her guard was more down as she spoke, seeing that these people really did treat their wounds and took them in.
“Catalina Island.” The nurse replied, making Abby widen her eyes at the answer, her heartbeat picked up pace as she looked at Lev; his eyes were shining with hope, his head flicking from Abby to the group of people.
“You’re fireflies?” Lev asked, already knowing the answer but it felt so surreal to actually be there with them, he almost didn’t believe it. The nurse nodded, a smile on her lips as she did so. Abby slowly lowered the scissors in her hand, processing the words of the nurse in front of her.
“We made it.” Abby said quietly as she turned to Lev, who had the biggest smile plastered on his face, and threw himself onto Abby’s arms with a tight hug. The tension in the air slowly dissipated, and chatter grew in the room as the nurses and volunteers started explaining what happened.
Abby intently listened, and the nurses then began to check on her injuries and ask her questions. “Does it hurt to breathe?” The nurse asked as she wrote down a few things, “Not really.” Abby said, she almost seemed distracted; it had been so long that she’d been looking for the fireflies, Lev and she had been through so much already and they finally did it.
The nurses and volunteers began checking the two of them, using medical tools to check their heartbeats, reflexes, cognitive thinking, and other factors that would indicate whether they were doing alright or not.
“You suffered a heatstroke and several stab wounds, we’ve treated your stab wounds and a volunteer is currently treating your sunburns; she should arrive from patrol shortly.” the nurse informed, to which Abby nodded and turned her head to look at her shoulders, she only now noticed the oily substance on her skin. The blonde was inclined to touch her shoulder to feel the cream but held back against it.
Lev let out a quiet sigh, barely audible to those around him but of course, the blue-eyed woman picked it up. Without even having to ask him, Abby already knew what was on his mind; they had grown closer by each passing month since the events in Seattle and she grew to greatly trust him and learn when he was upset or not.
The blonde knew Lev would often isolate himself when he was upset, and his slightly lowered head to the side and half-lidded eyes made his mood stick out like a sore thumb to Abby. “It’s alright,” She told him quietly, making the boy flick his eyes to the side a little.
“It’s over now.” Abby added, being relieved by her own words. Abby’s smooth and reassuring voice made Lev nod and a small smile to appear on his lips, only to fade away a few moments later.
The two had only been through rough seas so far; the events on the Seraphite Island still made deep wounds on Lev’s heart and the weight of his actions was a constant reminder of it all. Abby noticed that her words didn’t bring much comfort to his turmoil, yet she continued smiling despite her own grief; she needed to be strong for both of them.
In the corner of her eye, Abby caught the figure of a person and she turned her head to said person. You stood in front of Abby, a big grin on your lips as you approached the woman in front of you.
“I see you’re awake, I was getting worried about you guys.” You said as you approached them; the woman’s features struck out to her. She was a whole different person when she was awake, her face stoic yet her blue eyes were filled with deep pain.
Abby noticed your staring, and her eyebrow twitched a little. “Mhm.” Abby replied, eyeing you for a few moments before turning her attention to the container in your hands. “I’ve been taking care of your sunburns with this.” You explained with a smile; the woman seemed distant and cold but you couldn’t blame her, in the state she was in because of God-knows-what you’d also be distrustful.
“Thank you,” Abby said softly, a pang of helplessness in her voice. She felt conflicted, she’s always been the one taking care of others, and being this weak was definitely an uncomfortable feeling.
You hesitantly approached the woman and opened the lid of the container; she was quite intimidating up close yet she looked like she hid so much pain behind those blue orbs like you could dive into them and be in a pool full of teardrops from sorrow.
You slowly dipped your fingertips into the cream and lifted them back up. Abby turned her head a little so you could apply the cream to her shoulders, she was deep in thought and you fought back the urge to ask her questions; knowing she probably would just get annoyed and close herself off further.
Abby didn’t mind your company, but the touch of your hands to her shoulders felt strange, she was no longer used to being touched in a non-violent way.
The thought made a shiver run down her spine as blurry flashes filled her brain and made her jerk away from your touch. “Are you alright? Did I hurt you?” You said quickly, concerned for her. Abby shook her head “I’m fine,” her voice had a slight shake, to which she quickly recovered by clearing her throat.
“Can I do this myself?” Abby added, her voice more stable now. You thought for a moment, “The nurse said you should avoid moving at all, it’ll make the healing process of your injuries better, especially for the cuts on your arms.” You told her truthfully, to which Abby considered for a few moments before she shrugged lightly.
“Then I guess it can’t be helped.” She mumbled as she tried relaxing under your touch. Abby was careful with how you acted, despite being surrounded by fireflies she couldn’t help but still be on high alert.
Soon enough you finished applying the cream to her shoulders, and her face needed to also be moisturized by the cream. “I’ll put the cream on your face now okay?” You said carefully, and Abby tensed up slightly at your words, she seemed against it but she nodded regardless; she needed to focus on growing strong again no matter what.
You waited a few more moments before taking more cream onto your fingers before Abby lifted her head up to let you apply the cream. Her skin was already starting not to look so dry, but it would take a little while longer for the burns to be treated. You carefully used your fingers to rub the cream on her face. Fingertips gently glided across her cheekbones, under her eyes, and on her nose.
Abby stayed quiet the whole time, but her gaze was fixed on you; it was almost intimidating the way she didn’t move her eyes away for a single second whilst you applied the cream on her face. Once you were done you quickly pulled away, making Abby only fix her gaze on you more.
“I’ll apply this cream on you twice a day for a few days.” You explained, and Abby nodded, taking her eyes off you to look to her side. The air was awkward for a few moments, and you were unsure of how to make the situation better. Your face suddenly brightened up a little, “Also, I’m Y/N.” you introduced yourself, hoping this would make things more casual. Abby didn’t look at you and rather thought for a few moments.
“You can call me A.” she said; it was still too early to decide that she could simply give her name away to these people when the possibility of it being a trap made her insecure. You furrowed your eyebrows for a second, then smiled again, “I’ll come back tomorrow to put more cream, and I’ll come by later to give you dinner.” You said, then added, “Is there anything you’re allergic to?” You asked, just to make sure.
Abby shook her head, “I’m not allergic to anything.” she told you, and you nodded in return. “Okay then, I’ll catch you later A!” You said cheerfully and waved goodbye to Abby who weakly waved back with a movement of her fingers.
Once you left the room, Abby turned to Lev, who was just finishing up with having crema applied to his own burns. The blonde waited until most people were out of earshot then turned to Lev and did a low click of her tongue to get his attention.
Lev turned his head around to meet hers, and instantly understood the message, he stayed alert to make sure nobody was listening in. “We can’t say our names just yet, we don’t know for sure that it’s safe to do so. For now, I’m A and you’re L, okay?” Abby said quietly, to which Lev listened intently and nodded along to her words.
“Okay, I’ll make sure not to mention either of our names,” he said softly, and the two of them went back to acting casual once they were done exchanging words. Abby turned her head to look down at her wounds, staring at her hands and arms that still had fresh cuts and bruises along her arms.
Her arms had gotten a lot slimmer, but the blonde was sure that once she was healthy enough she’d go back to training and gain back her muscle mass. Abby felt herself be lost in thought as she stared off in the distance, waiting for more nurses and volunteers to come to check up on them both.