"Zedd!" I heard someone call for me. It sounded like a woman, someone I knew. "Zedd, can you hear me? Zedd! Get up you fool."
I felt the gentle touch of her palm against my cheek. I felt numb all over, but I could clearly feel her hands against my face. The gentle touch soon changed into stinging sensations. Then I realized she was slapping me, trying to get me to wake up.
"Would you stop it?" I asked. "It hurts you know."
"Thank the gods you're alright," Elsa said. She was grinning from ear to ear. "What happened here?" she asked.
The ground below me was wet. Rain was still falling above our heads. Thunder rumbled, as though the heavens were shouting angry words at us that night. I leaned against my elbows and looked around. I saw a pool of blood had formed around me, mixed with rain water. The corpses of fallen custodians littered the forest.
