Joe
The last thing my grandpa told me before he left was this.
"I have found the first mark. I will continue to reach for her. Tyson, we all have things we go through. Everyone is going through a tough time, one worse than another. She's got a strong heart and I wouldn't be any happier with her having the first mark... But with that said, she is still as fragile. Almost like she could break at the slightest fall. I must ask you to watch over her, you must keep an eye on her at all times.
Fate sometimes could be very cruel.
You three must survive this.
I was too excited when I found out Alex could read the map. Grandpa's words slipped my mind. We got separated and I thought I was going to die from worry. They had none of the safety equipment grandpa gave me and so were not as safe as I was.
So much for looking out for them.
After one months, I managed to find them thanks to the huge fire Tyler had caused. I had seen the smoke while I was flying the area. I was just on time to see Alex dragging Tyler out of the fire. She had fallen closest to the fire. Any later and she would have been engulfed by the flame. I had quickly flown them and their stuffs far away from the fire where they could get fresh air.
I checked them both and they were both breathing. I breathed out a sigh of relief as I thought things were finally okay.
but I judged too early.
It took me a while to treat Alex's wounded hand. I wouldn't call myself experienced in the treatment field but I wasn't studying and aspiring to be a doctor for nothing.
Her wound had poison in it. I wasn't sure where she got it or when but it didn't seem to have spread too far off. It took me a long while but I was able to stop the bleeding and drain out the poison. She flinched a lot while she was being treated. It must hurt a lot. I hated myself for not taking measures before we came in, I had to be more careful.
I sighed as I had bandaged her arm. I look at her as her sweat seemed to have stopped and she seemed to have calmed down.
I wondered if she had gotten any other injuries but I couldn't begin to search her while she was unconscious.
"I'm more of a gentleman than I thought" I had muttered to myself. I was about to move over to Tyson when something like a scar on her left wrist caught my eyes. Her sleeves seemed to expose a little of it. "Is that another injury?" I thought as I moved closer and pulled up her sleeves.
I froze.
What happened to her? I thought as my mind tried to process what monster she had come across but then a closer look at her hand and my heart sank.
Suddenly, a piece of my class and Grandpa's word flowed in.
"She is still as fragile. Almost like she could break at the slightest fall"
...
"Self harm is also another symptom"
...
"They do this to cope with emotional pain, anger or frustration"
I stared eye widened at the scars that were scattered on her left arm. It went on to her shoulder.
"Oh my god!"
It was this moment I knew I'd messed up. Things weren't going to get any easier.
Since then I'd been keeping a close eye on her. I didn't know what had made her do that, I also couldn't ask her directly. I didn't want to pry but at the same time I wish she would let a slip about what's bothering her. This made me decide, I would find out on my own.
So I said but two weeks passed and I got nothing.
Why? Because nothing happened. She was totally normal. Nothing out of the ordinary. She talked more, just a few lines but it was better than the first week. I did find out something new. The sight of blood scares her. When we'd asked her why she reacts that way she just waved it off as her being uncomfortable around blood. We came across some monsters that almost made my heart leave me but we scaled through. Every other thing included. She was okay.
I never even saw her reach for the arm. This had me wondering if I was wrong, if my thoughts were just mere assumptions and if the scars were really just caused by the monsters she had come across.
Now with my thoughts aside, we all stared at Alex bag which was stuck high up on a tree. How it got there? We just had a crazy go at a huge rabbit faced gorilla looking lion?... I don't know, fact is it was weird- and strong. I can't count how many times we've almost died in this forest. My hand almost got ripped off my body, but thanks to Tyler's blood I still have an arm. Thinking about it now still gives me the chills. A lot of other incidents happened and all the credits go to Tyler. Meanwhile Alex on the other hand was like a moving tornado. She's fearless. Almost too fearless I'll say.
She still hadn't found her powers but that didn't stop her. She was stronger than I who had three already. You wouldn't believe it but Alex had landed the finishing blow- with two knives! I'd be lying if I say a part of me didn't respect and fear her. I was finding a weakness but all I've seen is strength.
"I'll go get it" I said as I was ready to fly up but then Tyler held my hand.
"No it's okay. I'll get it" he said
"I'm just going to fly up and get..." He was already walking away before I could finish. Alex and I both stood in silence as we watched him have his way. He placed his bag on the ground and just like my feeling gave off, it was a disaster to watch.
"I don't think his leg should go there" I heard Alex say next to me and I scoffed.
"He wouldn't know that 'cause obviously he's never climbed a tree in his life"
"What?" Her mouth fell open and she looked back at him. I shook my head as I knew what he was trying to do, but he wasn't on the right path.
"Need help?" I asked
"No thank you. As you can see I'm almost there"
His feet was still on the ground and he still had twenty more steps to go.
"Then my sight must have gone bad 'cause I see a different thing" I teased him and I thought I heard a muffled laugh beside me.
"What exactly is your point? That you can climb up faster?"
"I don't have to climb 'cause I can fly. We don't have all week Tyler. You haven't even gotten a footing on the tree"
okay now I was just looking for trouble. He looked up at the bag and then back down to the ground. He stepped back and looked at me.
"Fine. You do it" he pouted and I flew up to get it. Getting hold of the bag, I paused mid air. Her bag was heavy, she'd been carrying this weight all this while? My super strength has been helping me move my stuffs but without it, carrying this for a long would make me take breaks. She's never asked us to stop or take a rest. Only Tyler and I call for breaks.
"Is something wrong?" I heard her call from below. I went back down.
"It was just caught on a branch"
"Oh. Thank you" She reached out for her bag and I instinctively redrew my hand. She gave me a questioning look and I reached for my bag.
"This seems heavy, let me help you with it" I said as I threw her bag over my shoulder.
"What? Oh, no it's okay. I can handle it. Besides you have yours to carry"
"I have super strength so it's better if I carry it"
"You can't keep using your powers Everytime. It obviously drains you faster" she said and I was taken aback. How'd she know it takes its toll on me? Was it so obvious? I was moved by her a little, but also didn't want to give her bag back.
"Then you can carry mine. It's lighter" I said and she was about to disagree again "come on, just take it. It's the least I can do for you helping us"
She didn't seem comfortable with it so I just wore it for her. Wouldn't people normally just accept this? I'd happily accept if someone offered to reduce my stress.
"Thank you" she said and I smiled. I could see Tyler glaring at me from the corner of my eyes. Tyler stormed off and I grinned. It's so easy to get to him. "Tyler, you're...going the wrong way. We're supposed to go this way"
Tyler froze. I couldn't help but cackle up a bit.
"Oh...sorry" he shrank and started to walk in the right direction.
I was about to go after him when I caught sight of it. Her scattered hair that left strands falling in places. She looked tired and stressed as she looked at Tyler walk off but with all that...
...her smile became the most priceless thing I'd ever seen.
"It's the first time I've seen you smile" I didn't mean to let that out.
"Uh?" She said as the smile faded off. I felt a bit down to see it disappear.
"You just smiled. It's pretty. You should try smiling a lot more. It'll help you feel better" I said randomly as I started to walk off. I realized she wasn't coming along so I looked back "Aren't you co- ming?"
Her expression had gone dark. She didn't look okay. I walked back quickly "Hey, are you okay?"
"Yeah. I'm fine. Let's go" she said and I knew immediately that she was lying. Her voice was shaky. What just happened? Did I say something wrong? I watched her walk forward and I finally saw it. She clutched her left arm and dug her nails into it. I rushed over and pulled her hand away. She looked shocked and scared. What was I missing?
"Oh sorry. I just wanted to tell you to be careful. There's a slope here" I said and pointed to the obviously straight ground. I winced at my poor lie but strangely she seemed too preoccupied to notice it was a lie, because she went around the spot I had pointed to.
She is not okay.