Noble could not believe her ears. She hadn't killed the monster! The explosion had.
Yet, the Spell had given her credit for the kill.
'Did it die of fright?'
When the device detonated, she had felt a sudden release of her hold on the creature. The professor had assumed this happened simultaneously, but now she realized it must have been a split second sooner.
'A Fallen Monster...How is that even possible?'
The creature was mainly giving the train difficulty because of its thick head and healing ability.
Under the pressure of Noble's Ability, the abomination's deranged mind collapsed.
She could sympathize. She felt like collapsing as well. The damage to her soul from touching the ground as well as the mental strain from using most of her essence had pushed her to the brink.
Noble barked a laugh.
'What? Do you mean lifting a train car repeatedly and then trying to simultaneously hold still a Monster while attacking its mind wasn't easy?' She thought wryly, trying to keep her mind clear.
With a groan, Noble directed herself up the steps of the stationary train.
She knocked. "Let me in! I can confirm it is dead."
A train employee peered through the polymer window at her. His eyes went wide in shock. Once he was sure that she was human, he released the safety lock and allowed her to enter.
"Do you have a way to contact the engine and let them know to come back for us?" Noble eyed the man carefully.
He nodded. "They should already be backing up."
"Good." Noble nodded wearily. At least they weren't being abandoned.
"You don't look so good. Your face is white as a sheet. I…"
Noble moved past the worker before he finished speaking. It was rude, but she did not care.
"Where are you going, ma'am?…"
"I need to find my husband. Now." The woman blinked, pulling her eyes under control.
How long had they been acting wildly? The man hadn't commented on it, only on the pallor of her face.
There was no time to worry about trivial things. 'Just keep going.'
In the next car, people were exiting their cabins and checking on each other. At least back here, no one seemed to have been injured.
"Uh, ma'am!" Someone with a communicator pushed through the guests.
The professor sighed. "What now?"
With a dip of his head, the worker passed the communicator into Noble's hand.
"Are you the one that ignored protocol and went outside?" The person on the screen looked angry.
"I am," the woman furrowed her brow as the engineer scoffed.
"We have rules in place for a reason. You could have gotten yourself killed! What were you thinking?"
"I needed to get to my husband—"
The engineer looked away to give instructions before answering. "Your husband was perfectly safe. That's no excuse. We had things in hand before you decided to gallivant and play hero."
"I could tell you had things well in hand when I had to put the dining car back on the track twice to keep us from derailing…" Noble held her throbbing head.
"I…I see." The engineer stuttered. "Don't leave the train again until we get back to you."
"Understood," the professor passed the device back to the attendant without saying goodbye.
Noble had not considered going outside to get to her room faster. She refrained for two reasons.
The Awakened felt very weak. If anything happened to her in the open spaces, it was unlikely help would come to her in time.
The second was an even bigger reason in her clouded mind. She didn't want to miss her husband when he came this way.
There was no doubt in her mind that broken toe or not, Fort was doing his best to get to her.
The only thing that would stop the man from finding Noble when he thought she was in trouble was death.
And she was in trouble just now.
'Just a little farther,' the floating Awakened urged her body forward.
The next car was filled with cushioned benches and concerned passengers. They pelted her will with questions.
"Why are we stopped?"
"What's going on?"
"Is the thing dead?"
They came in quick succession and overlapped. Noble ignored them all. There was only one person who was going to get her attention just now.
At the far end, Noble locked eyes with the most handsome man she had ever seen. He was hobbling with a crutch toward her, an expression of pure relief on his face.
The passengers continued to ask questions, but Fort pushed his way through them to get to the woman he loved.
"I was so worried!" he said.
Noble wanted to chide him for walking on his hurt foot. She wanted to hug him and cry as he comforted her. She wanted to say so many things.
But all of that would have to wait. Within the safety of her husband's embrace, Noble's body had reached its limit.
"Help me," she rasped.
Then the world went dark.
-----------
Ender's Deep had never looked less inviting. Noble doubled over. The pain to her physical body did not transfer here, but her soul was still reeling.
"No," she pressed her hand on the wall, still feeling woozy.
'I didn't make it to the pod.'
Her plan had been to find Fort and let him know what had happened. And then, after she had told him what was going on, she could find a way to use the pod without suffocating herself.
Even making back to her cabin would have been a step up from the crowded club car.
She just didn't have the strength, so she passed out
"Well, if I am feeling pain, then at least I am not dead."
The reasoning was a little faulty, but it was all Noble had. Her body could die while her soul was here, just like her soul could be destroyed and her body left behind.
The professor hoped that neither of these were the case.
She would have to wait for her allotted time and then see if the gate would let her return. Until then, it was time to rest and recover.
"There is no use worrying about my body if I let my soul deteriorate," Noble spoke to herself to keep focused. "If I am going to go to Antarctica, I will have to get better about being thrown sideways and not down. Or better yet, not being thrown at all."
"Who is being thrown?" a friendly voice called from outside of the gaping maw.
"Venster! What are you doing here in the middle of the day?"
"I am here on government business but was just about to head back." The young man furrowed his brow as he came closer to the other Awakened. "What is wrong with you?"
"I met the wrong end of a Fallen Monster in the real world. I defeated it but fell unconscious shortly after." Noble explained.
"A Fallen Monster? In the NQSC?!" Venster was suddenly on alert.
"No, in the wilderness. I can tell you the short version if you'll help me to my room. I am a little out of sorts. My soul is in need of some healing." Noble smiled awkwardly.
"What? Oh, of course! I can fetch a healer as well." Venster looped one of the professor's arms over his shoulder. She adjusted it around his back and then relaxed so her body could float more freely.
If the man found it odd, he said nothing. After she was back in her room and an Awakened healer found, Noble was restored to almost full health in the matter of an hour. That left her quite a few more to rest and think about what was happening in the real world.
Fortunately, Noble found something to distract her.
'Did the Spell say I earned a Memory?'