by S. S. Engle
“If you didn’t love her you wouldn’t be so worried about leaving her.”
“That’s why I have to go. Goodbye O’Brien.”
“Goodbye.”
Luca disappeared quickly into the dark hallway. When Harlan couldn’t hear the click of his boots anymore he went back inside Kassidy’s room and quietly made his way over to the window. Down in the streets there was people camping outside to catch a glimpse of the mystery patient that Asa was so worried about. Harlan rolled his eyes at the reaction he thought the people would actually have if they found out it was Kassidy in here. He snickered to himself. Luca should have been coming out soon, but instead, he was just gone. Sounds from up above now had Harlan thinking of what Luca said, about him leaving to go to Rusten Island. It was a floating island chained off of the west end of the city. Harlan instantly threw himself out of the room and ran for the stairwell to get onto the roof of the hospital. He caught the spectacular glimpse just in the knick of time. Luca was at the helm of the Ms. Lydia airship. The Dreadcrank gang manned all sorts of positions on the rigging and maintaining the heading. It was a sight to be seen for sure. The Lydia hadn’t seen the light of day in seventeen years. It was wonderful to see it airworthy from the mess of a wreckage site Harlan was used to looking out underground. The cave in must have allowed the gang to get the airship out of hiding. Funny how things work out sometimes. Harlan struck his hand up in the air and waved goodbye, but he doubted anybody saw him.
With an ear to ear grin on his face he slowly came dragging himself back into his current reality inside the hospital. Every room was the same in the intensive care unit. Anxious and exhausted family members and loved ones walking the halls in states of despair. His smile soon faded form his face altogether. All the women looked like they were on the verge of tears, or had just finished crying. Men had creases of frustration etched into their faces. There weren’t many kids unfortunate enough to have to be put through this part of the hospital, but
the few that were here were blissfully ignorant of the significance of their current situation. Harlan wished he could be so carefree again. But he couldn’t. He could just go back inside Kassidy’s room and hope for a miracle. Maybe tonight would be the night. Maybe she’d finally open up those beautiful green eyes of hers that everybody missed so much. Harlan sat beside her bed, propped himself up on the railing and reached his hand over to hold hers. He squeezed it and brought it up to kiss it before gently laying it back down at her side. And just when he was about to let go something happened. She squeezed back. Harlan’s heart skipped a beat as her grip got tighter and tighter. The steam on the machines began pumping faster and louder. Her face that had been twisted and contorted by pain for nine days gave way to anger and then relief, and then startled confusion as she began to flicker her eyes open. Harlan jumped up now and got close to her face. Her eyes were darting back and forth as swiftly as the swelling would allow. She began to breathe heavily and Harlan recognized the signs of prehyperventilation. He had to calm her down.
“It’s alr-r-right Kass. Kass, it’s alr-r-right. You’re alr-r-right. You’re safe.”
“Harlan? Harlan where am I?! What’s going on? What are these?!”
“You’re alr-r-right. You’re in the ho-ho-hospital. You do-do-don’t need those anymore. They were j-j-just there t-t-to keep you ali-i-ive.”
“Alive?”
“Y-y-you had a pretty b-b-bad accid-d-dent.”
“The explosion!”
“It w-w-was a cave in.”
“No. I heard something. The way it happened. It happened so fast. Luca was telling me to jump and I couldn’t jump. I just should have jumped. Luca. Luca! Harlan where is he? Is he alright?!”
“He’s alr-r-right.”
“Well where is he? Is he here?”
“He’s not h-h-here. I guess y-y-you could s-s-say he’s wh-wh-where he nee-nee-needs to be.”
“Bullshit! He needs to be with me. Harlan go get him for me. I need to see him.”
“I’m so-so-sorry Kass.”
“Why are you sorry?”
“I can-can-can’t go get him f-f-for you.”
“Why not?”
“Because he’s n-n-not here anymore-mor-more.”
“What do you mean he’s not here anymore? Where else would he be?”
“He’s on h-h-his way to Rusten I-I-Island as we spe-spe-speak.”
“Damn him! When is he coming back?”
“He wasn’t s-s-sure if he w-w-was coming back.”
“Damn him!”
“Ca-ca-calm down Kass.”
“Don’t! Don’t do that! Don’t tell me to calm down! He told me about that place. He told me he was thinking about leaving. He asked me to go with him but I told him I couldn’t go. I honestly…I honestly didn’t think he’d go if I stayed. I can’t…I can’t believe he’d leave. He left me. He left me and I’m in the hospital. Did he even, did he even come to see me off?”
“I do-do-don’t even know if y-y-you want to kn-kn-know but…”
“I want to know Harlan.”
“You j-j-just missed him. He-he-he did come b-b-by to see y-y-you.”
“He saw me like this and he left anyways?”
“Yes.”
“How?”
“He ha-ha-had a har-har-hard time if that m-m-makes you feel any b-b-better.”
“It doesn’t. If he was any kind of man he would have been here with me.”
“He too-too-took the gang on the L-L-Lydia. He said there w-w-was recruits up there.”
“The Lydia? My father’s ship was flying? You saw it?!”
“I did.”
“And I missed that too. I hate this!”
“We all d-d-do.”
“We?”
“Me, Lu-Lu-Lucky, Asa, Si-Si-Silas…Blue.”
“Ugh!”
“What?”
“I must be genetically inclined to only fall in love with assholes.”
“May-may-maybe you should g-g-get some rest.”
“How long have I been here?”
“Ni-ni-nine days.”
“I’m done resting. Get me out of here.”
“Are y-y-you sure?”
“Sure enough to know I don’t want to have to ask you for help again.”
6
The escape attempt from the hospital was short lived. Not ten minutes after Harlan pulled the machines off of Kassidy did she find herself falling to the ground, too dizzy to think straight. Harlan got his arms around her in time and hooked her back up as she groaned with the dissatisfaction that she was going to take even longer to recover. She had a terrible headache, and the rage of being abandoned by Luca wasn’t helping matters any. She looked over her room and took in the surroundings. Harlan had been sleeping on a cot in her room with her, scraps of food littered the floor underneath him. He had a change of clothes hanging on the back of the chair. He’d made his home here. She thought she’d better appreciate what it was she did have right in front of her. But no matter how much she tried, she couldn’t get over Luca’s leaving her. She loved Harlan, truly she did, but like a brother. They were best friends, they cared about each other, but what she had with Luca, what she thought she had, or at least what she thought could have been there in time, was different. Now it was gone. She didn’t even get to say goodbye. The crashing sound of the rocks falling on top of her made her shake in her bed.
After sleeping for nine days straight it was all Kassidy could do to get herself to go to sleep right away again. But her body needed it as much as she wanted to fight through the pain. It was a difficult night trying to keep quiet for Harlan’s benefit so at least he could get some sleep. It was obvious to her even in the moonlight that creaked into the room that Harlan had dark circles under his eyes and a hoarseness in his voice from keeping watch over her all this time. She felt guilty for not being easier on him. He was going to lose his mind trying to keep her safe, mainly form herself. But the morning relief came soon enough when daybr
eak came streaking in through the window. And with it came the warmth of the sun. Kassidy needed to see the sun after being in the dark for so long. Harlan was out when she finally woke up, dragging her machines behind her to get over to the window. She knew better than to unhook herself from their help just yet. She was hoping her old friend would bring back some food for her, however when she turned to greet her visitor, it was no such thing.
“Harlan told me you were awake! It’s good to see you.”
“Morning Blue.”
“How are you feeling?”
“Like I got dropped from an airship into the ocean and forced to swim to shore for about nine days, give or take a few hours of course.”
“You always were a good swimmer. Nice to see you still have your sense of humor.”
“No accident can take that away from me.”
“Do you remember anything that happened that night?”
“I remember everything. I just don’t know why it happened.”
“Some things just happen.”
“But this didn’t make any sense. Those rocks were huge Blue. They were old. They’d bene there for hundreds of thousands of years. They were sturdy as could be. The way they fell, tumbling down like that? I thought I heard an explosion. It couldn’t have been natural.”
“Mt. Engia is a ferocity of nature to be sure.”
“But the caves where I was, it doesn’t add up. And I just keep giving myself a headache trying to piece it all together.”
“Well I don’t want to be the cause of anymore pain for you.”
“That’s a first coming from you.”
“I’m trying to show you I’m a better man.”
“Keep trying. You’ve got a long way to go. Though not as far as others it seems.”
“I don’t think I follow.”
“I don’t think I want you to. Why are you here anyways?”
“Is it a crime for a man to visit his fiancé in the hospital?”
“No. But I think visiting public enemy number one should tarnish that black record of yours even further.”
“Asa couldn’t keep me away if he tried. Besides, I can get away with a lot in this city if you haven’t noticed.
“Oh I’ve noticed.”
“For the past nine days I’ve visited you at least twice a day, sometimes three.”
“Why?”
“To make sure you were alright.”
“You really came that often?”
“Of course. Kassidy, it was me who brought you to the hospital in the first place. As soon as I heard about what happened I rushed right over.”
“How did you hear about what happened to me?”
“It’s hard not to hear a cave in that large. Silas and I were on our nightly patrols.”
“Well as much as it pains me to say this…thank you.”
“For what? Checking up on you? You don’t have to thank me for that, it should have been expected.”
“I was recently taught a lesson in my expectations of men.”
“I see. But it appears you have more visitors who received news you were awake. I shouldn’t hog up all your time. You must still be weak from the accident.”
“To be honest I don’t want to meet with anybody right now, except maybe Harlan if he’s got food.”
“You’re hungry?”
“Starving.”
“I’ll go get you something.”
“No, really. I don’t need you to go out of your way. If you really did visit me as much as you said you have, you’ve done enough already.”
“What do you want me to bring you?”
“Anything?”
“Anything.”
“French fries.”
“With extra cheese?”
“You remembered?”
“Of course. I’ll be right back.”
“Thanks Tommy.”
“I missed you calling me that.”
“Then don’t do anything to make me regret it.”
As soon as Blue left, Silas wasted no time coming right in the door before it had a chance to close. Kassidy was feeling herself slipping away and decided to go sit back down on the bed, careful to keep a distance between herself and the Fox. He took his top hat off and greeted her as a lady, though she didn’t know why his behavior was so out of character. She peered out in the hallway and saw Asa strolling up now. That explained it. Silas was fidgety in the room, wearing out the brim of his top hat between his fingers and he twisted it around in a circle. Kassidy was confused why he was visiting her at all, and furthermore still why he had come in to her room if he wasn’t even going to bother saying anything. He was nervous. She saw his freckles on his face disappear as the blood flushed his cheeks. She scowled but pulling on the muscles in her face hurt, so she fell back into a more serene expression. Under the surface she was boiling, and if she had the strength she’d have bolted for the door to avoid such a situation as was about to befall her. As it stood now she waited in silence for Silas to make the first move. It was obvious he didn’t have that luxury often in his life, a servant as he were, even if he did wear the Ring. Kassidy cleared her throat to get things moved and Silas’ eyes darted up at her, black as the shadows he hid in all of the time.
“You’re awake.”
“Yes I am. That’s very observant of you.”
“Harlan told us actually.”
“I should thank him for that the next time I see him. Why did you come here?”
“I came with Blue.”
“Then why didn’t you leave with him?”
“He said he was going to be right back. You look awful.”
“I feel awful. So thanks again.”
“I didn’t think you were going to get hurt that bad.”
“What do you mean?”
“Where we placed the explosives, Blue made sure you wouldn’t be hurt. But the way the rocks began to fall, he couldn’t get to you in time.”
“You want to run that by me again? You and Blue set off the cave in?”
“I thought…you mean Blue didn’t tell you that just now?”
“No. No he most certainly did not!”
“Oh no.”
“Oh no is right! That’s why Blue got me here to the hospital so fast isn’t it? He was already at the caves because he caused this whole mess. I have to tell him. I have to find a way to tell him.”
“Tell who what?”
“I have to tell Luca this wasn’t his fault. He must have left because he felt guilty about my getting hurt. It must have pushed him over the edge.”
“Lucky left? Where?”
“Like I’d tell you. My body may be bruised but my intelligence is not. I have to get out of here.”
“Why the rush?”
“Why? Does it look like fun in here to you?”
“I don’t know. Does Engia look all that fun to you outside?”
“I can fix that.”
“You think the Dreadcranks can fix what’s been done to this city? You couldn’t be that ignorant Kassidy. You’re the Pyrette Queen.”
“Don’t make me remind you.”
“You don’t have your dagger on you.”
“You’d be amazed by my level of improvisation.”
“If you think this place is so terrible then why do you fight so hard for it?”
“Excuse me?”
“Why are you still here? If Lucky was smart enough to call it off and leave then why didn’t you just go with him? You think the city needs you? You think anybody here needs you?”
“God you’re an ass Silas. Do you also go around telling small children they’re all going to die someday? Because that shit needs to be blown wide open!”
“I think I should go now.”
“I think that’d be wise.”
There was a delay in Kassidy’s upcoming visitor. Natasha had arrived in the hallway now and was speaking with Asa. From where Kassidy was on her bed though she couldn’t hear anything, and all she could see was the over
tly dramatic faces Natasha was making. She looked upset, her arms flailing in the air. But Kassidy knew she was prone to hysterics. She rubbed the scar on her face, slowly dragging her fingers down her cheek. Natasha had been raving that day too. A loud smack brought Kassidy’s attention upwards again. Natasha was in tears, clutching the side of her face, blood dripping between her clenched fingers. Kassidy closed her mouth seconds later after a delayed reaction when she realized she’d been smiling watching the fight outside her window. But now Asa was walking in, and she had nothing even remotely close to smile about. She stood up again, keeping the entire bed’s distance between herself and the Executioner of Engia himself. His face was red from yelling, but he was trying to project a calmness in the room now. He swiped his hand through his light, slicked back hair and put his hat on the table by the door. He had his cane in both hands, leaning on it for stability. That’s when Kassidy was made aware of his shaking hands.
