Chapter V: Epigrams of hope, allegories of tribulation
"Fret not, for the sun of Ver'As will shine upon a glowing tomb, and a figure shall arise."
- Prophecies of Tenelor
"Numerous spinal fractures detected. Twenty-six lacerations recorded on the torso. Major brain trauma endured. Necrosis imminent. Condition remains critical. Halverdag protocol must commence immediately," the mechanical voice demanded through his ear, as his sleeve pulled under and revealed a metallic hand set out, scanning Lilith with flashing lights as the girl remained limp, sedated. Only he could hear the robotic voice, as the sentient metal hand was linked to his genetic code, a Tazz.
"Very well, Tazz. Initiate the protocol. Replace infected tissues with biomaterial, and lay for positive fixation and incubation. Estimated time: twenty-five minutes, security key 441565… 1," Kelly's stern, focused voice echoed throughout the medical tent, as he could feel the mechanical hand shuffling out of his stub, popping out onto the bed with Lilith.
"Affirmative, hospitaller," the Tazz responded, as the palm of the metal hand popped like a lid, revealing an array of syringes, tubes, and melancholic human inventions of ingenuity, built for prolonging the lives of those put under, as it began to fill Lilith's deep lacerations with biomaterial capable of mimicking and following the natural processes of human flesh.
The Tazz worked, shifting its gears as the needles soared across, squeezing the bioactive concoctions as it moved through the bottom-up of Lilith's body, starting from the legs. Kelly stood, watching closely by his medical bench, holding his essentials. He peered around the medical tent as he sharpened a scalpel on his side.
There wasn't a lot of privacy here, Kelly thought. The medical tent by the hangars of Bellus let out light, too much light, slightly revealing their silhouettes. The blood of the past patients remained, staining the corners and walls of the medical tent, impossible to clean as Kelly never had the time. Grime remained in the crevices, but never bothered Kelly, as he had never doubted the integrity and skill of the Tazz. Sanitation was never a problem.
A knock resonated from the door.
The knock turned into three, as Tazz paused its processes, but was ordered to continue by Kelly as he moved forward to the front of the tent, lifting the metal sheet covering a glass window, revealing the exit to the hangar.
"Sumner." Kelly greeted the man as Vance pulled forth the entrance, refusing to mutter a word until he laid eyes on Lilith by the medical bed.
"You are aware that this is a restricted area?" Kelly questioned, tugging on Vance's cape. "Informing me of your visit was an option, yes? The girl is still recuperating-"
"The Vallian permitted my arrival," Vance returned before setting out his hand, clutched, hiding what he could within its grasp. "But if that is insufficient, you may take this."
Vance released his tense grip, revealing three silver Ticks and a small scrap of balamar.
Kelly held his breath as he searched around the tent before grabbing the hand and taking the offer.
Kelly walked across the tent before leaning onto his medical bench, "You know, that Studon ♡ girl, what was her name again?"
"Daise Harmam."
"Yes, well, you do know that the Hospitallers can commit to body reconstruction, yes? If only you were able to at least recover some vital organs, she'd be here right now-"
"Well, that isn't what I am here for."
"But that is what I have against you. You let my people perish. I am a Studon ♡, and I tell you that we are the most connected to our own people out of the three regions of Chimera." Kelly walked towards Lilith as he observed the Tazz commit to its work. "That is why we're the medics and hospitallers of this slum hell hole."
Kelly stared deeply into Vance's eyes with extreme distaste. Vance remained silent as he continued to look at Lilith and her sedated body.
"How long until she can make it back to the field?"
"Three weeks. She's in extreme critical condition." The tent fell silent as both could sense each other's grief, "But I have a way to reduce that number."
She couldn't move. It was a bitter twist of fate, as her skin bulged at the thought that the Gods may have abandoned her. She was stuck, lying down as her muscles wouldn't budge. Her body refused to follow her mind and its instincts as it continued to lie flat in the pitch black darkness that engulfed the area.
A voice rang from every corner, a female one, distorted and mangled.
Lilith's eyes remained stuck, paralyzed, as the darkness engulfed her every thought. What is the darkness? Is it alive? She started to wonder. Why must the darkness taunt me as the winds swept through my sorrow like an open plague sweeping through the streets of Gainas ⬡? Why must the heavens taunt me with my sorrows, as those I believe in slowly dwindle as false hopes?
"Because the darkness lives. It reigns through every door and its shadow. No one may escape the darkness, for it always watches." A voice emanated from the darkness below her. Slowly, she could feel the heat rise as the voice grew closer, and ever closer.
"The darkness lies in your shadows. No one is ever freed from it."
"Who are you?" Lilith's thoughts began to tremble. What was this? A correctional facility? Did the Gainan ⬡ overlords label her irredeemable for a Gainan ⬡? What did it even mean to be a Gainan ⬡? To be the psychological tools and the perceptive hand of the Child of Ver'As?
"No," the voice responded to her thoughts, as if she could read them.
The figure gradually appeared forth from her, as it faintly emanated glimpses of lights. Her clothes, her hair, it was all too familiar.
"Daise…?"
But her face remained covered, not by a tagelmust, but by a blur.
"You will join me, Lilith."
"But I don't want to die."
"You will-"
She gasped, sitting up in her bed before the figure of Daise could finish its sentence. She laid her eyes on Vance and Kelly as they conversed about her.
"Hospitaller Kelly," the Tazz informed. "The patient is awake, and vitals are clear. Incubation has been completed; the pill should be ingested. Though I advise that she be ordered to a Gainan ⬡ psychological facility. She shows extreme signs of distress and exhibits a rare, dangerous form of post-traumatic stress disorder."
"I bid my thanks, Tazz." Kelly approached Lilith as he ordered her for tests and placed the tazz back on his stub. "Stand up, let's see if the pill 'du pointe is serving you well."
"Pill? What did you do to me?"
"Stand," Vance said, crossing his arms in observation.
Kelly held Lilith's arm as he assisted her off the medical bed.
"On the count of three, I shall let go. Tell me what you feel."
"Alright," Lilith said, reluctantly. What did Vance do to her body?
"3…" Lilith started to sweat as her hesitation grew further.
"2…" Lilith stared at Vance with a gaze both screaming with confusion and brimming with resentment.
"1…" She buckled her hips, ready to face what the hospitaller had spoken of.
Kelly let go, as Lilith maintained a stiff, structural posture. Her body was as straight as the marble pillars that held up Gainas and its people. Her limbs… felt heavy, as every bend and rotation of her joints was followed by a soft limp.
"Do you mind kicking?" Kelly said as he brought over to her presence a padded slab of wood.
"Why should I?"
"Just kick, Lilith," Vance added, as his tone began to grow in disdain.
Lilith held a fighting stance as she let her right leg stand behind. She channeled all of her energy into that right leg, preparing for a 45-degree kick. Terrifyingly, her leg began to lock up in that stance, as if it were preparing for its full use.
"Loose!" Kelly yelled as he gripped the padded slab.
Lilith sent full, as she yelled in power, sending her foot straight towards the wooden slab with great force, but her leg fell limp at the last second.
"As expected. Note it, Tazz," Kelly said as he wrote his observation on his board.
"Affirmative, hospitaller," the hand responded into his ear, archiving the information within its systems.
"What is this? Who paid for this pill?" Lilith began to panic as her hands shook in great reverence.
"The man did," Kelly responded, making way for Vance. "He paid a hefty sum. 350 Ticks so that you may have that pill."
Lilith grew with everlasting animosity as she approached Vance. With extreme resentment in her eyes and heavy breathing.
"Calm. Not within my tent, please? The pill 'du pointe is a prototype. It should boost your recovery, though some side effects may linger."
"It doesn't matter." Lilith pushed Kelly aside, staring Vance in the eye. "You should have gotten my consent before inserting some prototype into my body."
"But you enjoy living, yes?"
"What do you mean?"
"Life. You engross yourself in the groveling scenery of life, and I am well aware that Daise's predicament had only further pushed the notion deeper into you."
"Don't bring her into this-" Lilith said, reaching out to Lance to hinder his words, but her body had fallen back into an inconsistent limp as she stumbled on the ground.
"Her death proves to you how easy life can be taken here on Gaea. You cannot afford to remain bedridden for more than a fortnight."