Abel screamed as his ears rang with the melody of a thousand bells before sound escaped him altogether. The shattered pieces of the pistol sat smoking on the floor, his hand was blistered by the heat of the explosion, and the side of his face was severely burned with his flesh melting along his hairline spreading down below his eye. As he began to fall unconscious, the sound of rapid footsteps echoed through the empty hallway.
"Abel!" Ari shouted, sprinting through the corridor. He couldn't respond he couldn't stop the pain long enough to shout his reply. He let out a strained scream before falling against the infirmary door.
"This way!" Ari shouted, pointing toward the medical wing. She and Art rushed through the hallway toward the double doors. Once they entered the door they were met with a husked soldier staring them in the face. The stench of burned flesh and hair filled the air. They covered their noses and held back the vomit that subtly crept up their throats. Behind a corner, they saw Abel's shoes lying lifeless on the ground. They swept in swiftly, kneeling beside Abel's tattered body.
"What the fuck, Abel!" Ari shouted.
"He's still breathing," She said, placing her hand on his stiff stomach. His breath was weak but steady, she stared at his scarred face in horror, not knowing what had happened. She just remembered hearing a loud bang followed by Abel's blood-curdling scream, before leaping off of Hyde's back and rushing into the shelter. As she stared at his smoking disfigured face her mind went blank.
She didn't think she just acted, looking up at the door he was resting against she saw the silver plaque on the wall, Infirmary.
"Help me move him," She said, placing her arms under his armpits and wrapping them around his chest.
"Ari...I don't think-"
"God damn it Art help me fucking move him!" She shouted angrily lifting him halfway. Art knelt and grabbed Abel's ankles and the two moved him slowly away from the door resting him gently against the opposite wall. After placing him down Ari rushed into the room he was blocking, ignoring the husk that was standing there. She fumbled through the shattered cabinets and searched for bandages, burn cream, and anything else that could've helped.
Her arms were full of assorted medical equipment when she went to leave. As she was walking out frantically she dropped a bandage on the floor. She turned around and knelt to pick it up. Standing up she noticed the name tag on the husk, Henderson. A sudden realization washed over her as she was overwhelmed with the guilt that Abel came alone.
She knew now, that whatever happened was because he found his mom. She secured the bandages in her hand and walked back out of the room. Art hovered over Abel's motionless body, tracing the burn on his face with his eyes.
"What happened to you?" He asked, compassionately.
"Help me fix him up, we've gotta get to the city to get better medicine," Ari said, handing a bandage and some burn ointment to Art.
"Okay," Art said, knowing it wasn't a question. The two of them lightly massaged the ointment onto his face making sure to spread it along the whole surface. They then took their bandages and individually wrapped his head leaving an opening for his good eye. The bandages quickly turned an odd shade of yellow. The red blood and yellow puss seeped through mixing and creating an orange color around the center.
"Okay, let's get him back to Hyde," Ari said, again wrapping her arms under his armpits and around his chest interlocking her fingers. Art grabbed his legs and lifted slowly and the two began carrying Abel to safety. As they exited the doors an excited Hyde quickly grew concerned as he watched them carry Abel's lifeless body out of the shelter.
"He's okay boy, we just need to get him to the hospital for medicine," Ari said, placing her hand on Hyde's scruffy leg. Hyde whimpered before grabbing Abel with his mouth. He placed him on his back before sprinting off. He ran so quickly that he was able to completely clear the rapidly moving river in one swift jump.
"Wait!" Art and Ari shouted rushing toward the edge of the river and watching Hyde sprint toward the woods.
"He's a fuckin menace. He's going to get Abel killed," Art said, palming his forehead.
"What are you doing Hyde?" Ari whispered under her breath.
Abel's vision blurred as he attempted to open his eye. Time blended as he looked at the seemingly fast-moving ground below him. He could feel large bumps against his chest and stomach and realized he must be on Hyde. He slowly moved his hands to grab one of the large spines. He gripped the spine with both hands and continued to try and stay awake. With each blink, the terrain below him seemed different from the last.
It went from the grassy ground of the mountain plains to the forest floor in what felt like mere moments. When he came to once again they were stopped. Hyde reached his head around and grabbed Abel in his teeth again and placed him on the muddy floor. He nudged his chest with his large snout and Abel woke up again. He lifted his singed hand to his bandaged face slowly, feeling the fabric of the wrap he was wearing.
Slowly, he unraveled the bandages that now stuck to his face. Each tear felt like he was ripping the skin from his skull and exposing the bone and muscle underneath. Finally, the bandages were off but the pain was too much, he passed out again leaning against a large pine tree. His face oozed puss that rolled in small yellow and clear beads that followed the creases of his deformed face.
Hyde attempted to nudge him once again to no avail. He huffed loudly and stamped his feet in frustration. He darted his eyes back and forth as if he were looking for something, before running deeper into the woods. In the distance, hundreds of bushels of lavender sprouted almost consuming the floor beneath them. Hyde lowered his neck and plucked a large bundle with his teeth before sprinting back to Abel's mangled body.
Abel rested still against the tree, the beads of ooze now a steady flowing stream of blood as his blisters began to burst. Hyde sucked in the lavender and chewed it thoroughly crushing each plant in his teeth until it became a pasty texture on his tongue. He then used his large tongue and spread the paste across the burn on his face and hand. Then as the paste dried Abel's burns began to scar over. The redness and blisters that were pooling ooze and blood were now scar tissue, leaving his face badly scarred but healing it in the process.
Hyde nudged him gently with his snout affectionately before grabbing him in his teeth again and placing him on his back. He ran once more through the woods and into the open field before making it back to the river. Art and Ari stood at the edge still watching as Hyde and Abel emerged through the trees.
"Look!" Ari shouted, pointing to Hyde running through the field.
"He's coming back," She continued. Hyde rushed through the river fighting against the tide with his abnormally large physique before climbing his way back onto the shore next to the bomb shelter.
"What happened?" Ari asked, patting Hyde once again. Hyde nudged her before reaching to his back and grabbing Abel. He placed him down in front of her resting him nicely on the dirt. She looked down at Abel who was no longer wearing his soiled bandages. She dropped to the ground quickly beside him.
"His face is...it's healed," She said, dragging her fingers across his rough scar.
"What do you mean healed?" Art asked, kneeling beside her.
"I mean, it's healed his face isn't burned anymore," She replied astonished.
"What did you do boy?" He asked, seeing the scarred wound for himself. Hyde shook aggressively and began scratching behind his ear. He stopped abruptly, his face turning to an uncomfortable stare, he began to hack and cough before spitting a single lavender bud onto the ground drenched in his saliva. Ari looked at the bud before turning back to Abel noticing the similarly colored paste patchily spread across his face.
"Lavender...did this?" She asked baffled.
"What does that mean?" Art asked, picking the slimy bud off of the ground.
"It means the radiation didn't only affect animals like Hyde," She stated, wiping the remaining paste from Abel's face.
"Let's get to the city, we need to find answers somewhere," Art said, climbing onto Hyde's back. Hyde picked Abel up in his mouth and wedged him comfortably between two of his flaccid spines. Ari climbed up after and grabbed Abel for security.
"Yah!" She shouted digging her heels into Hyde's side.