"Where am I?"
Shadows bathed his body, and all he could see was darkness.
"Hello? What the fuck is this place?!"
His feet were heavy, as if something sticky was holding them to the ground. The cold was starting to cut into his skin, and the confusion left him completely disoriented.
"Did I die in my sleep? Did the damn night watch fail?"
Then Oliver felt something sliding behind him. Something huge, wet, and cold. Every one of his senses went into full alert. His body was sweating like never before, until everything just... passed.
"What the hell was that..."
SSSSSSSSSSS!
Two colossal eyes appeared right in front of him. Their slitted pupils looked like portals to a constellation of stars, and for a few seconds, he could see the infinite universe.
His mind started to melt. A searing pain burned his soul, and oppressive words echoed in his ears.
"I will be watching... anomaly..."
The words weighed down on his mind, and Oliver's vision began to slowly shatter.
His eyes opened.
Light washed over his face, and he couldn't feel his left arm only a deep numbness.
"Shit... we really were attacked?"
His vision slowly came into focus, and he worked up the nerve to look where his arm should be. Brown curly hair fell into his eyes, and Aline's round face was way too close.
"Fuck, she used my arm as a pillow all night. How the hell do I get out of this? I'm so screwed."
The sun was already rising, and everyone would be waking up soon. He carefully lifted her head and started moving his half-dead arm.
"She feels lighter? Her face looks a little less round... or am I imagining things?"
He had never paid that much attention to Aline before, but her face looked cute, and her messy hair all over just made the scene even softer.
"Alright, Oliver. Now you just need to get out of here without anyone noticing what happened..."
With more skill than he thought he had, he managed to slip away and head toward the water reservoir he had used yesterday.
"Hope those idiots didn't get it all bloody."
Luckily, or maybe because the reservoir was small, it was still there, intact and clean. Oliver drank the clear water and felt his body wake up. That damn nightmare still clung to his mind... until he noticed a reflection of blond hair on the water.
"Tell me, bro. You managed to sneak in a few kisses with Aline while you slept, didn't you? Hehehehehe. You two looked so cute cuddled up, I can't wait to tell everyone... hehehehehe."
Oliver turned faster than his sore ribs allowed, and standing right there next to him was that damn bleached blond bastard.
"Shut up, Gael! I passed out, and when I woke up, she was there. Stop making fanfics out of it!"
"Hahahahahaha. You're red like a tomato, bro. Relax, I'll keep your little secret..." the bastard's voice was like that of a mischievous kid.
"Asshole."
"You woke up early. How's your arm?"
"It's not," Oliver muttered. "Hahahahahahaha." The idiot burst out laughing at his own joke.
It was the dumbest joke in the world, but Oliver laughed too. Being able to smile even in the middle of all this shit... that was either bravery or insanity. And deep down, Oliver wanted to believe the best friends were two strong guys.
A sharp jab in his ribs made him grimace, and he looked around. The hollow stone was still there, close to the reservoir, and he still had a bit of the herb left.
"I'm not gonna be able to take this pain, especially with this crazy plan for an assault. I need to be at full strength."
Under Gael's curious gaze, he grabbed the hollow stone and the herb with the essential oils. He quickly repeated yesterday's process, but this time, the result was more like a paste.
The scent of mint filled the air, and the water turned a greenish color with slight red tones.
"Maybe I should boil this. I think temperature helps release more of the oils. But I don't have a pot, so this'll have to do." his mind started to drift.
"Lucas told me you made some kind of medicine for my fever. Thanks, bro." Gael's voice was pure gratitude.
"No problem. You gave it your all yesterday. Least I could do was help you. We're in this together, right?"
Oliver looked over and saw Gael give a small smile, his eyes shining faintly.
"Yeah. We're in this together, bro."
Oliver activated the scanner, and the notification popped up on his arm.
[Ointment rank – 0]
[Weak healing properties]
"Here goes nothing or everything."
The cold liquid went down his throat, and a powerful mint flavor hit him hard. The freshness swept through his body, and the pain began to fade quickly.
Within seconds, he could almost feel his ribs shifting back into place, the bruises from the fall healing, and his breath returning to normal.
But then the freshness vanished replaced by a fire that boiled in his stomach.
The burning heat made his skin flush red. The spiciest pepper in the world would taste like a frozen treat compared to this hell.
He rushed to the reservoir and dunked his face into the water until the heat began to fade.
Beep!
A notification flashed on his arm, but he didn't check it right away.
"You okay, bro?" Gael asked, worried.
"Yeah... just didn't expect that damn herb to be some kind of chili." Oliver replied, still panting and drooling.
"I don't know if you care, but it worked like a charm. You even look thinner. Hehehehehe."
The bastard teased him again.
"Go to hell."
Shaking his head, he walked with Gael toward the angel stone. Everyone was probably already awake, and considering he hadn't seen Samuel, and the headcount matched the team he picked, it was likely they had already left to recover the weapons.
"Hope they come back in one piece. A small team's good for stealth, but we have no idea what powers the enemy might have..." Oliver whispered to Gael, who nodded with concern.
"Lucas told me what happened while I was out, before he handed me the watch. Seriously, none of this makes sense, Oliver. This was supposed to be our Initialization, and now there's all these weird people. I'm not even talking about the snake men."
Oliver nodded, face serious.
"I don't know what's going on in their heads either. I just know we won't survive another ambush if we stay still. We have to move. Luísa seemed pretty set on that, and no one pushed back." he spoke his thoughts out loud.
Gael stopped a bit before the angel stone and turned toward Oliver. His eyes shone, fists clenched, and the usual goofball look was gone.
"Oliver, I'm not an idiot. I know what happens when someone loses a limb and starts running a fever far from civilization. I should be dead. I owe you my life. That's why I'm going to follow whatever you decide. But just so you know, I haven't trusted those people since school, and now I have even more reasons not to."
"Follow me? Why the hell would you? It's just a damn herb. Stop doing this! I never asked for your faith. First Aline, now you... just stop.", thought Oliver.
"That's all. Thanks for listening. We should go. Everyone's probably awake already."
Oliver could only nod, still stunned by Gael's words and his trust.
When they passed the angel stone, they saw everyone already up and getting ready for the day. Some were roasting more snake meat, others were fetching water from nearby reservoirs.
"Luísa, Samuel, and that other guy aren't here... So they must've gone for the weapons."
"Oliver! Gael! Morning, guys. Did you sleep well? I had an amazing night's sleep!"
Aline's voice called out, and the two walked over. Oliver caught a ridiculously smug grin from Gael and had to summon all his strength not to punch that damn blond in the face.
"Oh, I'm sure Oliver had a wonderful night... hehehehehe." Gael couldn't hold back.
"Shut up, bastard!"
Oliver scorched Gael's soul with a glare and walked off to get some food by the fire. He caught Aline's confused look and Gael's smug grin as he left.
"You're dead to me."
While chewing a piece of his worst enemy, he finally had a moment to check the notification.
[Saturation: 1 → 5%]
[Combat: 12 → 15]
"Is that increase from the injuries healing, or the snake meat? Or maybe the herb had properties I didn't know about..."
As he got lost in thought over breakfast, footsteps echoed nearby, and everyone looked up to see three people climbing the hill.
An arsenal in their hands, and anything else that could carry it. Spears, swords and just one axe. On Luísa's belt were two crossbows and full quivers. The guy who had gone with them had a dark expression. They all looked tired, but they got the job done.
Now all that was left was to arm ourselves and begin the assault.
And may the angel protect us.
[140:59:59]