Convergence: Eclipse Chapter 14: Chapter 14: Aftermath

Read chapter 14 of Convergence: Eclipse by J.L.Hollingwell on NovelPedia.

Humans as a whole are a strange species. They are both fragile and strong, both ordered and chaotic. They are a paradox of biology. But it is this paradoxical nature that makes them so adaptable and, in the end, resilient. The Multiversal Species Census Kronox Liffy Boxes peppered his vision, but Laurie pushed them aside without looking. His gaze was fixed on the long grass, on the place Bulwark had been thrown. For a moment, time was suspended as they stood, frozen in their horror, panting heavily with the exertion of the fight. Then the woman let out a sob and rushed to her fallen friend. Laurie hesitated, glancing at the other spellcaster. He had slumped to the ground, his head in his hands. I should go and look, maybe he’s still alive, maybe I can help, do something… But in his heart Laurie knew what they all knew - Bulwark was dead. There was no way someone could have survived that. Laurie ran after the woman, into the tall grass, and almost collided with her. She was staggering back the way she had come, toward the clearing. Her face was pale and streaked with tears. She didn’t seem to even notice him. Laurie could see the smashed grass behind her and braced himself. You don’t have to look , he told himself. You already know what’s there - what good would it even do? It seemed wrong, though, not to look. Bulwark had defended him, protected him, had stood over him, putting himself between Laurie and the monster. He had saved Laurie’s life. It would be shameful, if he couldn’t even pay his respects. Laurie pushed the grass aside. Bulwark lay face up, a look of surprise on his face, his eyes wide open, staring at the alien sky. Everything was soaked in red - his face, his armour, the grassland around him. His neck was bent at a grotesque, unnatural angle. The Matriarch had broken his neck. Laurie could only hope it had happened before she had torn his leg off. He took a deep breath to steady himself and was hit by the strong smell and taste of iron. He felt his gorge rise and stepped back hurriedly, letting the grass fall back into place in front of him, blocking the corpse from sight. Laurie turned and went back to the clearing, his mind reeling. He kept hearing the awful, tearing noise of Bulwark’s leg coming off, the wet spatter of blood and viscera hitting the ground. He couldn’t make sense of it. It was wrong, ridiculous, even. For the first time since he had awoken in the Starting Zone, Laurie felt convinced that he was in a dream, about to wake up. How is any of this real? This whole place was like something out of a story, or a game. Didn’t the heroes always win? Couldn’t they just reload the save? Replay the fight, dodge at the final moment, Bulwark rolling to his feet, laughing with the rush of a near miss. That’s how it should be. Not like this. He returned to the clearing and found the spellcaster still slumped on the floor. The woman was crouched by the side of the watering hole, vomiting quietly. Uncertain and drained, Laurie moved to the closest tree, leaned his back against it and slid down, hugging his knees to his chest. He had been so close to dying. The pain when the Matriarch had crashed into him was like nothing he had ever felt before. If Bulwark hadn’t shielded him, he would surely be dead, his own blood soaking into the ground, his eyes staring at the sky that looked so familiar but was so alien. Laurie’s hands began to shake terribly, and he gripped his legs to try to get them to stop, but it was a long while before they did. He didn’t know how long he sat there, staring at the body of the Matriarch, and the carnage of their battleground. There weren’t any flies, he noted, the thought strangely rational in amongst the static buzz of shock. Light glittered on the water and caught his attention. The woman was still beside the water, but kneeling now, unmoving, save for her straight, black hair, which was rippling slightly in the wind. She looked like a statue. Eventually, Laurie was present enough to