Chapter 1286 (2/2)

...9… Kiersty shook her head. “That’s why I gave these fools two days of me acting docile and let them test me! But now they want to keep me the rest of the week for observation? They’ve already confirmed that my Health is full. Are they afraid they have made some sort of mistake? Because if they are, I definitely don’t want to be here.”

Nathan leaned across the shitty bed with a serious expression on his face. “Sis, some wounds aren’t-”

“And you!” Kiersty rounded on her brother and jabbed him forcefully in the chest. Due to her slightly superior physical stats, Nathan took a step backward and sat down in the cliche wicker bedside chair with a blank expression. “Mariah Jane says once how much she admires how much you care for your sister and now you hover like a nanny. It’s disgusting!”

“I…” Nathan flushed and gripped the arms of the chair. “I’m just-”

“Ugh! I can’t stay here for another minute.” Kiersty ripped off the diodes that were monitoring her vital signs and tossed them onto the ground. She really couldn’t understand why the doctors bothered with this old Earth medical technology when Skills could do everything much more efficiently. “Do you think this is the first time that I’ve almost died? I’ve fought monsters! Hell, I’ve had to avoid assassination attempts several times! People don’t like Arbor. They don’t like the worship of ‘false idols’. And when these strangers shouted at me that I should die or would go to hell, did I complain? Did I run to the hospital? No, I just woke up the next day and went back to work. We can’t just… we can’t just break down at the slightest sign of violence. Monsters are everywhere. That’s the world we now live in… and I’m ready to go back out there!”

By the end, Kiersty was breathing heavily as she glared around at the four men around her, as though daring them to disagree. Ultimately, no one said anything for several seconds. Then Dinesh sighed and straightened.

“It is not the fact that you were attacked that has us worried. Or that you were close to death, although we all know how feeling mortal can change you. And we all know what the Earth has become… but it is who attacked you, Kiersty. Physically, you are obviously fine. But…”

Perhaps intelligently, Dinesh left the rest unsaid. Kiersty’s mouth twisted into a scowl, but she didn’t know what to say Dinesh’s quiet concern. “I’m… I’m fine. Is this about Decklan? So what? We weren’t very close at all.”

Kiersty could clearly still see how blank and bloody Decklan’s eyes had been as he thrust out his hand and a jagged blade of blood dug into her side that day in the stadium. In that moment, she had remembered seeing him laughing at one of the early celebrations of Donnyton. She had remembered how cool she had thought he looked.

She remembered seeing him with Tera, and at first being slightly jealous. But no matter how long she watched, the two always got along so well together. So eventually, Kiersty had secretly set those two as the pinnacle of couples in her heart. They had seemed so much more normal than a pair like Dozer and Annie.

The blade of blood had twisted in her side, ripping off large chunks of her Health. The overpowering scent of blood had wafted upward and made it difficult for her to think. Her trembling hands went up to the arm that had been slowly killing her. She had remembered standing on her tiptoes to hug Decklan after Tera’s funeral and offering her condolences to the broken man.

The man that day in the stadium seemed almost completely devoid of life after absorbing the lifeblood accumulation.

Her Health had dropped to 9. She had gripped that arm that so wounded her as it attempted to withdraw. Then Alana had killed Decklan and his blood had splashed onto Kiersty’s face.

“I’m fine,” Kiersty said again. With a shake of the head, she forced the memories away. She knew no one believed her, but what else could she say? She was fine. She had to be.

The floral curtains next to the open window of her private room fluttered lightly. The doctor finally worked up the nerve to speak once more. “I cannot require you to stay, but-”

“Then why are we acting like this a discussion?” Kiersty said stonily.

The heavy silence continued for several more seconds. But before the pale-faced doctor could break it, Kiersty twisted and looked at the window. There was a brush against her consciousness that could only come from a single source. Her expression immediately brightened. Rushing to the window, she looked out and saw that in the courtyard below, two figures were standing.

The first was the familiar form of Arbor’s main avatar. The treant had learned to control the flames that had originally covered its body, so it was possible for it to simply look like an ashy individual in a rather too detailed tree costume. But as Kiersty looked down from the window, Arbor looked up and offered her its trademark smile. Such was its excitement that the branches that were wrapped around the other figure flared to life with tongues of orange flame.

Of course, the other figure was Randidly Ghosthound, grinning up at her. The flames wouldn’t hurt him at all. “Heya, Kiersty. Are you alright?”

“I’m…” Kiersty hopped up onto the window and jumped out of her horrible hospital room. On the way down, she began to cry. “I’m really fine…!”