Chapter 13 - Wound

I fall to the ground, blood slowly soaking my clothes. I huddle over in pain, desperately trying to dull the sharp, stabbing pain from the fresh wound across my chest. Nobody is coming to save me. Nobody is left to save me. My blood seeps onto the floor, dirtying its previously clean and untouched exterior. Before I can gather the strength to move, he speaks up again.

“Oh, don’t worry. You’re not going to die.” He readjusts his glasses, and floats over by my side again. “I specifically calculated that a wound like this is not enough to cause any significant damage. Just to immobilize you for a bit. To serve as a warning, perhaps.” I shoot him a glare as I press my arm against the wound to at least stop the bleeding a little. “Besides! My programming doesn’t let me kill people anyways. But, like I said before, do me a favor and stay here! There’s so many resources, and you could live in safety for the rest of your life. I do hope this little… incident was enough to convince you. But we can put it behind us, right? You know, start anew?”

“You think I can just put this behind me?” I speak up, infuriated. “You really think I would even want to look at you now after the damage you’ve done?” Barely gaining the strength to move again, I force myself to stand back up despite the searing pain. He looks surprised for a moment before going back to his usual smug look. “Well, I wouldn’t have needed to if you’d just… stop being so DIFFICULT! There’s absolutely no reason for you to go back out there. Your chances of finding another survivor is extremely low! You wouldn’t want to fail, would you? Dying out in that wasteland, with nobody to mourn over your deceased body… Do you really, really want that? Sounds quite depressing, if you ask me.”

“But I’m getting ahead of myself. Let’s focus on the present instead! You’re here now, whether you like it or not, and I don’t mind doing everything in my power to keep you alive and healthy. Well… to the fullest extent. I’m no doctor, but with the amount of radiation that’s hit you, you may as well go ahead and make the most of the time you’ve got left. Which would be better spent in, you know, a safe underground bunker instead of what remains on the outside.”

“Ugh…” I can feel my body growing weak from the blood loss. Ell1s stands idly, simply waiting for a response. I decide there’s no point saying anything when he’s just going to come up with another witty response.

After a few more moments of silence, Ell1s speaks again. “You knooowwww… if we don’t get that little wound of yours patched up, we could have a bigger problem on our hands.”

“So! Are you going to cooperate with me and stay here now?” He grins, awaiting my answer.

“Fine.” Upon hearing my answer, he smiles and quickly turns back into his typical, cheerful self. “Wonderful! You’ve made the right choice. I hope you’re strong enough to walk to the other end of the facility, because the medical supplies are stored quite the distance away. I would be happy to assist you in walking there, but unfortunately I am merely an illumination of light.”

“You’re kidding me.”

“I am not! What, did you want me to carry you?”

“Absolutely not.”

“Well, you brought this upon yourself after all. Come now, follow me! I’ll guide you there.”

With no other option, I stumble across the hallway again, following him slowly. I guess I’m used to pain at this point– It never seems to go away. Whether it’s a stream of crimson red leaving my wounded flesh or a stained memory of Her, it’s all the same. Nothing is going to change.