Echoes of boots resounded from the paved streets, the beating rhythm cascading about in reckless fury as one person followed the other. The orange light of midday sun kept the path bright as if they were meant to face no obstacles on their path.

  " Hurry, " A boy yelled at him over the howling winds. " This is the way I saw her last!"

  Behind him, a man of immense height followed along. His long gray bands of braided hair danced about with every step he made. His skin, the color of Pacific gray marble, gave him a feel of transcendence as thin white lines in his skin reflected the sun's warming light.

  David's eyes flicked around reflexively, scanning for threats before they appeared. He recently had an epiphany about his old life, but that was just one of the many issues he faced. It was still hard for him to trust people.

  With the white color peeling off, picket fences entered David's eyes around the next bend. No shadows were hiding swarms of rats or other unspeakable creatures.

  " I can't believe I'm going along with this. " David thought. The boy had begged for his help to save his wounded Mother. Should he be doing this? The kid could lead him into a trap. With the beginning of the apocalypse just weeks behind them, how far had morals changed while David was away in the mountains of the Wra-th-unn people.

  David's body tilted slightly to the side as they raced through a rather large bend in the road.

  " How far had people already fallen? " His inner doubts flared up again. David believed himself capable of change, but Clara was just one small problem along a much bigger path he hoped to tread.

  After rounding another corner, David lost track of where he was, maybe due to his inner battle or perhaps because he felt the urge, the need, to help someone other than himself for once. But before the pair appeared, a grisly scene appeared.

  Curious, David's eyes shifted and drank it in.

  A hazy shimmer danced about, rivers of crimson liquid forming into pools beneath the sun's sky, reflecting off the road's tar-covered surface. The black and fresh red starkly contrasted the otherwise gray scene.

  " We must be close! " The boy shouted. David hadn't even been able to ask for his name before they began this mad dash.

  David followed the streams of blood to their source and saw appendages lying about. Without any fray at the wounds, the cuts that had severed them from their owners appeared surgical in application.

  " Am I about to walk into an Ambush? " David struggled as he scanned the buildings for human activity. He had even slowed down, ensuring he could observe more.

  This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  " There she is! " The boy began to sob.

  Black-furred chunks of flesh appeared to build a small mountain around the woman. No activity from the rats meant the woman had won, but she appeared in bad shape.

  Nervousness assaulted David's head, sending him off into an even worse spiral of doubt. Intuitively, his head scanned every window as he approached, knowing that as soon as he bent down to check on the Mother, he was unguarded from external threats. His alertness would fall to the lowest level.

  The boy, unbothered by David's hidden monologue, stepped over the corpses of rats. His intent was clear: he only wanted to reach his Mother, not caring about anything else.

  Indecision and fear gripped David's heart, but he dispelled them with a quick shake of his head.

  Blood running down her length, she had taken some bites to the arms and legs. But the blood pooling on her neck told a picture of injury maybe only he was equipped to handle.

  " It's now or never, " He exhaled a sharp breath, wondering again if an arrow or dagger would arrive from the dark.

  David leaned down, gripping the woman's hands in his own. A serene scene emerged as he covered her tiny hands with his massive palms, akin to praying together to the Lord.

  " Will she be okay? " The boy with unknown name said. David glanced at him, shifting from one foot to the next, rubbing his elbows with his hands and chewing on his lips.

  While it was a brutal way to see the world, David was a creature of habit, so he suspected the child. But he also felt relieved at the child's genuine feelings.

  A single note accompanied by the weight of Gaia rang about the square. The heavy beats of startled birds taking flight filled the trio's ears. A single sharp flash of green light erupted from the connection of praying hands.

  David's soul explored the connection of hands through the might of divine Song. The appendages of his lengthened soul pushed past memories held closest to the woman's heart, he wasn't powerful enough to read them yet, to focus in on the stream of her blood.

  His soul gave him more insight, and David's gaze wandered along the veins and out through the cracks in her circulatory system. Hastily, he grabbed a cloth from the small leather pouch at his waist, wiping the four areas where her circulation spewed forth her essence.

  " Dangerous. " The voice, David's steady companion, chimed in with its eerie tone. " I know. " He shot back, knowing the voice only responded to his voice, not his thoughts.

  David stood, and the boy followed suit. Both saw the small fountains of red gushing out of the woman. Panic set into the child's eyes as he shook David with all the feeble force he could muster.

  " Please, sir, " The boy said, tears welling in his eyes. " Help her, please... Don't let my mom die. "

  With a leveled glance, David turned around and scrutinized the boy with his emerald eyes. Genuine tears spilled out him in rivers, snot shooting out of his nose, while the kid was still weakly shaking David.

  " Dear goodness, I'm a terrible human being. " Pity and regret warred in his mind. On one hand, David was certain he could help her easily. But on the other, was it worth revealing his Song to the world?

  It was not an easy decision to make. After reading many books, David knew that healers were often mistreated and called useless. After misfortune befell the party, the blame would shift to them. But they were rare, and the gift they held was too valuable for greedy people not to exploit.

  Unbeknown to his inner turmoil, a raspy cough escaped the Mother's lip.

  " Hey Tom, " A weak voice filled their ears. The boy unhanded David and quickly hugged his Mother tight, tears threatening to wash away the river of red cascading from her shoulders and chest.

  " Silly child, don't get yourself dirty, " The woman said, pointing out Tom's now red shirt.

  David saw the kid's quivering shoulders, and genuine care was reflected through the immense pain the Mother felt.

  He clutched his hand to his chest, tears threatening to spill out of his own eyes. David wanted to do the right thing so badly. He told himself to heal her, but too much was at stake.

  They could still be out for his life; what if she killed countless humans? What if they were evil beings in disguise? What if they were criminals? These thoughts entered David's mind, trying to explain his behavior to himself.

  David steeled his gaze as he crouched down with the pair. He placed one arm under the crook of her knees and the other wormed under her arms to her back.

  " Kid, " David said, unsure if not healing her was the right decision. " We need to get her somewhere safe. Is there any place nearby? "

  Tom hesitated; something held him back before his jawline firmed and his gaze focused.

  " Our camp is this way. " The boy stated, pointing his finger in the opposite direction of where they had come from, away from the corpses.