Among tendrils of light I drift endlessly. They touch my flesh with warmth. The warmth sears through darkness encasing my entire body. A coldness dissipates. Each tendril bursts into a flurry of light blinding me. I hear a voice telling me. Get up. You have much left to do.
I sit up coughing like when someone wakes from a fevered sleep. I rub my eyes clear and stare at a spinning ceiling fan. My side aches so I press my hands against it only to find clean bandages. I attempt moving but my body doesn’t have enough energy. These shallow breaths of mine echo throughout the bedroom. Suddenly someone knocks on the door.
“General Niteblade are you awake yet?” asks a man with a soft tone.
“Yeah. What happened?”
“Well,” the man opens up the door and places a gun to my throat, “We want to know that too. Do you remember anything?”
“Just when we took out our target. We were cleansing the remnants left behind. I gave a prayer to the target so the souls could separate. The soldiers gathered up the corpses based on our prior orders.”
“Your only job was to eradicate the sinful town. The alchemists had the Endarkened under control. I must ask,” he readies a charge into the barrel, “did you let your soldiers know the orders given to you by the High General?”
“Never. They have no reason to know how evil our organization is. Where the fuck are my men?” I yell so loud that my chest starts heaving.
“Among the light above. Your regiment came into Dragacia through the Forbidden Path. The guards were attacked by your men because something chased them through the Forbidden Path. I reached the battle in time to see two Endarkened fighting until the death. Five of your men tried to stop you but you didn’t recognize them. The rest I have no clue. A burst of light swallowed up everything and everyone there except you.” the man tosses his gun on the ground.
My side starts burning with more pain. The stranger takes a pair of scissors out of a cabinet, cuts off my bandages, uses a eyedropper full of water on the area, and dresses the area with new bandages. He writes something down in a book then flips back a page. I start breathing easier after he did that. I stutter a few words and slap the guy.
“You knew the man who taught me medicine. His notes speak extensively about the mark on your chest.” The young man pushes back his glasses. “We owe him a lot. The thing on your left side is a new mark. A mark of light. Your body is caught in a war between the two forces. From what I can tell your dark mark progressed completely turning you into an Endarkened.” He laughs a little then a glare shows from the corner of his glasses. “You still fought against another Endarkened though. After the explosion of light you gained your mark of light. Honestly there is no need for me to monitor your vitals any longer but the High General made you my foremost responsibility.”
“Ah he gave me a babysitter. Wait you said I’m fine? I can’t even move!”
“Oh that is my doing. You see,” he gives me a smile, “I’m a doctor with little battle experience. If you went out of control I’d be a helpless victim. I hypothesize that there are triggers for the marks and wish to prove it. By drugging you with downers and narcotics the variances should be dulled down enough that only strong triggers can create noticeable results. You are my test subject.”
“Bring on the first test then. The sooner we finish this the sooner we can help others. I don’t trust you but I can’t really be picky.”
He picks up the gun and twirls it in his hand. While whistling the doctor shoots a bullet into my right shoulder. I scream out loud but strain to keep my eyes on the sadistic doctor. He smiles at me. My body shivers from the blood loss. The doctor closes the door after he wheels in a table of surgical tools. I stare at him alarmingly.
“Don’t worry I’m a doctor. . .”
“But it was you who shot me!”
Vasha'Lakar 