Banished

There was a burning in my chest, and as I shot upright, I felt the overwhelming urge to throw up.

I cast a panicked look around, then leaned over the edge of the cart in which I was apparently being carried, and retched, spewing a thick, green bile out in painful, heaving spurts.

"Fuck, stop for a sec!" Casey called out, and I felt a pair of arms wrapping themselves around me, steadying me, and rubbing my back as I continued to vomit.

"That... is gross," I admitted, feeling even more nauseated as I saw the contents of what I'd thrown up on the floor beside the cart.

Casey helped me to sit back, but she kept me upright, as laying down would only worsen that burning feeling in my chest.

She handed me a waterskin, and I took a quick drink, which eased up the burning a bit.

"Fucking hell. What's wrong with me?" I asked, and Casey bit her lip.

"Feedback," she said, and I let out a pained groan.

"I might be a few power plant meltdowns and one whole planet too late, but seriously; fuck nuclear energy," I declared, and she let out a little laugh.

I took a quick look around, but my eyes weren't able to focus on anything just yet.

"What happened to the others? Francesca?"

"She's fine, but she's nursing a broken hand."

"Jeannie? Myrinne?"

"They survived, but just barely. Ryker's attending to them, but we had to use a few healing vials."

"I'm glad you did," I said, and she nodded.

"I figured you'd disown me if I let anyone die," she said, and I quickly nodded.

"You did well," I said. "What about Mir- I mean, the princess."

Casey eyed me a little.

"She's uh, fine... I think."

I studied her worriedly.

"You think?"

She frowned.

"She's suffering from the same effects as you, just... worse."

"Do healing vials help with that?"

Casey shook her head.

"She needs to get the excess radiation out of her system," she explained, and I frowned.

I shifted a bit, trying to get comfortable, and Casey studied me.

"Do you want us to stop?" she asked.

"How long until the next scheduled stop?"

"Two hours, I think."

I shook my head.

"I'll manage. Where's Cameron, though?" I suddenly asked, then realized that it was probably insensitive of me to ask that of Casey, but she didn't seem to care all that much.

"She can't handle the bumpy ride inside of the carts... believe me, she tried, but she started vomiting almost as much as the princess did."

The knowledge that she'd tried anyway pleased me greatly, and Casey shot me a wry smile.

"Lucia!" I exclaimed, as I suddenly remembered what she did. "That child needs a beating," I said, and Casey frowned.

"She's doing a pretty good job of beating herself up over Francesca's injury," she explained. "She's basically waiting on her hand and foot as we speak."

I grumbled a little before settling back down.

"Do you know where we're headed?" I asked, and Casey nodded.

"I don't think I'm supposed to say anything out loud, though."

I sighed.

"Sometimes, I really fucking hate this world," I said, and Casey smiled.

"Really now? And here I was thinking you were 'Mr. Cool and collected' about everything."

I sighed.

"I don't have to pretend with you, do I?"

She smiled, then shook her head.

"The otherworlder who the Kobalt worship; his name was Hans, I think."

"An actual otherworlder?"

I nodded.

"Raul and I ran into him on the night we met Danica," I began, and she studied me.

"Raul never mentioned another otherworlder," she said. "So, he's been alive all this time."

"Well, sort of. Technically, he's a monster now."

Casey frowned.

"We can turn into monsters? How?"

"I have no idea how, but apparently Irileth defeated him and 'turned' him."

"Turned?"

"Danica's word," I explained, and she nodded. "Anyway, these monsters; the geisterung, the aufhöcker... they're his spawns."

"Huh...? I'm still trying to grapple with this 'humans turned into monsters' thing," she said, and I snickered a little bit.

"Well, you haven't heard the worst of it yet; Irileth was also human."

"So, someone turned Irileth?" she asked, and I shook my head.

"Not someone, per say... but a particular company," I said suggestively, and her eyes went wide.

"The company turns us into monsters?"

"Danica said that that's what happens when we buy a ticket home; because that's exactly what Irileth did."

Casey frowned.

"Then there's no way for us to ever leave..." she muttered, and I nodded, letting out another sigh as I stared off into the tree tops above.

"Do we tell the others?" she finally asked, and I shook my head.

"I don't think it changes our current course... maybe give them time to settle in, before breaking that kind of news."

She nodded in agreement, before suddenly leaning down to kiss me.

"What was that for?" I asked, and she shrugged.

"Well... you did almost die. And I was worried out of my mind while you were unconscious. Besides, I've gotta enjoy the alone time while I'm still getting it... before, you know, you go off and find the next girl to impregnate," she teased.

"That girl could be you," I replied teasingly, and she rolled her eyes at me.

"Not a chance in fucking hell."

I chuckled a little at the extreme reaction.

"What do you have against kids?" I asked. "Were you abused as a child or something?"

"For your information, I had a

fantastic

fucking childhood," she shot.

"Then what?"

She sighed.

"It's personal," she said, and I shrugged.

"Your body, your rules," I admitted, and she smiled, then leaned in to kiss me again.

"Wha- Hey! I fucking saw that!" Bianca yelled, and I shot a concerned look over to the edge of the cart as she leapt onto it, and made an awkward attempt at swinging herself up.

"Christ, can you help her?" Casey asked, as she tried in vain to pull the girl up with her one hand, and Bianca made a whining sound as she dangled dangerously from the cart.

I helped Bianca up, and as she landed with a plop beside me, she folded her hands crossly.

"You're sleeping with Nate!" she declared.

"Shh, keep your fucking voice down," Casey chided, shooting a worried look around.

"Well? Are you?"

"Could you fucking control your girlfriend?" Casey asked, and Bianca shot her an angry glare.

"Oh,

I'm

his girlfriend? You're the one who's fucking him, and besides... he won't even touch me!" she said.

"Wait... you're not sleeping with her?" Casey asked, and as I shook my head, she smiled a little.

Real subtle

, I thought, as Bianca fumed.

"Arghhh! Admit it! You're fucking him!"

"I'm not!" Casey declared, blushing a little, and Bianca began to scrutinize her.

"Then what was that lovey-dovey kiss about?"

Casey was beet red, and seemed quite flustered.

"H-he almost died, okay? I just... got a little sentimental!" she said defensively, and Bianca folded her arms.

"Fine, then. Admit that you wanna have sex with him!"

"Ugh, I do not need this! Just- call me when you're done playing around with your girlfriend," Casey said, and I snickered a little her response.

You can be so cute sometimes,

I thought, and she eyed me, as if trying to read my expression.

As she tried to storm off, however, she quickly realized that she couldn't get down from the cart, even as it stopped moving for her to do so, so I quickly moved over to help her down.

I shot her an apologetic look, but the teasing smile on her face told me that she didn't mind quite so much as her reaction would have suggested.

"So, how does she get to have sex with you and I don't?" Bianca asked.

"Why are you sure that she's getting sex?" I asked.

"That kiss said it all," she replied. "You can lie to me if you want; everyone does anyway. And I don't even care if you're fucking her, I just wanna know why you won't do anything with me if you're fucking her!"

I took Bianca's hand, and she moved to my side, studying me intently.

"She's gonna be embarrassed if you tell everyone else," I said, and she nodded. "Casey is in a vulnerable state; I guess everyone is, but... she's endured more than what most of us have. I started offering her emotional support, and I guess that evolved into something more than that."

"But- but I'm in a vulnerable emotional state. No-one even likes me! You could be my support too," she pleaded, and I chuckled a little at her argument.

"I could be, but... I want more than that for you," I said, and she eyed me with suspicion.

"That sounds like you're just making an excuse," she replied. "You know, if you don't want me, you can just tell me that!"

She yanked her hand angrily from my grasp, but her expression softened as I reached for her hand again, a sincere expression on my face.

"Bianca. I want you," I said. "I want you in exactly all of the ways you want me to want you, but-"

"Why is there a 'but'?" she whined.

"Because it's an important but. I don't just want you, Bianca... I want you to be happy."

"Then just take me. I don't want anything except that!"

I took Bianca's hands into mine, then drew her closer, and she climbed onto my lap as I pulled her close, and kissed her on the forehead.

"If it were just the two of us, and I could focus entirely on you, I'd marry you in a heartbeat. I'd take you someplace safe, just the two of us, and I would do all of the things you want me to do to make you happy," I said. "But, that's not possible. There are a lot of things, and a lot of people, that constantly require my attention. If I took you to myself like that, you would hate me eventually, because I would never be there often enough for you; not as often as you need me to be, at least."

Bianca frowned.

"No; whatever time you have for me will be enough. I'll be content with it, I promise!"

I smiled, then brushed her bangs out of her face, and stroked her cheek, admiring her cute face.

"You'll have to be; but I'm going to do this right."

"Ugh! I don't care if we do it wrong. Besides; why does this matter?"

I bit my lip a little, as I studied her for a bit.

"Bianca. Correct me if I'm wrong, but... when you fall for a guy, is sex the first thing you do?"

"What do you mean?"

"Do you sleep with someone; and I mean someone that you're like, and that's interested in you; before you get to know them."

She frowned.

"I guess..."

I nodded.

"Well, what I want is for you to do this in reverse this time. I want to get to know you, form bonds with you... and most of all, I want to know that you can form bonds with the rest of the group. Then, and I absolute pinky swear promise you, you'll get the kind of relationship with me that you want."

She pouted a little, folding her hands crossly as she studied me.

"I wanna negotiate!" she declared, and I snickered at her.

"Let's hear it."

"I want kisses," she said, and I snickered again.

"Oh~. I thought you didn't care about kissing," I said.

"I didn't, but kissing you the other day was pretty good. And if Casey's getting kisses, then I want in on some of that."

"Fine then; I accept your terms. You may have your kisses," I conceded, and she grinned mischievously.

"And~, I get to kiss you wherever I want to!"

"Denied!" I replied enthusiastically, and she frowned.

"Hey~, I thought we were negotiating!" she complained, and I shrugged.

"Fine then; you can kiss me everywhere, but nothing below the belt."

She folded her arms angrily.

"Fine," she conceded, a little glumly, but as I pulled her in and kissed her, she blushed a little, and smiled despite herself.

She snuggled up close to me, and I noted with some interest that she seemed quite content to just sit there, wrapped in my arms.

We remained like that for some time, until the cart came to a stop, and I could hear the sounds of people moving around just outside.

"Are we stopping here?" I asked, and Bianca stood up, and took a look around.

"It looks so. That means lunch!" she declared proudly, and I helped her down from the cart, before climbing down myself.

Bianca was shooting glances between me and the supply cart where the Kobalt seemed to be organizing our meals, and as she gnawed on her finger anxiously, I chuckled a little, then ruffled her hair.

"Go on," I said.

"Come with me," she whined, and I shook my head.

"I need to go check on the others first," I said. "Just, save me a bite, and we'll meet back here to eat, okay?"

She nodded, and smiled happily as she sauntered off.

"She's really something, huh..." Cameron said, as she moved to my side, and I smiled as I turned to study her, my eyes flicking to her belly.

"Were you hurt?" I asked, my hand moving almost instinctively to her stomach, but as she swayed girlishly at the touch, smiling, her expression suddenly changed, and as I followed her gaze, I caught sight of Nolan, a shell-shocked expression on his face as he stared openly at the interaction between me and Cameron.

I shot her an apologetic look, and she quickly shook her head.

"It's fine. I'm like two days away from this being visibly noticeable, and I'm guessing he's gonna notice. I might as well just bite the bullet here, huh..."

She took a deep breath in, and I studied her.

"You're gonna tell him?" I asked, and she nodded.

"Wish me luck," she said, and I let my hand linger in hers for a moment, before she withdrew and headed over to Nolan's side.

I stared after her for a bit, but as I caught Nolan's glance in my direction, I quickly turned away.

Where are you, Casey?

I thought, as I scanned the group.

Are you looking for me, Nate?

Casey's voice spoke into my head.

Look to your left; I'm by the supply cart next to Gisela, just beyond where Bianca's standing.

Following her directions, I quickly spotted her, and I shook my head, as the timing of the message seemed too good to be a co-incidence.

"What?" she asked, as soon as I was close enough to her to talk.

"How did you know I was looking for you?" I asked, and she bit her lip nervously.

"I sensed something from you, and when I looked over, you were alone..."

"Hmm. If I could control it, this would be a pretty neat way to signal to you," I said, and she frowned.

"Have you ever tried to control it?"

I shook my head.

"I don't even know where to start. The thing you described sensing from me isn't something I really understand."

"It's called

feelings

," she teased, and I rolled my eyes, mocking her typical mannerism.

"I wanna check in on everyone who was injured. Can you help me around, or are you busy?"

She turned around, looking for Gisela, then nodded.

"Yeah, Gisela has things pretty much under control."

"You don't sound as annoyed by that as you usually do," I noted, and she bit her lip nervously.

"I guess I didn't realize how much Gisela actually does to keep things running smoothly, but I have a lot to learn... especially if I want to go around boasting about being your advisor."

"You do a lot to keep things running too. Don't go selling yourself short," I said, and she let out a sigh.

"Thanks. Who do you wanna check on first?" she asked.

"Whose injury was the worst?"

"Probably Myrinne's, but Jeannie is right over there, and I see Ryker about to do his rounds as well.

I nodded, gesturing for her to lead me there, and Casey led me to a cart some way ahead of the supply carts.

As we got there, I noted the worried look on Ryker's face; but before he could properly speak, a Kobalt man approached us, and knelt on the floor before me.

"Auslander. The fault is with me. Please accept my life as payment," he said, as he prostrated himself before us.

Where's Gisela when I need her?

"Uhh, what's he saying?" I asked, and Casey leaned in to whisper.

"Jeannie protected him from the creature; apparently that's how she was wounded."

Interesting

, I thought, though as I thought about it, I recalled that she'd been the one most concerned with the fate of our Kobalt friends, and a curious thought occurred to me.

Maybe we could pair them off?

I studied him, and he seemed young enough, with a muscular tone that implied to me that he was a hunter.

I bent down, then placed a hand on the man's shoulder, and he flinched.

"Stand," I said, and he reluctantly obeyed. "What are you called?"

"Elias," he said, as I studied him.

His facial features were not overly unpleasant.

"I have a request," I said, and he nodded slowly. "Will you see to the goddess' recovery?"

"Herr Auslander, this is impossible-" he began, but as I shot him a questioning look, his protest quickly faded away. "Your will, be done," he said, as he bowed, and I nodded, signaling to Casey for us to proceed.

We approached the cart, which had an open rear, allowing us to climb up much more easily, and Ryker followed, but not without shooting curious glances back at the man.

"Nate, you're alright," Jeannie's voice called, but I furrowed my brow, as her voice seemed weak; strained almost, and as I studied her, I noted that she looked quite frail.

"You don't look well," I said, and she smiled.

"I feel like shit too," she replied, and we chuckled a little, though the effort resulted in a little fit of coughing, and Ryker quickly moved to her side, and helped her to take a sip of water from a saucer placed beside her bedding.

"What happened?" I asked, and she sighed.

"That thing just swept in on us; we were prepared, so it couldn't get past our line, but it was tougher than we expected. Then it threw Raul like he was just a ragdoll before turning on one of those, uh- hunters, was it?"

I nodded.

"Dunno what came over me; I leapt towards the man and put my shoulder between the creature's mouth and his neck, and it just ripped into me."

She shuddered a little.

"Can I see where she was bit?" I asked, and she nodded as Ryker shot her a questioning look.

She turned onto her side, and as Ryker slipped the loose-fitting robe aside, I saw a series of scars running from her shoulder to the middle of her back, just where her spine was.

It was amazing that she survived that.

"Jesus," I breathed. "You're gonna have one hell of a story to tell your grandkids," I said, and she smiled, as she turned over onto her back, and Ryker helped to settle her back into a comfortable resting position.

"By the way; I hope you don't mind, but I asked that Kobalt who you saved to check on you from time to time. He feels responsible for you getting hurt, and he's taking it really badly."

Jeannie shook her head.

"I don't mind at all," she said. "And he really doesn't need to feel badly about it. I just hate that they're dying for our sakes, and I can't seem to be of any use to them in return whatsoever."

I chuckled a little.

"You were about to start training, weren't you? I'm sure one day you'll save more of their lives than you can count," I suggested, and she smiled again, as we turned to leave.

"How is she doing?" I asked Ryker, as soon as we were out of earshot.

"The shed blood must be replenished. She will recover, but rest and nourishment are required."

I nodded.

"What about Myrinne?" I asked, as I remembered her being wounded as well, and Ryker bit his lip nervously.

"Come on; this way," Casey said, and Ryker nodded as we followed along to a cart just beyond Jeannie's.

When we got there, I noted that Evie was there as well, and her eyes lit up as she saw me.

"Nate! I need to ask you something," she said, as soon as we approached.

"What is it?"

"Casey said there was an energy manipulation skill that you use; can you teach me how to do it?"

I tilted my head at her.

"Sure, but why do you need to learn it?" I asked.

"Because I think I can save Myrinne if I know how to," she explained.

"Save Myrinne? How bad is it?" I asked, moving to the cart.