"I'm here to talk," Reya said, as if reading his mind, and, considering her abilities, Austin wouldn't have put it past her not to. "Sit." They both sat down next to each other, on his bed roll.
'When a woman says that line, it's never good,' the Voice state astutely. Austin ignored him. "What about?"
"It's about Jackson," Reya said after a silent moment. "While you, Zachery and my brothers were in the Labyrinth with Atlanna and Trevor last night, Cleo and Zether did manage to whip up something like a antivenom cream from Jackson's blood for the six of you, using Jackson as a test. Suffice to say that the scream has stopped…."
"Does…does that mean that Jackson…Is he okay?" Austin stuttered. He didn't expect them to find a cure so fast.
"It's…not a cure. It only managed to slow down the progress of the venom and ease the pain and stress," Reya revealed, shattering Austin's hopes. "For now, Cleo believes he has a few hours before… he succumbs to his injuries." Reya's voice caught at that part. "He's sane…for now… Or… sane enough, I guess. He wants to talk to you.
"As for the anti-venom cream, Cleo says while it is slowing the progress of Jackson's infection, she believes she can tweak it so that they can give it to Atlanna and Trevor, heal them up, but it'll take it longer than Jackson has, hence he can't be helped that way. Though even if he had of been cleared, there are claw and bite marks and all kinds of wounds all over his body, and add that to the exhaustion of running on empty, nearly starved stomach for weeks on end with hardly any water… Well, she says she's surprised he managed to survive thing long, as the strain on his body should've killed him days ago."
As she spoke, the corner of Reya's eyes filled with tears, and Austin realized this was the first time he'd ever seen Reya cry. He kind of pictured her not capable of crying, or, rather, was too strong and clever to get caught showing any vulnerable, human emotion. She's been pretty much leading an entire village of teenagers for days now, for crying out loud [no pun intended].
Yet here she was, in tears, before Austin, and all Austin could do was push her to his shoulder and hug her. He knew Jackson had attacked him, but he also knew that Jackson was half out of his mind. He also knew that he had strong relations with many of the people in this place, Reya included. And now, Reya finds out that he only has a few hours to live. He knew that had to hurt, and for some reason, he felt like he was familiar to loss — The pain in his heart when he looked at his necklace was a ghost pain that he sensed was more closely related to grief, though he had no idea who he could've lost.
None the less, he held Reya, hugging her until she stopped crying. "I'm sure Jackson will continue to fight; He's strong… I know he is. I had to fight him, remember; his knuckles hurt like Hell, Reya. He's a fighter; he'll fight this."
When Reya stopped crying, she paused, before looking to Austin. "Sorry about that. It's just, I couldn't help it."
"It's alright," Austin said. "Even leaders are human, and we've all gotta express ourselves somehow, right?"
Reya looked at Austin, as if seeing him in a whole new light, before regathering herself and recomposing herself. She stood up, and, for some reason, Austin was immediately disappointed at the lack of contact and closeness.
"He wants to talk to you, Austin," Reya had said, repeating her earlier words. "He's sane right now and Cleo believes he'll stay that way until the very last moments. You'll be safe talking to him is all I'm trying to tell you."
As Reya stood, her composure returning she continued with. "I'd appreciate if this-," she gestured to between them, before continuing. "-stays between the two of us."
Austin initially thought to himself 'What exactly is this?' before becoming a little self-conscious by her words. 'Was she ashamed of crying, or something? Is it me?'
But, as his hazel grey/blue eyes locked with Reya's dark eyes, he heard her say "If anyone else heard the leader of the Meadows shed a tear, they'd think me of as weak and incapable. And right now, I need the opposite. I'm not sure what is gonna happen, but I feel something big is gonna happen, and I know you feel it, too. Right now, this place needs my clear head to lead and I can't lead efficiently if I have others doubting my capabilities."
While Austin doubt showing one's human side was considered weak, he knew others didn't agree with his sentiment. In his eyes, it proved one to be relatable. But he also agree with her. "If that's what you want, then your secret is safe with me."
"I don't want Jackson to die," Reya said, her gaze unfocused. "He was… is… a good friend."
"Where is he?" Austin asked. "Still in the Storm Drain Cell?"
"What? Oh, no," Reya said, refocusing on Austin. "The two you guys brought back are there right now. They've already been treated with Cleo's antivenom ointment and were treated on time, by the way. Cleo has high hopes for them, though they still have to go through the pain processes and—."
A series of multiple screams flew through the air, and Austin guessed it was normal to scream so animalistically loud during these "processes" after getting bitten or scratched by an Annihilator. He hoped he didn't have to go through that. It sounded extremely painful.
"They'll be like that for awhile until the venom and poisons are out of their bodies," Reya confirmed. "You'll find Jackson in the Oakhouse. Good luck."
And, with that, Austin saw Reya leave his tent, before putting her head back in and saying "Also, take a shower. You reek of sweat and blood." and she was gone.
Austin looked down and found that she was right. He stunk.
'Great,' he thought, as he got up and left the tent for the Showerhouse before a meeting with a former psycho who previously wanted him dead.