Lucid, as brave as he seemed and well-prepared with a knife in his hand, couldn't bring himself to act. He was frozen-utterly frozen in fear.
"What is this? Why can't I move?" he stared at the four-legged creature closing the distance. Lucid was terrified, for lack of a better word. Frozen in fear.
"I... I can't... We... I need to run or get out of here. I'm scared." He glanced back at Alice, the little girl clinging to the back of his thick coat, scared. He looked at her and thought, No, I can't. I need to fight. Not for me, but for her.
NO! he screamed at the back of his mind.
If I fight and die, she will die too.
"Then what do I do?" he muttered to himself. After all, he had always been a coward, or-No, I'm not a coward-I'm only doing what's most convenient in this situation. Bravery doesn't mean a thing if we are both dead.
Where were these thoughts coming from? Why did he think of himself as a coward? Those questions could wait for now. The creature was almost within striking range.
Without a moment's hesitation, he grabbed Alice, lifting her up, and turned to run in the opposite direction. A stupid decision, yes, but a rational one nonetheless. After all, who knew what this creature was capable of? Its weaknesses, strengths, or attack patterns? Lucid didn't know anything about it, so all he could do was flee.
As he ran, he felt a strange sense of luck that the creature could only take awkward steps, unable to run due to its contorted limbs. Lucid pushed himself, holding Alice close. The next moment, something heart-wrenching happened: A sharp pain pierced through his left shoulder, almost going straight through his coat and flesh. It took him a while to realize something had gone wrong, but before he could comprehend, he lost his balance and fell, clutching Alice to shield her from the impact.
"GOSH, IT FUCKING HURTS!" he yelled through clenched teeth, grabbing his left shoulder with his right hand.
Lucid looked up, seeing the source of the pain: a bright purple spike, seemingly launched from the direction of the creature. The creature was still closing in. No time to waste. Lucid picked himself up, cradling Alice in his arms, and continued to run ignoring the pain.
"But where?" he asked himself. This creature will follow us until the end.
He glanced down at Alice, still awake but in pain and confused. Gently, he laid her down. No, if not now, then when? He steeled himself. I can't keep running. I can't be of any use to her if I do, and them too.
Them?
He scratched that thought, shaking his head. He pulled himself together, lucky that his dominant arm wasn't injured. He still had a chance to survive this, he still had a fighting chance...
Lucid raised his weapon, aiming at the creature.
Alice watched in silence, eyes filled with concern.
"No," she muttered.
Lucid heard her and replied, "Don't worry. This will be over soon."
He didn't rush. Instead, he observed the creature closely, studying every detail to get an idea of what he was dealing with. Unfortunately, it was unlike anything he'd ever seen before.
After carefully looking at it's movments and behaviour, suddenly a spike was launched from the creature, heading straight for Lucid. He couldn't spend too much time studying so he had to stay alert It growled and sent two more after that. Lucid dodged the spikes, stepping aside with surprising agility.
He didn't waste a second, closing the distance between him and the creature. As he reached arm's length, he swung his knife, aiming at what seemed like its neck. The moment he made contact, something slammed into his left abdomen, throwing him into a nearby tree. He hit it with a tremendous force but managed to recover quickly. The creature, though more weaker now, was still alive it had seemed after he managed to deal a heavy blow to it.
Lucid stood up after being launched from great distance, He carefully verified that he wasn't too badly hurt. This doesn't feel right, he thought. Wielding a knife in close combat is not my thing... but I need to do this for her. I can't betray her like they betrayed me.
Alice, watching from a distance, felt a deep sense of anxiety and fear. She silently hoped that Sir Lucid would be able to handle this.
Lucid dodged more spikes, occasionally grazed by one or two, but his thick coat provided some protection. He clashed with the creature, his body getting thrown around after each strike, but with every block and counter, it was as if fragments of memories resurfaced. In one, he saw himself talking with a group on top of a school building. A school building?
That's where it clicked. It felt familiar. In another memory, he saw himself fighting alongside the group, often staying at a distance, shooting at vital spots-he must've been a gunner or someone who had offered support. He tried to dismiss those memories, but then one specific fragment hit him hard. A girl, someone he trusted, shoved him down a door and locked it, before he was grabbed and torn apart by an overwhelming darkness.
Despite his calm demeanour, he couldn't stop himself from hyperventilating. Almost dropping to one knee, he heard Alice scream, "LUCID, LOOK OUT!" But it was too late. The spike pierced his upper thigh, and he collapsed onto his back.
He remembered something, but it didn't matter. This seemed like the end. At least he had fought bravely.
No... I can't let her die.
Summoning the last of his strength, Lucid pushed himself up against a tree, lifting his arm into the air. The knife had been knocked away a few meters away from him, but he had no energy to retrieve it. Instead, he focused on his memories.
Please, remember...
As he frantically searched his memories he recalled something, something special.
He had a power, a power that allowed him to shoot... He recalled playing card games with his old "friends" and it clicked.
Ah yes i remember.. seven... hearts..
He muttered softly, "Come forth, Black Hearts."
A faint blue light emanated from his hand. After a moment, a rectangular shape began to form-a card. Not just any card, but a poker card with seven hearts on it. Lucid instinctively pressed his hand through the card, retrieving something from it: a six-shot revolver. With the last bit of his strength and sweat he lifted up the revolver and aimed it at the creature, seeing a reflection of a woman with a sinister smile and a condescending look.
"What's wrong, Lucid? Cat got your tongue? Just admit it-you were scared. You were okay with sacrificing the group as long as it meant you lived... right?"
The figure of the girl–haunted his vision. Lucid looked at her not just with anger, but with pure malice. From behind his glass mask, two red dots shone, where his eyes were supposed to be, they shone in a bright red color. He spoke in a low, deep voice.
"Begone."
He pulled the trigger. A shot rang out, followed by a trail of blue dust. The bullet struck the woman's abdomen, but she faded away, laughing, as if she were an afterimage. Lucid looked at the spot where she had been and saw the creature lying in a pool of purple blood. It had been struck in the head by the bullet.
Lucid waved away the gun, as if putting it back where it belonged. The card and the revolver vanished, fading into nothingness as material disintegrated into bright blue dust. "What a save," he muttered, slumping against the tree. He was still sitting, but his energy was almost spent.
"I'm tired," Lucid whispered. He had lost a lot of blood. All he wanted to do was rest his eyes. Though part of him feared he wouldn't wake up, he sighed. "Well, who cares? I saved the girl. I deserve a break, don't I?"
Suddenly, Alice rushed to him, wrapping her arms around him. "I'm sorry, Lucid! I couldn't do anything. Alice is really happy to see you alive. I'm so sorry!" She cried, hugging him tightly. Seeing that he was drowsy, she quickly and desperately tried to heal him fearing, if he went back into unconsciousness he would never wake up for a long time.
She placed her arm on his abdomen, and Lucid noticed the faint green light-the same light he had felt when he first woke up. It felt soothing, almost like his body was repairing itself, helped by some external force. Slowly, the pain began to dull and fade away, replaced by a sense of relief.
Lucid looked down at Alice, his hand resting on her head. He gently patted her, "No, I'm sorry for not acting quicker. If I had been more courageous, this wouldn't have happened. So it's okay. I'm at fault."
Alice shook her head, denying his words. She looked up at him with determination. "From this day forward, you're my older cousin, Lucid. You'll always be by my side."
"Huh?" Lucid murmured, not realizing he had spoken aloud, breaking the moment.
Alice smiled brightly and said, "You're my older cousin. I don't have a family, so I want you to be by my side forever."
Lucid couldn't bring himself to break her proclamation. He smiled softly and said, "Alright, alright. I'll always be here by your side, until we find out more about your home and origins."
At this point, they were practically inseparable. After everything they'd been through, Lucid couldn't deny that he needed her as much as she needed him.