Out Of Time

"Eh, where am I?" Jocel thought, waking up as he looked around and found himself in the bushes surrounded by the trees. "Argh, my shoulder. I think it's dislocated." He screamed as he put his weight on his right hand standing up. He grabbed his right shoulder and pushed it in with all the courage he could muster, snapping it in place. "Ah, bloody hell." He said, grinding his teeth in pain standing up. "How did I end up here? All I could remember was being in that creepy place with Captain. Oh no, where is Captain Isabel and how do I get here?" He said, panicking as he looked around and saw blue flames rising far away. He slowly started walking towards it, hoping to find Isabel there. "Ah, a piece of my armor is missing, and it also burned my clothes a little. I don't remember what happened." He thought as he looked at his clothes. "I just hope captain is alright." As he reached near the remains of that building covered in flames, he put his left hand out, swinging it down. "Huh, nothing is happening." He said as he tried controlling the flames and then he lifted his hand in front of him and snapped his finger and his hand started glowing with yellow flames. "Hmm, my mana flow is fine, but then why can't I control these flames?" He thought as he started strolling around the rubble. "If I think about I was in the woods, I couldn't have gotten there myself. If I did, then I should've remembered. That means captain brought me out here, so I should look outside and I can't go in there without getting burned, anyway." He said, thinking, and he started shouting. "Captain, where are you? Captain, Can you hear me?" After a while, he stopped and went looking for her in the open ground ahead as he saw something shining in the overgrown grass and he rushed towards it. He saw broken pieces of armor scattered all around in the grass shining, reflecting the glow of a blue fire. "It's captain's armor. Please be alright, captain." He said and started running around as he saw the captain lying there unconscious. Her clothes and skin were burnt at her back, her armor was broken and the silver shards were stuck in her back. "Hi Captain, captain wake up!" He said as he picked her in his arms, turning her on her back. He saw his hands and arms turning red in her blood. Her face was also covered in her blood on one side. "No, no, this bad, this bad. This can't be happening, not again." He said panicking as his voice shook, looking at her as he grabbed her arm, trying to take a pulse. He noticed a very faint pulse. "What should I do? There's nothing around here. God, please someone help. She's dying." He shouted, looking around. When he couldn't think of anything, he pulled her up on his back and started walking. "Please, hang in there captain, just for a little longer. I know you're though, just hang in there." He said lifting his right arm in there shooting a large fireball in the sky. "Please, someone, anyone who is watching, we need your help." He yelled as he kept on walking. "If only was strong, if I was not such a weakling, Captain wouldn't be dead. Now she is in this state just because of my weakness. I am so pathetic, I can't even help her." He said looking at the ground as the tears started bubbling in his eyes. He saw lights flickering in the distance as he lifted his head. "Someone saw my signal. Hi, over here. Please we need help. She is dying." He started shouting and the flickering lights started getting closer and he saw a couple of people carrying torches were walking towards him.

"You looked banged up, boy, and she looks even worst. Never mind, tell us what happened?" a man wearing a long black robe asked.

"We went inside an old building and then I don't remember what happened. I woke up in the woods and she was in this state. Please, can you help her? She is in a really serious condition?" He said, pleading to the man.

"Okay, calm down, boy. But first I have one more question. What did you see in there and who is she? You are wearing night armor, right?" He said calmly, looking at the boy with a distant look on his face. "What could a knight be doing here in a place like this, far from the capital?"

Jocel realized the situation and the intent behind his question and didn't hesitate to take action. All he was thinking at that moment was to save the captain. Every thought in his mind went quiet and without a moment of hesitation, he shot a fireball on the ground between him and those people at point-blank range, and as the smoke settled; he was nowhere to be found. "Who were those people? Their blood lust, it was clear as day that they were not there to help?" He said, running through the woods. His clothes were burnt, skin on his face and hands damaged from that blast, and blood was dripping.

"Find him. Don't let them escape. They know about this place." The man in black robes yelled as the other men scattered in all directions. "You better not get back empty hand. Argh, that bastard, he figured out too quickly. Now let's see what I can do about the evidence." He said, turning towards the flames.

Jocel was dashing through the woods trying to get as far as he can from these people, but he didn't notice he was leaving a trail of blood drops that would lead those people straight to him, eventually. "I should stop here for a moment and do something about this wound." He said as he gently put Isabel on the ground beside a tree and sat next to her, ripping his sleeves, and saw a deep and large cut on his forearm reaching his elbow on his right arm. "Ah, this is bad." He said annoyingly, looking at the wound. He put a stick in his mouth as he put his left hand on the wound and took a deep breath. "That'll gonna her like hell." He said as the faint glow appeared and little smoke escape from underneath his palm. He screamed, grinding his teeth on the stick. "Ahhhh." As he took his up from the wound, he said. "That'll stop the bleeding for now. I should've learned the mana healing." He thought, lifting his head, looking at the full moon. "It's so bright like that night." He thought, standing back up taking off his broken armor and shirt. He tore his shirt, making a string and tying Isabel on her back. This would make it easy to move around. As he was thinking, he felt his body getting heavy. "No, they've already found my location and one of them has force affinity. This is bad." He said, leaping into the woods. "I'll be in big trouble if they spot me." He muttered. "Should I use the element of surprise and ambush them? But if there are more than one, no my priority should be captain." All these thoughts were rushing in his mind and the only thing he could do was to move further away from the enemies.

"Should I just make this entire forest flat, it'll be easier that way." A man in the black robe said running in the forest.

"Well, if it was up to me I'd say yes, but that might kill the boy and boss didn't tell us to do so. We don't know what happened to that hideout, but they might, and we can get that information out of the boy. That girl is already half-dead, so I don't mind if she dies." The man replied.

As they both were running following the trail, suddenly Jocel appeared from the trees, grabbing a man from the face and slamming him into the ground, leaving him unconscious. "I think I got the right one. He was the one with force affinity. Hi, you, if you make a wrong move, I'll blow this man's head off." Jocel said as he was grabbing the unconscious man from the face looking at the other guy. "I still don't know his affinity. I better not let my guard down."

"Hi, you don't have to do this. I won't do anything. Just let him go." He said, putting his hand up in the air. "Damn, that brat sneaked on us. However, he doesn't know what magic type I have. That means I still have the chance." He thought, staring at Jocel. "Here I go." He said and slowly started lowering his hand.

"Stop, what did I just say, a wrong move and he won't be having a head on his shoulder," Jocel yelled.

"No, please listen. I'll just take him and go back and you can just leave. I won't stop you and my magic isn't suited for combat, anyway." He said and slowly started waving his finger to make it look like he was shuddering. "I am not much of a fight. My skill is to track people, but trust me, I won't follow you. You can just leave now before other people from my group arrive here." He said, slowly. "Good. He didn't notice me casting a spell. Now just the right moment and opening." He muttered.

"Okay, but first I need you to go as far from me as possible from where I can't see you," Jocel said and quickly turned back and threw a fireball and it hit the other man in the back. "You thought I didn't notice you moving fingers? I already read your mana and knew you'd attack me from behind through your portal. That was a warning and am taking this man, in case you try anything funny again." He said, grabbing the man dragging him away.

"I won't let you." The other man said as he opened a portal around Jocel. "If I shrink it right now, you and that girl on your back, you'll both split in half."

"Try me. If you want the same for your friend, fine go ahead, but I bet you won't." Jocel said as he jumped out of the ring. "Next time I won't say, I'll just blow his head." And Jocel started running away and disappeared into the woods. "Hah, Sun is about to rise." He said as he saw a brief glow on the horizon. "I think am far enough. I should better leave this man here. He's making me slow, and I don't think the other guy is following me, anyway." He said, running out of the forest looking around at empty land covered with rocks and bushes. As he was running, Isabel started puking blood on his back and her body started trembling. "No, no, no. Captain, just wait a little longer. Please hang in there." He said, looking over his shoulder. He jumped, gathering all the strength he could muster. As he was leaping through the air before reaching the ground, he thought. "I might've not practiced this technique enough or might've not gotten a result before, but this is a do or die situation. I have to do this." As he was about to crash into the ground, he yelled and directed all the mana towards his feet into a steady stream with high pressure, turning it into a jet of flames, and started flying. "Now I have to find any settlement." He said, looking down as he saw a group of knights marching down. He quickly turned towards them and landed in front of them. "Is there any healer? It's an emergence." He started shouting, standing in the middle of the road blocking their way.

"Why are we stopping, and who is this shouting outside?" A man said coming out of the carriage as he saw a boy carrying a girl on his back and both were in bad shaped and badly wounded.

"Captain Leofwin, It's Captain Isabel. Please, she needs help." Jocel said, running towards Leofwin as he saw him.

"What? Did you say, Isabel? Bring her to my carnage, and you send a healer." He said, pointing towards a knight. "What happened, boy?" He asked, taking her off of his back. "Boy, you're overheating. Control your mana or you'll get a stroke and you too come inside. You're also in pretty rough shape. We stop here and camp for a while." He ordered as the knights started taking the carriages off the road and rounding them up a circle. "Where the hell are the healers? I said send them now." He shouted as he noticed her pulse getting weak.

"Yes, captain, but we need you to go somewhere else." Two lady knights came running and told captain Leofwin to go somewhere else.

"What are you saying?" He asked, glaring at them.

"Captain, we need to take her clothes off and you are a man." She said.

"Hi you, young man, come with us, and captain you too." A knight said, asking Jocel and captain Leofwin.

"Will she be alright?" Jocel asked, leaning his head down in a low voice.

"Don't worry, boy, you've done enough. I won't lie to you saying she'll be fine in no time, because if I do, I'll be lying." The healer replied. "Looking at her condition, all I can say is you just got here in time and it's a miracle she survived this long losing this much blood. The ladies know what they are doing and we can only pray and rest is up to captain Isabel's own will to live." He said, putting his hand on Jocel's chest and the look in his eyes changed. "Boy, your mana is leaking to control your gate. Your mana is about to reach zero."

"What? I don't understand what you mean?" Jocel asked and suddenly everything just went blank in his eyes and he fell unconscious sitting there.