Chapter 17-The Blood User, Part Two

"This…should be far enough…" Old-Man F pants as he drops the slave to the sand, who lets out a yelp as she falls face-first into the ground.

"Are we…in the clear…?" I ask as I double over and place my hands on my knees, panting for breath.

The slave sits up on her knees in the sand and peers back and forth between the three of us, her eyes wide in shock.

"Don't worry, you're safe now," Khione says with a tender smile as she kneels down before the slave, "We won't let them hurt you."

Tears begin forming at the edges of the slave's eyes, as her body begins trembling. And then…the slave looks to the air and begins bawling, her tears spraying everywhere.

"AWW, she's so happy she's crying!" Khione swoons.

"How…nice…?" I ask, "I think…?"

"SAAAAVE MEEEE!" The slave yelps, her voice echoing across the desert, and causing our eyes to widen.

"S-save you?!" Khione cries, "What do you mean?!"

Without another word, the slave jumps to her feet then spins around and begins dahsing away.

"S-sand Whip!" Flint stammers as he sticks a hand out to the slave, and a tendril of sand rises out of the ground then wraps around the slave, pinning her to the ground.

"SAVE ME, MISS CHERIKA, MR ZIPPY, SIR DOKU!" The slave cries as she flails frantically against Old-Man F's grasp, but it's of no avail.

"D-do I let her go…?" Old-Man F asks.

"Um…I think so?" I answer.

"Wh-what's wrong?" Khione asks as she kneels down before the slave.

The slave sniffles as she peers up at Khione. "Wh-why did you kidnap me?!" She cries, "Is it because of my Blood Charge healing techniques?!"

"No!" Khione cries, "Well…I guess that's part of it…"

"What do you mean, 'kidnap'?" I ask, "Those guys from Twilight Wolf were abusing you and keeping you locked in a cage?!"

"No…not again…!!!" The slave groans, "I can't deal with people getting hurt because of me…"

The three of us exchange nervous glances.

"Um…can I speak to you…" Khione asks.

"Only if you let me go," the slave sniffles, "I swear I won't run."

Khione peers over at Old-Man F and nods, and Old-Man F nods back then lowers his hand, unwrapping his tendril sand around the slave.

"Now, let's talk," Khione says with a tender smile again.

The slave peers up at Khione again and sniffles, and then, without another word, she pops back up to her feet and begins running away again.

"Knew that was gonna happen…" I sigh.

"Oh, no you don't!" Khione cries as she springs out and tackles the slave to the floor.

"LET GO OF ME!" The slave cries as she flails about frantically.

"I'm not letting you go!" Khione sobs, "I'm not letting an innocent little girl get abused like that."

"I'M NOT INNOCENT!" The slave cries, "I'M A MURDERER!"

Our eyes widen.

The shock of the slave's words causes Khione's grasp to weaken, and the slave hurries backwards, panting heavily and trembling in fear as she frantically looks back and forth between the three of us.

"WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME?!" She cries.

"W-we wanted to save you!" Khione cries back.

"And we need a healer for our team," Old-Man F adds, earning him a dirty glare from khione, and he shrugs in response.

"SEE, YOU ARE AFTER MY POWERS!" The slave cries, "THIS ALWAYS HAPPENS! EVERYTIME I RUN, SOMEONE JUST COMES AFTER ME AGAIN!"

"I'm not letting you go," Khione replies, "A little girl like you will DIE out here alone!"

"Just let me go home…" the slave whimpers.

"Well I'm not letting you go back to Twilight Wolf if they're abusing you," Khione frowns.

"You may as well…" the slave gloomily replies as she stares down at the ground in front of her, "They always come…"

"What…do you mean…?" I ask.

"Ever since I was little, people have been after my Blood Charge," the slave sadly explains, "Apparently, Blood Charge is not only super rare, but also super valuable as an E-Charge that can heal. The first bandit group that kidnapped me was killed by another bandit group after only a few days, who kidnapped me soon after, then tried to sell me off for profit. That cycle…continued until two years ago, when Twilight Wolf captured me. Twilight Wolf is so strong…that no other bandit grouP DARED to take me from them…"

A sad smile spears across the slave's face.

"Twilight Wolf may abuse me and keep me locked up in a cage, but at least no one else is dying because of me…"

"She's broken…" Old-Man F whispers.

"Yeah…" I whisper back.

"Well we're strong too," Khione replies as he wipes the tears in front of the corners of her eyes, "Twilight Wolf won't be able to kill us."

The slave's eyes widened.

"R-right…"

"Maybe we should give her back…" Old-Man F says, "This seems like a lot more trouble than it's worth."

"Don't think I've forgotten about what you've done," Khione sneers, causing old-Man F to look away in shame, "You still owe me."

"Ignore him," Khione says sweetly as she peers down at the slave, "Now, what's your name."

"M-Mary…" the slave stammers, "Mary Bloodsworth…"

"That's a convenient surname for a Blood E-Charger," I say.

"Many E-Chargers have names that were derived from their elements," Old-Man F explains, "The entire concept of surnames is something that was mostly washed away with ehte flood, anyway."

"Alright, well we can't stay here forever," Old-Man F grunts with a stretch, "Let's keep moving."

Mary peers up at Old-Man F< with tears in her eyes.

"URK!" Old-Man F recoils.

"She's got AMAZING puppy-dog eyes…" I whisper to Khione, who nods frantically in response.

"Alright…" Old-Man F sighs as he drops his bag, "Let's set up for the night."