Some Thing Called Myself (Complete)

VIII: Something alive

Ch. 8: Something Alive

Mara came to as two strong arms lay her on a white bed. Bernardo took a step back and grimaced, placing a hand on the red marks on his shoulder.

"Are you okay now?" he asked.

He seemed in pain.

Weird...Mara wasn't.

She remembered the wound near her navel and the blood she saw. It should hurt, right? Even without looking, she knew the injury was still there—a faint breeze in the room made the patch of blood-soaked shirt grow even colder. But...pain? No. Not even a little bit.

"I'm super," she said. She scanned around to find an empty white room that looked and smelled like a hospital. "Where are the others?"

"The dungeons," Bernardo said in a painful tone. He grunted while taking his shirt off. His tank top followed shortly after, revealing a lean frame covered with muscles that—damn—looked as sweet as whipped cream. In the real world, Mara would blush at a view like that...but blood ran down Bernardo's right shoulder, coming from the ugly holes forming a curve on his fair skin. He reached for a bottle that smelled like alcohol and poured it on the wound. Bernardo grunted, gritting his teeth.

"What happened, Beh?" asked a new voice. At the door, an old man watched him. He curled his white mustache while his tiny brown eyes narrowed under bushy eyebrows. "That looks painful. I'll get the Merthiolate for you."

"Thank you, Doctor," Bernardo said and tilted his head in respect. "We had problems with that zombie again."

The doctor was short and had thin arms, but he grabbed Bernardo's shoulder and pulled him down with ease.

"Mhm. Was it Gustag? No. Considering the size of the bite mark...did you bring Vee to the HQ again? She's a vicious zombie, that one."

Bernardo chuckled. "Alessa is the only zombie around, thank Goddess." He sighed. "But she wasn't the one who bit me. It was Mara." He jerked a finger towards her.

"Me?" Mara said.

The doctor's eyes went wide, and not even his long mustache could hide the wide smile on his lips.

"Mara!" He let out a dusty laugh and took a long step to hug her but stopped in his tracks. "Wait. What are you doing here?" He furrowed his brow. "Nah. Don't tell me. Taiguara, right? He visited me a few hours ago to get some cuts and bruises checked, that gremlin."

Bernardo nodded and let out another long sigh. "She'll need your help, doc. Mara just saved Tai's last life and earned a wound to prove it." He clicked his tongue. Bernardo shook his head, but there was a gleam in his eyes. Was it...pride? Was he proud of her?

"Let us see," the doctor said. "Can I, Mara dear?"

Mara nodded. The doctor pulled the hem of her shirt up and made a dismissive gesture with a hand. He hummed and adjusted his thick glasses. "It's superficial; nothing to worry about. I'll clean and bandage it."

"Wait, what do you mean by it was Mara?" she asked Bernardo. She raised her arm and waited while the old doctor cleaned the cut on her waist.

"I meant you bit me." Bernardo chuckled. "You're just scared; it's no big deal. And this isn't the first time it happens." He flashed her a tiny smile. "You bit me, said something about Kiki, then passed out." Bernardo smeared a red tincture over the bite mark, winced, and grabbed a gauze roll.

Kiki. Would she have found Mss Francisca's place yet? Mara wrung her hands while Bernardo reached for two clean t-shirts in a cabinet beside the bed. Hopefully, she hadn't hurt him too much.