Seven Chances In Another World

Chapter 18: Gore

"WAIT! Don't say anything, please!" Fahd tied the shirt around Zain's belly, being accustomed to first-air procedures. He could see Zain slowly losing consciousness and attempted to lift him. Being too weak, he dragged him by the shoulders instead. "We will get out here and live, and you will tell me your story. I will also tell you mine. We will live. We will live!"

Zain's smile widened as a tear ran down his face. "We… will," he breathed before darkness surrounded him, and his body relaxed into Fahd's grip. The black-haired felt his eyes watering but shook his head. Reaching the lower floor, he stopped, seeing two stranger men with blood covering their faces. He hid in the stairs and took out his dagger. He placed Zain's body in a sitting position, covered him with his blood and then waited behind the wall for the men to find him. He felt his heart beating faster as they approached and gripped his dagger so hard that his palms bled. Memories flashed in his mind, and he took a silent deep breath and rested a hand on his chest to calm his heart.

He swiftly ran out of the hallway, and the men spotted him and decided to chase after him, leaving the unconscious Zain behind. Rania smiled with amusement, staring at him. She walked behind them and could hear one of the men scream.

Fahd's eyes widened in fear as he planted his dagger into the first man's heart. "Sorry… SO SORRY!" He gasped and dodged the second man's axe and took a few steps backwards. He felt his back touching a wall and shut his eyelids, tears rolling down his face.

I don't want to die…

I… don't want to die!

He moved to the side as the man stabbed his axe into the wall, and it got stuck. Fahd then ran to the left without knowing where to go and refusing to kill anyone else. He felt his heart about to burst as he pressed a hand against his mouth, trying not to throw up. He stared at the corpses and blood around him, and the darkness kept enveloping him further.

He entered a small room lighted with faint orange light and closed the wooden door behind him. He gazed down at the floor, eyes round, hyperventilating and crying. He fell to his knees and broke into tears, holding his head in his hands and fighting back a scream not to give away his location.

It was useless.

He cried out in shock as an axe broke the wooden wall to pieces. He leaned backwards, gazing up at the giant man with round eyes. "S… Stop… Please… Please!" He attempted to get further away but blinked, feeling his naked back hitting a cold, wet substance. Glancing behind, a loud scream echoed in the dark hallway.

Fahd stared at a naked man nailed into the wall, and his vision went blurry. He forced himself to look back at the second man, who had just planted his axe between his legs. Fahd stared down at the axe, petrified from fear.

"No… I… don't want to die…"

He gasped as the man grabbed his neck and pushed him to the wall. Fahd saw nothing but lust for death and blood in his eyes. He doubted he could even have a decent conversation with him. His hand reached out for anything, but the man's iron grip made it difficult for him to think straight. Finding a rock, Fahd smashed it with all his strength against the man's head, who fell to the side, unconscious. Fahd fell to his knees, coughing and gasping for air. He leaned on the wall to stand and walked towards the door. His eyes watered, seeing the silent, pitch-black hallway extending in front of him. His fear of the darkness wasn't helping, and he suddenly felt faint as he fell to his knees, shaking and crying.

"That's why I told you…"

He felt a shiver run through his spine, feeling a needle sink into the back of his neck. "The only way to save yourself is to embrace death. You're way too stubborn, brother." Rania kissed his cheek and started walking away.

"W-WAIT!" Fahd attempted to stand. "What… did you inject me with?"

"A very funny drug." She grinned at him. "Enjoy yourself a bit more!"

Fahd pursed his lips, realizing that he had only a few minutes left to go back and get Zain to safety.

He closed his eyes and ran straight into the dark hallway. He fought his urges to scream, hearing whispers and footsteps all around him. He felt someone touching his skin but refused to look. A few seconds later, he opened his eyes and found himself next to the stairs again. Zain was where he left him. Fahd smiled in relief and continued dragging him. He reached the second set of stairs leading to the main hall and stopped, finding three men hunting. He laid Zain in the corner and took one of his blades.

As soon as he turned, he felt a fist sinking into his belly and gasped, collapsed to the floor. He attempted to stand, but another man grabbed his arm and lifted him. Fahd gazed down, memories of his father torturing him playing in the back of his head. He felt his consciousness slowly fading as his eyelids started closing. His aching heart wouldn't stop. He felt a hot blade sinking into his side but was too tired to scream.

His world quickly went black.

Shadi walked into the room with Oubay and Menyar, who seemed confused. He glanced around. "Where is… Where are Zain and Fahd?"

"They didn't come back." Shahd stood up with her axe. "Let's go look for them! I didn't have my fill from this! THEY DIDN'T EVEN HURT ME!"

"I will go with you, as well. I have a bad feeling about this." Harun joined them, carrying a box filled with medicines. "Just to be safe."

Shadi nodded at them, and they all left the room. They ran towards the main hall and hid, as a bunch of men came out of the hallway leading upstairs. They waited for them to go through the entrance where they stood and knocked them unconscious. They quickly looked around the corpses, looking for their friends but didn't find them.

"Zain is strong. I heard him saying that he was an army soldier in the past," Shahd shook her head. "He wouldn’t go down easily!"

Shadi stopped walking as soon as he left the main hall towards the stairs. He stared at Fahd, lying in a pool of blood in front of him with round eyes. The others exchanged confused glances. "D-Did those men do it?! Is… Is he… Did he…"

Shadi knelt down next to Fahd and removed the hair from his face. He felt his heart shattering, seeing his lifeless blue eyes gazing into space. He swallowed hard. "I'll… It's too soon to assume that he died," he clenched his fists, staring at the blood on the floor. "H-Harun… Go check on him. Stay with him, Shahd. I'll go look for Zain."

He climbed the stairs, massaging his heart and stopped, seeing Zain lying on the floor upstairs. Shadi ran towards him and checked his pulse. He blinked, feeling his heart beating slowly. He stared at the well-tied bandage and glanced down at the stairs. "What happened?" he whispered.

He lifted Zain in his arms and ran downstairs. "We need to hurry. Shahd, please carry Fahd, and Harun, bring the supplies. We must go back to the others."

They nodded and rushed back to the others, who were shocked by the state Zain and Fahd were in.

"He's not dead," Harun pointed at Fahd. "He's stunned. This must be a more powerful drug than usual. He's probably completely unaware of what's going on. He's… almost dead. He has got a large wound in his side. We need to stitch it quickly. He doesn't have much time left. He already lost a lot of blood. I also see marks of burned flesh. They didn't stab him with an ordinary blade."

Shadi shut his eyelids. "Let me do it."

Jassem's eyes widened. "Shadi… A-Are you sure?"

"What's going on here?" Everyone seemed confused.

Shadi looked away as his brown hair covered his face. "I'm... a surgeon, but I was kicked out of med school a few years before getting my diploma."

Joud's eyes widened. "You're the one who burned the library?! The legend circulated all around med school! But…"

Shadi clenched his fists. "I'm qualified. I'll take care of Fahd. Meanwhile, please take care of Zain. He's suffering from blood loss because of stab wounds as well."

They all nodded and started working. Harun remained with Shadi as he began to mix different potions together. "A-Are you knowledgeable in drugs as well?"

"Probably not as much as Rania." Shadi paused. "I promised to never get back into medicines again, but…" He swallowed hard, remembering the state he found Fahd in. "I can't let him die."

He moved his gaze to Fahd. "It would be better to put him to sleep. Whatever he's seeing, it shouldn't be pleasant."

He grabbed Fahd's cold hand and injected the anaesthetic into his wrist. A few seconds later, Fahd's eyelids closed gradually as he left out a small moan of pain.

"Good," Shadi whispered before grabbing alcohol.

Meanwhile, the others were stitching Zain's injuries.

Jassem sadly stared at the two young men and stood up. "One of us is missing now… It's Rania… Could she have done this to them?"

They exchanged anxious glances and secured the exit of the gate with extra locks.