HEALER: last of her kind.

“If we remove one more drop of blood from her, she’ll die.” The woman said in a hushed tone. Don’t think she cared about me, she just couldn’t afford my death right now, considering the money she paid for me. I didn’t need a mirror to see that I was as pale as a sheet, but it was the dizziness that was worse. I had lost so much blood I couldn’t stand straight. “My men are dying.” The captain growled back at her. They kept their tone down for their benefit. If word got out that they had me, many others would come for me. “Oh, snap out of it Louise, you’ve saved more than your share of men. The other end is losing men, yet your men cannot keep up even with their lives intact. This is where you contact the medical doctor, and use bandages and aspirin like other people do.” The woman snarled. The captain snarled back, but the woman didn’t stop. She was the only wolf that didn’t back down when the captain threatened her. They seem to go way back. The captain stomped out of the tent, angry. The woman lifted me and shoved a bowl to my lips. Her actions were impatient, but she was careful too, “Drink this, it’ll give you blood. You look like you could faint right now.” I drank it hurriedly but had to stop when it went straight to my head, making me lose consciousness for a second. It was bitter but also a taste I was used to. “Sleep, food will be here when you wake up. You need to recover as soon as possible. We need you.” She said, placing me back to lie on the mat. Sleep didn’t come, instead, I closed my eyes and accessed the area with my ears. Like every other werewolf, my ears were sharp and precise, but because I didn’t get to the world with my eyes, I saw it with my ears instead. I recognized footsteps, breath patterns, voices, tones, and accents. I knew how far the captain was right now, I also knew he had turned back. He was coming back to the tent. The woman must have known too because she called for her daughter. “Eva!” She only had to call once. Eva appeared. Eva's steps were the only ones I couldn’t follow. It was like she floated, and she was very fast. I liked Eva, she fed me better than her mom did, but my affection wasn’t returned because, if anything else, Eva hated me. “Get Healer out of here. The captain is coming back for her. We can’t let him have her.” I sighed deeply, it was going to be another battle, people fighting for me, for their greed. Did I mention that Eva was as strong as she was fast? She lifted me swiftly from the floor, it felt like I weighed nothing because she moved like she carried nothing, as fast as usual if not faster. I gave a glance at her face, her jaw was tight. Evan was angry. “I’m sorry,” I whispered. Speaking was hard because I was weak, but I knew she heard me. “Shut up.” She growled back. I wondered where she intended to hide me. The borders didn’t have many blind spots. It was mountains, rocks, a few caves that probably held very dangerous animals and one or two trees. We stopped under a tree. “Healer,” Eva called me. “Yes,” I answered with much struggle, the concoction hadn’t started to kick in yet. “Do you ever wish to be free?” She asked, surprising me. “Your mom says-.” I began but she cut me off. “Forget what my mom says. My mom can’t save your life. I’ve seen this battle ahead. We will lose, but the captain will not accept defeat when you still live, he’d tear you apart and share your heart with his men because he thinks he can win as long as he has you. The general is wounded and it’s deep. You know the captain is nothing without him, but if you lose one drop of blood right now, it’ll be your end.” She looked into my eyes as she said the words. So much passion ran through her, anger, pain, hurt, but I was too weak to feel any of these. “How did you see the end of the battle?” I asked, even though I knew the answer. I only wanted her to admit it. Eva gasped. She saw it in my eyes, that I knew. Maybe that was why I liked her, because, like me, she was one of a kind. She saw visions. “Don’t let anyone know,” I warned her. “I might die here, but you deserve so much more. Don’t try to change anyone’s future, Eva. Don’t warn anyone. Just live your life like a normal person.” I was still weak, but I had to warn her. I thought I was doing the world a favor when I began healing. I never knew I would end up like this. Love was a lie. It didn’t exist. “I’m going to help you up that tree,” Eva said, ignoring my words. “You’ll wait till the sun sets, the second the sun sets you must run. I know you can’t smell the river, but you must try. You have approximately two hours. Don’t follow the sound, it’ll lead you astray. Follow the smell of the river, you’ll be safe only after you cross it.” “Then come with me. Let’s run away together.” I said, stretching a hand to touch her cheeks. For the first time, I saw the strong Eva weak. “My captain killed my mom.” She confessed, that I knew it was what she saw in her vision because her mom was still alive. “Then why did you take me away? He can spare her if he gets me.” I asked, confused. Eva shook her head, “Naïve Healer, the world isn’t as simple as you think, yet so much lies on your shoulders. You must keep your life at all costs. Now don’t forget, immediately it’s sunset, follow the smell of the water, run because your life depends on it. Your fate lies across the waters. Till we meet again my dear friend.” She helped me up the tree, taking me higher than I could help myself down. Then left me there alone. I sat and waited for the sun to set.