Page 10 of Ravaged From Fate

“Ah, you’re awake,” she says in a soft voice. It takes me a second to realize she’s talking to me. “Please don’t panic, everything’s fine. You’re safe. I’m just patching you up.”

I try to speak to tell her to not bother, to tell her to go away, but my mouth is as dry as a desert.

“You really got involved in that fight,” the woman continues. “But hey, you surprisingly did well against those guys. I’m still pretty shocked at what you were able to do, even for a big guy. You held your own, and you were fast. You’re a good fighter, you know that? Sorry, I haven’t even introduced myself properly to you. I’m Elsa, and it seems like I talk way too much, sorry.”

“I don’t need your help,” I manage to mutter. I can’t have her heal me up or whatever. I can’t put myself vulnerable in front of someone else, especially a stranger.

I don’t even know where I am.

I try to get up from the hard bed by using my arms, but I have no strength left. Things ache way too much. I grunt.

And Elsa gently pushes my chest back down. She doesn’t have to exert much pressure to force my broken body.

“Hang on, big guy. You’re still pretty bruised up. You blacked out pretty hard back at the bar, and it certainly seems like you need my help.”

I ignore her and try to push through the pain. I attempt to get up once again, and again my body fails me.

“Keep still,” Elsa commands in a firmer voice this time. “You’re just going to hurt yourself if you carry on like this, trust me. I like your determination, but there’s no need.”

She is even prettier up close from what I remember in the bar. Really pretty. Long brown hair that’s she’s tied up into a bun. Those soft lips. Long slender neck. Standing over me like this with her soothing voice and gentle hands reminds me of an angel, as corny as that sounds.

No, Caspian.

I am not in this town to hook up with a girl I’ve just met. I’m here to calm the fuck down. Escape my aggression. Lie low.

Yeah, fighting a bunch of guys at the one bar in town is some definition of escaping aggression and lying low…

“Where am I?” I ask.

Elsa purses her lips. “I’ve taken you to the town’s local medical clinic.”

“Not a hospital?”

She chuckles. “East Springs doesn’t have a hospital. We’re kind of a bit too small for something like that. This place is where the people of this good town are treated. Anything more serious and they go up the road to the closest hospital. It’s a bit of a drive, though.”

“You took me here? On your own?”

“Yep.”

“That must’ve been hard.”

This is already the most amount of words I’ve spoken to another living soul in weeks. I’m not exactly the best conversationalist even at the best of times, so this interaction is practically a monologue from me.

“It wasn’t too hard to get you here,” Elsa explains. “Considering that we are next door to the bar. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but it’s a fairly small town you’ve just moved to. It was only a matter of steps between where you blacked out and this bed, although your size and stature don’t make things easy for a gal like me.”

“How do you know I’ve just moved here?”

Elsa smirks. “It’s a very small town. Everyone knows everyone else’s business here. People are already wondering openly about the silent burly man who’s bucked against the trend by moving here.’

Great.

“But you don’t have to worry about me or what I’ll say about you,” Elsa continues. “I’m notorious for not being into the town’s gossip. I don’t care why you’ve come to East Springs, whether you’re running from something or not, like everyone thinks you are.”

“I’m not.”

“Well, that’s good. But I don’t care either way. I’m just trying to make sure you ain’t too hurt after that altercation. I feel like I owe you for stepping in.”

“Who are you?” I ask.