Jaon spent the
long, cold night underneath a large pine on the
side of the dirt path. He awoke and immediately felt the stiffness in his back
where a root had dug into his back. Stretching, he looked out over the land.
During the night, the surrounding area had become a frozen wasteland. Snow was
everywhere, at least a half of a foot deep in many places. As Jaon stood up, he
recoiled as snow dumped on him from the branches above. So…cold. He
had
not
planned
on
such early harsh weather when he had
packed his few provisions. He wore old leather boots that had once belonged to
his brother. The leather had a few small holes and it was well broken in, but
they would be able to hold up for a little while in the snow until Jaon could
acquire new ones. However, he wore only a loose fitting woven short that he had
grown out of many months before and his trousers were full of holes. It’s nearly 5 miles to the next town. How am
I going to make it? He thought of the stone, and how it had created warmth
when he had first used. He quickly
dismissed the thought, however, because he did not want to risk using the power
unless his life was severely endangered. Despite the adverse conditions, Jaon
decided that the best path was to set out for the next town, Cos on the Lake,
where he knew there were friends of his grandfather. If he was able to find
them, then maybe he could get better clothes and such.
Jaon had only
managed to venture a few hundred yards before the
cold began to take its toll on his body. His body was racked with shivers, and
his teeth chattered uncontrollably. His feet were nigh on senseless and his
fingers lacked the ability to bend beyond his first knuckle. His eyelids were
frozen in a half-open state, and his nose was running almost constantly. Jaon’s
mind began to shut down bit by bit as he mindlessly continued down the path.
Soon his vision began to flicker, and Jaon unknowingly began to list sideways
off the path. He collapsed into a bank of snow, and lay there gasping for
breath. The icy wind whistled as it thundered past, throwing snow into the air.
But Jaon was unaware of this, as his head was still plunged deep inside the
snow bank.
Cold.
Jaon
only
knew
cold. No words could describe the pain of the ice and snow against his skin.
They froze, and then burned. His mind reeled with the sheer weight of the pain
on his senses, but he had no control of his limbs to move away from the
snowbank which was trapping him. his helm kept the back of his head from the
wind, but it provided more of a hindrance than any protection. Jaon's arms
flailed a few times more, feeble attempts to free himself from the
ever-deepening snow.
Jaon awakened in a well lit room. The sunlight streamed
through the open windows, and candles were lit all around the room. He began to
move his head, but he found he could not. His eyes flicked up and down, taking
in the scene around him. A man, clothed in an apron and very clean clothes was
tying a rope around the upper part of his left leg. Next to him, on a large
bench, were a collection of sharp tools. What
are those…for? Wondered Joan to himself. He tried to move his arms, but
they were strapped to something he could not see. Out of the corner of his eye
he noticed that a fire was going with a large bucket positioned over it. Jaon
mumbled something incoherent, trying to attract the attention of the man in the
apron. Luckily, the man looked up. He cursed, and then addressed Jaon.
“We were hoping you wouldn’t wake
up yet. But I guess we’ll do it the hard way, then.” He turned away from Jaon,
and went back to the rope. As he worked, the surgeon called out a name, and
shortly afterwards a younger man entered the room. He looked no older than
Jaon, and he was dressed in the same sort of apron that the older man was in.
He took a leather strip from somewhere in his apron and shoved it between
Jaon’s teeth. NO! That was Jaon’s
only thought as the sudden realization came to him. He struggled against his
bonds, but they were tied tightly. The older man noticed his struggle and put
an arm on Jaon’s shoulder.
“Son, I know this is hard for you.
You need to relax, though. You are very lucky to even be alive now. If you struggle,
we risk losing you again and I don’t think that either of us want that to
happen.” He spun around, and went to the bench.
His assistant splashed some water
on Jaon’s left leg, and scrubbed it with a rough rag. The older man took a
rough, wood handled saw from the table. Jaon’s eyes rolled back into his head. No. This can’t be happening. He tried to
reach out to the magical flow, but without the stone he had no power. He
realized that he had to face this alone. Numbness had come over his whole body
as he waited for the inevitable pain. He tried not to look at the horrible
sight, but his eyes were drawn downward by some force. The smooth blade skimmed
across his skin, and the pain began. Jaon threw his gaze upward, and he uttered
a throaty scream. He felt his skin crawl as the man continued the sawing
motion, growing faster as he went deeper. He heard the man curse again and yell
at his assistant. “He’s bleeding too quickly! Get some more rope! Damn.” He
continued to cut, and Jaon saw a flash of white as the younger man dashed over
and tied off more of his leg. A throbbing began in his leg, and Jaon knew that
the surgeon had hit bone. The minutes crawled by as the pain grew and grew, he
wanted to scream louder, but his voice would not allow him to. He wanted to
black out, and end his suffering, but something did not allow him to pass into
the void. Something was there, in the back of his mind, a presence he could not
shake. Don’t let go, Jaon. Don’t let go. The voice faded as quickly as it
had come. Jaon would have wondered, but there was no time for that. As the bone
finally snapped, he screamed for the last time. Then his mind began to shut off
his sense as the pain grew more intense. His vision blurred, and finally grew
dark. His hearing flickered in and out, and he could only catch a few stray
curses from the surgeon. Don’t…let…me…go.
He heard a loud clang of metal, and then a searing burning passed through
his body. It felt like he had inhaled fire, and it was burning inside of him.
He could not even register the curses of relief from the surgeon as the wave of
pain crashed over his consciousness. He was slipping away. Don’t…let…me...go. His mind went blank. Painfully blank.
The sun was long gone by the time
Jaon came to once again. He felt as if he were lifting a heavy and painful
blanket as he struggled upward in bed. He was in a small room, barely large
enough for the bed. His sheet was a woven grey blanket, which kept him warm
against the cold of the stone walls. He stretched his arms above his head. As
he did, he immediately felt something different about his hand.
Something is missing. He lifted his gaze
up towards his hands, and what he saw repulsed him. His little finger on his
right hand was a bandaged stump, reduced to no more than the size of his
fingernail. He continued to stare at it, wondering how on earth that had
happened to him. His memory of the past few days was almost non-existent, which
left him confused and suspicious.
Answers.
I need answers. He pulled back the sheets, and began to swing his legs over
the side. However, he immediately felt that something was wrong, and even as he
looked down the memories flooded back. He tilted his head back and howled, an
inhumane sound. The door to his room immediately flew open, and a young woman
dashed in. She came around to Jaon and wrapped another blanket around him. She
held him as he cried, trying to help him realize that all was not lost. ”Honey,
it’s alright. You’ll be fine; the doctor says you did very well.” Jaon ignored
her words though, and his mind raced.
How?
Why did I end up like this? His eyes remain fixated on the bandaged stump
and the bloodstains that remained around it. He traced the outline of the
bandage with his finger, the shock rendering him almost mindless. It seemed
like hours until the woman left, but still Jaon sat at the edge of his bed. His
tears had long since stopped, but the overall depression continued to pervade
his consciousness
.
This was a tough scene for me to write, especially because it was mostly written in one sitting. The subject material is a bit gruesome, but necessary to show the horrors this boy has been through. I know, I haven't posted chapter 2 yet but that will come. I really need advice on this as it is a key part.
Thanks
Drew
