“My name is Cornelia Mahler, the Allmother of the Reverent and the Revenant, but most of my community simply call me Nell.”The woman introduced herself serenely, but I barely heard anything after she said her name, because it’s when it all clicked in place for me.
“Holy shit!”I pointed my finger at her as I gave a snap of recognition.“You’reWellness with Nell-ness!You were all over social media up until… well, right up until we didn’t have social media or civilization anymore.My mom used to watch your Pilates videos.”
Her smile deepened, turning into something proud, and her pale eyes brimmed with faux humility.“I helped people in the way I could before the world fell.”
“You’ve really embraced color now, haven’t you?”I gestured vaguely to the bright costumes of everyone else in the room.“Way back when, I remember, you were all very…beige.A lot of blank white rooms and neutral colors.Like dry oatmeal.”
Her smile faltered slightly at that, but she replied coolly with, “Color is needed now more than ever.Beauty is the rarest commodity there is in life.”
“Well, I always thoughtlifewas the rarest commodity in life,” I countered, but then I snapped my fingers again as I remembered something else.“When the virus first broke out, weren’t you claiming that you could cure it with apple cider vinegar?Or maybe it was those overpriced sugary drinks you’d sell that were meant to ward off the zombie apocalypse?How did that work out for you?”
Nell’s smile instantly fell away, and her eyes narrowed at me.“The Revenant need no cure, and the world is as it’s meant to be right now.”
“You think this is the ideal version of the world?”I asked with a suspicious eyebrow raised.
At the same time, Alphie had finished cleaning my foot with cold alcohol, and she had moved onto tying a tourniquet around it, just above my toes.I winced slightly, but I did my best to hide my reactions.
“This will hurt a bit but it will be over soon,” Alphie said softly, and from the corner of my eyes, I saw her reach into her little wicker basket and pull out a pair of bone shears.
“Where we are now in time is setting the stage for what is to come,” Nell explained, her self-satisfied serenity returning with her pontification.“Someday soon, the One Who Commands Two Hearts will unite the Revenant and the Reverent as we are truly intended to be, and then all will be well.”
“The One Who Commandswhat?”I asked in confusion.
“We are –” Nell began, but I honestly couldn’t process the rest because the cold blades of the bone shear suddenly chomped down on the swollen skin just above my blackened toes.
“Oh, fuckinghell!”I shouted, because I couldn’t help it.I gripped the edge of the cot with my hands, squeezing until my knuckles turned white.
“Sentry, help the Empath hold her down,” Nell commanded.
But it wasn’t like I was trying to get away.It wasn’t even the pain – although it felt like blunt severing, fiery burning, and incredible agony – it was when the cold blade touched my hot skin, it was like the butchers had gotten to me again.
My body was thrown back in time, even though my mind was still here.My insides were ice cold, and my skin was burning hot.Sweat prickled out all over my trembling flesh.Tears blurred my vision so I could hardly see anything, and air struggled to escape from my lungs, as if my throat was closing.
I could hear Nell talking, telling Alphie she had to dosomething, and hands were on me.Too strong to be Alphie, so they must’ve been Benedict slamming me onto the cot while I gasped for air.
“Give her space to breathe!”Alphie snapped at Benedict, and the hands clamped painfully on my arms and then more soothingly, she told me, “You’re doing great, Remy.Take a deep breath, and exhale slowly.”
With her guiding me, I took several, slow deep breaths, and eventually, my body felt more like it was under my control and not trying to claw its way out of my skin to escape from myself.
“Finish tending to her,” Nell said, when I had calmed down somewhat.
“What should I be readying her for?”Alphie asked.
“Expiation,” Nell replied.“As soon as she is well enough.”
“As you decide,” Alphie replied.“Thank you, Nell.”
Nell gave me one last disparaging look as she went to the door.“I’ll leave the Sentry with you in case she gives you anymore trouble.”
“Thank you, Nell,” Alphie repeated, but then her attention was back on me.“I need to irrigate the wound and clean it before I dress it, and unfortunately, that is going to hurt quite a bit.But it’s the only way to truly prevent infection.”
“Do what you need to do.I can handle it,” I said.
It was going to happen anyway, so I might as well grin and bear it.At least, that’s what I thought until I felt the strange freezing burn of an astringent cleansing the freshly exposed meat and bone of my foot.I had a vague sensation of screaming, of pain, and then I disappeared into the black oblivion of unconsciousness.
44
Remy
