"John!" Lydia and Julia yelled, they were the first to run towards John’s figure, landing face down in the grass.
Stephanie was the second one and Octavia, Dalia, and Maria followed shortly after.
"You idiot! What are you doing? Start healing him!" She yelled as she shoved Julia towards John’s figure.
Julia panicked and kneeled next to John and began examining him.
John had sustained multiple wounds all over his body and Julia frowned as she examined John’s chest.
"Is he hurt badly?" Octavia’s voice trembled as she kneeled next to Julia.
"What happened? Why did August attack him?" Stephanie asked, kneeling beside John’s body, cradling his head.
"Stop asking useless questions and focus on the task at hand! Heal him!" Julia barked and her aura coursed through her, enveloping her in a faint, golden glow as she began casting a healing Skill, but John remained unresponsive throughout the process.
Lydia rubbed her temples in frustration and spoke, "let’s go back and let him rest."
"I’ll carry him back," Stephanie offered and gathered John’s body and carried him as Octavia and Lydia went ahead to inform the survivors in the shelter.
As they made their way back, Dalia was strangely silent the whole time and Stephanie had noticed.
"Hey, are you okay?" Stephanie asked as she gave Dalia’s shoulder a gentle squeeze.
"Yeah, I’m okay," She said nonchalantly, but Stephanie knew she was lying and she would have a talk with her when she found the time.
As the group arrived at the base, they cleaned John’s injuries, bandaged him and laid him down on his bed. Julia and Jolene stayed by his side, taking turns to nurse and heal him, but the world kept on moving while John was unconscious. At the top of the base, a girl with long black hair exhaled a cloud of smoke as she glanced up, her eyes glinting silver under the moonlight.
"Are you okay?" Lydia asked as she spotted the girl with pitch-black lipstick smoking on the terrace and standing idly by the railing.
"What do you care?" She spat, her tone was as gloomy as the lacy black gown she had on, exposing her slender waist as Lydia approached her.
Lydia knew the girl had a wild temper, but Lydia had charm and above everything, she had patience.
"Of course I care, Zara." Lydia squeezed Zara’s shoulder gently, but the girl jerked her body away in a hostile manner.
"Come on, what happened earlier must have been terrible. Do you want to talk about it?" Lydia’s question was met with silence from Zara who turned and took a long drag from her cigarette, exhaling the smoke in Lydia’s face.
"Bitch," she murmured before disappearing in a burst of flame and leaving Lydia alone, cussing and mumbling under her breath.
Lydia stayed on the terrace for a while longer, overlooking the darkening landscape and enjoying the cool breeze. She was wearing a loose white shirt with rolled-up sleeves and black leather pants, showing off her hourglass figure and ample cleavage.
"Lydia!"
Her gaze was fixed on the horizon, but a familiar voice snapped her back to reality.
"Lydia! There you are! Thank god," Octavia exclaimed. Her hair was dishevelled and her forehead was drenched with sweat. Her hands gripped the railing so tightly, her knuckles were turning white.
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"Octavia, is everything alright?"
Octavia’s mouth opened and closed several times.
She took a deep breath and blurted out, "there’s a couple outside, they’re injured."
Lydia sighed and closed her eyes, pinching the bridge of her nose.
"Can’t Jolene take care of them?"
"There’s no one available, Jolene’s with John and you know how bad he is. Also, the others are outside on a monster hunt and Dalia went along with them."
Lydia glanced over her shoulder, looking at the dark skyline and let out a long exhale. "Fine. Where are they?"
"Thank you so much, Lydia. They’re at the gate."
Lydia turned to look at Octavia. "Let’s go."
Octavia nodded and followed close behind, leading them towards the main entrance.
There were several people gathered there, but the crowd parted as Lydia approached, revealing the couple.
The young man was holding an injured woman, her hair was dyed teal and red.
"Please, help us," the man pleaded.
"Take them to the infirmary," Lydia commanded the nearest man, and he quickly nodded, leading the way for the couple and motioning for them to follow him.
"Do they have a name?" Lydia asked as she glanced at the man carrying the injured woman and her companion, following him to the infirmary.
"He said his name was Matt and the woman’s name was Celeste, but we didn’t get their family name."
Lydia quirked an eyebrow at the woman’s name and her lips curled into a smile.
"Take good care of them and call me when the girl wakes up."
The man nodded and hurried to follow the trio that was already heading towards the infirmary.
Most beds in the infirmary were occupied and the survivors went back and forth, fetching things and administering medication.
"Put her here," Lydia commanded the man, gesturing towards an empty bed next to the windows, the first available spot she saw.
The man complied and helped Matt lower his girlfriend on the bed gently.
Lydia turned around to leave and muttered under her breath, "this should be interesting."
The next day, John’s eyes snapped open to see the light of dawn, but every muscle in his body ached as if he had just endured hours of excruciating pain and his memory was hazy, the last thing he recalled was August’s foot crushing his ribs and then the entity used him as a weapon against the group.
"How are you feeling?" A soft voice echoed in the dim room and John turned his head towards the speaker to find Lydia leaning back in her chair, legs crossed and a book in her hand.
"Like shit," John mumbled, his voice raspy and raw.
Lydia let out a soft chuckle, shaking her head slightly, "well, you certainly look the part."
John groaned as he forced himself to sit upright, wincing at the pain shooting through his entire body. "What happened?"
Lydia spent the morning telling him everything that had happened since he lost consciousness, including the arrival of the two new survivors and the state of affairs in the base.
John could only sigh. They averted a disaster, but now they would have to rebuild.