Carriage in the sky

When Lily slid into the land of dreams, Riversnail blew out the lamp which he felt was on the verge of melting.

His eyes glowed faintly in the darkness, and green lines of text appeared before him.

He was the only one who could see the text, as while it seemed to appear in front of him, Riversnail knew it was actually within his eyes or perhaps inside his brain. He was very familiar with this contrivance, after all he read from it every single day. 

When a person read a lot, it was normal to be filled with a yearning for the vast outside world, but whenever Riversnail looked at Lily lying on the bedding so weakly he felt his longing evaporate into thin air.

He read much faster than an average human, needing only a few seconds per page. His eyes moved rapidly over detailed images depicting internal parts of the human body, meticulously committing each label to memory.

Riversnail actually hadn't felt like reading in a long while because the knowledge sourced from his books touched on the impossibility of Lily's recovery. It was only after a while that Riversnail managed to revive his former habit, he couldn't bear to discard any hope that might lead to Lily's recovery.

As Riversnail read, something was unconsciously stimulated inside his body. He felt as though something was being absorbed from within and around him. The air seemed to grow lighter and it seemed as though an invisible weight was lifted from his shoulders.

Despite this queer feeling, Riversnail's expression didn't change in the slightest; he had long since grown numb to this feeling for it happened every day whenever he read.

The room swiftly descended into a lonely silence. Only the crackling of the burning firewood, the sputtering of boiling water and the rough sounds of breathing could be heard.

Suddenly the girl on the bed gasped for air and started coughing.

Riversnail grew anxious, he hurried to her side with the lamp just in time to see her lean over and throw up a large mouthful of liquid. Pausing in his tracks, Riversnail's arms trembled as he felt his mind go blank.

The liquid on the floor was a bright red and seemed strangely semi-solid. However, the reason why Riversnail paused was also because he could see it very clearly even without the aid of his mutation. The blood on the floor glowed with a red tint, shining enchantingly in the total darkness.

The blood which softly glowed with an enthralling allure seemed a little demonic in Riversnail's confused eyes. This was yet another deviation from the knowledge he got from his books.

Was that really blood? He thought shakily.

He carried the girl in his arms, and immediately after, suppressed the urge to let her go. His face grew exceedingly pale; Lily's body radiated so much heat that Riversnail couldn't even imagine how she was still alive.

How did things end up this way?

Lily's eyelids shook feebly and she gasped and threw up again dyeing his clothes a light red, a faint fragrance emerged from it and filled the room as her eyes weakly opened. Glancing around, Lily's drowsy expression held faint confusion and the splotches of blood on her face slowly dripped to the floor when she tried to push Riversnail away.

Riversnail ran out of the house with Lily in his arms and directly entered the desolate street through the front door uncaring of any potential ambush.

While the boy was full of terror and anxiety, everything suddenly ceased for the rest of the villagers on the street. It was as though time had stopped when Riversnail appeared on the streets with the girl in his arms.

Except for the writhlers who were in so much pain that they didn't care about anything else, the rest of the villagers on the street couldn't believe their eyes. A shocked glow flickered through the eyes of the women and some of the men felt something they didn't think they would ever feel in their lives.

Riversnail's vision was blurry; the only thought in his head was to reach the doctor's house before the little girl died. He didn't even notice the creepy spellbound stares directed at him by the villagers or how they turned and moved in his direction. In his eyes, only the life of the little girl mattered.

Far away from them, a carriage was flying through the sky. Nothing pulled this carriage, but an old woman sat in the driver's seat holding a couple of reins and occasionally whipped the empty air.

Rain didn't seem to fall on this carriage and the old woman was as dry as fire. Her entire body was astonishingly free from mutations and her gaze was filled with disdain and mirth as she glanced at the village below. She looked completely normal with the exception of three ears lined across the side of her face in a strange and beautiful arc and a closed eyelid right in the middle of her forehead.

She suddenly stopped the strange carriage, and a quizzical expression appeared on her face when she noticed the little boy.

"What is it, Aunty Shi?" a playful tone emerged from inside the carriage, and the curtains parted to reveal a stunning female face.

She was free from any mutations and looked about fifteen. With large purple eyes, small red lips, and curly black hair which flowed down like a waterfall, she would be a goddess when compared to the women and girls below. A tiny tiara embedded with a large glowing stone sat on her head accentuating her beauty, and the bearing of the tiara was enhanced by the apathetic expression in her eyes.

She immediately noticed the blonde boy and her expression revealed slight shock even as her eyes remained indifferent.

This contradicting expression created an overall disturbing look.

"It's nothing princess. " the old woman said, unfazed by the princess's queer appearance. She whipped the air and prepared to leave.

"Wait a little longer; I'm a bit curious about this strange scene."

"The princess should not sully her eyes with those things," said Aunty Shi, revealing visible disgust.

The princess did not argue with her, her eyes which remained dispirited was fixed on the boy and her voice which echoed in the damp air now held traces of authoritative might.

"Still I want to see…"

The old woman did not reply this time instead she cracked her whip and the carriage came to a standstill, floating in mid-air like an oversized raindrop. Since her highness was curious, she could afford to wait, it had been half a year since her highness was curious about anything.

Riversnail pounded on the door of the doctor's home with a shaking fist. He waited nervously and hoped the rain would calm the little girl's temperature which still continued to rise.

A small split appeared in a descript side of the wall and an eye peeked through. The thick metal door slowly opened, rattling like a rusted vault and a middle-aged man who held the achievement of having the smallest number of skin mutations in the village glanced outside the door holding a small pistol.

The doctor's appearance couldn't be discerned because he wore a black mask but his eyes shone with anger which was then swiftly replaced by a look of surprise when he saw Riversnail's features clearly. As he glanced from the boy to the girl in his arms he slid deeper inside his home and slowly shook his head.

"There is nothing I can do for her anymore." He said.

A small crowd had gathered in front of the doctor's house, making sure to maintain some distance from the boy who didn't appear to have noticed them. They didn't seem to mind the rain and contented themselves with watching the interaction wearing smiles of schadenfreude.

"You told me she would eventually get better if I continued giving her that medicine," Riversnail said with a hint of coldness. His long delicate eyelashes shot up as realization came upon him. His eyes grew colder and he snarled, "You lied to me."

"I am not a god. I gave you the same thing I give others. Sometimes it works sometimes it doesn't. Now leave."

Glancing at the weapon the man held in his hands, Riversnail resisted the urge to run up and clobber the man before him to death. He tried to endure his bubbling rage, how dare this quack say Lily couldn't be treated anymore?

There were no other doctors in the village and the man before him, quack as he was, had indeed helped some people before. Riversnail instinctively refused to believe his words.

Banishing the growing despair to the back of his mind, Riversnail's mind whirled frantically for a solution. His face lit up immediately after, how could he have forgotten? Benefits! the doctor couldn't help his sister for free.

"Please save her, I will do anything." Riversnail pleaded with a cracked tone, almost whispering as he bowed towards the doctor.

His blond hair, soaked by the acid rain matted over his eyes, and a bandaged hand weakly rose and tucked them behind his ears.

Riversnail was stunned, he didn't know when Lily had regained consciousness and he quickly tried to put on a bright smile. When he chanced upon her eyes, Riversnail felt waves of despair wash over him. He could see that beneath the pain were acceptance and perhaps a little relief.

"It's okay Dumbsnail." She said, trying to smile as best she could, "I'm sorry I couldn't hold on for longer. Dumbsnail I –"

"Stop talking, you're going to get better. I figured it out; the doctor just wants more benefits." Riversnail said frenziedly turning to the doctor with a pair of cold eyes that seemed to have come from the deepest hell. He asked hopefully, "Isn't that true, doctor?"

The doctor reflexively backed up three steps. He looked up with wide eyes as though he had seen a ghost.

"I want you to promise me something," Lily said, and he nodded, a rigid, tortured little jerk of the head, and he refused to take his eyes off from hers. "After I die, you have to forget—"

"No" said Riversnail in a cracked whisper, and now his trembling body grew worse, and his voice sounded a bit like hers but much more beastly. "No"

"You have –"

"Everything is going to be alright, don't worry." Riversnail reassured and then turned to the doctor. "Please, help her. I promised her mother I would take care of her."

Lily's eyes seemed to dim a bit but she still tried to smile even as her face contorted from the pain.

The doctor would have previously watched this play out with an expression filled with boredom beneath his mask, but the shock from that glance had made him wary. It was only after a while that he managed to shake off that wariness. He hadn't even despaired when he was summoned to face Roaringlion so why would he be terrified of a kid he had known for years?

The doctor couldn't understand how Riversnail had even managed to survive all these years living with such a monster but he reckoned that now the boy's face had been revealed, his good luck had finally bottomed out.

Some thoughts flashed in his mind and the doctor shivered inwardly. He looked up at Riversnail with pity in his eyes. Most likely nothing would be left of this boy when the perverted villagers finished venting their pent up desires.

He would have loved to gain more benefits from this naive fellow but a glance at the creepy expressions of the villagers behind Riversnail made him shiver. He didn't want to interact with the boy any longer lest he unknowingly bring misfortune upon himself.

"Well? Aren't you all going to take him? "He shouted.

Riversnail's expression changed and he finally noticed the crowd behind him. Raising his hand he felt for his face and when he touched skin, he paled and swayed lightly in alarm.

The villagers looked at the boy whose eyes were filled with grief and the doctor who glowered with rage and suddenly they didn't feel like acting yet.

Who knew how long since they had such quality entertainment? People died every day from the mutations and the wild animals; nobody knew when they would be the next in line.  In this monotone world filled with death and darkness, it was this sort of entertainment they longed for the most. Who knew how much time would pass till they got another show?

The doctor seemed to sense their thoughts and he sneered, "Anyone who beats him up and takes him away from here will have a free treatment from me."

Most of the villagers smiled, watching Riversnail with even more passion.

Looking around him, Riversnail saw their eyes and discerned they would not help him.

He already believed this so he wasn't too disappointed. He considered his options, while robbing was not beneath him, he wouldn't be able to identify the proper medicine especially for a mutation. Such knowledge was not available in the old books.

Adding on the fact that he was carrying Lily, he decided to retreat. With ruthless eyes, he drew out his dagger and quickly zipped away but suddenly a short and skinny man jumped in front of him.

"Move" Riversnail said, his tone tinted with frost.

The short man's cheerful eyes surveyed Riversnail like he was looking at a piece of meat, then he smiled and said, "I've known of your illustrious reputation. Ten bandits in, one person out, but this old man is not fond of believing in rumours and has a sick little girl at home. You'll have to forgive me for this. "

Far away, the princess's expression brightened and the tiniest bit of mischievousness seemed to flicker through her indifferent eyes.

The old woman who now had a bored expression,  suddenly felt a bad sensation. This only happened when she would have to be involved in something troublesome in the future. She turned with a pained look and saw the princess pointing at the little boy.

Giggling, the princess said, "Him, I choose him."