The fuck just happened?

Flashes-

Burning-

Smoke-

Blood… death.

Memories-

Pain-

Nightmares-

Running-

Running-

Running-

Yet- he couldn't outrun them.

No matter how much he howled-

No matter how much he cried-

No matter what-

He couldn't-

Outrun them-

He couldn't reach them-

He couldn't touch them-

Flint woke up- eye's blurry-

Alone.

A small damp room-

Rather nasty wet smell-

Some dripping from the celling-

'Mud?' The walls- also muddy-

Barely any light.

Was he underground?

A bare wooden bed with no sheets-

And him-

Bandaged- very- bandaged- and-

Chained.

"Where-" His head hurt- and he couldn't get up-

And even if he could get up- what of the chains?

Groaning- he tried to move a bit-

He couldn't.

This was worse-

Much worse than when he woke up that night-

Under the stars-

Flint checked his other arm- still attached somehow.

It was heavily bandaged but still there.

'Didn't it fall off?'

He distinctly remembered so-

A sharp pain shot through.

Stabbing, stinging and even the slow radiating… all kinds of pain.

Just slight movements alone were enough to send him through a world of pain.

Enough to make him feel faint- actually, he didn't feel very awake even now…

Eyes started closing again-

"Oh, you're up-"

He heard voices- but-

He couldn't focus…

And everything- for the umpteenth time went dark.

***

Flint woke up again sometime later.

And this time-

There was someone here-

A woman-

The same one-

"You saved me?" He wondered.

"Yes-" she said- cutting a piece of wood- sharpening it with a knife. "I believe that should have been obvious."

She didn't have her uniform or her robe.

Just a typical blouse over her short shirt and a skirt over her short pants.

"Right-" Flint tried to sit down- but everything stung so damn much. He did manage to look up though. For now, that was the most movement his body was capable of.

"Didn't I warn you not to get into a fight within a week?"

"You did…"

"But you didn't listen and then you almost ended up getting killed-"

"Yeah-" Flint didn't look at her- rather he looked over his body-

Lots of wounds, lots of bandages but he didn't quite see any reason to be chained.

Or maybe he did.

He just didn't want to think about it.

Which did beg the question- "Why am I here?"

She, Mari, smiled. "I've been tasked to watch over you as punishment for failing to get you back safely to the inn…"

"But that's not your fault-"

"I know!" She crushed the wood in her hand; splinters flew. Mari let out a breath and calmed down a bit. "Regardless- I don't know why the head mistress favors you but to stay there I've to heal you up properly and without problems." She grumbled, sighing.

"That's why you chained me here?"

"Obviously."

"I'm sorry but how long do I have to stay here?"

"Three months."

"Excuse me? What! I don't have that kind of time!" The more excited he got, the worse the ache became…

She grinned waving the knife- "That won't do at all. Oh, you'll heal properly alright-" Eyes hazy- blood shot in a sense- "Even if it's the last thing you do-" A whisper- and a smile.

Utterly beautiful.

Utterly psychotic.

Thump!

She slammed her fist down, right next to Flint's ears- enough for it to touch and maybe tear off just a bit of skin-

Burning-

"Okay-" Flint mumbled- 'She's crazy!'

And though he didn't know how to deal with crazy women, he did know it was best to keep his quiet for the moment.

"Glad we understand each other." That said- "You're hungry?"

"No, but I need to use the bathroom-"

"I see, there's a bucket in the corner. I'll be back tomorrow."

That said-

The girl chirpily went out.

'The fuck just happened?'