Godfire: The Split Soul

The female ward corridor remained silent except for the faint hum of the overhead lights and the occasional footsteps of passing nurses.

Shadows stretched long on the doors but faded as they moved past the slightly opened door.

Inside the room, Jinx lay still beneath the thin blanket. She fixed her eyes on the ceiling tiles, counting the cracks which she had memorized over the past three nights.

As the last pair of footsteps faded, she shifted. She pushed the blanket aside with her right arm, then slowly swung her legs off the bed.

The night’s coldness lingered on the floor as her bare feet touched it.

The soft beep of the monitors, the distant rumble of trucks beyond the walls, and the yawning from other patients echoed around her as she began to move about in the room.

Cassy slept on the chair at the left side, her head bent at an uncomfortable angle, while her hands remained crossed on her stomach.

Jinx’s jaw tightened as she shifted her gaze from Cassy to the sling holding her arm. "What a waste," she murmured, then neared the chair where her clothes had been folded.

She changed in silence, biting down hard every time she mistakenly triggered the wounded arm. Sweat beaded on her forehead when she had fully changed from the hospital gown.

She inhaled deeply, glanced at Cassy one last time, then moved toward the door. The creaking sound echoed as she swung it open.

The faint light from the hallway glowed on the sling she had placed on the chair where the clothes were as she closed the door.

The hallway was empty when she entered. She turned and looked back when she reached the door at the end of the corridor. "I thought I saw something following me."

She frowned, then turned. The door squeaked when she pushed it open. Air rushed against her as she stepped out of the medical building and into the grace of the night.

Leaves padded around her as she walked toward the training yard, where darkness had swallowed everything.

Everything was packed when she entered. Chairs were folded and stacked against the far wall. Swords and guns were grouped into different sections.

The moon’s rays lay over the packed dirt and the wooden practice posts, sending a dead calm over the place.

Jinx calmed her fast-paced chest, then blinked twice. "No witness. Good."

A smile tore onto her face as she moved a step forward. She brushed her fingers across the wooden swords that were hanging, then stopped when she saw the black ones.

Her left arm hung useless at her side, yet she felt pain moving in and out of her bones like air flowing through her lungs.

Jinx’s shoulder and ribs strained as she lifted the middle black wooden sword. "This feels heavier than I expected," she whispered, shifting her gaze from the blade of the sword to its handle.

She gritted her teeth while forcing her stance to widen.

She swung right, and the blade sang through the chill air. Just as her shoulder lowered, pain traveled from her right arm to the left.

She staggered but stayed upright, her chest rising and falling as she glanced at the sword.

’I won’t let you make me pause.’ She screamed in her head as she swung again.

This time, she lifted the sword high above her head and brought it down, the tip screeching on the ground.

Her knees nearly gave out as pain exploded harder in her bones. Her breath hitched as she stumbled two steps back, but caught herself before she could fall.

Sweat dripped from her face as she tightened her grip on the sword and continued swinging.

Left. Right. Up. Down.

Every motion sent her stumbling back. "Come on. Come on!" she screamed at her own failures, then collapsed on one knee, panting heavily.

She tried to stand, but her body refused.

With frustration reeling in her bones, she slammed the wounded left arm hard into the dirt. Pam.

Blood welled up from her skin on the fourth strike, wounds splitting across her knuckles.

She watched the blood drops soak into the ground. "Lena died and I was asleep."

A sharp breath escaped from her mouth as she spoke louder than her voice.

"Kai was out there fighting, and I couldn’t even stand." Tears dripped down her face as she looked at her reflection in the small pool of blood.

Faces began to move across her eyelids the moment she closed her eyes. The gate of Bion City. The first day at recruitment. Mike and other young people like herself whom she had lost.

Her voice dulled when Oin and Lieutenant Gray’s faces flickered through the memories. "I couldn’t even stand. Couldn’t even make them proud."

She lifted her head toward the star-filled sky. "I’m just a useless being if I can’t fight from now on."

More blood spilled from her knuckles as she clenched both hands hard. She lowered her head until her forehead touched the dirt and stayed there, breathing in the smell of dust and blood.

Outside the training yard, frustration filled Cassy’s face as she placed her hands on her waist, tilting her head sideways. "Where did she go at this time of the night?"

She frowned, silently following the footprints.

She moved past the gate of the training yard, then paused. "Was that a kneeling person in the yard, or are my eyes just playing games with me?"

Cassy turned again, then walked back. Her eyes opened wide when she noticed the blue shirt she had neatly folded. ’Jinx?’

"Jinx!" The name escaped her mouth as her legs doubled their pace.

Jinx remained locked in the same posture, the tears now thick as blood. She didn’t even flinch when the sound reached her.

The air on Cassy’s arms rose on end when she saw Jinx kneeling in a pool of blood. "Jinx. What happened?!"

Still, Jinx remained there, sobbing louder.

Without hesitation, Cassy sat beside her, then placed a heavy palm on Jinx’s back.

Silence ruled between them as Cassy’s eyes began to investigate where the blood was coming from.

As the moon’s rays began to dim, Jinx raised her head slowly. Thick tear lines dressed her face, scattering her beauty. "I’m useless."

Cassy’s mouth opened, but no words came out as she watched Jinx’s broken expression.

"I’ve always been the one who talks too much, flirts too much, and never takes anything seriously." Jinx paused, raised the wounded left arm, then stared at her palm.

"And now Lena is dead, and Kai is out there trying to train so he becomes stronger." She inhaled deeply. "Now look at me! I’m bound to hospital ceiling tiles and only go out when I’m allowed to."

Cassy took in a deep breath, then gritted her teeth. "You are not useless, Jinx." She stood up, then turned her gaze toward the sky.

Jinx watched her.

"You fought a creature which the soldiers weren’t ready to fight. You didn’t even fight with a strong weapon. Just two swords." Cassy closed her eyes, then stretched her left arm toward Jinx.

Jinx used the wooden sword as support, then stood up, reaching Cassy’s level. "I lost after that."

"You lived, Jinx."

"What is the essence of living when I couldn’t help save the only person who had taken me as a daughter? Tell me, Cassy!"

Cassy didn’t flinch. She exhaled through her nose, then turned and looked back at Jinx’s bloodied hand.

"I’ve watched multiple soldiers."

Jinx’s face reddened as she threw a sharp glance at Cassy. "And how does that make me useful?"

"Their basic footwork. Their balance. Their guard positions." Cassy shrugged her shoulders. "...none of them were more impressive than how you fought."

Jinx’s sharp glance began to calm, almost as if Cassy was speaking in tongues.

"If you’re going to be stupid, at least let me be stupid with you."

Jinx swallowed hard as she looked at her with a shocked face. "You’re serious."

"I’m damn serious." Cassy brushed her palms across her face, then laughed.

"You can barely run without complaining." She moved her hand to her waist. "Look at me. If someone should use the word useless, it should be me."

A tiny trace of a smile beaded into Jinx’s eyes.

"Yes. I’m just a fat, ugly, dumbass lady who doesn’t even know how to kill an ant, let alone kill a snake." Cassy laughed heavily, then stretched her hand toward Jinx.

"But you." She shook her head twice. "...you fought like a mad person who doesn’t even fear when a god throws death at her. Jinx, gather yourself together."

She inhaled deeply, then instantly changed her expression into a serious one. "Come on." She stretched her hand into a grabbing stance, then locked her brown eyes onto Jinx’s.

Brown and green leaves flew above the pool of blood as the two ladies walked out of the training yard, holding hands.

For days, the two of them slipped out of the room, hid from medics who nearly caught them, and from nurses who crossed their paths.

They trained and trained until the night sky turned grey, before using the same sneaking approach to enter the room again.

For some nights, Jinx could barely lift the wooden sword. And for others, she made three full movements before she could even feel the pain in her bones.

Cassy, on the other hand, tried following Jinx’s stance but kept hurting herself. But when she figured out a stance and style of her own, she kept going like a hyper lion.