The bright light of the afternoon sun burned Lissi's eyes as she cracked them open. Her head...oh, how it throbbed! She rolled to her side with a groan, closing her eyes tightly until the shadow of her own body provided a shelter for her eyes. There was a feeling of something sticky reaching from her right temple, down her chin and neck. She lifted her hand to her head gingerly, feeling along the trail slowly. Her fingers caught the edge of a gash on her temple and she winced, feeling the bruised and torn skin. What had happened? She sat up slowly, groaning again quietly. Her entire body hurt, but she could tell she was still alive, so that was good. Nothing seemed to be broken, and the only thing that was overly problematic was the gash on her head.
"Hello? Sarnai?" Her voice was scratchy and painful...her throat terribly dry. She cleared it and tried again. "He-hello? Anyone?" She surveyed her surroundings for the first time now. She looked to the right of her and saw bodies. Everywhere. None she recognized. But then, the left, she turned and immediately saw a face she knew.
Eskleth. She had watched him die. They sliced his throat open, as though he were a goat to be butchered. She did not know him, but he had been kind. Selfless. He was the reason she was not on that shore with her neck gaping open. So much blood. There was...so much. She hugged her knees to her body and rocked back and forth gently, holding her fist in her mouth to keep from sobbing. There was not a living creature she could see on the shore, aside from herself. So many lives that once were, now gone. The empty shells of bodies lay in their place. She could do nothing to save them; nothing to honor them. There were too many bodies there for her to tend to on her own. She paused in her silent mourning as a thought struck her.
She stood up shakily, looking around for anything she could use to dig a hole. There were no shovels, but she soon found a piece of curved timber from the boats that would do well enough. She wasn’t sure how long it took her-it was a few hours, at least-but she finally had dug out a hole large enough for a single body. She dropped the splintering wood from her shaking hands and looked down at them. They were rubbed raw and full of splinters…but she had more work to do. She looked back to Eskleth, then walked to stand over his body. “You…died. That I may continue to live. I will never-…” She trailed off to let out a dry sob which made her throat feel as if it were being torn from the inside. She cleared her throat painfully before continuing. “…Be able to repay this debt. Nor will I understand it.” She looked up, as if hoping someone would appear. “Why…why was I ever here? What did I think I could possibly add?” She covered her mouth before she sobbed again and closed her eyes tightly. She took a moment to try and compose herself, taking more than just a moment before she was able to do what she must. She took his arms and dragged him over to the hole, having no choice but to roll him into it. Her head throbbed with all of her effort…but her heart was throbbing with more pain than that of her head. She had to continue. She searched herself for something special she could give him before covering his body with dirt. It would not repay the deep debt she owed, but she felt the need to do it. She pulled her foot out of her boot, sliding off a small silver anklet. It had been her mother’s before she had died, but her father gave it to her. She wore it faithfully since. But…she had to do this. She looked at it, sitting in her painful, raw and ugly hands. They were once soft, pampered hands of a proper little Bree lass. She shook her head before letting it fall from her fingers, onto his chest. “I shall never forget your sacrifice,” She whispered, before going about the painful task of covering his body with dirt. This also took a while, but she saw it to the end. After this, she piled rocks over his grave. One for each body she counted, lost for her and her companions.
She fell hard to her knees once finished, looking toward the now setting sun. Her head. Her hands. Everything. Why did it hurt so much to even breathe? Why does everything hurt so much?
She forced herself to stand, using her arm instead of her hands to prop herself up. She stumbled forward, prepared to walk aimlessly until death, or purpose find her. Another thought struck her harshly, suddenly. Did her dear Owena die as Eskleth did? She bit her lip, forcing all thoughts from her mind. This was not too hard, as her mind wished to be blank. Her eyes emptied as she stumbled along. Utterly numb.
