Skye's Nightmare
There was so much blood. Ker'tak stumbled through the thick brush, unable to keep their gaze up. His mind was searching for Skye's, hoping she'd find him before...
Something flashed against Ker'Tak's vision. Butterflies from Earth seemed to swarm their vision. They could not stay silent any longer.
A flesh-peircing cry leapt from their throat as the pain of their wounds overwhelmed them. A voice cut through the screams. Yelling of a woman, as cracks and snaps of plant life echoes the footsteps of a biped.
"KER'TAK! KER'TAK!" Skye screamed through the underbrush. She saw them, but they didn't see her. Maybe that was for the best, because as they fell back, a pair of hands caught them.
They could feel themself being laid down, and as a pair of hands reached over their chest and pressed down upon their wounds.
"Hold on bud, backup's coming, stick with me," Skye's rapid talking caught Ker'Tak's attention, and seemed to calm them down some.
"Skye, does my blood not act as acid to you?" Ker'Tak's voice barely peaked above a whisper.
"It's fine, Ker'Tak, I'm fine, please, save your strength," Skye begged her friend to stay alive. She knew how delicate Si'Nains were, but *this.*
*This* was real to her, *this* was the threat that presented itself to someone close to her.
The acid ate away at her hands, gnawing away at the nerve endings in her hands as tears started to fill her eyes. She checked her belt for any leftover regenerates that would at least stem the spreading damage.
She found one at half-charge. Better luck that she would have expected. She injected the regenerate and bit back a scream as Ker'Tak's claws found her arm and dug in.
The roar that ripped through the woods as Ker'Tak writhed in agony caused the birds and beasts to disperse.
"Hold on buddy! Hold on-" Skye tried to keep them calm as blood was drawn from her arms, "I'm right here, I know it's bad. But that was a regenerate, you'll live. I promise you, *I won't let you die*."
Ker'Tak's eyes misted as they tried to look at Skye, they were desperate for someone to look at, anyone to link to. Fear gripped their senses.
"Skye....Someone...Anyone," Ker'Tak whimpered, tears rolling down the sides of their face. Skye moved to make herself seen.
"I'm right here," Skye's voice broke the violent roaring in Ker'Tak's head.
They reached out, carefully grasping the girl's cheeks and sobbing. It *hurt* and the pain was all they could focus on.
Until she offered an outlet.
"Go ahead and enter my mind, just until help comes Ker'Tak," Her ginger acceptance that this might be the only way to prevent even more pain, anguished Ker'Tak. But they had to vent the pain somehow.
"Please...Forgive me," They rasped as the pain lifted and the world went to that not-so familiar shade of silver. The soft breeze carrying Jin-wheat pollen across the soft lilac skies of Si'Nai.. Her mind reminded them so much of their homeworld.
*"Hey, Ker'Tak?"* Skye's voice echoed around them, *"Bud.. It looks awful, all this blood on you.. I can't stem the bleeding enough."*
"I'll be ok, Skye. I'm safe here," Ker'Tak called into her mind, "You can do this."
*"I can't, Ker'Tak..Your blood is acidic... It's burning away my hands.. I can't stop the bleeding,"* She was crying now, mostly on the inside. Ker'Tak had no way of measuring the outside effects of this situation.
"You can let up on my wounds then, don't let my state bring harm to yours," Ker'Tak advised.
*"But if I let up, you'll..."* Skye started to cry, *"I can't let you die."*
"It's ok, the regenerate should be enough to keep me alive until the others can help," Ker'Tak reassured the worried Skye..
*"Your pluse dropped! Ker'Tak, you can't stay! You can't die on me!"* Skye panicked as the weight on Ker'Tak's chest lifted. *"I can't lose you too."*
Ker'Tak returned to his dying form, and unknowingly gripped Skye's hand as tight as they could.
"I..." Ker'Tak coughed, convulsing violently as the blood dripped from their mouth. Gasping they continued, "I'll be alright." Their voice strained as they struggled for air.
The sky above turned a deep purple, and Skye's face was illuminated with a heavenly glow as she cried.
"Ker'Tak...Sket-Fa de la nik mek, shi fe ki de la Harrowed?" (Ker'Tak, dying for me is no what I wanted, please do not die.) Her enunciation was perfect, like she had always spoken the language.
"Sket-Fa...Selonkina dek la bhin gai sekt," (Death, is not something a doctor can stop.) Ker'Tak's voice was garbled through the blood, but Skye understood, and her eyes grew wide.
She started sobbing as Ker'Tak's grip tightened on her hand.
"You're my best friend, Ker'Tak..I have to try," Skye's voice shattered as her hand returned to their chest.
Their eyes went wide just as she pressed on the wound. A blood churning scream lodged in her throat as Ker'Tak watched.
Their chest heaved, trying to fill with air.. Stars filled Ker'Tak's vision as the halo that consumed Skye grew brighter.
Out of nowhere, it got eerily quiet.. Skye's weeping had ceased, the pain disappated from their chest.
Jin-Wheat grew all around in a quiet meadow, and Ker'Tak now lay under the sweet Japanese Maple they had grown so strangely fond of.
Skye's hands pulled back from Ker'Tak and cupped over her mouth out of fear. To this day, Ker'Tak's handprint still traces her shoulder, and her mouth lay covered by the scar that was her beloved friend's death..
That scream she had bit back earlier lunged from her throat into the cold, unforgiving violet night sky.
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