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Jesse was sick.
She denied it, but Petra noticed the way she lagged behind and the pale, sweaty sheen on her face. She was pushing through it, which honestly is what Petra would probably do in her place, but when they ended up surrounded by monsters one night–well–Jesse was in no condition to fight.
“Jesse, you need to get out of here,” Petra ordered after slicing into a trio of zombies. “There’s a town to the west.”
“I’m fine–” Jesse tried to protest.
Petra let out a war cry and sprang, her sword sinking into a zombie behind Jesse. A zombie that Jesse hadn’t realized was there. “Not to fight! Not this many! I’ll be fine. Let me do this for you.”
Jesse sighed. “If you’re not back–”
“I’ll be fine.” Petra brought her sword down on yet another zombie’s head. “Just go!”
Jesse nodded and sprinted away as fast as her sickness would let her, which wasn’t nearly fast enough for Petra’s taste. A skeleton aimed its bow at Jesse. Petra leaped, pushing it aside before it could fire, and whacked the skeleton. Zombies growled behind her. She whirled around and slashed at two more. Something hit her from behind, causing her to grunt in pain. She twisted around and stabbed a zombie in the stomach. An arrow pierced her shoulder and it felt like it was on fire. Two more skeletons, but they were farther back behind the group of zombies. She couldn’t hold this many off forever, not by herself. She didn’t regret sending Jesse to safety, though.
Another arrow landed in her thigh, a stinging pain radiating from the wound. She thrust her sword into the nearest monster and it died, leaving behind rotten flesh. Pressing forwards, she swung with precision, ignoring every blow that landed. By the time she’d killed all the monsters, another two arrows stuck out of her arm and she ached all over. Pushing through the pain, she limped to the west where she’d told Jesse to go.
Her head spun, dizzy with pain as she dragged herself along. Her limbs felt heavy, as if they were anvils. But she made it to the town. It was a small place, more a village than a town, with houses made of wood and cobblestone and lanterns lining the streets. A couple of iron golems roamed and Petra winced. Her time in the Sunshine Institute had perhaps colored her perception of the golems in a negative light. But these ones were helpful, she reminded herself. These ones protected the villagers from monsters.
Petra knocked on the door of the nearest house. A villager in a tuxedo opened it and exclaimed in horror when he saw her.
“Yeah, I know I look terrible. Have you seen a woman named Jesse? Brown hair with a clip in it, overalls, a little shorter than me?” She asked.
“No, but the big cobblestone structure over there is an infirmary,” he replied in Villagerese.
“Thanks.” She headed to where he’d pointed–a giant rectangular cobblestone building with brick stairs for shingles. A sign above the oak door proclaimed it the infirmary just like the villager had told her. This time she entered without knocking.
A female villager sat behind a counter made of oak wood slabs. She gasped when she saw the arrows sticking out of Petra. “Come right in,” she said, standing up and gesturing for Petra to follow her.
“I’m actually looking for someone,” Petra replied.
“Jesse? She said to expect you. We’re taking care of her right now.”
She sighed in relief. “That’s good to know. I was worried she was going to deny help forever.” Ironic coming from Petra of all people, but her point still stood.
The villager took her to a room with two rows of white beds. Jesse sat on one, her face tense. She brightened when she saw Petra, but that quickly turned to concern. “Petra!” She exclaimed.
“Hey. Still denying that you’re sick?” Petra replied, sitting on the bed next to her.
“Maybe I’m sick, but you need medical attention like, yesterday.”
“I didn’t have this many arrows in me yesterday,” Petra pointed out.
“You didn’t have any arrows in you yesterday.”
“Well–”
They looked at each other and started laughing. “We aren’t making any sense, are we?” Jesse remarked, amused.
“Nope. None at all,” Petra replied.