Far Horizons: Tales of Sci-Fi, Fantasy and Horror. Issue #18 September 2015 | Page 87

“Holly shit!” Patrick was staring at the car Margo ran through the storage unit. Jake was just parking their car. When they walked in, they found the dried plant and Lucas in Vuur form on the floor, holding a bloody human Margo. Jake and Patrick stopped dead in their tracks. “Bloody hell, not again.” Jake couldn’t believe his eyes. “She’s alive…” Lucas trailed off. It was obvious he was barely conscious, holding by a thread. If he switched back, he would faint. “Her… pulse is steady.” “It’s ok, it’s ok. We got her.” Patrick formed a shield under Margo and lifted her up. He couldn’t carry her for long, but he could get her to the car. When he came back, Jake was preventing an unconscious human Lucas from falling on the floor and smashing his head. “How the hell did they both live?” Patrick was driving the car at as fast as he could, while Jake was sitting next to him, observing Margo and Lucas who were still out of it, in the back. They were also towing the broken car behind them. They had to get home as soon as possible. The spell Patrick managed to whip up while they were riding in the car would keep them in stasis for only a few minutes. “Not sure. I don’t even know how they destroyed the plant.” Jake turned to Patrick “Do you think this has anything to do with the Nexus?” “Might be. The Nexus would have a reason to keep her alive since it’s in her.” Patrick clicked the small glowing button on the dash. A garage door materialised in front of them. Jake’s theory about the lair being in its own dimension wound up to be true. Patrick parked the car in its rightful spot. Next thing, he and Jake were holding hands, concentrating on the shield that was carrying both Margo and Lucas upstairs. *** Margo opened her eyes to light from the win- dow. She groaned, squinting, and lifted her hand to shield herself. A pain shot up her arm. “Ugh, what the hell.” Her throat felt filled with gravel. She noticed her hand, and most of her body was wrapped in bandages. Somehow she had wound up in her room, in pyjamas, her wounds partly healed. “Hey, she’s awake!” Jake’s voice sounded from the living room. A minute later his head popped in the door frame. “Ya need anything?” “Bleh.” Margo took a deep breath and sat up, ignoring the pain and stiffness. “You ok? I think Jake wants to drown us in tea.” After a few minutes, Lucas was at the door. Margo looked at him, barely walking, body covered in bandages healing his burns, standing there with two cups of tea. He slowly made his way to the chair next to her, wincing every step. Margo leaned over and took the cup from him, placed it on the nightstand and helped him sit down. After he sat down, she asked him “How long have I been out of it?” “A week total. You did wake up right after me, said something incoherent and went to sleep. Happened a couple of times.” Lucas gave her a strange look as she was drinking her tea. “Ok, how the hell are you even up right now? I know you’ve had experience with injuries like this, but still.” Margo didn’t acknowledge his question. “Are you ok?” “I’m fine. Funny, first one on one fight I have been in was with a plant.” Lucas flashed a faint smile. “You’re lucky to be alive. Jake and Patrick couldn’t have gotten to us fast.” Margo’s voice was strangely soft for her. Lucas looked at her. Now after all of this, it was obvious she worried about him. He moved a bit, sitting more comfortably. Most of his muscles were just strained from the pain, the only real injury was the 87