Page 82 of Nixx
It is impossible, I am going crazy. I think I hear my companion talking to me mentally. We fly over the barrier left open and continue until I see the imposing body of Tigger.
We land behind the beast and I see with horror the reddened body of my wife in the paws of the oncifelis.
Life seems to have left her. A cry of agony passes my lips. Tigger raises his head and stares at me with his red eyes. I draw my blade, ready to confront this animal that has betrayed my companion's trust, when Elvinn's little voice reaches my consciousness.
“Kryll wanted to kill her and he wanted to hurt me badly too. The oncifelis scared him off and he left. And he stayed there to protect her.”
I see. That's just like my Sarah, getting the absolute loyalty of an oncifelis. But right now, he has to let me have my wife back. Lokk and I tried to approach, but Tigger raised his head and fired at Lokk.
“Lokk, stay here and let me handle this. And organize the tracking of this scum without delay.”
I slowly approach the oncifelis who lets me. I kneel down in front of the lifeless body of my companion. Her body is in tatters. Not a single surface is intact. She is only wounds and dislocated limbs. My throat is sore from holding back the pain that oppresses me. I grab Sarah's lifeless body as gently as I can.
I don't know if she is still alive, but I do know that her Sarconze can overcome the most serious wounds, provided that there is a breath of life left in the body entrusted to her.
I fly away immediately, my precious cargo in my arms and locate the open entrance on the façade where the sarcophagus is stored, facing the sun’s rays.
As I have seen her do before, I place my hand on the green surface and the lid gently opens. I place Sarah's body in it, devastated by the prospect of losing her. I quickly remove the shreds of her tunic and place my lips on hers, as much to check if a breath still animates them, as to offer her a last kiss. And without losing a moment, I close the sarcophagus. Immediately, the light passes to the red.
Then starts the infernal waiting. Quickly, Eva joins me. Without a word, she checks that the light is red, a sign that it has started its regeneration work.
Sarah has already explained to me that depending on the extent of the injuries, not all the damage can be repaired. I pray to the Winds that they do not take away what they gave me so recently.
After an hour, Eva dares to break the silence to speak to me gently, putting a hand on my shoulder.
“Nixx, there's not much more you can do at this point. I didn't see Sarah before you put her in there, but if the injuries were very severe, it may take a day or two for the Sarc-11 to regenerate everything. The beginning of the cycle is a DNA scan of the body, then comes a complete analysis of the injuries, then the reconstruction, in order of vital urgency. It's been an hour now, which means that the first two phases have been completed and the reconstruction has begun.”
“You mean it's not too late? Is she going to live?”
“I can't say for sure, but I think so. The Sarc-11 would have stopped before otherwise.”
A deep sense of relief rises within me. Eva is right, I may not be able to do more for my companion right now, but I can take action to find the madman who attacked her.
I stand up, put my hand on the Sarconze, close my eyes for a few seconds and walk out, determined to solve Kryll's problem once and for all.
“Lokk, where are you? Did you find him?”
“Not yet, we are still looking for him. How is she doing?”
“She is alive . . . for now. We must wait. Let's meet at the entrance of the weapons room and bring Elvinn to me.”
“We are coming.”
With a few strokes of my wings, I am in front of the door of the Complex and I see Lokk arrive with little Elvinn in his arms.
The poor kid looks traumatized.
“Elvinn, can you please tell me again in detail of what happened with Sarah?”
The child hiccups and begins his explanations, fidgeting with his hands.
“I was playing on the set of the Complex, at the other entrance, the one where there are other children. And then Kryll, he landed in front of me, he hugged me, and he told me that mom was looking for me. But afterward, when we were in the air, he told me that he had my mom and that he was going to hurt her if I didn't do what he says. So, he took me to the new gate and he told me that I had to go get the orange-haired healer and take her behind the gate and if I told anyone, he would hurt my mommy. So, I went to get her, she followed me and when we went through the gate, Kryll, he hurt her really bad and he said he was going to kill us both. And he said you couldn't put me and her in the box anyway so she was going to die and so were you. But I didn't want him to hurt her.”
I rage when I hear this story. This despicable man not only acts like a deceiver but does not hesitate to use a child. It is imperative to catch him before he makes other victims.
Unfortunately, the hours passed and no trace of the traitor. Nothing either on the side of the Sarc-11 of which I took again the vigil.
At night, I leave a few guards at the main entrances of the Complex, although it is useless, because it can be entered from so many openings on the façade.
