The next day, Saul begins to awaken from his comma-like state. He awoke in an old bedroom; he could faintly hear some scratching noises. He could barely move from his position as his own body was still numb. He attempts to move his arms but felt a powerful sting of pain coming from his arms. He looks down and sees that his arms were covered in a cast. He begins to go in hyperventilating as he could feel his arms or his hands. The noise of his breathing immediately caught the attention of Andrea who was across the room writing documents. She tosses the pen and rushes over to his side.
“Hey! Hey! Kiddo calm down! I’m here! Look at me!” She yells.
He immediately turns towards Andrea. He couldn’t remember why his arms were like in this state until her remembered. They were blown off when he tried to protect everyone from the fire slash. His arms were shaking in fear and turmoil as he stood back up and then attempts to cover his head with his arm cast until Andrea stops him.
“You’ll get them back. Don’t worry. But for now, get some rest. Are you hungry?” She asked while stroking Saul’s head.
“Y-yeah. Just a little.” He said while trying to calm himself.
Andrea immediately went back to her desk and picked up a tray. She brings it over as she unveils the food itself. There was what appears to be rice, but it was brown with some veggies thrown into the mix, along with a small bowl of soup, a delicious-looking muffin, and a cup of what looks like milk. He was readying to take the tray itself but then retracted it as he remembered his arms were cast and he had no hands anymore. Andrea didn’t mind as she grabs a spoon and tries to spoon-feed him.
“Now say aaahhh~” She said.
Though he was embarrassed about it, he swallowed his embarrassment and proceeds to swallow the spoon of rice. Surprisingly, it was delicious. More than what his mom made back him and beyond tasteful than what than what hospitals would serve. Immediately, he already wants seconds. Andrea thought he enjoyed being pampered like a mother to a child would but really Saul wanted more of the rice. Few minutes went by and he finished his breakfast, or was it lunch? Hard to tell from the lighting in the room.
“Hey, Andrea? Where exactly are we?” Saul asked.
“We’re in a temporary hospital my colleagues and I set up to aid the freed slaves. Before Sara called us for the mission, I was setting up shop here anyway. However, I didn’t think we would need to use this soon though. I had to call in every colleague in the area to come in and help on such short notice.” She said with exhaustion in her voice.
She walks over to her desk as she sat while rubbing her temples on her head. Saul grew concern for her as he sees how exhausted she seems from her slump as well the bags under her eyes. She must have pulled a few all-nighters to keep up the pace.
“I’m … I’m sure you’re doing your best Andrea. Not just with healing me but for everyone here in the hospital as well. I’m sure everyone appreciates your guidance.” He said.
Andrea appreciated the encouragement from Saul but it’s not enough to solve every problem she has to deal with. Andrea then turns her chair around as she opens her drawer from her desk and brings out a set of tools. Saul recognizes some of them as they were similar to the same tools doctors would use when they need to remove casts on patients. Though they seem differently built than the ones back home. They had small crystals at the center of the grips, probably powered by magic.
“Now, shall we remove those from your arms?” She asked.
“Already?” Saul questioned.
“You want to get your arms, back don’t you? You can’t do it with those on your arms.” She added.
Saul totally forgot that his contract mark can indeed regenerate limbs. He would mostly use it to heal severe injuries not to bring his limbs back. However, it was also a great risk as well. The longer the regeneration took, the counter goes down even further. However, he was will to give it a try. For he won’t be as useful to the group without a limb or two. He attempts to walk over to her desk but his legs barely regained strength so he collapses on the floor. Andrea rushed over helps up by putting his arm over her shoulder and guides him over to her desk. She had him sat down on a stool while she lay his left arm on the desk. She grabs the buzzsaw as the crystal in the handle activates and the blade itself begins to spin.
She begins the process of cutting off the cast by cutting at the center of the cast then dragging towards her then back towards Saul’s joint. Then she puts the buzzsaw and grabs a set of pliers. She set them in an opening gap of the cast then pry the cast open. She then yanks the cast out as it shows the exposed bone of Saul’s arm. Saul was horrified when he saw his own arm bone was exposed like that.
“Now for the other one.” She commented.
Saul showed her his other arm and proceeds to repeat the process. After removing the cast from his arms, he held in every fiber of his being to holding to scream in the horror of the state of his arms. Andrea placed her hand over his should calm him down.
“Remember, you can get them back. Now concentrate. Bring them back just enough for today. Then we’ll try again tomorrow.” She said.
Saul then looked down at his arms again and took a deep breath. He closed his eyes and concentrated as his arms began to glow. The pain of his arms began to surge as muscles and bones reconstruct themselves and slowly form together. All in the process the pain was growing as his arms grow out and slowly formed his hands and his fingers. He opens his left eye for a moment as he sees the contract reappearing in his still-reforming hand. He stops immediately when he sees that the number was going down too fast from 13 to 4 pretty quickly. Out of breath and breathing heavily, his arms remained incomplete as the muscles and bones were still openly exposed. After seeing his regeneration in action, Andrea immediately jots down notes in her book.
“Fascinating.” She said. “Can you try to move your joints at all?” she asked.
Saul attempted to move his arms up toward his chest but it was too painful for him just by moving them. Even slightly moving his fingers sets off every nerve in his arms as his arms drop. Even blood begins to draw out just by moving them. He attempted to move them again but then Andrea immediately stopped him from his attempt.
“Don’t. You’ll make the recovery process take long if you do that. We’ll try again tomorrow. For now, let’s patch you up.” Andrea reassured him.
Andrea took a needle from her draw and inserted some antibiotics into the injection and injects Saul. Saul winced as she injects him through his opened exposed arms. She then took one of his arms and begins wrapping his arm in bandages. The antibiotics numb the pain but just only by a little bit. Even just by wrapping his arm, he holds in every bit of pain from the processes. He then had to endure it longer as Andrea proceeds to do the same process on his other arm. Going through the process was painful enough both mentally and physically.
“Shall we get some fresh air?” She said.
“Yeah… that would be nice.” He hesitantly said.
Struggling, Saul stood up and walks over towards the wheelchair, and drops onto the chair. Andrea helps him place his arm on the armrest of the wheelchair. Even though he still feels the pain in his arm, he attempts to move his arm a little bit along with his fingers but retracts immediately as the surge of pain courses through his arms. Andrea then snaps her fingers as a portal then opens up in front of them. She grabs the wheelchair and strolls right into it as they were transported to the main halls of the university. Doctors and nurses are running back and forth through the halls and patients are being carried to their next operation. The mere sight of it all horrified Saul as he sees many of the slaves he helped freed were so severely hurt. Some made it okay in one piece but their faces were filled with trauma from the experience of being enslaved. Others lost some of their limbs during the escape and are still getting used to wearing prosthetic limbs as they struggle to walk a few feet. He even saw a few of them being carried off in stretchers with blankets wrapped around their faces.
The thought of “Did I really save anyone?” plagued his mind as Andrea escorted him through the halls. All he saw was pain, misery, and death as they pass through the halls. After a few minutes of walking through the halls, Andrea escorted Saul into one of the University's open courtyards. She parks the wheelchair next to a bench and sat next to him.
“Not a pretty sight is it?” She said.
“No…. no it’s not.” Saul answered.
“Hey, I know I didn’t see what happened back there during the battle. But I want to know that you did your best.” She said as she attempted to encourage him.
“Did I really? Not all of them made it safe.” Saul added. He loses himself in his thoughts. Though he did the job well on his own against Desperado and even surviving against their own commanders. But it wasn’t enough to hold out to keep them all safe.
“Not everyone can be saved so easily as think. It’s a harsh reality you must face Saul. Yes, we saved most of them, but think of this. Would you rather we save the most we can? Or would you rather you let them die to spare them more pain they’ll endure for surviving?” She asked.
“What? Why would you ask something like that-“
Saul paused as he looked straight into her eyes. Blankness. She has seen it all. Death, misery, pain, and endurance. The look in her eyes made his heart sink down.
“Believe me. This is tame compare to what I and my colleagues have been through during the closing age of the war. Places like this would be pact to the brim with patients. Even performing surgery out in the open in the hallways while every doctor and nurse would be dying left and right from exhaustion alone. And the morgue basically became a crematory of burning dying patients or dead doctors and nurses. All I had to deal with was watching friends and relatives being on each patient's bed or risking their lives out in the war. Only to see their corpses stroll by towards the crematory.” She said.
Hearing Andrea confessing what she has through, made Saul giving her more respect than she deserves. Though he didn’t experience the harshness and cruelty of the war first hand, experiencing the aftermath and how much it affects everyone here, was enough to grieve for them. How much did they suffer? How much did they wen through just surviving and live at least one more day? Andrea then places her hand on his shoulder to snap him back into reality.
“Mistress Andrea! Ma’am, we have a few more cases to look through. Our team is ready to look through with you.” A doctor said as he rushed over toward Andrea. “Oh, uh, am I interrupting?” he asked.
“No, I’ll be there in a minute. Will you be alright on your own?” Andrea asked.
“Yeah. I’ll be fine. You got a job to do. So I’ll wait for you here.” Saul said.
Andrea nodded and proceeds to follow the doctor back into the main halls. All while Saul was left in his thoughts to pounder. Just then, a girl with messy brunette hair color walked up towards him wielding a small cane to support herself from a casted leg. Saul looked up and instantly recognized her. It was the same girl that he saved from Luminado.
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