Chapter 191: 191-We Keep Losing Crusaders
Clementine:
"Yorick! Go to Sebastian!" I screamed.
Yorick, who had been helping everyone get inside the mansion, dashed toward the fleshmingo. As it pulled its neck back, ready to strike and behead Sebastian, Yorick dove to the ground. The moment its head swung forward, he cut it clean off. The head flew onto the road. Yorick grabbed Sebastian, lifted him over his shoulder, and sprinted toward the mansion.
That left just me, Oriana, Haiden, and Troy struggling to control Jessie. We might have handled her if she hadn’t begun her transition. Her claws and canines were already out, and her focus locked onto Oriana. She hissed, growled, and lunged at her.
I threw my arms around her, dragging her down, when I noticed fur spreading quickly across her body.
"No, Jessie, listen to me! You don’t want to do this. You have to save yourself for Matthias. Your sister is already gone!" I shouted. But she shoved me away.
We held back, afraid that using our full strength would kill her.
"Okay, guys, there’s no other choice. She’ll heal. It’s fine if she gets hurt," Haiden decided. And he was right.
But Jessie lunged again. This time, she bit Oriana so hard in the stomach that I saw Oriana spit blood. Then Jessie slashed her neck with her claws. It all happened in an instant. Oriana kicked her away, staggering back, and began to transition as well. It was the only way to survive.
Jessie rose from the ground, hissing, fists clenched, ready to attack again. But before she could move, a Wendigo came crashing down on her. Its mouth opened so wide, and it happened so fast that before we could react, it had swallowed half of Jessie’s body, leaving only her torso hanging out.
I screamed louder than I ever had. I didn’t remember being this hysterical before. I’d had my moments, but nothing like this. I ran as fast as I could. Even when someone tried to grab me, I broke free and kept going. I sprinted toward the road where the Wendigo stood, sword in hand, and raised it high.
But the Wendigo, still holding Jessie in its mouth, swung its head sideways. Jessie’s body struck me, knocking me down and sending me rolling across the ground. Before anyone could reach me, the creature pounced. Its paw slammed onto my left arm, and pain exploded through me as bones shattered. My arm was completely crushed. I screamed, and then the others arrived.
Troy leapt onto the Wendigo, stabbing it again and again, trying to tear its skin open. Yorick and Haiden attacked its legs with their blades. The creature finally lifted its foot off me, and Yorick and Haiden hooked their arms under mine, dragging me back.
"Ah!" I cried out as pain shot through me.
Haiden let go of my left side, shifted behind me, and half-carried me as we stumbled backward. He held me from behind as we all watched the Wendigo raise its head and swallow Jessie. Her legs dropped onto the road, blood spraying everywhere.
"Come on, let’s go!" Troy shouted, but I was too stunned to move or speak. Jessie was gone, just like that. Yorick and Haiden dragged me toward the mansion. I didn’t move a muscle.
I looked back and saw the Wendigo retreating. After a piercing scream, it charged again, faster and stronger than before. We were all drenched in blood, in our own or our crusader’s blood. Haiden shoved me through the mansion doors first. He barely made it inside, a second later and he would have been caught. Yorick and Troy were already bracing the door.
The Wendigo forced its arm through the gap, clawing for someone as the others pushed against the door with everything they had. Suki and Jack rushed in to help, straining to close it. Finally, Mira lit a torch and hurled it onto the creature’s arm. Flames caught instantly, and the Wendigo yanked its arm out, shrieking.
We heard squeals and screams outside. Haiden and the others slammed the door shut at last. Then silence fell, heavy and unnerving.
"Yorick, get me a piece of wood! We need to splint her arm before she moves it and makes it worse," Haiden shouted. His voice snapped me out of my daze.
I turned toward the door, pressing my hand against it as reality sank in. We had lost Jessie in the worst way possible. No one should have to go like that. I closed my eyes, rested my forehead against the wood, and tears slipped down my face. The room was silent.
"If she transitions, she’ll heal quickly," Troy suggested.
I felt a gentle hand on my right arm. Turning around, I instantly buried myself in the embrace of whoever it was. From the scent, I knew it was Yorick.
"You did everything you could, Clementine," Yorick murmured.
I shook my head against his chest weakily.. I didn’t believe it. If I had done everything right, Jessie would still be alive.
"We all fought for her," Yorick said. I lifted my head, meeting his eyes. His hand brushed my cheek, then slid through my hair in an attempt to comfort me.
Meanwhile, Haiden appeared at my side. He had found a thick piece of wood and some cloth strips. Carefully, he slid the wood under my crushed arm and started tying it in place, binding it tight to keep the bones from shifting. Every pull made me wince, but I knew why he was doing it.
"I’m telling you, if she transitions, she’ll be fine. This is just causing her more pain," Troy argued from across the room.
Haiden paused, glancing at me. I wasn’t ready to shift in front of them, and for reasons I couldn’t explain. The thought made me uneasy. He seemed to understand, so he kept working, wrapping the cloth around the wood until the arm was fully immobilized.
"For now, she can’t heal," Haiden said firmly to Troy, who only stared back at me with pained eyes.
I looked around at the others, realizing they were all suffering too. Oriana hadn’t managed a full transition and was still gasping for breath. When she coughed blood and collapsed to her knees, everyone’s attention went to her. Her squad mates rushed in. Mira dropped beside her, checking for a pulse and the extent of the wounds.