Void System: Every Heroine Makes Me Stronger

Cold field air struck Severin’s face.

His next stride landed in wet grass between the 2 open stone leaves. Gray dawn had strengthened over the overturned cart, the spilled grain, and the 15 dark bodies scattered across the field. No new Beast moved among them.

Tressa remained on the sheltered side of the cart with the driver. 2 workers supported his shoulders and back, the folded apron still wedged beneath him. The remaining worker held the horse villageward of the wreck while white breath burst from the animal’s nostrils.

The runner had not returned.

Severin stopped beyond the 2 workers at the driver’s shoulders. The bloodied sword hung point-down beside his right thigh.

"How many hurt?"

Tressa did not look up. Loose chestnut hair clung to her muddy cheek. She kept 2 fingers beneath the driver’s jaw and watched his chest.

"Only 1. Still alive."

The next breath stopped halfway in. The driver’s throat worked, but nothing followed.

Tressa changed the angle of his head by a fraction and checked the support beneath his shoulders. Her free palm settled lightly over his upper chest. His throat strained again. His chest stayed still. "Don’t move him."

The 2 workers froze.

"Crisis Hold. His breathing. 5 breaths."

The strain in the driver’s throat stopped worsening. His crushed side did not straighten, and his chest did not suddenly fill. A thin breath scraped through him, no deeper than the last, but it came.

"1."

Running feet sounded along the lane.

The missing worker came around the cart with 6 villagers behind him. 1 man carried a narrow outbuilding door. 2 women had blankets bundled against their chests. Another villager had left 1 boot half-fastened, and its loose leather slapped mud on alternate steps.

"Put the door down there," Tressa said. "Give us room."

"2."

The door landed in the grass. 1 blanket went across the boards. Tressa pointed to the upper end. "Fold the other there. Fold it again."

"3."

The newcomers crowded toward the driver. Severin stepped into their path before they reached Tressa.

"4 around the door," Tressa said. "1 at his head and shoulders. You, clear the lane, find whoever treats wounds, and get a warm room ready."

A broad man glanced at the nearest carcass. "What about those?"

"Leave the bodies. Stay away from the stone doors," Severin said. "Listen to her."

"4," Tressa said.

The 6th villager turned back toward Mereford. The other 5 moved where Tressa had sent them. The runner stayed outside the line, breathing hard and waiting for another message.

He bent toward the blankets.

"Stay free," Tressa said. "I may need you sent again."

The runner straightened, his chest still heaving from the road.

Tressa reached toward the near carrying edge. Her hand stopped above the board. Another shallow breath passed beneath her other palm. Taking the weight would put her where she could no longer see his face.

She pointed to the broad man. "You take this side. Keep it level."

He obeyed.

"5."

The hold ended. The driver’s chest shuddered. A wet cough escaped him, followed by a narrow breath that failed to fill either side evenly.

Tressa kept her hand beneath his jaw. "Not yet. Let him finish it."

The new carriers spread around the door while the 5th villager knelt at its upper end. The nearest carrier reached toward the driver’s ribs.

"No," Tressa said. "Hands away from there. You support his shoulders when they move him."

The man shifted at once.

Severin stepped away from the door and driver. He had the horse worker take the animal farther villageward and kept the runner outside the carriers’ path. No villager approached the carcasses while he stood between them and the cart.

"When they have him," Severin told the 2 original support workers. He pointed to the nearer man. "Watch the bodies." His finger shifted to the other. "Watch the stone doors. Nothing moves. Keep everyone out."

The nearer worker glanced toward Tressa. "She still needs us."

"Until she says otherwise."

Tressa waited through several ragged breaths before she called the lift. During that time, the blankets were straightened, the folded support was tested beneath the back of the head and shoulders, and the carriers changed their footing until each had a clear path to lift.

The driver’s eyes opened when Tressa leaned into his view. "We’re moving you. Don’t try to help. Small breaths."

He tried to answer and coughed instead. She waited until the cough passed, then checked the next breath before looking across the team.

The driver knew the road and had watched the threshold rise. Alive, he remained useful.

"4 corners together," Tressa said. "You keep his shoulders higher. Don’t pull his arms."

The carriers bent. The 2 original workers maintained the driver’s position while the new support took his weight a little at a time.

"Lift on 3. 1. 2. 3."

The driver left the mud.

His body shifted less than half a handspan before his mouth opened. The breath vanished. A pulse flickered at his throat, then faltered.

"Hold there," Tressa said.

The carriers locked their arms. The near corner dipped.

"Level it. Slowly."

The broad man corrected his side. Tressa changed the fold beneath the driver’s shoulders and turned his face a fraction. His chest remained still.

Ordinary correction did not bring the next breath.

"Crisis Hold. His breathing. 5 breaths."

A rasp entered him.

"1. Move."

The carriers completed the lift and brought the door clear of the mud beside the cart.

"2. Short steps. Together."

They started unevenly. The 2 front carriers shortened their stride, and the board settled between them.

"3."

The 5th villager moved at the upper end, keeping the driver’s shoulders raised. Tressa walked beside his head, watching his mouth and chest as the litter passed the overturned wheel.

"4. Keep going."

Mud pulled at the carriers’ boots, but the board no longer rocked. They found a shared pace and held it.

"5."

The hold released.

For the next step, nothing changed. Then the driver drew a weak breath without the Skill holding it. The sound was rough and too small, but it continued while the carriers moved.

Tressa watched the next breath before she spoke. "Don’t speed up. If the board tilts, stop before you fix it."

The litter continued toward Mereford.

The 2 original workers stayed behind. The nearer worker took position where he could see the carcass line without walking among it. The other stopped several paces from the opening, close enough to watch it without stepping nearer. The horse worker remained with the animal, keeping its head turned from the blood.

"Any dead?" Severin asked.

Tressa looked once across the people still standing. "None. No one else hurt."

Her voice had roughened. Her fingers shook when she checked the driver’s jaw, then steadied against his skin before the next step.

The horse worker watched her, then looked at Severin. "We owe you for this, sir. Tressa too. Whatever work you ask of her, she will do it."

"Don’t promise my work."

Tressa did not stop walking. The man stared after her.

"I’ll thank him myself," she said. "I decide where I work. Don’t promise anything else for me."

The worker’s mouth closed.

Tressa kept pace beside the litter, her attention on the driver’s chest rather than Severin. The carriers reached the lane and turned toward the village.

Severin watched until their steps remained even, then faced the open threshold and the bodies no one had moved.