Almost Dead Part 1
Out Of Action
By Krazy Sam
Crono, Lucca, and Marle dashed to Zenan Bridge, carrying the jerky that the cook in Guardia Castle had prepared for the troops battling Magus’ army. It was 600 AD, and even he felt a little out of place with people staring at him as he dashed by. He finally reached the bridge, out of breath and sweat glistening on his brow. Lucca and Marle looked much like he did- Lucca’s usually perfect hair was a fuzzy mess, and Marle’s outfit was now darker around the armpits and back. Crono had to laugh. If Lucca had a mirror, she would’ve fainted at the sight.
When everyone was together, he walked up to the Knight Captain.
“Jerky…for us?” He asked eagerly. Crono nodded. He looked around, and found that many of the soldiers standing when he left were sprawled out on the ground, obviously dead. He shuddered. A piercing scream cut through his thoughts. He whirled toward the sound, and Lucca and Marle did the same. Magus’ army cut through the Guardia defenses, and the remaining soldiers were outnumbered.
“We have to help them!” Lucca shouted. Marle nodded in agreement. Crono also nodded.
“Very well,” was all that he said. With no further warning, he, Lucca and Marle raced down the bridge. They came face to face with a green, fat guy who should’ve had the word; “Goodyear” printed on his belt. He was laughing.
“Those who dare defy Magus have to answer to Ozzie, his top general.” The creature said in a superior tone. “That, of course, is yours truly.” He cast some sort of spell, and skeletons of some of the fallen soldiers came obediently. They had spears, and prepared to lunge. Lucca immediately gave a mighty yell, and began to cast her strongest fire attack.
“Marle!” She screamed. Marle nodded, and began to cast her ice attack. The skeletons shrieked and disintegrated into nothingness. Ozzie growled, and ran. Crono, Lucca, and Marle were right on his heels.
“Wimp!” Lucca gloated.
“ZOMBOR!” Ozzie shouted. A bunch of skeletons began to merge, creating a huge monster. Its head and legs seemed to each have a mind of their own, making it impossible to kill all at once. Crono noted that the torso was floating several inches above the legs.
“You fools will never make it out alive!” Ozzie laughed.
Zombor screamed, and got into a fighting stance. Crono jumped back and began to cast his lighting spell. The legs immediately dissipated. The torso remained floating, and dragged Lucca by some sort of force. She screeched and flung herself desperately from side to side like a fish out of water. Zombor pulled out a bone that resembled a needle, and injected a fluid into her middle. She started to choke, and with her last ounce of strength, she pulled a grenade out of her bag. She pulled the pin, and with much effort, flung it at Zombor. She then gasped and her knees buckled. Crono ran to catch her, and she rolled her head up to him. She gave him a faint smile and tried to look brave. She then whispered something, but they weren’t audible. With that, her eyes rolled up in her head and she died. Crono began to cry, and proceeded to shut Lucca’s eyes, which were half-open. The grenade then exploded, killing the rest of Zombor. Marle, seeing that there was no more threat, ran to Crono, who was gently laying Lucca down on the ground.
“Is she okay?” She asked.
Crono bent down and took Lucca’s pulse. “No. She’s not.” He turned away and covered his face with his hands. Marle understood, and started to cry, also.
“I barely knew her…”
Crono picked Lucca up and carried her as if he were carrying a large baby. He then walked to a sandy beach with many rocks. The trip took an hour, and he had to stop often to take breaks. When he got there, it took another two hours to bring enough rocks to cover Lucca and to dig a large enough hole in the sand. He took one last look at Lucca, and kissed her on the forehead tenderly.
“May you rest in peace, my friend.” He breathed. Marle knelt down beside him and removed Lucca’s gun from its holster.
“We should keep this.” She said sadly. “You should keep it- to remember her by.” Crono accepted it and put it in his pouch.
He crossed Lucca’s arms over her chest and laid her in the hole. Then, he took the largest rock and set it on her feet. After a half-hour, up to her middle was covered with rocks. Neither Crono or Marle noticed that Lucca’s eyelids fluttered a bit. Fifteen minutes later, a moan emanated from Lucca. Her eyelids fluttered once more and slowly opened. Her face, which was pale, began to get some color back.
“Wha…?” She groaned. Crono and Marle jumped.
“Lucca…?” Crono asked, bewildered.
“Crono?” Lucca returned.
“Y-you were dead! I watched you die…” Marle, who was just getting over the shock of seeing Lucca awaken, was happy that Lucca was alive, but angry that she put them through all of that.
“Zombor…fluid…slowed down body a lot…” Lucca tried to speak, but the large stones were interfering with her breathing, and she found it quite difficult to speak. Crono and Marle seemed to recognize this, and proceeded to lift off the rocks as fast as they could. When they succeeded, Lucca finally had a chance to explain.
“The monster’s…” She groped for a word. “Stuff…well…it slowed down my body’s functions so much that it looked like I was dead. I heard every word you said, and I knew what was going to happen- but there are two things I need to tell you.”
Crono looked puzzled while Lucca sat up. “What?”
“First off, give me my gun back. Second, I told you that I wasn’t going to die! Didn’t you hear me?” When Crono shook his head, Lucca let out an exasperated sigh. “Those were my last words, you idiot! Geez, can’t you even hear?” She held out her hand, waiting for Crono to return her gun. When he finally did, she stood up.
“C’mon. We’ve got work to do.” She stood up and stalked away while Marle giggled.
“Whatever, Lucca.”
Crono smiled. He was just glad to have his best friend back.