When Cordis woke again, he had no idea how much time had passed.
The cold surface against his back and the haze of smoke around him suggested that the battle probably wasn't over yet.
Shoot, who had been beside him, was nowhere to be found.
Cordis had no idea how the others were doing either. Only the sounds of fighting that kept reaching him seemed to assure him that they were all right.
Cordis tried to sit up.
But before he could move, a sharp pain shot through his abdomen.
Only then did Cordis notice the fabric wrapped around his abdomen. It seemed to be Shoot's clothing.
Cordis reached out to lift it.
Unfortunately, his injuries seemed far too severe. His flesh appeared to have stuck to the fabric, and every touch brought excruciating pain.
That made Cordis abandon the idea of checking his wound. He had practically no strength left now, and the injury to his left hand seemed even worse. Waves of burning pain spread through his arm, though fortunately, they didn't last long.
Perhaps the wound was so severe that his nerves had gone numb.
The thought had barely crossed his mind before Cordis passed out again from exhaustion.
When he opened his eyes again, the ruined walls around him had been replaced by a different setting.
He was in a fairly clean room, with a glaringly bright incandescent light overhead. The sight was all too familiar to Cordis.
He tried to move, but no matter how hard he willed his body to respond, he couldn't seem to feel his limbs. Fear seized him.
Had the extermination team failed?
Had he been captured?
At that thought, Cordis began trembling involuntarily.
The doctor operating on Cordis was startled to see him suddenly wake up, but fortunately pulled