Immortal - Chapter One

Young Cadmus is a young boy in medieval town Lahore. After surviving a stab wound during a robbery that should've been fatal, he is plunged into a journey that seems doomed to failure.

I had decided that being stabbed in the heart wasn’t as painful as I’d imagined.

I tensed up, my hands wrapping around the hilt of the blade now embedded in my chest. The thief was still standing there, gripping my bag tight and shaking like a leaf. He looked young - a little older than me, maybe. He looked scared. Was this his first time killing someone? Probably. I couldn’t make out his features very well in the shadows of the dark alley, which was a bit disappointing. Why did I even care about stuff like that? I was dying.

You know how people say that your whole life flashes before your eyes when you’re taking your lasts breaths? Well, it’s not true. In fact, I could barely think straight. My mind was all cloudy. The scrawny-looking thief was still standing there, trembling. Like he expected me to drape my hand over my forehead and fall  to the ground or something. In the distance, thunder rumbled. A moment passed. I supposed that I should be thinking about my family - you know, wishing I could see them one last time and stuff - but I didn’t have much family to think about anyways. I did hope my brother wouldn’t be too sad.

Another moment passed. Whatever pain that had blossomed in my chest faded into a dull throb. I blinked, obviously surprised. How long did dying take? The stupid kid was still there, my satchel in his sweaty hands and all. I sort of wanted to tell him to screw off and let me die in peace.

Finally, I pulled the knife from where it had been lodged into my flesh, as slowly as possible. As soon as it was out, the stab wound stopped hurting. Like magic. I lifted up my shirt just in time to watch the stab wound emit steam and close itself up, without even a scar or mark. It was as if it had never been there.

“W-What-” The thief was gaping at me now, taking a cautionary step back. He was obviously afraid. “What are you?!” he managed to eke out, shrinking away from me.

Now, I was just as startled as he was, but luckily I had a faster reaction time. I pulled back my arm and then sucker-punched him right in the eye; he crumpled to the ground, head cracking on the gravel street. I winced. I hoped I hadn’t killed him - I didn’t really want that sort of red in my ledger. Even if he had just stabbed me in the chest.

I stooped down, picking up my satchel. More thunder rattled the ceiling tiles of the tavern to my right, and rain began to fall in fat droplets. I began to walk, one foot after another, in the direction of my house. I felt strangely calm, considering the circumstances I had just gotten out of. I traced a finger over the outline of the hole that the knife had left in my canvas shirt. I should’ve been dead. Why wasn’t I dead?

My house had just come into view when I began to feel light-head. My upper lip grew warm; I touched it gingerly, and when I pulled my hand away it was sticky with crimson liquid. My nose was bleeding. One poorly-placed step later and I had tripped over myself, ending up on the ground with my face in the gravel. The last thing I heard was the whinny of a horse before I completely passed out.

I was enveloped in warmth when I woke up. My eyes fluttered open; I was in my own bed, the covers pulled up to my chin, morning light streaming in from the window across from me. I was beginning to think that it had all been a dream - the robbery, the stabbing, all of it. I mean, how could I have recovered from a knife to the heart that fast? Or even at all?

“Oi, Cadmus.”

My name. I turned my head, looking over to see my brother leaning against the doorframe. He looked pale, and there were bags under his eyes. I wondered if he had been up late, and why.

“Hey, Orion. What’s up? Training time already?”

My voice sounded scratchy. I tossed the blanket down off my torso and sat up; I felt surprisingly well-rested, considering how long I’d sparred for the day before.

“No, not yet. Just checking if you were up.” Orion paused, crossing his arms over his chest. He fixed me with some weird, knowing look. I frowned.

“...How do you feel?” he asked, slowly.

“Fine.” I scoffed. “Of course I’m fine! Why would I be anything else?”

Orion ran a hand through his hair. He did that a lot, when he was thinking. Or reading. He was really smart - one of the few shieldbrothers that could read. He was teaching me, too. He seemed to ignore my answer. “Hey, what happened last night? While you were walking home, I mean.”
My heart skipped a beat. It was a dream, right? It had to be. “W-Why, huh?”

“Because…” He picked up a pile of cloth from the floor next to him, “...you didn’t come home right away. When I went out to find you, you were blacked out in the middle of the street a little ways off. Your nose was bleeding. You had a knife in your hand and bruised knuckles. ...And you were wearing this.” He unfolded the cloth, which I quickly realized was my shirt from the day before. As expected, there was a slit in the canvas right over where the heart would be, perfect size for a blade. It was soaked in blood. My expression turned grim. Not a dream.

“Cadmus, tell me. What happened? I thought you’d been killed for sure, but there’s not a scratch on you, not even where the hole is.”

I faced the window and fell quiet, chewing on my lip. I was mulling it over, probably for a good entire minute. How was I supposed to explain myself? I didn’t even know what was going on. “Some kid tried to mug me, back in the alley. You know, the one I cut through to get home?”
“Yeah, I know. Get on with it, Cad.”
“Ok, well, I-I wouldn’t give up my satchel. He kept on asking, but I said no, an’ to let me through. I didn’t expect him to pull out a knife, but he did and… and he stabbed me. Right in the heart. Then he took my satchel.”

Orion drew in a deep breath, pinching the bridge of his nose. “That’s impossible. Are you sure he didn’t just graze you? If you were stabbed in the heart, you wouldn’t be-”

“I know. I thought I was a goner, for sure. But it didn’t hurt so bad, and then the pain was just gone, so I went and pulled out the knife. And then the hole just closed up, right then and there. The kid freaked, so I socked him in the face and left. Then I felt woozy, and my nose bled, and I guess I fell down.”

Orion was quiet for a while. I couldn’t tell what he was thinking. Usually I could guess, because we were quite close, but this time I couldn’t. He was staring at me; I fidgeted around, my bed creaking.

Finally he piped up. His voice was soft and careful, like he had to consider every word. “You’re absolutely certain that all of this is true?”
“Well, yeah! I think so. How else would you explain the hole?” I jabbed my finger in the direction of my shirt.

“There has to be a reasonable explanation.” Orion was always talking about stuff like that - like reasonable explanations.

My lips began to twitch into a grin. “Hmmph - I have a reasonable explanation for you.” I paused, for dramatic effect. “I’m immortal, obviously!”

My older brother rolled his eyes, shoving me over playfully. “You’re not immortal. Nice try.” His features softened, suddenly. “...but I’m just happy you’re alright, really. Maybe I should fetch the doctor for you, just in case.”

My smile faded, and I sat back up. “What? No way. He’ll just leech me or something.”
“That might help.”

“Help what? I’m fine, for crying out loud. Besides, I thought you said that leeching doesn’t work.”
“I didn’t say that. I’m just.. skeptical of it, is all.”

“Uh-huh. Sure.”

Orion stood, crumpling up my shirt and tossing it into the far corner of my room. “Fine, no doctor. But you’re at least staying home from the port today.”
“What?! But we have a huge shipment coming in today! Mr. Baird will be-”

“I’m sure the other boys will be able to handle it. You rest. I don’t know what happened, but I’m sure you need to sleep more. I’ll tell Mr. Baird that you’re sick when I pass through the ports on my way to morning patrol.”

I pouted. “Fine. But if he’s cross at me tomorrow, it’s your fault.”
“Cadmus, you aren’t the only loading boy down at the docks. They won’t fall apart without you. Sleep.” He sent me a warning glare and then slipped out of the room. “Oh, and no more walking home alone at night. You’ll be taking a horse from now on, at the very least.”

The front door slammed shut behind him.