My breathing was heavy as I hesitantly put the scissors back on the table. My hand fell to the ground, empty and utterly vulnerable.

He let out a sigh of relief before he finally moved closer to me. He reached out his hand, hesitating for a second, before wrapping his fingers around my arm. With a steady grip, he helped me back onto the bed. While I felt a compulsion to snatch my arm away from him, I restrained myself from doing so.

“Are you alright?” he asked, his voice now softer as he knelt on one knee in front of me. His shoulders became more relaxed as he almost met me at eye level. “You’ve been asleep for a while now. I was starting to get worried about you.”

There was this strange look of concern I could make out on his face. I was unsure why he was looking at me like that. With my vision finally becoming clearer, I could now see the creases underneath his eyes and unshaven hair along his jaw. It was a clear sign of weariness that aged him.

My fingers gripped onto the bedsheets again, my eyes still cold as I stared at him. I didn’t recognise anyone in the room or where I was. I didn’t even know how I’d got here or what was happening. I hated not knowing any of that.

“Where am I?” I finally asked as sharp soreness rooted deep in my throat suddenly rose. But I ignored that. My apprehension was rising with every second at the rather precarious situation I was in.

“You’re at a military hospital over in Vergissmeinnicht,” he responded with a light smile, but that hardly did anything to soothe me.

“Vergissmeinnicht?”

The word was familiar. It was the country the soldiers with the green uniforms came from. Along with several others, they were the ones the commander had labelled as the enemy, to see as less than human and treat as such.

But this also meant that this man was not one of my superiors. My jaw clenched harder. Just what was I doing here? Was I kidnapped? Just what did this man want from me? My organs?

“That’s right,” he said, his voice strangely soft. “We were retrieving bodies after the battle, and I found you in the pile of those bodies still very much alive. It was difficult, but I managed to bring you back here.”

I stared at him as I felt rather… confused. Perhaps baffled? I tried to think of a rational reason for this man to have done such a thing, but there was none. At least none that seemed reasonable to me. Was he sane? Did he not realise that I was the enemy?

Or maybe he did just want one of my organs after all.

“It’s been around half a year since then. You had a few nasty wounds, but you healed up quicker than I thought,” he explained as his gaze remained steady on me. “Though you were stuck in a coma during all that time, it seems like you’re alright now.”

A coma? Well, that explained the soreness at least. I looked down at the hospital gown I was put in. Along my arms was a string of bandages that wrapped itself around my skin. It was now completely bare of scars or any remnants of bullets. I couldn’t help but think what a waste it was to use those bandages on me.

“Oh, I completely forgot to introduce myself, didn’t I?” There was a bashful look on his face as he cleared his throat, “My name is Edwin Davis, but most just call me Davis. I was a major in the army.” His eyes were still focused on me with a gentle curiosity, studying me. “And what's your name, Miss?”

I paused, my eyebrows narrowing as I tried to think of a suitable response. The most common thing that I was called was ‘it’, of course, that’s if I excluded the curses. However, with my small knowledge of standard names, I was doubtful that ‘it’ constituted one.

“I don’t know.”

He arched his eyebrow upwards with surprise. “You don’t know?”

“They never gave me one.”

“They,” he scowled, disdain rising on his face. “Those bastards that brought a child into war didn’t even bother to give you a name.” He took a deep breath as he tried to calm himself down. “Well, do you at least remember anything about yourself? Maybe before the war?”

“No, I don’t.”

A time before the war was not something I even knew of or entertained myself with. And there was no point loitering on something so unimportant now.

“Then I’m guessing you don’t know where you got the whole regeneration thing from either then.”

Regeneration.

That’s what they called it. That was the reason I was brought into the war. Some called it a miracle, others say it a disease. I remember the things those people would call me: a weapon, filth, and the soldier that refused to die. But the truth was I still bled like a human, hurt like a human, and even looked like a human. In every regard, I was human. But, I could not seem to die like one.

And the things they forced me to do because of that.

“I don’t know.”

“I see,” he sighed, looking at me with a mix of disappointment and pity. I was starting to hate that look. “I’d heard rumours about some kid in the war that supposedly wouldn’t die no matter how many bullets you shot at her.”

His fist clenched, almost shaking as he continued. “But, I didn’t believe it until I saw you laying there abandoned for dead. Hell, I thought you were dead until I saw your skin starting to grow back.” He took another deep breath before meeting my eyes again. “Look, I know that sort of thing would be hard to think about, but if you ever wanted to talk about it—”

“That’s not necessary,” I said, cutting him off as my jaw clenched again. His eyes widened, appearing genuinely taken aback by the sudden harshness in my voice. But, I saw no reason to discuss a war that was long over. That past no longer held any relevance. “Why did you bring me here?”

“Sorry?”

I finally raised my head again, my eyes meeting his as I repeated the question slower for him. “Why did you bring me here?”

“Well, I wasn’t just going to leave you there, was I? How could I after what those people did to you—”

“No, that’s not what I asked.” I cut him off again. My eyes pierced into his, trying to discern his expression for anything that would reveal his motive. “Why would you bother? You and I both know I didn’t need to be brought to a hospital. It was a waste of your time and—”

“Hey, don’t say that!” he said, his voice adopting this defensive tone. “I wouldn’t have forgiven myself if I didn’t do something. What kind of person would I be to leave a child alone there?”

A loud silence filled the room following his mild outburst. Only the sound of his heavy breathing interrupted that quiet.

It was strange. I had never met someone so utterly emotional over me.

“Eighteen.”

He looked at me with narrowed eyes. “What?”

“They estimated that I was around twelve or thirteen when the war first started. That would mean I’m at least eighteen now,” I started to explain. “Which would make me an adult, not a child.”

Davis just stared at me with blank eyes, looking rather dumbfounded. He reminded me of one of those fish that would just gape at you idiotically after being slaughtered.

“I should’ve known you would be a strange one,” he said with a chuckle. There was a lightheartedness in his laughter.

He turned to face that woman who’d been standing by the door the entire time, quietly listening to the conversation. “Liz, could you bring us some clothes?” he asked her, before turning back to me. A smile crept onto his face. “I’m going to be looking after you for now. I hope you don’t mind that.”

“Is that an order?”

He paused, raising an eyebrow at my question. “No, I just want to ensure you’re going to be alright.”

“And what makes you think I need you to look after me?”

This man was being rather presumptuous. He may have ‘saved’ me, but did he honestly assume I would just go along with whatever he had in mind?

“Look, No one besides the three of us here knows who you are,” he said as his tone grew more serious. “And no one needs to. All I want is to help you out for a bit.”

What was the point of that? I didn’t have much use outside of war. Even if I could find one, this man appeared more trouble than he was worth. People don’t just help you like this without an ulterior motive.

“While you were asleep, I arranged for some documents to be made for you. You’ll be allowed to live and work here. I even have a place for you to stay while we finalise that. And if you still want to leave after that, I won’t stop you.”

I didn’t want to admit it, but I could at least recognise that what this man was offering me was in my best interest. I didn’t have anywhere else to go. I was far in foreign territory now.

From what I knew, Vergissmeinnicht was an island nation off the main coast of the continent. And I wasn’t entirely confident I’d be able to swim across the channel. Drowning, I found, was not a pleasant way to die. And either way, I certainly had no intention of returning to them.

“Fine, I’ll go.”

“Great! We’re going to be leaving for Haaften soon.”

Wait. We’re going where now?