Chapter 68: Broken
Still not used to portkey travel, my breath was taken away when I slammed into a rocky outcrop. It was just outside the entrance of a cave that led deep into a cliff. As bad as my landing was, Cedric had it worse. He landed on the edge of the outcrop with his legs hanging in midair.
Cedric's eyes bulged with shock after slamming into the hard rock. Before he could say anything, the edge he landed on crumbled away, and he fell backward.
Panicking, I rolled to the edge and drew my wand. I saw Cedric plunging towards the ground. At a hundred feet off the ground, I knew the fall would kill him if I didn't act quickly.
After a quick swish and flick, I yelled, "Wingardium Leviosa."
Cedric stopped and floated in midair. Groaning, Cedric called up, "Thanks for the save."
Now that he wasn't in any danger of dying, I pushed myself up to my knees as I considered what to do. I decided to lower him gently towards the ground because he was closer to the ground than he was to me.
But, when he was around five feet off the ground, I heard a low guttural growl behind me as well as sharp claws tearing furrows into the rock. Whatever was in there, was rushing towards my exposed back.
Every instinct I had screamed at me to move or die. Trusting them, I threw myself forwards. Before I cleared the edge, a razor-sharp set of claws swiped right where my head had been a few seconds ago. I was saved from a deadly blow to my head. But, the tip of the claws tore into my shoulder and down my back as I was sent flying off the cliff at an awkward angle.
Unfortunately, the angle I left the cliff was quite possibly the worst way I could have gone. Half a second later, I crashed head first into the side of the cliff.
My face was taught a valuable lesson. When a fast squishy moving object meets an immovable force, It's the fleshy object that gets squashed. If that wasn't bad enough, I felt my wand slip through my fingers.
As I bounced off the cliff, I spun uncontrollably. The next time I smashed into the cliff, I felt something inside me crunch, and my world went black.
I don't know how long I was out, but slowly a red fog of pain dragged my mind back from unconsciousness.
If the pain wasn't bad enough, Cedric's fearful voice sent sharp streaks of pain into my brain. He fearfully asked, "Alex, are you okay?"
I groaned in response. As I slowly tried to open my eyes, they immediately slammed shut. The beams from the setting sun felt like a knife digging through my eyes into my skull.
Laying on the ground with my eyes shut, I started coughing up blood. I tried to catalog my injuries mentally. The only part of my body that didn't feel destroyed was my lower half.
Mustering the strength to speak, I gasped in one-word sentences, "Bag... Potions... Heal."
As Cedric moved my right arm, I screamed in pain, and tears leaked from my eyes. My arm was definitely broken, possibly shattered. Cedric pulled my bag out of my robes and started rummaging inside, trying to find my bandolier of potions.
"I got it. I got it. You're going to be fine." Cedric whispered over and over as if it were a mantra that could control the future.
As I laid there in a haze of pain, I realized from the fear in Cedric's voice that I may be in worse shape than I previously thought.
I felt cool glass touch my lips as one of the vile tasting healing potions was poured down my throat. It wouldn't heal any significant injuries, but it would help with the smaller ones and give me a fighting chance.
Once I felt restored enough, I cracked my eyes and found Cedric getting ready to force another potion down my throat.
"Wait," I cautioned. "We need to use those sparingly. Besides, the potion I just drank will work slowly over the next few hours. No point in drinking another until the effects wear off."
Lying flat on the ground, I looked at our surroundings. I noticed we weren't anywhere near the cliff where the portkey dropped us, "Where are we?" I questioned.
Words just started tumbling out of Cedric's mouth. I could tell he was almost in shock as he finally started processing everything that had happened. "I don't know, Alex. You saved me from hitting the ground, and the next thing I knew, I saw you get crashing into the side of the cliff. I was barely able to stop you from hitting the ground at full force."
An apologetic look appeared on Cedric's face as he continued to explain what happened, "But, the damage was already done, you must have collided into the cliff around a dozen times during your fall. I didn't want to wait around and see what the creature was going to do next. So, I hit you with the Full-Body Bind Curse, which made sure that you wouldn't get any more injured as I levitated you and ran. I don't know how long I ran, but I ran until I couldn't run anymore."
Flashes of claws and teeth filled my mind, "You did the right thing," I reassured. "Now, help me to my feet, I don't want to be anywhere near that beast."
Cedric was strangely silent for a moment, "Alex... There is no way you are getting on your feet."
I closed my eyes and tried to ignore the pain that was ripping through me. After a painful breath, I attempted to sit up, "I'll be fine as long as I can get to my feet." I gasped.
The fear that had been slowly leaving Cedric's voice came back with a vengeance, "Alex. What are you talking about? Look at your legs."
Opening my eyes, I tilted my head forward and glanced down for the first time. The sight of my legs made me gag. It was a feeling of complete wrongness. The most appropriate term would be mangled.
Both of my legs were broken in multiple places, and one of the breaks had bone jutting through the skin. If that wasn't bad enough, the other leg was twisted in the wrong direction. But, what terrified me the most was that I couldn't feel a damn thing down there.
Until Cedric pointed it out, I had thought my legs were perfectly fine. Old memories from my previous life started welling up within me. Towards the end of my life, I was so weak that I could barely move.
My breathing started going out of control. This couldn't be happening, not again. I tried to control my fear with anger. I sent furious commands to my legs, demanding that they move. But, the anger turned to anguish when they refused to budge. I must have broken my back during the fall and was paralyzed.
I may have laid there forever wallowing in denial. But, a distant roar shocked me to my senses. Knowing that we were probably still in the hunting grounds of that monster, I looked at Cedric and said, "We need to move."
As my eyes took in Cedric's exhausted appearance, I quickly explained, "There's a purple potion in my bandolier. It's a strengthening solution. It will give you limitless physical energy, as well as increase your strength for two or three hours. But, be careful, after it wears off, you will be useless for a day until you recover. Once we've gotten far enough away, I've got a tent in my pack that we can use."
Cedric gave me a resolved look, and vowed, "Alex, don't worry about anything, I'll get us through this."
Cedric grabbed the potion and chugged it. At once, all signs of exhaustion faded away. He pulled his wand out and pointed it at me. I couldn't help but be frustrated at my situation. This wasn't how it was supposed to be. I was supposed to be the one saving Cedric, not the other way around.
But, I have to admit, out of all my friends I'm glad it's him saving me. He's by far the most dependable and excluding me, the most capable. There is a reason why Cedric was chosen to represent Hogwarts in the Goblet of Fire.
Being frozen and unable to move did little to dull the pain. It didn't occur to me that I had a few painless potions in my bag until after I was already frozen. As I floated in a sea of agony drifting in and out of consciousness, a small part of me was impressed by the amount of ground Cedric was seemingly able to cover.
Right before the potion wore off, Cedric found a small hidden valley tucked between two large hills. After he released the Full-Body Bind curse, I noticed the fatigue was starting to catch up with Cedric. No sooner than he got the tent set up, sat down to catch his breath, and abruptly passed out.
A painful laugh escaped me, "Cedric, we're going to have to work on your rescuing skills. It's bad form to leave your broken friend lying on the dirt and passing out when there is a nice warm tent just a few feet away."
Cedric's snores were all I got in reply.
Knowing he was exhausted and needed to sleep it off, I murmured, "Don't worry, now that you did the hard part, I can finish up."
Sharp spikes of pain racked my upper half. I used my least broken arm to pat my robes, searching for my most prized possession. My heart sank when I didn't find it. Even though I knew it was fruitless to hope for a reply, I called out, "Umm... Cedric, I don't suppose you grabbed my wand before fleeing the monster with my unconscious body?"
After a brief moment of silence, "Yeah, that's what I thought. Just so you know, I'm officially bumping your score from Outstanding to Exceeds Expectations."
Knowing that I needed my wand, I tried to shut out the pain and concentrate solely on my desperate desire for my wand. I had done small exercising like this before, but never at this distance.
What I was trying to do, wasn't merely a wandless version of the summoning charm. Wandless magic didn't follow the rules of known spells. If you could get it to work, the results were often unpredictable. It's one of the reasons why wands have become the dominant way of using magic throughout the world.
Trying to use magic without a wand was like trying to forge a path through a jungle. With enough effort and dedication, it could be done, but those who used wands followed a clear path and would leave those who tried to use wandless magic in the dust
As I concentrated on my need for my wand, I felt a surge run through me, and my wand appeared in a puff of smoke. I swear I felt the wand shudder with joy upon being reunited with me.
Knowing if I wanted to be of any use, the first thing I needed to do was eliminate the pain. Pointing my wand towards my bag, I chanted, "Accio potion."
A vial of clear liquid potion shot out of my bag and landed on my chest. Uncorking the cap, I took a swig of the potion. As soon as the liquid poured down my throat, the pain started fading. I knew I needed to use this potion sparingly. I only had a couple of painless potions, and who knows how long we would be stuck out here.
Thank Merlin, that I got super paranoid after last year's underground adventure. I had packed a ton of survival gear in my pack. There was enough food for us for weeks. More if we used the engorgement charm, which would expand the food to greater proportions. But, as I coughed up more blood, I realized that food would be the least of our problems.
Once my thoughts were free of pain, I was able to evaluate my situation a bit more clearly. My injuries were catastrophic. But, as long as I could get to a healer, I should be able to survive. Healers weren't like muggle doctors, as long as magic wasn't involved, they could heal people of almost anything. The real problem would be living long enough to receive treatment. I could tell that as bad as the surface injuries were, the real danger lay within me.
While I was scheming on how to survive this disaster, a thought occurred to me. Maybe there was an easy way out of this mess. If it worked for Harry Potter, perhaps it would work for me. Holding up my wand, I chanted, "Accio bag."
Even though it was a long shot, I figured getting a hold of the portkey may allow us to get back to our families. My heart sank when I saw what remains of the bag arrive. Whatever the creature was, it appeared that the bag offended it because it was torn to shreds.
With my injuries being as bad as they were, even the use of a few spells sapped my strength. Knowing I didn't have much time before I lost all my energy, I used my wand to move Cedric into the tent. Then I summoned a mat from inside, and I slowly crawled onto the mat, trying not to make my injuries worse. Once I was situated, I used the levitation charm and directed the mat inside the tent.
The tent was incredibly spacious. It had an Undetectable Extension Charm woven into every fiber. There were a half dozen rooms inside, not including the central area. After getting Cedric into one of the beds, I got in one myself and passed out.
I don't know how long I slept for, but eventually, the pain dragged me back to consciousness. I tried to tough it out and wait for Cedric to wake up, but the strain proved to be too much. Rather than waste more of the precious painless potion. I drank another healing potion and a sleeping potion that would knock me out regardless of my injuries.
I woke to the sounds of Cedric moving around in the tent. Shifting in my bed, I groaned as even taking a deep breath hurt. I felt even weaker than I did the day before. Something was wrong; I could feel it. The healing potions I had on me were only able to keep it from getting worse. I grabbed one of my few remaining healing potions and drained it completely.
Hearing that I was awake, Cedric shuffled over with a few biscuits on a plate. "Here you go, Alex. You need to eat to get your strength up."
In between bouts of agony, I ate the biscuits one piece at a time. I struggled not to laugh as Cedric hovered like a worried mother hen.
Once I had finished eating, I said, "Cedric, we need to talk."
Cedric nodded. We hadn't really had a chance to talk about our situation. "It was a portkey that brought us here, wasn't it?" He asked.
Seeing me nod, Cedric asked, "Any chance of us using it to return?"
Wordlessly I pointed towards the shredded remains of the bag that brought us here.
"Ugh, that's unfortunate." Cedric groaned, "Do you have any idea where we are?"
"From the bamboo trees, I'm guessing we're somewhere in Asia. As for what country, I have no clue."
Cedric rapidly blinked as he processed that we had been transported to the other side of the world. "Was this an attempt to take you out of the competition?" He angrily demanded.
I half-shrugged, "It's possible, some people take this tournament extremely seriously. That being said, considering where the portkey was set to drop me off too, it feels more like a more personal grudge. Not to mention, remember who we ran into in the hallway."
Cedric narrowed his eyes and spat, "Michael."
I nodded in agreement, "I'll say this, the bastard sure up the ante with this stunt."
"He crossed a line. He'll be tossed inside Azkaban for this." Cedric replied.
"I doubt it," I gloomily replied. "There's no way to prove it was him, and even if we did have proof. His grandfather has his fingers in everything. I bet by the time we are found. The investigation will have already concluded with it being an accidental misplacement of a portkey."
Cedric latched onto my statement like it was a lifeline, "How are we going to make it home? It could take ages for them to find us, and you're in no condition to be moved."
I didn't want to destroy his hopes, so I pointed out, "You forget one important thing. Athena and I have a bond that she can use to track me down, I bet you anything that she is going crazy right now."
Cedric's face lit up, "That's right. How long do you think it will take for them to find us?" He eagerly asked.
I shrugged, "I would guess at minimum a week, maybe two. They're on another continent, so it will take some time for then to track us down."
Cedric sneaked a glance at my injuries, and worriedly asked, "Can you make it that long with your injuries?"
Even though I knew I only had enough for a few days, I gave a weak smile, "I'll be fine."
I think Cedric might have sensed I wasn't telling the whole truth, because he pleaded, "There has to be another way."
"Well, there is another option," I slowly said. "It's actually a better option than waiting around to be rescued. But, I don't think you will like it."
"What is it?" Cedric questioned.
"Look through the bottom of my pack. You'll find a sword somewhere near the bottom."
With a confused look on his face, Cedric started pulling item after item from my pack. Finally, he found the sword and pulled out what looked like a Chinese Jian sword.
He looked at me in confusion, "What do you want me to do with this?"
"In Asia, the broomstick is mainly used for quidditch. Everyone else uses flying swords."
"What? That's crazy," he argued, "Wouldn't they stab themselves if they sit on the sword?"
"For one, they're not sharp, and two, they stand on them," I explained. "There are two spots on the blade that act similar to sticking charms. There are also some spells that protect you from being knocked over."
Cedric's expression was full of doubt. As a quidditch player, he probably had never considered the idea of using anything other than a broom. "
"They're actually fun to fly on," I soothed. "Riding the sword is like surfing through the sky."
As the doubt began to fade, Cedric questioned, "How are you supposed to stand on a sword? You can't even move your legs."
"Cedric," I quietly explained, "There is only one flying sword."
Cedric's face twisted in confusion, "Then how are we supposed to get out of here? Can the sword carry both of us?"
I didn't answer for a moment. How did I get lucky enough to have a best friend who's so selfless that the idea of leaving his friend behind didn't even occur to him?
Knowing this next part wouldn't be easy, I took a deep breath ignoring the sharp knife-like pain in my side. "No, Cedric. The sword is built for one person, any more, and it wouldn't leave the ground. And with me being paralyzed, I don't think I'm getting on a flying sword anytime soon."
Cedric's face darkened as he realized my meaning, "No," he snapped.
"Cedric."
With his face turning red from anger, Cedric interrupted me, "I said no, it's out of the question."
I was both happy and a little annoyed by his refusal to even consider my proposal. But, knowing it was the best move, I calmly pointed out, "Cedric, It's the logical move, you could be gone and find help within a day or two."
For the first time since we've been friends, I finally witnessed Cedric losing his temper. Grabbing the plate in front of him, he threw it across the room and roared, "No! I'm not leaving my best friend out here all alone."
Annoyed that he wasn't listening, I pleaded, "Cedric, be reasonable."
"No! Find another way,"
Finally, I lost my temper and shouted, "There is no other way! What are you going to do when my potions run out? I barely have enough for two days. Then I'm going to be completely unable to do anything. And that's not even factoring in the infection that will most assuredly set in after I run out. I'll be lucky if I'm not dead within a week, are you going to sit here and watch me slowly die?
I could see each word I spoke was a blow, but if that's what took to get through to him, then so be it.
"You said you would be fine!" Cedric accused.
"I lied!" I fired right back, "I didn't want you so worried that you wouldn't leave!"
"Well, you did a piss poor job of that!" He yelled as he stormed off.
As I watched him march off, I realized we were just yelling at each other because we were scared. The realization drained my anger away, and with it gone, it sapped what little strength I had.
Calling out weakly to Cedric, "Cedric... I'm dying, there is something wrong inside of me, I can feel it. The potions are keeping the worst of it at bay, but they aren't designed to deal with my level of injuries. If I don't get help from a healer soon, I don't think I'm going to make it."
Cedric stopped in his tracks. He clenched and unclenched his fists a few times before turning back with tears in his eyes. Looking me in the eyes, he swore, "If you die while I'm gone, I'm going to kill you."
Even though it was totally inappropriate, I couldn't help but laugh at Cedric vow. His face reddened, "You know what I mean."
After picking up the flying sword, Cedric asked, "Where do I go to find help?"
I paused for a moment. I had been so distracted by trying to come up with a way to get Cedric to leave that I hadn't thought that far ahead.
Shrugging, I suggested, "I don't know. Find a decent size town and do some magic. I guarantee that the local Ministry of Magic or whatever they call their government monitors magic in muggle areas. How else would they enforce the International Statute of Secrecy? Don't worry about getting in trouble. The statute clearly states that people are allowed to use magic in a life and death situation, and I say this qualifies."
Thinking it over for a second, Cedric's eyes lit up, "Wait a minute, won't the trace work? We've done magic, shouldn't the British Ministry of Magic be able to track us?"
I shook my head, "I already considered that, distance matters in magic. I bet they can't monitor anything outside their country."
Cedric's face fell in disappointment. Knowing that my time was ticking away, he gave me one final look and promised, "I'll be back as soon as I can."
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
Jmwells2003
Jmwells2003 This was an intresting chapter to write. I saw many of you assume that it would be Cedric that would be in need of rescuing. But, I felt that Cedric needed to show he can do the saving when needed. Plus, it's an unsettling feeling for Alex to not be the one saving the day. And I wanted to explore that. Anyways, I had fun writing the chapter, Comment below with your thoughts and if you want consider voting or leaving a review.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone