Chapter 40

Hello everyone. Just a quick author's note before the chapter. This chapter contains a death scene and some gore. If you're uncomfortable with that, then I suggest you just skip this chapter. That's pretty much all I have to say. Enjoy the chapter!

My eyes opened and I saw endless amounts of trees. I looked around my surroundings and saw the entrance to Emerald Forest, the place where initiation took place. I was confused as to why I was here.

"Summer," a voice said.

I looked towards the direction of the voice and saw Raven kneeling next to something. As I walked closer to her, I saw that she was kneeling next to a girl. Her green outfit was easily recognizable.

"Gretchen," I whispered. "What happened here?"

Raven didn't reply as she was inspecting Gretchen's wounds. She had a deep gash on her abdomen that was gushing blood onto the grass. Her breathing was short and shallow and her face was covered in cuts. She was conscious, but she didn't seem to be focusing on anything. Her eyes had a glossy faraway look to them.

Everything went black for a brief moment before my eyes opened again. I was back in my dorm. The morning light was just shining through the windows. I couldn't help but feel a bit panicked. I felt Qrow stir next to me.

"You okay?" I heard him ask in a tired voice.

Through shaky breaths, I managed to answer."I... think I had another vision."

Qrow sat up. "Really? About who?"

"Gretchen. She was badly wounded."

"I'm sure the girl is fine. She's attending Beacon, so she must be able to take care of herself, right?" I heard Raven say.

I glared at her. "Still... I want to help her. That's why I'm attending this school. So I can help people."

"Whatever. Do whatever you want. I'm going back to bed."

Raven was snoring in a matter of minutes. I slowly got out of bed and got dressed.

"Where are you doing?" Qrow asked.

"Just going for a walk. Do you want to come with me?"

"Sure. Let me get ready."

After Qrow got himself looking decent, we walked outside of the dormitory.

"I don't know how you wake up this early," Qrow said, yawning.

"I've always been a morning person. The early bird gets the worm, right?"

Qrow chuckled. "I guess so."

I was about to reply when my scroll started to ring. "Who could be calling me this early?" I asked.

"Maybe Ozpin?" Qrow suggested.

I took out my scroll and saw the caller ID. It wasn't Ozpin... it was Gretchen. I suddenly had an awful feeling in my stomach. With a shaky hand, I pressed the button to answer.

"Hello?" I asked.

"Summer! It's Nico! We need help!"

"Nico? What are you doing with Gretchen's scroll? What's going on?" I demanded, starting to panic.

"Ozpin sent us to deal with a small pack of Grimm in Emerald Forest. I don't really know what happened but... it's Gretchen. She..."

"I'll be right there. Try to hold off the Grimm. And have the rest of team GRNN look after Gretchen until I arrive. Think you can do that?"

"I'll try. Please... hurry."

I hung up and glanced over at Qrow.

"What was that all about?" he asked.

"Call Raven and Tai and have them meet us at the Emerald Forest. ...I think Gretchen and her team are in danger."

Qrow called Raven and quickly explained the situation. His face became frustrated and he lowered his scroll.

"Raven doesn't want to come," he said.

"Give me that," I growled, snatching the scroll.

"Qrow? Are you still there?" I heard Raven ask.

"It's Summer. And you will come. I'm going to need your help."

"Hmph. Please. You're our leader. You can take care of those Grimm yourself. I don't see why I need to come."

"Don't argue with me on this. You have experience with medicine. Qrow and I don't. What if Gretchen is hurt?!"

"I'm sure she's fine, Summer."

"RAVEN BRANWEN IF YOU DON'T MEET ME AT EMERALD FOREST, I WILL FIND YOU AND DRAG YOU THERE MYSELF!" I yelled into the scroll.

There was a brief moment of silence.

"Okay okay... you didn't have to damage my ears. I'll be there in about ten minutes."

"Thank you," I replied. hanging up the scroll and handing it back to Qrow.

"I don't think I've heard you yell like that before. Scary."

"Sorry. I needed to convince her somehow," I said. "Let's get to Emerald Forest. The quicker we get there the better."

Qrow nodded and changed into his corvid from. I used my semblance to pick up speed. I was still panicking about Gretchen.

I'm going to save you. I won't let you die!

I arrived at the entrance of the forest. Qrow was already waiting for me. He was back to his human form.

"Should we wait for Raven and Tai?" he asked.

I shook my head. "No. There's not enough time. We can't afford to wait."

I ran ahead into the forest and started to call out for Nico.

"Nico? Where are you?"

"Summer! We need help!"

Nico sounded quite far away. I ran deeper and deeper into the forest and eventually found him. A huge Ursa had its claws gripping his shoulders, pinning him to the ground.

"Help!" he cried.

Qrow ran towards the Ursa and sliced it clean in half with his scythe.

"Nico, where's Gretchen?" I asked.

Nico pointed in front of him. I scanned the area until I saw Gretchen's small frame curled up in the grass. I ran over to her and gently rolled her into her back to get a better look at her. Her injuries were exactly like the ones I had seen in my vision. The huge gash on her abdomen was gushing blood at a very alarming rate. I pressed my hands onto the wound to try and slow the bleeding. I could feel the warm and thick blood gushing onto my hands.

"Summer! What's going on?"

Without removing my hands, I looked up to see who was speaking to me. It was Raven. She was standing behind me, trying to get a better look at Gretchen.

"I... I think Gretchen is in trouble," I managed to choke out.

Raven knelt next to me and examined Gretchen.

"Remove your hands for a second," she ordered.

I did what she said and slowly lifted my hands, which were covered in blood. Raven recoiled a bit.

"This is worse than I expected," she whispered.

Natalie came up to me. "We did our best to help, but we just couldn't get that Grimm to stop attacking her..."

"It's okay, Natalie," Tai said. "You did your best. That's what matters."

Natalie nodded slowly. "I think most of the Grimm are gone now. Can you help Gretchen? Please..."

"We're doing our best," I said.

I gazed back at Gretchen. She was breathing, but her eyes looked glossy and faraway.

"There's not much I can do," Raven said. "It looks like whatever attacked her severed her aorta artery. If that's the case... she'll end up hemorrhaging before we can get her to a hospital."

I placed my hands onto her gushing wound again.

"Then I'll just stop the bleeding myself," I said.

"...I wish it were that simple Summer, but I'm willing to bet that she's bleeding internally too."

I couldn't focus on her words. I kept my eyes locked with Gretchen's. She didn't move. Her eyes slowly started to close as her breathing slowed down.

"No," I begged.

Everyone was silent as her eyes closed completely and her breathing ceased. I had my hands pressed against her for at least a few more minutes before I felt someone place their hand on my shoulder.

"It's no use. She's gone, Summer," I heard Qrow say.

My eyes began to sting as I lifted my hands and stood to my feet. I couldn't bring myself to look at Gretchen's teammates. Their leader was gone.... and I couldn't bring her back.