Chapter One Hundred and Fifty Four
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Author's note: The full character list is at AO3 and has been updated (see previous chapter for the link).
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"Ah, there's the name tags. You still remember your name?" Honey asked, giving the stickers and marker to one of the children in the new group.
The child looked up at her with solemn eyes, then gave a brief nod, squeezing their eyes shut as if expecting punishment.
"Excellent. You can write your name on your tag, then. For the rest of you, I have a gift for you all to share," Honey said, hunting through her large tote bag to find her gift. "I didn't have time to wrap it, but enjoy it," she said, bringing out a thick book with "1,000,000 baby names" written on the front. "It's the multicultural edition, so you can find names for your own nationality, or just find one you like.
"You also need to choose a birth date, and no, you can't all choose today's date. But that's for later, so for now, just relax and eat some food. Not just cupcakes, please. There's fruit and vegetables, as well," she said, nodding to the table.
The seer took the large book, sitting on the floor and flipping to seemingly random pages, glancing at the others around him.
"Terrence, I can't find the remote. Can you change to Channel Twelve, please?" Honey asked, the screen changing in an instant. "Thank you."
"Why'd you want the news channel for? I thought we were going to watch later?" Terrence asked.
The child with a name on their name tag gasped on seeing the screen, drawing several people's attention to the news, the subtitles reading:
... mother is missing. Alice created The Lost Boys program to help parents reunite with their lost children, and provide counselling services to many others. She has not been seen in the last month, and volunteers at various branches are concerned that she has fallen victim to the unknown organisation she claims stole her son, Chayton, four months ago.
The image of the brunette woman disappeared from the screen and Chayton let out a wailing cry that soon turned to a screeching sound as he shifted and flew out of the room, his hawk wings flapping almost silently.
Several younger children started to cry loudly, startled at Chayton's sudden shift, and the urn with the hot water bubbled over. Wendy walked in at that moment with Donny, who was wearing a thick cuff on his wrist, and saw the urn bubbling over, freezing it in a second to cool the water down. Sending a small breeze through the room to play and entertain the children, Wendy waited until they had settled before breaking the ice on the urn.
"Welcome to the party. You can have the iced coffee," Honey said.
One of the taller children grabbed onto Honey's shirt, eyes fierce and worried, and his name scrawled onto his name tag. "Where's the news about my Mama? She wouldn't stop looking. She promised."
"She hasn't made it to the news, Lupo. I got her out before she could get the attention of the wrong people."
"Where is she?" Lupo asked, looking around expectantly.
"Still on her way here. It's been four months, you can wait another four days, can't you?"
Lupo looked like he was going to start crying, too; his mother was so close and yet so far away. He nodded, eyes full of tears, and shifted to a wolf, running out of the room on four paws before anyone could stop him.
"They'll be all right. I've left their apartment door open so they can start nesting early. They'll all need some form of comfort."
"So these are the dearies? Oh, look at how adorable you all are," Frieda said, smiling brightly as she looked at the tens of children. Her smile faded as her power worked on traumatised child after tortured child and her knees went weak, even as her blood boiled. "Honey. Tell me they're dead."
"What? Who?" Richard asked in confusion, looking between the two women.
"The scientists," Frieda said, spitting out the word with all the strength she could muster.
"They're dead. Several times over, and if they were still alive, they would have been eaten by wild boars by now anyway."
Richard's confusion certainly didn't lessen, but he knew better than to question at that moment.
"Aw, those poor boars were so hungry. I should have dug one of the scientists out for the poor darlings to eat," Justina said.
"Poor darlings? Those husks almost impaled me," Zach muttered.
"I told you to stay still. You moved, so it's not my fault or theirs."
"Can you explain or stop talking?" Anita asked, trying to determine if the children were being traumatised by Justina and Zach's conversation.
"Come on, Eth. Let's go find somewhere to have a nap. I need, like, a billion pillows and a bed right now," Zach said, yawning widely.
Certain that he'd drawn Anita's attention away from Ethan, who was trembling more bodily now that his shock and adrenaline were wearing off, Zach led him out of the room and in search of quiet and comfort.
"A nap sounds damn good," Terrence muttered, feeling exhausted as everything that he'd done earlier that day started catching up with him.
"All right, let's go find a room. Or Robin; anyone seen them yet?" Justina asked, looking around the room and not seeing their friend.
"Not since downstairs. I think Robin was still helping Ida, last I heard," Donny said.
"We'll help find a room for you," Wendy added, seeing a few too many adults looking their way and wanting answers that neither she nor Donny could provide.
Pat and the four frogs left with them, Kiara still hogging the frozen crickets and refusing to share.
Honey found the remote for the TV, changing the channel and ignoring the adults' querying looks. They would get their explanation in time.
...
Robin finished helping Ida and left the hospital room, their adrenaline starting to wear off. They were goddamned exhausted right now, and tempted to create a pit in the middle of the lobby to sleep in. A bright and colourful sign caught their attention, and Robin grinned at the sight of the playground images. Sitting on a swing would make them feel like a kid again and they might even forget about the day they'd had. It was a long shot, but worth it.
Heading through the small corridor, Robin blinked at the bright daylight and what sounded like battle war cries coming from the large wooden pirate ship.
"I surrender!" Heidi cried. She was covered in tiny frogs and there were two dark-haired twins standing over her with coloured balls ready to throw at their victim. "Hi, Robin!" she called, waving and grinning.
"Oh, good, another human. Please help Heidi keep an eye on them? I will be right back," a woman said, rushing over.
"Okay. Who are you?" Robin asked.
"Thana, mother to the two twins. The frogs aren't mine," Thana said over her shoulder, almost running out the door and to the one marked 'bathroom'.
Robin glanced after her and then looked over to Heidi, the frogs, and the twins. "Hey, Heidi. Who're your friends?"
"Robin! Hi! All right, everyone; shift back and introduce yourselves. Pirate roll call," Heidi added with a grin.
"Oberon, first mate of the Pirate Ship."
"Pandora, second first mate of the Pirate Ship."
"Quinn, first mate of the Citizen Navy."
"Rain, Cap'n of the citizenship."
"Storm, Queen of pirates."
"You're the cap'n, not the queen!"
"I can be queen!"
"And the twins?" Robin asked, hoping to stop the impending argument; they already had one helluva headache and didn't need to add to it.
"Damien, Rain's wife. We got married."
"Diablo. Not Rain's wife."
"Congratulations on your marriage. Rain, you're a captain and a husband?"
"I'm not a husband. I'm Damien's wife."
"Oh, nice. Apologies for getting it wrong. Now, I see you're playing pirates and citizens. Can I play, too?"
Rain and Storm both thought about it for a long moment, then nodded. "Hostage!" they both said, then promptly glared at each other.
"Mine!" Rain snapped at his sister.
"No! Mine!" Storm said, her face scrunched up.
"If you're going to argue, can I sit on the swing while you decide?" Robin asked, feeling utterly exhausted.
"Okay," Storm said with a nod.
Grateful for the reprieve, Robin went over to the swings and sat down. Swinging back and forth a few times, they closed their eyes and leaned back, letting their momentum carry them. A motion beside them had Robin sitting up properly and looking to the other swing as they swung by. Heidi grinned and started to swing as well.
"You okay?" Heidi called as she passed.
"Nope. You?"
"I'm good. Can't sign on here, whoa," Heidi said, automatically trying to sign and grabbing the swing's chain before she fell off. "Shit."
"Okay?" Robin asked, slowing to a stop.
"Yeah, okay."
A squeal came from the pirate ship, coloured balls pelted between frogs and the twins. Heidi's eyes widened and she ran over to stop them. Robin was a step behind her, hoping Thana wouldn't blame them for this.
"Stop!" Heidi cried out, a burst of power making the lights across the building flicker violently.
The playground plunged into darkness, and the frogs began to glow in the dark, their colours shining brightly as a warning to other predators. Heidi cursed and turned the lights back on carefully, even as Thana ran back into the room, Aleph with her now.
Pandora giggled at the sight of her eldest brother looking so messy, and Aleph put his hair up in a bun again, his cheeks as red as his hair.
"I just... uh, ran into Thana on the way to pick you guys up. There's food and cake upstairs," Aleph added.
"Yeah, you ran into her with your mouth," Oberon snickered.
"Do you want cake or not?" Aleph muttered, Rain and Storm already running over and demanding to be carried.
"Yes," Quinn said, grabbing her siblings' hands and running with them to the door.
Damien and Diablo hurried over to their mother, not wanting to be left behind.
In a matter of seconds, Heidi and Robin were the only two in the playground, and Robin sighed, sinking down to the floor and letting a small dip form so they could be more comfortable.
"Are you just going to lie there?" Heidi asked, sounding concerned.
"Yep."
Heidi frowned then shrugged, figuring there were days when she felt like lying on the floor in the middle of a playground, too. "All right. I'll stay and make sure no one accidentally steps on you."
"Thanks."
...
Brian Anderson had a guilty pleasure that he would never ever admit to: reading trashy tabloid magazines.
Oh, he claimed it was for work and to try to see the seed of truth within the web of lies, but he really just liked reading the ridiculous stories and unfounded gossip. Labyrinth was, of course, the trashiest of tabloids, which was just the way he liked it. Their website was horrible and had an awful yellow banner that seemed to burn into his retinas, but it was easier to clear his browser history than it was to hide expenses on buying the Labyrinth magazine. Plus, he could read it at the studio and it would technically be considered work.
Scrolling through the Latest News section, Brian Anderson saw a few headlines that he himself had already reported on earlier that day: Airborne vs. Earthstone; the Mayor vs. the Commander; the UN and their new super representatives. Then there were the other headlines: UN French representative shows up to floor meeting in brightly coloured outfit and hair (doubtful); woman gone missing from who cares...
Wait, four months after her son goes missing? Now that was intriguing, he thought, even as he clicked the headline to read more. The article detailed the woman's search to find her son and the creation of The Lost Boys to help others in her situation. It was odd that there were enough people facing the same scenario that she had to create a whole organisation to help them, Brian Anderson mused.
He was a news anchor, of course, and a damned good one, but Brian Anderson was also a reporter, and a journalist never let a good story pass them by. Especially not when the Maxville Reporter's Awards nominations would be opening soon. This story had it all: intrigue of a lost child, tears of a single mother, and a touching reunion when the son would be found.
First, he just had to find the mother, and then he could find the son. But that could mean months of searching and following dead ends and cold leads. He didn't have time for all of that, especially not if he wanted to report this in time for the MRA's. Perhaps he could choose one of the other parents from The Lost Boys, instead? Finding one lost child would surely be easier than finding two lost people, after all.
Decision made, Brian Anderson cleared his browser history, opened the website for The Lost Boys, and called an intern to do the heavy lifting for him.
...
Alice paced back and forth, feeling like a tiger trapped in a cage. In essence, she technically was trapped, but she had walked into the cage willingly, so that should have made a difference.
"Alice, please stop pacing."
"No. I need to work out this excess energy," she said, stopping to wring her hands before starting to pace again.
"We can help with that, dear Alice," Buddy said with a broad and suggestive grin.
Alice ignored Buddy's comment, even as Kid smacked his shoulder. They were both security guards who had been hired by someone called Hourglass to protect her. Apparently, Buddy also thought protecting meant teasing her and suggesting a threesome nearly every other day. Alice was attracted to both of them for obvious reasons: they were both men who looked like they could pick her up and ravish her against the closest surface, and she had a very healthy libido. (God, she'd left so many toys behind; if the police ever searched her room and found her chest full of toys... The thought alone was enough to make her blush.)
Buddy had scruff that he liked to call a beard and brown eyes that seemed to stare right through her. Or through her clothes. He took pride in his body and if he wasn't 'on duty' protecting her, he was doing reps or skipping a jump rope and making certain obvious parts of his anatomy even more obvious. Not that Alice had watched, of course. But Buddy could be sweet and caring, and he always made sure that she was always comfortable, even going to five different shops in a small town just to find a portable fan for her because the hotel's AC had died and couldn't be repaired for another four hours.
Kid was the more serious of the two, and liked to work out without a shirt. She needed two hands to count his abs and when he finished working out, his whole body shined with sweat that made her thirsty for more than water. There were times when it felt like he was watching her, too, though he never said anything like Buddy. It didn't mean he wasn't a great conversationalist, though. He'd held her together when she found out Chayton was alive, and brought her food and water regularly, no matter where they were or what they were doing.
In fact, there were times when they were "discussing strategy" that Alice felt like they were discussing her instead. Buddy often ended those strategy meetings with an "I'll be in my bunk" quip and resounding moans that left nothing to the imagination. Sometimes Kid would be dragged along with him and she'd be left alone and longing for the warmth and muscles and strength of two bodies around her.
It didn't mean she had to believe Buddy's offer of a threesome was real. Alice was still sure he did this for all his clients: made them feel like they were beautiful and sexually attractive. Well, she knew that she wasn't either of those things, so she just forced herself to ignore it. Guys that looked like Buddy and Kid had women who looked like supermodels who had never seen a child in their lives, not an overweight middle-aged woman who had given birth to a child who had turned out to be a hawk shifter. Which had not been listed in his father's dating profile on Craigslist, thank you very much.
She had to focus on finding Chayton or she was going to go insane. Whether from lust or something else entirely, Alice didn't know.
"You're sure Chay's all right?" she asked.
"Positive. Hourglass is with him. We can bring up the photo for you again, if you'd like?" Kid offered, gentle and sweet, as though he and Buddy hadn't both just sat there in an uncomfortable silence as Alice had bawled her eyes out after seeing a grainy grey and white picture of her son.
He didn't have any hair left, but it was her Chay all right. Alice bit her lip and nodded. She wouldn't cry this time. Well, not as much.
Kid grabbed his tablet, opening it up and passing it over to her, Chay's face still displayed on the screen as though he knew she'd want to see him again sooner rather than later. She was already tearing up by the time Buddy offered her a box of tissues.
Four more days and she'd get to see her son again. She could do this.
...
Corvin had brought the boxes of food his mother had entrusted him with. Well, he technically had added them to the cart one of the other teenagers had been pushing. He'd done it while the blonde was distracted trying to find the room number and arguing with the tall girl, then slipped back into the shadows and shifted. He'd flown up to the rafters with barely a sound of wings, and followed their progression through the building as they tried to find room 638.
Their arguments had ranged from commonplace to the absolute weird. Apparently the tall girl could talk to animals, and was certain that one of them would be able to tell them which way room 638 was, while the blonde boy rolled his eyes and stated that they wouldn't be able to read the signs unless they were a shifter. They'd argued about the validity of that for a while, the girl firm about her belief in any animal's intelligence and the boy cheerfully destroying any logic with statements about animals eating their own poop, and animals that ate with their butts, and animals that did any number of ridiculous things that could have been insulting if it wasn't making the girl laugh so hard.
These were the people his mother thought could be his friends? Really?
Trying to see past the stupid conversation and ridiculous arguments, Corvin focused on the teens carefully. The boy's hands were shaking every time he let go of the cart and his pupils were dilated. The girl, on the other hand, kept glancing around. While Corvin had initially assumed it was to find the room numbers, he realised she was doing it far more often and seemed to be on alert for something. The boy always ensured to call the girl's name before reaching out to touch her or point something out behind her vision.
They were both showing various signs of anxiety and trauma, and if his mother's comment about them being covered in blood was correct, then it had happened recently. Perhaps even that day. What were they doing going to a party after doing something to cause that much trauma?
Corvin waited and watched as they finally found room 638, trying to determine other facts about them rather than make another incorrect assumption. He could see down the hallway and into the large room itself, news headlines on the screen visible from his vantage point. If he could, Corvin would have rolled his eyes on seeing the news about Airborne fighting Earthstone; honestly, that had been a time bomb waiting to explode. How no one had dealt with it - or even seen it coming - was beyond his comprehension.
The elevator pinged and he glanced over to see a group of bald-headed children walking out. He blinked at the sight, curious as to where they'd come from; he hadn't seen any children when he'd explored the building earlier. While he could have thought that they might have moved in with their parents, just like he had with his mother, Corvin doubted they'd all decided to wear the same outfit and shave their heads for fun.
It gave him some vague understanding of what the teenagers might have done, but mostly resulted in more questions than anything else. He didn't know how or where or why they were bloodied and traumatised. Jumping to conclusions never helped, so Corvin breathed and forced himself to calmly compile a list of questions that he might be able to ask one day.
The elevator pinged again, another group of bald kids walking out and down to room 638, though not as confidently as the first group. The pink outfit of one child was bright among the white clothes, but even as he watched, the colour seemed to be fading.
Another question to add to the list, then.
Ruffling his feathers, Corvin saw the TV change channels, a woman's image and words about her disappearance appearing on the screen. As the image faded, a hawk flew out of the room with a harsh cry that could only be sadness. The sound echoed and Corvin moved from taloned foot to taloned foot, feeling like he should go help in some way. He had barely finished the thought when a gods' honest howl sounded through the building, a wolf running out of the room and in the same direction as the hawk.
It wasn't long before the teenagers he recognised from Sky High left and Corvin scented blood beneath the building bathroom's soap. Seeing them heading to one of the white rooms, Corvin flew silently overhead to follow. Maybe he could listen in and get some of his questions answered without actually needing to ask them.
As the last of the teens made their way into the white room, the elevator pinged again. Corvin flew to the side, landing more abruptly than he had since he was a chick. Straightening his ruffled feathers and pride, Corvin watched as two more bald children looked out into the hallway. One was trembling, eyes wide as they murmured something low to the other. The other child, standing in front of the trembling one, replied in a voice that was just as quiet.
Corvin had no idea what they'd said, even though he'd heard the words they'd spoken, they didn't make any sense. They certainly weren't speaking any language he knew, at least. Curious, he watched as they both shifted, the albino bunny hopping onto the fennec fox's back as if they'd done it a hundred times before. The fox ran down the corridor with confidence, the bunny barely moving despite the fox's speed. Corvin hopped along the top of the rafter, watching their progression and curious as to what they were planning on doing.
The fox stopped suddenly, nudging a door open with his snout and sniffing warily before loping inside. He exited a moment later, the bunny no longer on his back, and ran back down the hallway, darting into room 638. A boy emerged a moment later, crouching and hands full of food, everything from celery to carrot sticks. He ran back down the hall, slipping into the room with the bunny rabbit.
Corvin looked from the room with the two children down the hall to the room with the other teenagers. He desperately wanted answers, but some deeper part of him wanted to protect those two kids. Hell, maybe they were his age or older. They looked thin enough to break in a stiff breeze, but they'd obviously been kept small by conditions they lived in, not by choice. Especially not with the amount of vegetables the fox had gathered for them to eat. If given the choice and luxury of time, Corvin doubted any kid could resist the mountain of sugar his mother had baked.
Making his decision, he flew down into the corridor and shifted back to his human form, rolling his shoulders. Walking into room 638, Corvin spied two cupcakes and grabbed them, leaving without a word or acknowledging any of the curious adults looking his way. He was sure he'd be introduced to every individual person later at his mother's behest, but for now, he could do what he wanted.
Carrying his cupcakes down the hall, he set them in front of the door and knocked gently, shifting and flying up to the rafter in the next second.
A growling snout poked out of the doorway a second later, a red-eyed albino bunny slipped beneath the snout, nose and whiskers twitching. The bunny made a noise Corvin chose to interpret as pleased. The fox growled but then the boy was there, reaching out to grab the cupcakes, sniffing them for any danger. The bunny was gone - Corvin hadn't even seen her shift - and she smiled brightly as she took the cupcake with a bunny rabbit on it. The fox snarled something before she could eat, promptly eating his own fox cupcake and waiting to see if he was poisoned.
Corvin tried not to feel annoyed by the assumption; as if he'd ever ruin his mother's hard work with something as degrading as poison.
The bunny ate hers slower, happiness exclaimed quietly with each bite. Corvin felt pleased that he'd made her happy, even if for a moment.
Noise came from room 638 and before Corvin had even looked down to see what was happening, the fox and bunny were out of sight, the door to their room closed quietly. Corvin flew down the hallway and shifted near the elevator, walking out as though he'd walked up the stairs, drawing the adults' attention to him rather than the other end of the hallway where the fox and bunny were.
"Hey. Do you know where the bathroom is?" one of the adults asked with a hesitant and urgent smile.
"Down there, on your right," Corvin said, pointing it out for them.
There was another one closer, but it would be too close to the fox and rabbit, and he didn't want them to be more startled than they already were.
The adults thanked him, rushing off in the direction he'd pointed. Corvin waited until they were out of sight to go down the hallway, keeping his footsteps quiet but obvious - he didn't want them to think he was trying to sneak up on them, only that he was there - and settled down in front of the door.
"Hey, I'm Corvin. I'm not going to hurt you. Just knock when you want to leave; I'll make sure you're left alone until then, okay?" Corvin said, his voice quiet, but he was sure that both the fox and bunny heard him since they made those almost-a-language noises again.
They didn't respond, but he hadn't expected one, after all. Tugging his phone out of his pocket, Corvin played Kwazy Kupcakes and glared at anyone who tried to approach him or the door he was guarding.
...
Connor had finished explaining everything that had happened to Victor almost four full minutes ago - he was counting each second with his breaths so he wouldn't have another panic attack - and Victor still hadn't said anything. That was somehow worse than reliving the whole nightmarish morning he'd had.
"Darling? Please say something. Anything," Connor added, begging.
Victor blinked, distracted from the swirl of colours returning to Connor's body after the grey wash of relief. "I'm glad you killed them. I feel like I would've done it myself, if I'd known how," he said, clenching his hands with a small degree of difficulty.
Heidi was still helping him with the electricity that still seemed to spark in his body and make his limbs do things they weren't meant to do, things he'd never meant to do, or things he'd meant to do ten minutes ago. His hands weren't clenching properly, so he couldn't even consider punching someone, let alone killing them properly.
Connor covered his hands with his own, squeezing gently and aware of his pain. "Darling, don't wish that for yourself. I certainly don't. Killing someone... it changes you."
Victor looked from Connor's blood stained fingers up to his face, blue truth staining his vision for a moment. Victor leaned forward to kiss Connor, as deep and firm as he could. "I love you, Connor, no matter what. You protected Ry and those kids, and I know that part of you would never change."
Connor cupped Victor's cheek, drawing him closer and tugging him until he was on his lap, Victor's fingers painfully curled into Connor's shoulders. They both ignored the pain as they kissed, both grateful to be alive and with each other.
Victor pulled away with a shaky breath, and looked around the room to try to gather his composure, wondering when he'd ended up on Connor's lap. Seeing the tub and bag by the door, he stood, grabbing for his cane as his legs felt weak beneath him.
"I'll get it, darling. You do your stretches," Connor murmured, standing and kissing his cheek.
"You just want to see me bend over," Victor teased, trying not to feel useless.
Connor's colours were less anxious now, considering worry had taken over, but that didn't mean Victor had to like feeling this way.
"Always, darling," Connor said, returning to their seats before Victor had even finished his first stretch. He set the tub of water on a chair, the bag of clothes hanging off the back of the chair, and moved to help Victor stretch more fully. "Did you rub your cream in this morning?"
"Rubbed something this morning," Victor muttered, not quite under his breath.
"Darling."
He sighed. "Yes, I rubbed the cream on my burn marks and on my hands. I couldn't reach my back properly."
"Your back is sore?" Connor asked, running his hands along Victor's shoulder blades gently, thumbs pressing and feeling for knots of tension.
"Well, not sore - ooh, that feels good - just aching a little. We've had a lot of sex this week. I think I know the reason why, but I'm not complaining. A massage wouldn't go astray later," Victor said, flexing and raising his arms up high in a warrior's pose to help stretch his calf muscles.
His legs twitched beneath him at the movement, Connor's broad hands holding his hips steady. Victor stretched further, knowing that he would be safe in Connor's hands.
"You think we've had lots of sex because of what I did this morning?" Connor asked curiously, fingers squeezing Victor's hips in a rhythmic pattern.
"Well, yes. It is the reason, isn't it?"
Connor grinned and shook his head. "I've been gentle with you, darling. I told you, I have a very healthy libido and I didn't want to overwhelm you, didn't I? This week was the start of my four week plan to have you at least twice a day."
Victor's legs shook for another reason entirely. "Twice?"
"At least twice, darling. I could have you five times a day, if you'd let me."
Connor's voice was much closer than he expected and Victor leaned back to press against his warmth and solid strength. Victor licked his lips and tried to think. "I thought... I thought it was you wanting the reminder that you're alive when you go off to do something that could potentially hurt you. Sort of like when men came home from war and the baby boomers happened," he said, shrugging awkwardly in his position.
Connor grinned. "Well, in that case... I'm home now, darling," he murmured, pressing up against Victor more fully.
Screw his stretches.
...
Ida watched as the two children left, obviously trying to be quiet about it but not taking into account that Ida had been watching them, even as she worked on cleaning Layla's body of soot, bits of debris, and dried blood.
Craig had promised that Layla and Warren would reform as soon as the jars were open, and she had been curious to know how he'd done it, but then she had seen the state of Layla's body. Somehow, Layla looked worse than before under her stark bright operating lights and cleaned of dirt and blood.
Once the two children had left, Ida closed the curtains around the small operating section, sure that no one would need to see what she'd need to do to reset bones and suture skin.
Taking a deep breath, Ida turned back to face Layla and started her work. Her eyes widened at the sight of green vines creeping out of several wounds and she rushed forward, not knowing what to do. Nothing in medical school - even Super Medicine 101, 201, or 401 - had prepared her for whatever this was.
"Layla? Are you awake? How are you doing this?" Ida asked urgently, gloved hands covering the green writhing wounds. "Ouch! Now, stop that this instant!"
The vines stilled suddenly and Ida breathed a sigh of relief.
"Thank you. Now, can you let me look at my patient? I promise to be gentle," she said, wondering if she was sane for talking to a vine that was inside a person.
The vines didn't stab her again and Ida took it as a sign of trust. Swallowing hard, she started to work on closing the wounds across Layla's body.
...
End of the hundred and fifty-fourth chapter.
Author's Note: For anyone who missed my social media post(s), I will be taking a brief pause for the next 4 weeks to concentrate on my university studies.
While I do have chapters pre-written, I discovered a rather large plot hole during editing, so will also need the extra time to fix that.
Please let me know if there's anything you think I've missed or haven't elaborated on, as I may have missed that, too.
As always, thanks for reading & I hope you liked it!