Saving Sam: Chapter 7
Danny began to drop off to sleep on the last leg of his flight. Just outside the city, he nodded off and dipped too low. He awoke a moment too late and slammed into the wall of an office building. It nearly knocked him out, and he hovered a moment, dazed.
He shouldn't be so careless, not with Sam still missing and Alex still out there. She needed his help, and he knew that she probably wasn't sleeping much. He should be back at the docks right now with an offer for Alex, but he still had to think about his sister. He couldn't just send her in blindly; he would have to tell her something first. He should also have a talk with Tucker. But it was getting to be late in the morning and Tucker had probably already left for school and his parents would want to know what was going on...
Danny stopped short and fisted his hands, growling with frustration.
All he wanted to do was save Sam. That was what this had been about from the beginning. Sam mattered now. Other people didn't matter. They weren't in the hands of a sadistic, brainwashing psychopath; Sam was. Danny felt himself locking up with exasperation. He forcibly shoved everything from his mind and tried to think reasonably. Priority 1: Save Sam. To do that, he had to think clearly, and to think clearly he needed a second opinion. He needed to talk to Tucker.
Danny turned himself around and headed off to school. He managed to stay awake without too much difficulty, and he felt better with a definite plan in mind. He returned to his corporeal self in a secluded area out behind the school. He almost collapsed when he felt his weight again and had to steady himself for a moment on the building. Numbed as he was, he enjoyed the rough, flat texture of the brick. He had never really noticed it or appreciated it. He looked over at the wall and looked at the color. It was a natural, coarse burgundy, brightened by a faint orange tint...
Danny caught himself drifting off again and shook himself awake, wondering if he was losing his mind. Probably. He walked around the building to the front yard, trying to see if he could spot Tucker. He saw the normal congregation of football jocks, girls talking, people at benches scribbling away on last night's homework, but no Tucker. He tried the hallway. More jocks, girls, and scribblers. He felt people looking at him. He didn't care much, but he figured it wouldn't hurt to wash up a little as long as he couldn't find Tucker. He went to the bathroom, happy to find it empty. Most kids were coming to school straight from their homes, so they didn't need the school facilities in the morning. Danny splashed some cold water on his face and took a look at himself in the mirror. He immediately saw why people were staring.
The cuts he had acquired from the fight two nights ago still looked ugly, and the bruises had made little progress-if any-in healing since yesterday. He thought it was odd, considering he usually healed within a day. His face had a freshly battered, bruised look to it. Danny was confused for a moment before he remembered kissing wall on his way back from the city. He rolled his eyes and smacked the ceramic sink. He had something like Alex to fight and he was beating himself up running into walls. He heard the first bell ring for class in the hallway but paid no attention to it. His hair was more straggled than usual. He threw some more water on his face and used a paper towel to press water to the more painful scabs and bruises. It was a fresh, relaxing chill against his burning injuries. He walked out to class, not caring if he was late or not.
He had biology first. Danny put took his seat and fell asleep instantly. He was seated in the middle of a row up against the wall, and he was able to sleep through a good deal of the class before his rest was interrupted.
A noise as sharp and loud as thunder flared up around Danny, shaking the lab station he was sleeping on and jarring him awake. He sat up stiffly. Lancer stood in front of Danny's desk looking down on him. His hands grasped a thick, hardbound textbook three inches from where Danny's head had been a moment ago. Danny glanced around, stupefied. Kids in class were laughing and giggling at him. Innocent confusion was replaced by a helpless frustration which melted down into rage. He felt his eyes beginning to gleam emerald, and his foot phased out beneath the desk. Danny wanted to do something that would insure that they never laughed at him again. He clamped his eyes shut and solidified his foot. He couldn't help Sam if he was incarcerated or under a microscope.
He heard Lancer clear his throat. "Ah, try to stay with us, Fenton. This will be on the test." Lancer sounded disconcerted. Danny opened his eyes and saw that he was walking back to the front of the class. Three or four kids were staring at him, but glanced down quickly when they saw him look up. He wondered if they had seen his eyes or if he just looked too mangled to bother with. Either way, he was glad they left him alone, and he went back to sleep. He slept right on through English and algebra, both teachers being far too familiar with such behavior to care about one more unconscious student. In Spanish, he got ten minutes before being awoken.
Somebody nudged him furtively said his name. Danny looked over at the girl next to him, who said "Um" and motioned to the front of his row. Ms. Kaseman glared back at him. For an instant, she reminded him of Lancer, same critical look and shaming posture, but as he raised his head, her eyes widened. She looked him up and down quickly, and her manner softened considerably. "Danny, are you feeling alright?" she asked, concerned.
"No."
"I'm going to send you down to the nurse's office." She walked back to her desk and wrote out a note for him. She gave it to him, and he trudged down to the nurse's office, yawning. The nurse's office was a small side room off the main administration hall. He turned into it at stood in front of the nurse, waiting for her attention. She was busy tapping away at the keyboard, but she took his note and nodded toward the bed.
"Go lie down. I'll be with you in a minute." Danny collapsed finally, gratefully, on a horizontal surface. He waited for a couple minutes, more than a little anxious, while the nurse finished her work at the computer. She gave the keyboard a few final taps and came over to take a look at him. The nurse was a tight-lipped, middle-aged woman who looked as though her sympathy, though genuine, lasted only as long as her shift. She inspected him with concern, noting his damaged face and the bruises on his arms. "Any more?" He nodded and lifted his shirt for her inspection. She whistled. "What happened to you?"
Danny muttered something unintelligible.
"What was that?"
"I can't tell you. Can you do anything for it?"
"Well I can, but I'll also have to call your parents unless you want to tell me about it." Danny shook his head. She sighed. "All right. I'll give you some antibiotics and clean you up, then I'll call your parents." She walked over to a cupboard and pulled out bottles, patches, and other sundry medical supplies. "You just relax and try to sleep. I'll let you know when your parents get here."
Danny lifted his head and looked at the clock. He still had about twenty minutes until lunch time, more than enough to catch some sleep and get lunch before his parents arrived. "Wake me up for lunch. I'm pretty hungry." She started on his arms, and he relaxed into the cot. It felt so good to have somebody actually taking care of him. It felt better than good; it felt safe. He leaned back as the pain, stress, and desperation of his long day and night pressed him into unconsciousness.
"Thanks," he mumbled.
"No problem."
A/N: Thanks to all who reviewed: Sakura Scout, Wiggle Lizard, Mrs. Granger-Weasley, autumngold, and The Fuzy Llama. You are all very cool. I am tired. My auto-shop teacher is... mentally disabled (seriously), my AP English teacher has bad grammar, and my AP econ teacher admits that he is very very, very very very lazy. This year should be interesting. I'll save the rest of my rants for the profile. Drop a review and I'll see ya'll next chapter!
