Chapter Two

The New World

Eddie awoke and looked around the fuzzy room. His head hurt, his arms hurt, his everything hurt. He felt like he had been hit by a bus. He must have lost. Ryder must have beaten him. Eddie strained to get up only to feel a soft but cold hand press on his chest accompanied by softly spoken words. "You need to rest, lay back down." If it were not for the pain Eddie would have thought he was dead. The voice was from a female and it sounded so angelic. He looked over to see who it was but his vision was too blurred and he could only see an outline of a female. He laid back down in obedience and shut his eyes. Sleep started to close in on him seconds after his head it the pillow. Eddie was not one to let his guard down in an unknown place, but the voice seemed so peaceful, so calming, so reassuring. Just this once Eddie would make an exception to his set rules and finally fell asleep.

She watched him get up and stare straight into her eyes then lay back down after she had pushed him down with her hand. If it weren't for the year of experience in nursing, she would have blushed. He was laying there with no shirt. His bare chest was visible in the dim light of the auditorium. He had been in a fight, or so she had been told, and it was apparent by the cuts and the bruises that were over this face, arms, legs, and chest. He had been here for almost three hours and the dark was starting to replace the light of the day. She had recalled the events earlier this afternoon, starting with a conversation between her and the head doctor, Doctor Manning.

"We have some visitors, Ms. Wood." Dr. Manning said, jokingly, coming into the room. She was sitting at her desk daydreaming about something when he came in. She had taken this job as an internship and it was pretty dull most of the time.

"Very funny doctor, and my name is Reba, Mrs. Wood is my mother." She said standing up brushing off her skirt and adjusting her lab coat. "Who is it?"

"Officers, you can bring them in, we are ready." He yelled. Four Police Officers escorted six young men into the room. They were all cut and bruised. The officers set them down hard in the seats. "And the other two?" He said. Two of the officers left the room and rolled in two boys on stretchers. "Just set them over there please, one in each bed." The officers obeyed and set them in the beds. They had their shirts off already so he motioned for the smallest boy to come forward and sit on the examining table. "We'll start with you." One by one the doctor and Reba applied the necessary bandages to the cuts of the eight young men. The two in the stretchers were in a more serious condition than the rest.

"Hey doctor." Fred stated. "How's my brother?" He sat there in handcuffs. He looked at the doctor with watery eyes.

"He's knocked out but he'll be fine, same for him." He pointed to Ryder. "They just need some rest." He moved toward his desk and sat down and picked up some paperwork to fill out. "The rest of you are done."

After he finished his sentence the officers stood up from the corner of the room they were sitting at and moved towards the young men. Just as they passed through the door a man in a gray suite with slicked back black hair came walking into the room with two guards, who took up positions at the door.

"What is the meaning of this?" He stated loudly. "Why is my son lying down in this trash dump?" He walked over to the bed.

"Well good evening Senator." Dr. Manning stood up, ignoring the remark. "He was involved in a scuffle and is knocked out. He needs to rest." He set his paperwork down and moved toward the bed.

"I want him out of here, now." The Senator pressed on.

One of the officers stepped forward. He had a salt and pepper mustache and spoke up, "sir these boys are being charged with disturbing the peace they are under arrest." He tried to keep calm but one could tell he was scared of standing up to a Senator.

"One call and I can have you guarding a popsicle stand! Now I'm not going to say it again. Release them."

The officer stood there for a full three heartbeats before he reached into his pocket and pulled out the keys and unlocked all the boy's cuffs.

"Thank you." He said. "Now, get my son out of here." One of the guards moved and scooped Ryder into his arms. He walked through the door followed by the Senators and the police officers, leaving a very confused bunch in their wake.

"Um…" Reba stared, confounded, "what just happened?"

They doctor took off his lab coat and hung it up on the coat rack by his desk. "What we just experienced was, in fact, the power of politics and the perks of having a father in a place of office." He walked over to the three boys and stood in front of them. "And you boys are lucky he didn't press charges. Of course telling the officer to release you as well might be a underlying statement to keep your mouth shut about this whole thing incident," Dr. Manning paused, "and if it wasn't I suggest you do. Now please leave."

"What about Eddie?" B.J. stood up, "we're not leaving without him." The doctor's eye's aligned with his and it sent shivers down B.J.'s spine.

"He. Is. Knocked. Out." Dr. Manning said chopping his sentence up. "He needs to rest. Ms. Wood will stay with him until he wakes up and will notify the proper authorities if he needs a higher degree of medical attention. Now I have a very important date with my wife and I do not wish to miss it." He motioned towards the door with his hand. "Shall we?"

B.J. stood there for a second and then was accompanied by Ronney and Fred as they left the room. Eddie would be fine, he wanted to tell him thank you, but he would save it for tomorrow.

Doctor Manning waited until the boys had left and turned towards Reba, "He'll be fine as soon as he wakes up completely, don't let him go until you run a diagnostics check on him, okay?"

"Yes doctor." Reba said. "Have fun on your date."

"Thank you; don't forget to fill out the paperwork dear." Dr. Manning said as he closed the door behind him.

Reba moved and sat beside Eddie in a chair between the beds. She knew who he was before B.J. mentioned his name. In fact she knew all the boys that came in today. They were pretty infamous throughout the school for their respective doings. She wondered how long it would take for Eddie to wake up. It's not like she had anything better to do but she didn't want to be in the office all day.

Reba quickly dismissed the flashback from her mind and looked up at the clock. It was now seven o'clock. That's it. He's leaving now, one way or the other. Reba moved over the bed where Eddie was laying. She went over to try to see if she couldn't get him to wake up. As she reached out her hand Eddie sat straight up and made a grunting noise that scared her. She took a step back and placed her right hand on her chest, over her heart.

"Geesh! You almost gave me a heart attack!" Reba said unintentionally yelling. This in turn scared Eddie as she saw him jump up out of his sitting position and fall off the other side of the bed. Reba made a dash for the bed in an attempt to catch him but he fell with a thud. She peered over the bed. She saw him sitting up rubbing his head.

"Ouch." Eddie said. This crazy woman scared the daylights out of him. She yelled but Eddie couldn't understand what she said. "What's the big idea?" Eddie said looking down at the ground. "Why did you scare me?" Eddie looked up and locked eyes with Reba. This is that girl. The one I saw earlier. She's even prettier than I thought.

"Well," Reba started and moved off the bed. She saw him stand up, hand still rubbing his head and a gaping mouth. It was cute but she had to stay firm, "if you'll shut your mouth now I'll blame your rudeness on the bump you just received on your head."

Eddie shut his mouth. He hadn't even realized he was standing there with his mouth open. "Sorry." He said. He suddenly felt chilled and realized he didn't have his shirt on. He quickly grabbed the blanket off the bed and covered up his chest. "Um… where's my shirt?" Eddie said looking at Reba. He saw her face go red and she turned away.

"It's on top of the desk, to your left." Reba said, pretending to turn around for something. Why am I blushing? It's not like I haven't seen a boy without a shirt before. "I need to examine you so if you please, sit down and let me have a look at you." She turned around after she heard him sit down in a chair. Strangely it was the same one his brother was in hours before.

Eddie just plopped down and looked at Reba. "Your Reba right?"

"Yes I am." Reba said taking a stethoscope and placing it on his chest. Wow what a strong heartbeat. He must be in good cardiovascular shape.

"I'm Eddie." Eddie fought back the shivers as he felt her hands rub across his arms and head, examining

his injuries. She has soft hands.

"Nice to meet you." She started. She didn't even let Eddie get a word in before she continued, "well as far as I'm concerned your good to go."

"Don't we have a class together?" Eddie said.

"Yes, Anatomy and Physiology." Reba replied back. She took off here lab coat and hung it beside the doctor's.

"I knew I recognized you from somewhere. What are you doing here?"

"I'm an intern for Doctor Manning. I want to be a nurse and maybe someday a doctor so what better way to start than right here on campus?" Reba said. She wondered why he was so interested in her. He seemed like the jockey type that would fall for some type of cheerleader or a girl on dance line.

"Really? That's cool." Eddie extended his hand out to shake hers. "Thanks for the checkup Reba." She took it and he squeezed it softly and shook. "Oh what time is it?"

"It's a little after seven. You've been asleep for a few hours." Reba said a little taken back by the gesture. There was something different about him. Something she just couldn't explain. Something she felt when his hand touched hers.

"Wow, I better be off then." Eddie stretched his shoulders out. "Do you live here on campus, in one of the dorms?"

Reba nodded. "Yes but it's not that far away."

"Would you mind if I walk you to your dorm? I would feel terrible if something happened to you this late at night on account that you were up watching over me."

Reba was shocked. "Um…uh…sure." Reba stuttered. She walked over to the desk to get the keys to lock up the room. She would make the bed tomorrow no need in worrying about that now.

Eddie was glad she said yes. He really wanted to make sure she was okay but more than that he wanted to walk with her. Talk with her. The tone of her voice was so relaxing; it made him feel like he was in heaven. Maybe on the way he could suggest getting a bite to eat. He looked out the window and saw the light shining through it. It was going to be a beautiful night. Wait, night? Light? Eddie walked towards the window and opened the blinds.

It was light outside but not from the sun. It was coming from across the campus and it was getting brighter and closer. Eddie could literally see the light envelope the buildings as it went by.

"Get down!" Eddie yelled turning towards Reba. She had just enough time to shut the drawer before the window exploded inward from the pressure. He had to move fast of they would both be dead. Eddie saw Reba freeze up in shock and stand still. Eddie ran over to the bed and grabbed the mattress off and slid it on the desk knocking everything off it. He ran over to Reba and pulled her down with one arm and rolled the mattress over with the other, covering them both. Between the desk and the mattress they should stand a chance. Eddie could feel Reba's hand slide into his, finger next to finger.

"I'm scared." She said softly as the building started to shake.

"Don't worry." Eddie pulled her closer. "I'll protect you."

Eddie could feel the light as it pressed against his skin. The light enveloped him and he could feel his body scream in pain. The blinding light caused him to shut his eyes. He could feel Reba drift further from his body and eventually could only feel her hand in his. Got. To. Keep. Holding. On. Even with every fiber of his being screaming with pain as he tried to keep hold on her hand, he could feel it slip away. Eddie opened his eyes to try and see her. Nothing. He could only see white and hear a static noise. His cloths were being replaced with different ones and he could feel his wounds healing. He was no longer on the ground but somewhere in a freefall. He couldn't tell which way was up until he hit the ground. The event had taken a toll on his body and he felt weak. His eyes were now shut and the smell of dirt filled his nostrils, the feel of grass tickling his face. He strained hard to open his eyes and to get up but he couldn't. He was too exhausted, both physically and mentally. He started to drift to sleep when he saw Reba's face in his mind, smiling. A sense of peace washed over him and he drifted off to sleep, unknowing of the new world he was in.