I know the last chapter was filler. And the rest of "After the Storm" will feel like that because…well, for a good reason. You'll see.
The Files of Kazdan Kalinkas
Book Two: After the Storm
Chapter Seventeen: Two's Annoying, Three's A Crowd
"Very funny. A rock in the road. Kids in this country need something better to do with their time." –The Chauffer from Fullmetal Alchemist: The Conquer of Shambala
"Let us worry about school." My parents had said. And they'd left it at that. They told me how much they'd missed me, how hard they had looked for me, and how happy they were that I was home.
All I could do was agree with them.
At some point during our slightly one-sided conversation, I yawned loudly and rubbed my eyes, feeling tired and heavy.
"Maybe we should leave you alone so you can get some sleep." Dad said.
"No, I'm not tired." That was a lie. I was tired. But I didn't want them to leave. I didn't want to be alone in the hospital. Not yet. I wasn't ready. I was scared; there was part of me that still believed that, somehow, Chaor might find a way to get at me.
"Don't over work yourself." Mom ordered, "The doctor says you need your rest and you can't fool your own mother." She pressed my shoulders until I was lying down on the bed, staring up at them, "We'll come see you tomorrow, hon, promise." She brushed my bangs away from my face and kissed my forehead.
Any other place, any other time, I would have thrown a fit about her treating me like that. But at that moment, a warm feeling spread in my stomach and made me smile.
"It's good to be home." I blurted out. Mom smiled back at me and whispered good night.
"You're stronger than I ever gave you credit for." Dad muttered, "Must be your great-grandfather's blood."
"Luck o' the Irish." I replied and Dad laughed, ruffling my hair.
"You sleep good now, Kaz." He said, "We'll see you tomorrow. And don't give the doctor's any trouble, okay?"
"Alright." He didn't say anything about giving the cops trouble, "G'night."
"Sweet dreams, Kaz."
Then the lights went out and the door closed and I was alone in the room. I lay on my back, my head turned so that it faced towards the window. Yellow light in fractured beams cast tiny slits across the floor and walls through the blinds covering the window. The normalcy of it was stark and odd. All these familiar things that now seemed so…strange.
I wanted to get out of this hospital and be in my own bedroom in my hometown. I wanted to go to school and pretend none of this had ever happened. A hard thing to do, maybe, but I was going to try all the same.
I would never port to Chaotic again.
I would never, ever go to Perim again.
I was done as a Chaotic player.
KidChaor was dead.
The finalization of it in my mind felt good, like I'd finally accomplished something. I'd find something else to occupy my time.
I wondered, in the brief moments before sleep took over, how many Road Rager games had come out while I'd been gone.
The next day was hectic, annoying, and tiring, to say the least.
I woke up and lay staring at the ceiling with my mind completely blank, halfway out of sleep mode but not quite awake. Abby solved that by bustling in with a tray of lovely hospital breakfast and humming something that sounded like "It's A Small World After All." I tried to ignore her while she went about opening the blinds and checking the chart at the foot of my bed but the tune was stuck hauntingly at the back of my head the rest of the day.
Then I met Dr. Mitchell. He was a tallish guy with almost no hair and gray eyes but he was friendly enough towards me, if wary.
"Hello, Kaz, I'm Dr. Herbert Mitchell." He warmly, smiling down at me.
"Hi." I said flatly, looking back up at him from where I was sitting propped against the headboard.
"Before I hand you over to the cops, we're going to do a couple of tests."
"Like what?"
"Oh, just some x-rays and scans and some blood samples to make sure there's nothing wrong."
"I'm fine." The mention of blood samples made me sick to my stomach. I was remembering the result of my last encounter with a needle.
"You might think that but we don't know that for sure. It's standard procedure, there's nothing to be worried about."
"I don't want to."
The smile dropped a little bit, "Kaz, we're not going to hurt you." Abby walked in, pushing a wheel chair in front of her, "Now, please get in the chair."
"Make me."
The smile dropped a bit more, "Don't be stubborn, son, we're just going to make sure you're healthy."
"I thought you told my dad I was."
"Kazdan, you are being unreasonable." The smile was gone completely. Now he was all doctor and not even trying to be friendly, "This is not only for your safety but also for the safety of those around you. Do you understand?"
I understood but that didn't mean I wanted to cooperate. What if they found traces of the Virus? How could I explain that away? And how much had they figured out about my scars? I was in a hospital gown so someone had taken the liberty of getting rid of the OverWorld garments I'd been wearing. Not that I cared.
"Do not make me use force. I'd rather not resort to it." I glared at him. I didn't take idly to threats anymore but to cause a scene was the last thing I wanted. So I swung my legs over the edge of the bed and was promptly hit with a dizzy spell. When the world settled back into place, I was being wheeled down a hallway, passing doors every so often. I glanced over my shoulder and saw Abby pushing the chair with Dr. Mitchell walking behind her. The two police officers from outside my door were walking on either side of me and they kept shooting me glances out of the corners of their eyes. I shifted in my seat, uncomfortable with their stares, and watched the tile pass underneath the wheelchair. It was cold out here, out of the room. Goosebumps erupted across my bare arms and I shivered.
"Abby, hold on a moment." Dr. Mitchell said and vanished through a door. When he came back, he was holding a blanket, which he draped over my shoulders. I took it gratefully and wrapped it around me, still shivering slightly. Why was it so dang cold!?
"Thanks." I muttered.
"You're welcome and I'm sorry about before." Dr. Mitchell said as we kept moving, "You see, you're something of a celebrity; a fourteen year old boy who vanished off the face of the earth and returns almost a year later from God knows where dressed in some exotic clothing." He glanced at me, smiling a little, "I don't really care for the Boys in Blue being so nosey about what's going on in here, I feel it toes the line of patience privacy. No offence, boys." He added, nodding at the two officers.
"None taken." One of them muttered. The other said nothing.
"So if I was a little stingy with you earlier, please forgive me."
"Mmm," I said, distracted, "No offence, but I don't really like them either."
Dr. Mitchell laughed and one of the policemen chuckled. His partner shot him a dark look and he shut his mouth.
After that there was no more idle chit-chat. I was pushed around all morning until lunch time. The x-rays hadn't been so bad, though I didn't quite know what they were looking for and none of the doctor's would tell me. I wasn't familiar with the scanning technology in a hospital but the made me lie down on a bed thing and pretty much stuck me in a tube. Surprisingly, I was still okay with that, nervous and wary but okay.
It was the needle that scared the daylights out of me.
I was nodding off from the hectic activity that had already transpired when I felt the cool swab of anesthetic on my left arm. My eyes flew open and I yanked my arm away, staring with wide eyes at the surprised nurse who was leaning over my hospital bed. I held my arm to my chest, fingers of my right hand curled tightly around my left arm, shaking slightly. I must have looked a little comical, lying, slightly propped up, in my bed like that with a terrified look on my face. The nurse must have figured he'd startled me because he smiled and reached out to take my arm again.
As he leaned forward, I saw the needle glinting in his hand.
"Don't touch me!" I shouted, leaning away and falling off the other side of the bed. The impact stung and I landed awkwardly on my right arm but I was on my feet in a second. Or I would have been if my feet hadn't gotten tangled up and I'd crashed to the floor again.
"Kaz, it's alright, it's just a small poke. You'll barely notice." Said the nurse, setting the needle on the bedside stand and walking around to help me to my feet. I shuffled away from him, pressing back against the wall. My mind was telling me that this was just like before; just like what Ulmar did; and that the results would be the same, "Come on now, there's nothing to be scared of, it's just a needle."
"My last encounter with a needle didn't go so well." I muttered darkly.
The nurse paused and then bent down and hauled me upright with surprising strength before helping me back over to my bed. I sullenly crossed my arms over my chest, refusing to cooperate.
The nurse scowled, though I wasn't sure it was directed at me, "I bet they're all laughing at me back in the break room. Giving the new guy a tough time, as usual."
"You're new?"
"End of my first month." He replied, turning slightly red, "And some of the other nurses like to…pick on me and make me do difficult things just to get a laugh."
"I hate people like that." I said.
"Mm." Came the acknowledgement from the nurse. After a few moments of silence, I stuck my arm out, looking the other direction.
"Just…tell them you had a great time or something." I could feel him staring at me, "Well, you gonna do it or what?"
I flinched as I felt the needle pinch into my skin. Why was I cooperating? Why was I being so nice? Because I knew what it was like to be picked on and made to do the hard things no one else dared do? That might have been part of the reason.
But I was pretty sure that the other part was because I was tired of fighting.
I'd fallen asleep with my back to the door.
I still don't know if that's what triggered the nightmare or not.
I think I'd rather not know.
I was in school, sitting at a desk in my old History classroom, my classmates were sitting around me all holding daggers in their hands. I was holding one too and I was in my hospital gown. Chaor was at the front of the classroom on a throne.
"Kill yourselves." He said and the kids around me all raised the knives to their necks and slit their throats. The blood pooled to the floor, swelling up around my ankles. I sat staring at the knife in my hands.
"Kill yourself." Chaor ordered and suddenly he was right beside me, looking down at me, "I said to kill yourself. And then wake up."
I just stared at him.
"Wake up." He said and grabbed my shoulder, "Wake up!"
"No! Don't touch me!" I screamed and grabbed his arm in one hand. I pulled him closer and punched him in the face. He stumbled backwards and suddenly a bunch of little Ulmar's jumped up from the blood and grabbed my arms pinning them back. I shouted and struggled but somehow they were stronger.
That was all I could remember.
After that was the darkness of sleep.
I woke up terrified.
First of all because of the nightmare.
Secondly because the two police officers who usually guarded the door were on either side of the bed and another man in a suit was beside one of them.
And thirdly because my wrists were strapped down to the bed with thick Velcro straps.
"Wha—what's going on!?" I pulled at the restraints, panicking, "What're you going to do to me!? What do you want!?"
"Easy, kid, we're not going to do anything to you." One of the officers said, "It's just a misunderstanding."
"M-m-misunderstanding!?" I gasped. I could hear the blood pounding in my ears. It was like the UnderWorld all over again. This hospital…I had to get out of here before I went crazy.
The other policeman sniggered, "I'm sorry, it's kind of amusing, really." He glanced at the man in the blue-gray suit, "It's just that you were sleeping when the inspector arrived so he tried to wake you up. I guess you were having a nightmare or something because as soon as he touched your shoulder you shouted "don't touch me" and punched him in the face." He put a hand over his mouth, stifling his laughter, "After that we couldn't get you to stop flailing around so we had to pin you down and the doc came in and stuck you with a sedative. But you were still struggling for a while so they strapped your arms down."
I stared at him, my heart still thudding. That nightmare had triggered my spasms of terror and I'd…I'd…
I looked around at the inspector, the man in the suit, "I'm…sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you…uh…sir."
"That's quite alright." He said, "Greg, unstrap the boy, will you?"
I sighed in relief and rubbed my wrists where the Velcro had chaffed me a bit. Then I moved upright so that I was propped against the back of the bed and looked at the inspector,
"You're here to get a report from me, aren't you?"
"Mm, yes." Said the inspector, "My name's Jeremy Ticker, you can call me Jeremy. Do you need anything before we start?"
"Um, how exactly…is this going to work?" I asked, glancing from one officer to the next and then back at Jeremy.
"Well, Greg there's got a recording device," He pointed to the officer with blonde hair who'd unstrapped me, "And Rick is our psychologist, he'll be taking notes."
I glanced at Rick who half-smiled at me, "I don't like psycho-analysts." Rick laughed.
"Alright, that's enough boys." Inspector Jeremy leaned forward, elbows on his knees, completely serious, "Greg, start the recorder." Greg hit a button. I looked back at the inspector, "Your name?"
"Kazdan Matthew Kalinkas."
"Age?"
"Fifteen."
"What's today's date?"
"I…" I stopped and bit my lip, "I don't know…"
Inspector Jeremy must have seen my distress because he said in a comforting voice, "It's December twentieth." Then his police voice came back, "What was the date you disappeared on."
I thought back and finally said, "Uh, February…10th. I think."
The inspector nodded, "Can you tell us what happened that day?"
"Well I…" The words got stuck. I couldn't remember what had happened to my real world self, I could only recall the capture of my Chaotic self. I swallowed and finally said, "I was…walking to my friend Tom's house—."
"Thomas Majors?"
"Uh, yeah. I was walking to his house and then something hit me in the back of the head." I raised a hand and ran it through my too-long hair, "When I woke up it was dark and I couldn't move."
"And?" Inspector Jeremy prompted me to continue but I had no clue what to say. The truth would get me shut in an insane asylum.
"I don't know." I looked away, staring at the blankets.
"Kazdan, I need you to tell me what happened to you."
"I don't know, I don't remember." I clenched my fists on the top of the blankets, shutting myself up tight. I wasn't going to tell them anything.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Rick lean forward and whisper something to the inspector. I hated psycho-analysts.
"Kazdan." I didn't move when Jeremy said my name, "Kazdan, look at me." I still didn't move, "Now, Kazdan." I turned my eyes up to him, looking between the strands of my red hair, "I need you to tell me the truth."
"I don't remember."
"Kazdan—!"
"I said I don't know!" I snapped, "Leave me alone! I don't want to talk about it!" I slid down and pulled the sheets over my head.
There was some silence and then bodies shifting and footsteps. The door opened but didn't close and I could hear the officers talking with the inspector.
"He's lying." I heard Rick hiss, "He's lying when he says he doesn't remember what happened to him. But he's being very closed off about it. It might take some work to get it out of him."
"I don't want to hurt him." Inspector Jeremy murmured, "Wherever he's been for the past year, it looks like it's worn him down. I mean, have you ever seen a teenager with a look like that on his face?"
"Did you see his eyes?" Greg whispered, an odd edge to his voice, "They're weird! Slitted…like an animal's—."
"Gregory!" I heard the inspector snap, "We're not here to gawk at him. We're here to find out where he was and what we can do to help him!"
"Inspector…" Rick muttered, "The door's still open, sir."
There was a quick curse word and the door shut and I could no longer hear them. I pushed the covers back and lay staring at the ceiling.
How long was I going to be trapped in here?
How long would it be before they would let me get back to a normal life?
I wanted to be in my own house.
I wanted to be in my own bedroom.
I wanted to go back to school (as odd as that sounds).
I wanted to forget everything that had happened to me.
But that was asking too much.
I rolled onto my side and started running my thumb up and down the scar on my chest.
It had become a habit.
And I would never be able to forget how it go there.
Yeah, like Kaz was going to cooperate with the police. You didn't think he would, did you? He doesn't know what he's going to do. Poor Kazzer, he just wants to go home…
I don't particularly like the beginning of this chapter but I do like the end. Remember Kaz's nightmare and his reaction to it. It might play a part later…
Whoops, semi-spoilers. X3
