Chapter Six
Zeebad's choice
Sam was confused by last night's events. Zeebad was beginning to wake up. He wondered what Sam was doing here. "Where's Elora?" he asked him quietly. Sam saw the look in his eyes. They were sad and soulful. "She went home to Zebedee's place. I need to ask you something." He told him silently. "What is it?" he asked getting up. "Why… Why did you fix the hole in my stomach? You know the damage after ripping the diamond out of me." He told him. Zeebad went very quiet at this. "I did it because I … I felt sorry for what I did to you that day. You were just trying to help. Also Elora's been helping me. She gave me something I've been wanting a long time ago but never got it." He said to him with a frozen tear in his eye. Sam understood and put his hand on Zeebad's shoulder. "It's okay to be like this. It must be pretty new for you having a friend who has special gifts too. Zebedee still can't sleep because of the past. I help him just like when he was… a kid afraid of himself and his own powers. I miss those days more than anything in this world." He said to him. Zeebad smiled sadly at this. "Yes I know. Whenever I'm with Elora… I feel different and not wanting to freeze the entire world. Is something wrong with me?" he said to him. "No it's not! It's a little thing called Love. It must be exciting to feel that." A voice said. Zeebad turned around and saw Mr Rusty standing there. Sam wondered what he was doing down here. "Zebedee hasn't been acting like himself lately and it's making everybody worried. Do you know what's going on?" he told him. "No I don't know what's going on with him." Zeebad told him. They watched as he went off. Sam was worried for his old friend. "I can find out what's going on!" Zeebad told him as he created a crystal ball out of snow. He saw Zebedee conjure up a fridge full of food. This worried him because Zebedee looked depressed as he began to eat. The fridge was full of fatty and sugary foods. This was stuff Zebedee would never ever touch but now it was his only way. Elora then ran into the room and to Zeebad's side. He made the crystal ball disappear. "What's going on?" she asked him. "Nothing!" he said quietly. Meanwhile in his house in the sky, Zebedee was still eating food but he didn't feel so good. After he'd eaten the last cake in there, he felt weird. He then convulsed on the floor and passed out. Everything went dark. Zeebad was watching this secretly in another crystal ball he'd created. He saw Zebedee lying there, passed out like that but what could he do? Sam saw the fear in his eyes.
"What can I do? He's passed out there and he could be… No I've got to do this even if it means I get in trouble for doing it." He told him. Sam understood and led him to Zebedee's house. Elora was already there. She was worried for her uncle. She felt okay once Zeebad and Sam showed up. "We'd better get him to a hospital quick!" she told them. They agreed. Zeebad watched as Sam carried Zebedee in his arms and ran off. Mr Rusty gasped at this. "He needs medical attention right away!" he said as Mr Rusty took him inside the hospital. They watched as Zebedee was put in a hospital bed with wires hooked up to his arm. "He passed out after eating all that food in the fridge he conjured up." Sam explained to Mr Rusty and the nurse. "We'll try our best!" she said as she walked away. Mr Rusty went as well but Sam stayed with his old friend. Tears welled up in his eyes. "You were trying to get rid of the memories of the past, weren't you? If it wasn't for Zeebad, we wouldn't have got you here in time." He said through tears. Elora was watching this. But Zeebad seemed down for some reason. "I'm sorry Elora. Because of me, your uncle is suffering and now he's in hospital!" he said sorrowfully. "What do you mean?" she asked him as they sat together.
He sighed deeply before he began talking. "I'm the reason your uncle can't sleep at night. Long ago lust for power over came me and I couldn't control it so your uncle and I fought a long and painful battle which ended up with me being in here. But I was accidentally released and I tried again for the power but failed and ended up here. But now I've done something unforgivable and if you don't want to be with me anymore, I understand." He said quietly. He waited for her anger but it didn't come. She kissed him on the lips. He smiled at this. "Aren't you mad?" he asked her. "No. That stuff was in the past and everybody makes mistakes. It wasn't your fault he did that. It was just his only way out." She said as they waited for Sam to come back. He came back later that night very sad. Elora watched as he slept on top of the Roundabout. Zeebad felt terrible for this. Tears were running down his face but didn't notice them. Rusty had seen them fall but didn't believe it. They went back to his room. Elora snuggled near him but he watched as she fell asleep. He then grabbed the sword of ice and made it sharper. He then cut his arm and let the pain out. It felt good but he felt dizzy and fainted. But the sword hit his stomach and he was filled with pain beyond his wildest nightmares. "I'm sorry Elora." He said as his vision went black. He was moaning in pain.
He felt dazed as he found himself in the Enchanted Village once more but felt no pain. Zebedee was with him. "Don't be afraid! They'll fix you like they did to me! Elora is very upset at the minute. So is Sam and Rusty. They found you lying with the sword in your hand and clutching your stomach. That's why we realised what you did or tried to do." He said. Zeebad then watched as everything went black once more.
Dylan and the others wondered what was going on with Elora and Mr Rusty because they hadn't been told yet. Sam was more worried than ever because he'd went into Zeebad's room and had found him with the sword and in pain and he'd called both Elora and Mr Rusty for help. But he was hiding how he felt about this. He watched as the children played on the Roundabout as usual. He then saw Elora come over to him. She seemed sad. He then came over to her. "Is he going to be alright? He did something really brave and he can't leave us." He said to him. "He'll be okay. They've got to operate on him because of his stomach." She told him. That made him feel better at least. "What was that all about?" Florence asked him. "It's nothing, really. It's just some good friends of mine got hurt." He said quietly as he sat on the grass with his head in his hands. Dylan then came over to him. He could tell Sam was stressed about something. "You should chill out man like I do. That would probably help with your stress." He said as he fell asleep. Elora then sat down beside Sam. She could feel that he wanted to cry and let it out but he didn't want to in front of the others. "It's okay. I know how you feel. I couldn't sleep because I was so worried for Zeebad and my uncle." She said soothingly. "What about Zebedee? Will he be okay?" he said silently.
"I don't know. They said he should be waking up soon. He had to have an injection in his arm. But he looks peaceful in sleep." She told him. Sam then lost it and broke down into fits of manly sobbing. Mr Rusty and the others had seen this. He knew Sam was feeling pretty down because of what had happened. To him, it must've been terrible going in there and seeing his best friend lying on the floor and not waking up as well as being the one bringing to medical attention. But then Zeebad hurting himself also made things worse not only for Sam but for Elora. He watched as Sam walked off with Elora behind him. They went to the hospital. But there was a surprise there for them.