November 15th, 2019
No. No. Nonononono. Reality had slipped from June's grasp. Her mind reeled and struggled to hold on to coherent thought, but all it could find was "no." Stephen was dead. The Roj-Mal had impaled him. Tears welled in June's eyes, and her chest burned with heartbreak. It was fascinating, how one could actually feel a broken heart. June's mind tentatively reached out towards him, reaching for their telepathic link, but only found itself confined within the walls of her own consciousness.
All June could do was stare as silent tears streaked down her cheeks. Gunshots ripped through the air, and the Roj-Mal screamed, snapping June back to reality. The police had finally entered the scene, and were progressing towards the Roj-Mal on foot, pumping the beast full of lead. The creature took a step forward with a snarl, and prepared to lunge.
They're going to die too. The death touch that permeated from the Roj-Mal's claws would give anyone it came in contact with a swift end. The weight of a thousand lives suddenly rested on June's shoulders, weighing her down. I'm the only thing stopping it from going on a killing spree. The sheer weight of the responsibility that she now held nearly crushed her under its presence. There was no time to rest, no time to mourn. The beast was slinking closer to the police, occasionally being stunned by gunfire. Rage boiled up in June, and her grief turned into sheer hatred. I'm going to kill you, she mentally hissed as she drew her conjured bow.
With a wild cry of grief and fury, June let lose a conjured arrow towards the beast with terrifying accuracy. It hit right in the center of the beast's bullet-hole-riddled back. The Roj-Mal shrieked and slammed its tail on the ground, smashing a car with its strength. It whipped around and focused on June again, who drew her bow once more.
There was no slow walk towards her, no bullets to stun the beast. The police had stopped firing, in fear of hitting her. The weakened Roj-Mal lunged towards June with terrifying speed, and she took aim right at its open mouth.
The arrow let lose with a loud crack, and it flew through the air with deadly force. There was a sickening wet noise, like a melon being squished, as it went right through the creature's mouth and out the back of its head. The creature was in mid-leap when it died, and its lifeless body sailed through the air, carried by its momentum. It skidded into the ground with a wet grinding noise, and several cars were crushed under its weight. The body slid to a stop right in front of June, the Roj-Mal's snout about a foot from touching her.
The victory was meaningless. The creature was dead, and so was Stephen. At the thought of his name, June dispelled her bow and sprinted towards Stephen's lifeless body, giving off another cry of heartbreak. She skidded to a stop, sliding a bit on the wet snow, and knelt by his side.
No. Not like this. There has to be a way. June wasn't going to let Stephen die like this, not while she was still breathing. She reached down and tore at his robes, intent on baring his chest so she could see the injury. She pulled at the blue fabrics and they quickly gave way, revealing a bloody mess of a wound. June had to fight the urge to vomit at the sight of it, and tears began pouring down her face again.
You can do this. Focus. She breathed deeply and did her best to remember the hand motions for a healing spell. Her fingers bent, and her hands flexed as she went through the motions, and she mentally recited the mantra for the spell. White energy sparked at her hands, and June's heart leapt into her throat for a second. She quickly placed her hands on his chest, and channeled every single ounce of strength she had into the spell.
Healing someone wasn't a pretty process, nor was it pleasant for the caster. As June healed him, she felt the wound in his chest as if it were her own. She gritted her teeth and poured more of herself into the spell. Footsteps were fast approaching, but June couldn't tear her eyes off Stephen.
"Ma'am!" A man cried, June assumed he was a police officer. "You need to make way for the emergency responders!" His voice was deep and authoritative, but nothing he could do or say would ever move June from this spot.
"Let me do this!" She screamed, and her focus lapsed for a second, nearly breaking the spell. "It's his only chance!" June pulled herself back into the spell, letting it consume all of her being. She felt his bones being repaired and set, the muscular tissue reforming, and the cardiac tissue being revived.
Her strength was fading, and June tried to stave off panic. His heart was nearly healed – the burning in her chest was enough to make spots appear on her vision as she came dangerously close to blacking out.
Book, help me. She silently pleaded. The Book had never helped her before, but it was June's last reserve of magical energy. His heart was still healing slowly, and June knew she couldn't maintain the spell for much longer. Book. Please.
The beads around her wrist began to burn, and June let out a cry of pain. The Book began to glow a deep, jade green as the small runes that covered it emanated and intense light. She tore her mind away from the distraction and tried to put her focus back on the spell, but the burning on her wrist competed for her attention. Suddenly, she felt slightly rejuvenated. A small amount of strength found itself in her body, and June immediately channeled it into the spell. The burning of the beads had stopped, and the book ceased to glow. Her prayer had been answered.
Thank you, she whispered to it mentally. Suddenly, June felt her heart- no, Stephen's- start beating. June let out a cry and continued to channel the spell, willing the muscles around his chest to close.
It was too much. Despite the Book's gift, she had spent everything she had. Her body and her soul had no more strength to spare. The spell broke, and June collapsed backwards onto the snowy asphalt. The blurry image of paramedics gathering around them filled her sight, and then she found herself swallowed up by the abyss.
…
Pain. Chest on fire. Hard to breathe. Sound… beeping? Heart monitor. Open your eyes.
The light assaulted Stephen's eyes, and he immediately regretted opening them. His eyes burned as they quickly adjusted. He looked around, and noticed the familiar surroundings of a hospital room. He had an IV in his arm, and based on the way the room was set up, he was either in the surgery wing, or he had been admitted. He looked over to his left, and his heart froze.
June. She was curled up in a tiny and uncomfortable chair, dressed in oversized pajamas, and was fast asleep. He noticed a gauze wrap around her wrist, resting underneath the chain of the Book.
June. Her name repeated in his head, and soothed him. What happened…? He racked his brain to remember the battle, and it came to him in hazy bursts. Roj-Mal. Civilians. Spell broke. Stabbed.
Stephen froze. A shaky hand went to his chest, intent on feeling if he still had a hole in his chest. The chest of his hospital gown looked full, and when he gently rested his hand over his heart, he winced with pain. Hurts, but it's there. He brought his hand up to his neckline, and pulled at it, glancing down to his chest. Bandages were wrapped around his chest, compressing it and making it hard to breathe. They were slightly bloody. When was the last time these had been changed?
I should be a dead man. The thought made him freeze. The Roj-Mal had impaled him, and the magic of the death touch quickly ripped the life from his body. But… how am I here? His gaze drifted back over to the sleeping form of June, and he began to put the pieces together.
She saved me… but how? He ran through the possibilities in his head, and a memory stuck out to him: giving June the Rejuvenatium. It all clicked into place. So that's how she did it. He rested his head back on the pillow and fought the urge to cough – breathing burned, coughing would probably be unbearable. While he was staring up at the ceiling, another question formed in his mind: What time is it?
He scanned the room for a clock, and quickly found one. 3:15. He didn't know if that was in the morning or in the afternoon – the room lacked windows, making it impossible to tell. I have to see a nurse. He glanced around, and found the remote for the TV resting on the nightstand. It was a dull brown and had a speaker on it, and at the very top was an orange "call nurse" button. With a shaking hand and a pained arm, Stephen reached out and grabbed the remote, and quickly pressed the call button. He laid the remote next to him on the bed, and rested back on the pillow once more, closing his eyes while he waited.
After a few minutes, there was a gentle knock on the closed door. Stephen had nearly fallen asleep, but the noise had brought him back to alertness.
"Come in." He gasped. His voice was weak, and he hoped that it was loud enough to reach the nurse on the other side of the door. He glanced back at June quickly, afraid of waking her. The door opened slowly, and a young woman with dark skin peeked her head in.
"You called?" She asked. He nodded, and she took the cue to enter the room fully. She shut the door gently behind her, and approached the bed. "So, you're finally awake, huh? How do you feel?" Her voice was sweet and soft, and she was speaking in a hushed tone.
"Like shit." Stephen groaned. "What time is it?" He asked.
"It's a little after 3 in the morning. It's the 16th." The news shocked Stephen – he'd been unconscious for longer than he expected. "Can I get you something? Water? I've also been cleared to give you gelatin, if you're hungry."
Stephen shook his head. "What happened to me?" His voice trembled, and each breath felt like fire in his chest.
"The story's a little absurd, but based on what your girlfriend told us, it sounds like normal business for you." She looked down at her clipboard, going over the notes.
"Oh, she's not my girlfriend." Stephen quickly explained.
"Whatever you say, honey." She raised her brows as she spoke. "Shallow and wide puncture wounds over your bicep and on your back, just below the scapula. We stitched you up, the rest is up to your body. You have some intercostal muscles that are damaged, so try to take it easy."
Stephen scoffed. "Easy? With my job?" The muscle damage did explain why his chest hurt so bad – each breath shifted the damaged muscles that surrounded his ribs.
"Hey, doctor's orders. Your friend here didn't seem too keen on letting you return to duty. She's spoken with doctor Hammond, and he gave her an earful about how dangerous your guys' lifestyle is." She turned her attention to the bag of saline that Stephen was connected to via IV, and then went back to her clipboard. "You were out a long time. We were worried that you might not wake up." She commented.
"Sounds about right. That'd be the dark magics kicking my ass."
"Dark magics?" The nurse sounded skeptical, and with good reason. "Sugar, that stuff is beyond me. Whatever you guys do with that voodoo magic is your business." She said with a shake of her head.
"Am I cleared to leave?" Stephen asked, fighting the urge to cough once more. He wanted to get out of here, back to the Sanctum, where June could finish healing his wounds.
"Doctor Hammond wants to speak with you before you go in the morning, but I'd say you'll be out of here by 11, maybe noon."
"Alright. I assume he's going to give me an earful, too?"
The nurse grinned. "I'd bet on it. So, are you sure there's nothing I can get you?" She asked.
Stephen shook his head again. "No, thank you. I think I'm just going to sleep, honestly. You could say I'm dead tired." He grinned at his own dumb joke, and the nurse rolled her eyes.
"Funny. My name's Sasha, by the way. If you need anything else, let me know." She began to make her way towards the door.
"Wait." Stephen quickly said. Sasha paused and looked at him. "Can you get a blanket? For June?" He asked.
Sasha's eyes glanced to the sleeping girl in the chair, and she smiled. "Sure, sweetheart. I'll be right back with that." She said before leaving the room, closing the door softly behind her.
Stephen sighed and rested his head back against his pillow and closed his eyes. Tired didn't cover it – he was exhausted. His body had been working overtime to dispel the magic attacking his system, as well as to repair itself. Thanks to June, it didn't have much more to do.
He opened his eyes and looked at June, who was still sound asleep. Her breathing was deep and even, and its rhythm was healthy. Has she been here the whole time? He wondered. No, she's changed into pajamas. She'd had to have gone home at some point. Or maybe May brought them to her? The thought made Stephen pause. Did May and April visit me while I was out? His heart melted a bit at the mental image. They do care.
He continued to stare at June, lost in thought. But she cares the most. She had brought him back to life, so Stephen was seriously indebted to her. He remembered her feelings of attraction towards him – or was it love? No, it couldn't be. The thought of her loving him was absurd. There'd be no way she'd fall for a guy like me. She deserves better.
He paused again. Back at it with the self-deprecation, I see, he mentally commented. Making an effort to praise yourself and actually allow yourself to feel good about things was paramount to good mental and emotional health. Stephen tried to keep his self-talk as positive as possible, but it was certainly easier said than done.
I'll start here. June being romantically interested in him made him glow with pride and joy, and he allowed himself to revel in those emotions for a moment. She's interested in me, of all people. I can't believe it. Part of him wanted to say that he didn't deserve someone as wonderful as June, and he did his best to shove those negative feelings back down.
I've saved the whole world, for Christ's sake. I deserve a girlfriend, he told himself. It was still hard for him to believe – in his mind, he could never fully atone for his past sins, and felt that happiness was something that he hadn't earned. But here he was, looking at June with a stupid grin on his face, feeling like the luckiest man alive. He had found his happiness, despite all odds.
Someone rapped at the door, pulling Stephen out of his thoughts. The door opened slowly, quietly, and Sasha emerged from behind it, a white hospital blanket in hand.
"Thanks." Stephen said with a small smile.
"Don't mention it." Sasha replied as she made her way towards Juniper. She unfolded the blanket and gently draped it over the sleeping figure. June stirred a bit, but quickly went back to sleep. Sasha passed a quick smile to Stephen, and headed back out of the room. The door shut behind her with a soft click.
There is no way that's comfortable. She's going to have such a crick in her back when she wakes up. She was in a small, plush chair that didn't look very comfortable, curled up and snoozing soundly. Stephen was still in disbelief that she was still here, by his side. His eyes softened. It's been a long time since somebody cared about me this much.
I want her to know how much I care for her, Stephen decided. There would be consequences, of course, but he didn't care anymore. He needed to tell her, to whisper sweet nothings in her ear and spirit her off to some exotic land, probably Tahiti. The warmth would be a nice change of pace from the below-freezing air of New York, and the thought of seeing June in a swimsuit was… tempting, to say the least.
But how? Delivery was critical. Perhaps he could take her to the beach again, or maybe even Paris… No, I've got to give her something that only I can give her. Any man could take June to France or California – if Stephen was going to confess, it had to be somewhere only he could take her, for maximum effect.
Another dimension. That's it! Dimension 1435 was simply stunning, and June had never experienced it. It was made up of wide grasslands, purple skies, and all kinds of exotic wildlife he could show her. It was perfect.
He wanted to elaborate more on his newfound plan, but sleep was clawing at his eyelids and making them heavy. His mind was fuzzy, and he found it harder and harder to focus as his body finally stopped resisting the sweet call of the dreamscape.
Tomorrow, then. He'd return to his planning soon. In the meantime, Stephen surrendered to sleep and began to get some well-deserved rest.