Cordelia hovered anxiously over Xander's still form. Unlike when she'd been unconscious for a few minutes, Xander had now been unconscious for over an hour. She was afraid to leave him and afraid to move him. And she instinctively knew, few could be trusted with whatever this place was or with what had happened to Xander. Some shadowy government agency could swoop in and take him away. So she waited, wondering what had happened to him.
What had happened was that all the knowledge accumulated by the people who had created this place, which was alot of information, considering their society had lasted for millions of years, had been downloaded into his mind. It was considerably more then the Hyena or the soldier boy. Those two incidents had left permanent changes in Xander, just as the swim team experiment had. Although, aside from the soldier, he wasn't aware of those changes. The Hyena amped up hunting instincts and made him want to protect his hometown and pack/family. The soldier left knowledge behind. This download was doing a combination to his body and mind. Dormant abilities were activating and concepts never before considered were imbedding themselves in his subconscious and a long dormant connection to a long dead race was waking up.
Finally, he returned to consciousness. "Cordy?" He said softly. He saw her anxious and beautiful face hovering over him. "What happened?"
"Something on the wall grabbed you and there was a bright light and then it let go of you and you fell down and wouldn't wake up." She answered. "Are you alright?"
"I think so. I don't know what happened. Just that light. Whatever it was, it knocked me out."
"Can you stand up?"
"I think so. My head hurts, but it was hurting before, from the accident and it doesn't feel any worse then it did before." Now it was his turn to get shakily to his feet. "How long has it been?"
"Over an hour. I was afraid to move you and I don't think letting people know about this place is a good idea. Who knows what they might do with it or you, for getting knocked out in here."
"Yeah, I don't think people are ready for this place, myself. Come on, let's get out of here and call for a tow. So much for our road trip."
"Well, once we're feeling up to it, we can take my car. But yeah, let's get out here."
Once outside, Cordelia found her purse and her cell phone and called the auto club her family used. It didn't take long for them to arrive or to find them, they had left a trail of damage of car parts and broken trees in their wake. The tow truck driver hooked the car up to his truck and gathered as much of the broken parts as he could find, since they'd be a hazard and drove them back to town, dropping them at Cordelia's place.
Lupe, Cordelia's family's housekeeper, immediately began to fuss over them.
"Sit down and let me look at you. Follow my finger." She quickly determined that they both had concussions and were very shaky.
"You're both staying here. I'll keep an eye on you. You should be fine, but just in case, you need someone to watch over you for a couple of days. Xander, I'll make up the guest room down the hall from Cordelia. I expect you two to behave yourselves."
"Yes, ma'am." Lupe, in this mode, brought out the soldier in him.
"It's not like we're feeling up to anything, anyway, Lupe." Cordelia said. "I really do have a headache."
"You're not the only one. Definite ache going on here. I will gladly take you up on that bed, Lupe, and I promise, I'll be a good boy."
"Darn, I like it when you're a naughty boy." Cordelia joked.
"Later, dear. I promise, the urge to be naughty will come back."
Cordelia giggled and then said. "Don't make me laugh. It makes it hurt worse."
"Fine, I'll keep my jokes to myself." Xander wiggled his eyebrows at her.
Lupe left to make up the bed in the guest room and then returned with soup and a flavored tea.
"Right now, you need simple food. Concussions can cause nausea and that can cause vomiting, so you don't need alot in your stomachs right now."
"Smells good, Lupe." Xander said. "But then, when does your food not smell or taste good."
Blushing prettily, Lupe swatted at him and told him to behave himself and left to continue her work. Xander and Cordelia relaxed on the couch and Lupe periodically checked on them. When night came they went to their respective beds and Lupe continued to periodically check on them though out the night. After a week, they decided they were feeling well enough to continue on their road trip and set out once again, this time in Cordelia's car, hoping the next adventures would be fun rather then scary.
