Chapter 7: So Many Impossibilities
No matter how much she pinched herself, Kelsey knew she wasn't in familiarity anymore. The question remained whether or not the medication was responsible for the hallucinations. The thought of being severely lost in mind brought the teen to tears. She hugged the knees against her chest and sobbed on her sleeve.
"Aww, the poor child," Frigga petted the girl's head to soothe her. Eventually, Kelsey embraced the comfort, leaning her head towards the queen's frame. "There. There. It's alright, young one. You are safe."
Kelsey wiped her runny nose, accepting a handkerchief from the queen to dab the tears away, "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." This was so embarrassing - crying in front of strangers.
"Do not fret, child. You have been through a tough ordeal. Fortunately, the worst is over." This woman was indeed an angel, and she was the teen's doctor. They all tried to be friendly, especially that deluded patient earlier. Nonetheless, Kelsey couldn't rest without knowing the whole truth.
"So, what exactly happened last night?"
"You had suffered a head injury, miss," the other nurse - Eir - replied. "You hit your head when arriving in our realm, losing a lot of blood." Kelsey widened her eyes as her breath hitched at the last word, touching her head for the stitches she didn't feel.
"My dear child," Frigga tried to soothe her with a calm, motherly voice. "You must tell us what happened to you."
"I... I - um... I..." Kelsey had trouble articulating a sentence. Her head was throbbing from thinking too hard. "I'm sorry, I don't - I can't..."
Eir hushed her, "It's alright, Child. It's alright that you do not remember. Memory loss is temporary for some patients. Hopefully, your memory from that night will return in due time."
"Do you know what happened to me?" Kelsey realized that she'd just asked a stupid question. If they did know, the woman dressed in gold and jewels wouldn't have asked her that same question.
The queen shook her head, "No, I am afraid we do not. Right now, we are thankful to spare your mortal self from death."
Mortal? Kelsey questioned the older woman's words. This wasn't comforting. These doctors were nice, but the girl required familiarity to calm down. "I need to see my aunt. Is she on her way here?" The women sadly glanced at each other, which wasn't a good sign.
"Surely, you called her. You guys have my contact information, don't you? We are in a hospital, right?" Again the silence didn't steady the girl's breathing and heartbeat. Frigga's hand warmed the girl's cold one, caressing the back in circles with her thumb.
"My dear child, I know this is hard for you to believe this, but we are not in a Midgaurdian hospital."
Midguardian?
"You are in Asgard - home of the Norse gods and protector of the Nine Realms."
Kelsey blinked and furrowed her brows, having trouble processing the words carefully, "I'm - I'm sorry? What did you say?" The woman repeated herself. Despite the crystal clear words, Kelsey asked her again, "One more time." Anyone, including herself, would be agitated by that request. Fortunately, the woman was patient and understanding, without a single stitch of irritation in her voice to prove otherwise. Kelsey shook her head, still refusing to believe she was in a mythical land. How much medication did they give her, and how severe were the side effects? She observed the scenery around her, only to double-take the view outside the balcony. She drew in a short breath, and her eyes burned at the most beautiful sight.
Wholly entranced, she deserted the women and the chaise to look closer. Eir opened her mouth to speak - to stop her, but the queen raised a hand, silently allowing the girl a moment. Eir stepped back and respectfully submitted with her head bowed and hands folded in front of her.
Kelsey breathed in the earthy air and gripped the rail tightly. Starry cosmos double in size compared to Earth's stars with a hint of sunlight. Instead of seeing a desert, nourished green plains grew overnight, and the ocean barely touched the colorful bridge between this kingdom and a planetarium. The sound of waves chilled her olive skin. The natural scent became more overwhelming than the perfume inside the bedroom. She looked down at the rail beneath her white-tight grip and spotted vines with thorns. If this were real, she would've felt the prick and tasted metallic on her finger. Despite the nervous system telling her otherwise, she tested her theory, enduring a flash of pain and throbbing after. She inhaled her nose sharply, and her eyes widened at the taste, quickly returning her grip on the rail. Her heartbeat raced, matching the pulse of her pricked finger and hectic breathing. Her stomach twisted in knots - a warning of an upcoming inevitable. The air could only help so little.
Kelsey covered her mouth with one hand while wrapping her abdomen with the other arm. She retreated inside the bedroom, muffling her demand for the nearest bathroom.
Eir frantically pointed at the open door behind Frigga, "Right through there!"
Kelsey didn't have time to say 'thank you' or close the door behind her as she puked in a bucket.
~000~000~000~
"You don't think it was just another magnetic storm, do you?" Dr. Selvig asked Jane.
When Erik, Darcy, and Garrett returned from the diner, AJ and Jane explained their discovery by showing the circular pattern photo to the group.
"What is this?" Erik narrowed his eyes at it with uncertainty.
"The twister's sick-a-ture," AJ mispronounced proudly. "I snapped it last night. See? Do other tornadoes make that? Huh, Uncle Erik?"
"Maybe, if it's hidden underneath all that rubble," Garrett suggested.
"And I thought the disasters we see on TV were enough to make a killer message," Darcy grumbled.
"Okay," Erik handed the picture to Darcy, "I can see that's pretty strange."
"There's more! Look," Jane pulled up a star chart from her computer, hovering the curser around the significant findings, "the lensing around these edges is characteristic of an-"
"Einstein-Rosen Bridge," both Erik and Jane finished in unison.
"A what?" Darcy asked, unaware of what Jane and Erik were talking about.
"I thought you were a science major?" Dr. Selvig asked Darcy.
"Political science," Darcy corrected him.
"Is there a difference?" AJ wondered.
"Duh!" The boy stuck his tongue at her in response, which she reciprocated. Erik tilted his head toward Jane with an obvious question in mind.
How did this girl get the internship?
"She was the only applicant," Jane dully explained, right-clicking the mouse to print the star chart.
"Hey, Jane," Garrett raised his hand. "If I apply, can I be your intern next semester?" Darcy frowned, not amused. Dealing with him as a neighbor was terrible enough, but dealing with him as a coworker could never work out for obvious reasons.
"Sure, Garrett," Jane replied dismissively without taking her eyes off the computer, "if you're a Culver-U student."
Garrett turned around and mouthed his silent cheer, 'Yes!' He may not be Jane's intern now, but he will be someday.
"Uh, hello?" Darcy waved for the scientists' attention. "The Albert Einstein-Roses Bridge - what is it?"
"An Einstein-Rosen Bridge," Erik corrected her. "It's a theoretical connection between two different points of space-time." The young adults stared at Erik blankly, not having a clue as to what he meant.
"Huh?" the students asked in unison. Erik huffed, believing he was talking to preschoolers instead of college students.
"It's a wormhole," Jane elucidated. The students made an "ah" face and nodded with understanding.
"Is a wormhole basically a shortcut in space?" AJ asked. Everyone glared at the boy, astonished yet amazed.
Jane slowly nodded, "Yeah." Her lips curled into a proud smile, the first time she'd done that since Kelsey went missing. "That's exactly right. How did you know?"
AJ shrugged, "TV."
"But I was the one who explained it," Erik pointed out.
"Yeah, but AJ's easy to understand," Darcy retorted. "Very impressive for a dyslexic." Erik rolled his eyes at her remark. Jane picked up the printed photocopy of the constellations and showed it to Dr. Selvig.
"Erik, look. What do you see here?" Jane asked him. Garrett and Darcy looked over Erik's shoulders to see the picture.
"Stars," Garrett answered, feeling like he was back in kindergarten.
"Yes, but not our stars," Jane pointed out before spreading the chart onto the table. "See? This is the star alignment for our quadrant this time of the year. So unless Ursa Minor decided to drop into our backyard last night... these are someone else's constellations."
"So... If it's not our stars, then who do the stars belong to?" Darcy asked.
"Did Little Bear really jump from the nest last night?" Garrett raised his hand to ask.
AJ couldn't see the chart, for the adults were blocking the view and refusing to budge. He spotted a stack of pictures on the bulletin board. He couldn't help but ignore Jane's rule not to touch anything. Curiosity was in his nature. He could barely hear Jane's hypothesis as he concentrated on each photo. His eyes flicked back to one that held interest; his eyebrows furrowed questionably.
"Huh?" AJ's eyes squinted at two shadows in the center of the red-colored twister, trying to determine what it was. He gasped when he recognized one of the two figures in the picture, "Kelsey!"
Everyone's eyes pulled away from the star chart and onto AJ, who was unpinning the photo from the bulletin board.
"AJ!" Jane reached for the image in frustration, "what are you doing?! I told you, you can't-"
"Jane, look!" AJ commanded, holding it up so she could see. "It's Kelsey!"
"I told you not to touch any..." Jane trailed off when looking at the picture with newfound interest. It revealed the center of the funnel cloud - two familiar humans flying, to be exact. One was the crazy dude currently sedated at the hospital, and the other was a teenage girl. "What the hell?" she asked out loud.
"Umm!" AJ covered his mouth. "You said the H word!" Darcy snickered with amusement. Jane always called Darcy out when she was swearing in front of the kid, but now the astrophysicist broke her own rule.
Jane ignored AJ as she shared the picture with the others, "Guys, do you see this?!" Looking at the photo, they were just as astonished as she was.
"No, it can't be," Dr. Selvig breathed in shock.
"I got a theory!" Garrett raised a finger in a declaration.
Darcy groaned, "This should be good."
"Think about it, guys!" Garrett gestured to the digital camera and the photos, "The twister killer's signature, the shooting star, the crazy man - it could only mean one thing!"
"And what is that?" Erik challenged.
"Kelsey has been abducted by aliens!" Garrett stated with shock and anxiety, almost couldn't believe what came out of his mouth. The others glared at him as if he had said something ludicrous, except for AJ, who raised his brows in interest. Garrett's theory was possible, for it would explain the man's lunacy. Maybe the aliens got tired of picking Thor's brain and dropped him back to Earth, stealing Kelsey as their new test subject. Unfortunately, there's no concrete evidence of aliens existing.
"Oh, please!" Darcy rolled her eyes. "Aliens?! There's no such thing!" She glared at Jane and Erik questionably, "Is there?" Neither scientist answered Darcy's question nor ridiculed Garrett's theory.
Instead, Jane marched to the van, determined, "I think we left something at the hospital."
"What?!" Garrett exasperated. "You mean we're gonna see the lunatic who almost killed me?!"
"Dude, don't be extra," Darcy strolled past him. "He didn't almost kill you, not even close."
"Yeah," AJ agreed. "All he did was squeeze you like a Gogurt while you screamed like a girl." Darcy laughed at the boy's story interpretation as the team climbed inside the van. The teenage boy stood there pouting, not appreciating the comeback.
"I don't scream like a girl!" Garrett argued.
~000~000~000~
After Kelsey's series of puking, the goddesses escorted the girl back to the chaise. The queen rubbed Kelsey's back and head while Eir instructed Kelsey to take deep breaths and advised her not to stress, for it might jeopardize the healing process. Kelsey apologized in between sobs. The women hushed her, promising that everything would be alright.
"I made a - made a mess in the ba-bathroom," Kelsey hiccupped, wiping her face by the shirt collar. There was no telling how bad her breath smelled. It was miraculous that the women sat nearby and didn't cringe from the foul odor.
"Do not fret over that," Frigga assured her. "It is only a bucket. It will wash."
The girl finally sat quietly and allowed the goddesses to explain that they were in Asgard - the land of Norse gods, which Kelsey didn't initially believe because Asgard was supposed to be a myth. As much as Kelsey wished to make a compelling argument against their claim, the medicine silenced the urge, lessening the pressure in her brain and calming her nerves. Perhaps, a part of her didn't want to believe that she was hallucinating all this. It was easier just to accept this as her current reality.
"So, um... can I go back home?" Kelsey carefully asked. The goddesses looked at each other before glaring at Kelsey with melancholy. The teen knew the pity look all too well; she hated it.
"You will," Frigga resumed the soothing, motherly touch on Kelsey's hand.
"We simply cannot risk you traveling through Bi-Frost, right now," Eir explained further. "It might jeopardize your healing process."
Kelsey nodded and sighed, knowing it would be stupid not to listen to the doctor's advice. She remembered when she got her tonsils removed. The doctor only told her to eat soft food (like scrambled eggs or milkshakes). After a week in bed, her throat was getting better. Her seven-year-old self believed she was ready to eat the good stuff besides milkshakes. One bite out of a Doritos chip proved to be a big mistake. After all the crying and taking medication, Kelsey had learned to always listen to the doctor, no matter how much she believed she was ninety percent better.
"How long?" she asked. Before Kelsey knew it, Eir blinded a glowing rock to her face. The teen cried out in disapproval, squeezing her eyelids shut immediately. "What the heck."
Eir concealed the light and sighed heavily in dismay, "I believe you'll be here for a week or two."
"Two weeks?!" Kelsey cried in shock. Her aunt might have had a heart attack if Kelsey had been gone for so long without notice. She was about to ask if she could contact Jane, only to close her mouth for Frigga was speaking. "I'm sorry. Go ahead."
"I was about to say that you should not fret, child," Frigga squeezed her hand. "I will see to it that your stay here is comfortable." Kelsey breathed out against her hands, silently sealing the deal. This dazzling goddess was indeed an angel - inside and out.
"Until then," the queen briefly gazed at the ceiling, "these rooms are yours."
"All this?" Kelsey asked, gesturing to the ample space in wonder. She had never stayed in a luxurious room before; the best part was that she didn't have to share. "This is a lot! I don't wanna impose."
"Never you mind that. We are honored to have you as our guest. My son, Thor..." the queen paused, almost hesitant to mention her firstborn. "He shall be away for a while. I am sure that if he were here, he would be happy to meet you as well."
"Thor?" Kelsey questioned, ensuring she heard the queen correctly, "That's your son's name?"
The queen nodded, "Mm-hm."
"That means you're that goddess. Dang it," Kelsey pointed at Frigga, trying to remember the name. She had studied mythology online and on television. Abeka didn't allow false gods to take part in their Christian curriculum. "I'm sorry. What's your name again? Um... Joro, is it?"
Frigga's smile fell on cue. Eir withdrew her lips, averting her eyes. Kelsey noticed the hurt in Frigga's expression. Did Kelsey get the name wrong?
"Actually, Child, I am Frigga - Queen of Asgard."
Kelsey widened her eyes, and her mouth parted. She just insulted the queen by misusing the wrong name. Frigga was Thor's mother? Kelsey knew Frigga was the Queen of Asgard and Odin's wife, but Thor's mother? She could've sworn it was Joro. It's been forever since Kelsey had studied Norse Mythology. It didn't matter anyway. Frigga said she was Thor's mother; it must be true.
"Oh my gosh!" Kelsey swung her elevated legs off the couch and hunched her upper body to bow to her majesty respectfully. "Please excuse me! I am so sorry! Where are my manners?! I didn't mean to offend you, your majesty! My name is Kelsey, by the way. I'm sorry, your majesty! So sorry!"
Being apologetic certainly brought a reassuring smile to Frigga's lips. She nodded in understanding, patting the girl's hand, "It is alright, Lady Kelsey. I am not offended."
"You should be. It was a stupid mistake and-"
"You are right. It was just a mistake. That is all. No harm done."
Eir clasped her hands and cleared her throat, gaining the women's attention. "Well, you are looking much better. I believe my work here is done for the day. Come by the healing room later tonight for medicinal herbs to help you sleep. The next sunrise, after breakfast, I will check your progress. I do wish for your speedy recovery, my lady."
"Me too," Kelsey nodded. "And thank you."
"If there's anything else I could do?" Eir offered.
"I am a little hungry," Kelsey told half the truth; she was famished and thirsty, especially after puking her supper last night. Did she have dinner last night? She couldn't remember.
"I shall ask the kitchen to prepare your meal immediately," Frigga stood on her feet. "Once you are finished, I require you to dress in Asgard's attire. I mean, no offense, but your clothes are rather..." Frigga stopped talking, trying to think of a kind word for Kelsey's mortal rags.
"Bloody? Dirty?" Kelsey suggested as she looked down at her clothes.
"I'm afraid so."
Kelsey took in the queen and Eir's clothes; they wore dresses. Kelsey personally preferred shorts and T-Shirts every time. She was thankful that her world was living in the 21st century. She didn't have to dress in corsets and stockings, while men had to wear Washington wigs. Here in Asgard, they looked to be in Persia B.C. Kelsey had no choice but to do what the queen required. Kelsey offended Frigga once; she didn't want to make that mistake again.
"I appreciate that," Kelsey accepted the offer. "Thank you."
"It is very nice to meet you, Kelsey. Our paths will cross again. I assure you," Frigga bowed her head towards Kelsey, who reciprocated the gesture as she and Eir exited the chambers.
The teen took the time to process her thoughts without strain, but the task became stressful. She groaned, lying back on the uncomfortably firm couch.
Kelsey couldn't believe this. She remembered sleeping in the RV's spring bed; now, she was waking up in a fable palace. She was tempted to pinch herself again, ensuring this wasn't a dream. In truth, she'd always daydreamed of adventure, but the fact that her fantasy was becoming a reality scared her.
Once the headache passed, Kelsey wanted to get off the couch to reseek the outside view. The girl felt the morning breeze and the sun's heat on her face as she gripped the balcony railing. The description of this place was beyond what the internet could interpret. This was Neverland. This was Kelsey's summer vacation - a reprieve for her alone and no one else.
~000~000~000~
"Mother!" a voice ceased the queen's tracks after she and Eir had gone their separate ways. Frigga found her younger son hurrying right behind her, acting frantic and concerned, as he should be.
"Loki," she greeted him with a loving smile as if nothing was wrong, "my son. I trust you've slept well."
"Where is she?" Loki demanded, skipping the small talk.
Frigga furrowed her brows, taken back by his directness, "I beg your pardon?"
"Kelsey, the mortal girl, where is she? I find her no longer in the healing room."
"Of course not, my son. She is resting in the guest room."
Loki blinked, "Which one?"
"The one in the north wing," she confirmed. Loki was about to leave his mother and head straight there, only for Frigga to grip his forearm, stopping him.
"Loki, you must not disturb her," Frigga warned.
"Why ever not, Mother?" Loki challenged. "She is awake, is she not?"
"Yes, but as of right now, I advise you to give the girl some space. She had a rough night, not to mention this morning when I spoke with her."
"You spoke with her? How is she?"
"Eir and I managed to calm her down. I was about to summon my most trusted maid to aid the girl's necessities."
"I can do that, Mother," Loki offered hastily.
"No, you cannot."
Loki was taken aback by his mother's refusal, "What?"
"You cannot," his mother repeated. "You, my son, are late for breakfast."
Loki let out a breathy laugh as if this was a joke, "I assure you, Mother, I am fine. I will eat once I order-"
"You don't have to hide from me, Loki. I can tell you are famished. You had hardly eaten the food from last night. I think a full stomach is what you need at the moment. Besides, it is an insult to the cook if you do not attend."
"I need to see her," he pressed with gritted teeth. The politeness in his tone was slowly fading away.
"And you shall," she promised.
"When?!" Loki snapped angrily. "I was the one who carried her to the healing room last night! It was I who was drenched in her blood! I should have the privilege to meet her first, not Fandral of all people! You know how much this means to me, Mother!"
"Loki," Frigga warned. Her stern, disapproving eyes reminded him who he was speaking to.
The prince relaxed the tension in his muscles and dropped the snarl on his face, immediately regretting his outburst, "Forgive me, Mother. You do not deserve to bear my frustration."
Frigga squeezed her son's hand to assure him that all was forgiven, "I understand, son. You care for the girl, as do I."
"When can I see for myself that she is well?" Loki pleaded.
"After breakfast," Frigga promised. "You must eat. We have all endured a restless ordeal, with your brother banished and-"
"Say no more, Mother," Loki sighed in defeat, briefly closing his eyes. "I shall eat."
Frigga smiled, cupping his son's cheeks, "Good. I will see you in the dining hall."
For that, they had parted ways. Frigga hoped that Loki would listen to her this time and not stray. However, that was wishful thinking. She knew her son. Catching the mischievous gleam in his eye and the twitch in the corner of his lips, Loki had a trick up his sleeve. He wasn't called the god of mischief for nothing. Frigga didn't know whether to scold or be proud. He was his mother's son, after all.
~000~000~000~
The team arrived at the County Hospital. According to the nurse behind the counter, they must find Room #83 to see Thor. Erik looked over his shoulder at the sight of the police and doctors conducting an investigation. He didn't miss the mess through the window, suddenly feeling uneasy in the pit of his stomach. Thankfully, AJ was waiting in the van with Garrett as his guardian. Hurrying into Thor's room, they found unfastened straps on an empty bed. The patient slipped through the cracks and escaped.
"Oh, my God," Darcy uttered in a panic.
They all rushed back to the van, nearly scaring Garrett by the banging on the locked doors. Garrett regained his composure and exhaled with relief when Jane settled in the passenger seat beside him while Erik and Darcy climbed in the back with AJ in between them.
"Did you find him?" Nobody missed the excitement in the boy's voice as he scanned around for the extraordinary, muscle man.
"I just lost my most important piece of evidence!" Jane angrily stated. "Typical." She wetted her chapped lips, noting that her mouth was dry from the extensive running in the hospital without hydration. Garrett couldn't help but look up the roof, thanking the Good Lord for lending a hand today.
"Aww, man!" AJ pouted, folding his arms across his chest.
"So, now what?" asked Darcy.
"We find him!" Jane breathed the ambition.
Garrett glared at the woman as if she was insane, "You're kidding, right?"
"Did you see what he did in there?" Erik asked Jane worriedly.
"Did what?!" Garrett exasperated. "What did he do?"
"It's nothing," Jane dismissed the teen's concern.
"Have you seen my bruises? After what he did to me last night, it's not exactly nothing," Garrett cringed at that humiliating memory. Just as Jane was about to acknowledge the fact and apologize, her intern was kind enough to offer her own assessment.
"Those are bruises?" Darcy snorted in between laughs, pushing the glasses up her nose. "I thought you were sampling your mother's eyeshadow." Garrett self-consciously concealed his arms before Darcy could test her theory.
"I don't think finding him is a good idea," Erik suggested.
"Well, our data can't tell us what it was like to be inside that event, but he can," Jane argued. "He is the key to my research and finding Kelsey. So, we're going to find him, and that's that. Garrett, start the car."
Garrett wished he didn't tag along, but Jane was a drug, a stimulant he couldn't resist. He obliged with a groan, turning the key into the ignition.
"Yes!" AJ pumped his fists excitedly. Darcy sighed as she pulled out her taser to analyze it. AJ reached his arm out to test the zapping weapon, "Darcy, can I-"
"Nope," Darcy cut him off, raising a hand between them to block his face. The cute-puppy pout won't sway her.
"Puh-lease!" he begged, flashing his teeth that grew out in different directions. There were gaps in between while some baby teeth remained in his mouth, mainly the back. Whether the kid liked it or not, AJ required braces soon. "I promise I won't-"
"No."
"Jane," the boy tattled. "Darcy won't let me play with her taser!" The Culver student rolled her eyes and couldn't help but laugh at AJ's childish tantrum. He seemed like the type to be spoiled by his parents. With that sweet face, he may get away with murder. A part of Darcy was glad to be the only child.
"Darcy, give him your phone," Jane instructed without thinking. Darcy squinted at Jane's reflection through the rearview mirror in confusion.
"Jane, he doesn't want my phone!" the intern argued.
"I don't care. Give him your phone, so he'll shut up."
A set of curses passed through Darcy's mind as she handed her device to the spoiled child. No doubt, he will download many game apps to satisfy his boredom. Darcy didn't miss the snickers from the driver; he was cleary enjoying her despair too much. She lifted a hand about to send Garrett a message that was just as hurtful as name-calling, but Erik enclosed her fingers before she could whip it out.
"So, we're gonna look all over New Mexico, right?" Dr. Selvig assumed, flashing a knowing smirk at Jane.
"Exactly," Jane replied. She turned to Garrett, who hadn't begun driving yet, demanding what he was waiting for.
"Okay. Okay. Geez," The teen shifted the gear in reverse. He looked over his shoulder as he slowly backed out of the parking space. Once he had enough space to drive, he shifted the gear and turned, pressing the gas pedal slightly.
He didn't realize that a man was walking in front of the van until it was too late. The bang perked everyone's attention. They screamed at the man's beard, face smooshed against the window, blocking the view of the road. Garrett didn't have the common sense to stop the car. Instead, he floored the gas pedal, driving too fast, risking another car accident if he didn't stop. They all could hear a set of honks around them.
"Holy shit!" Darcy cried out.
"Found him!" AJ smiled as he dropped Darcy's phone. Forget Angry Birds. His reality was like riding Disney World's Fast Track, even though he wasn't tall enough to ride. Some employees, like Darcy, were lazy enough not to check the kids' heights before allowing them inside the Rock 'N Roller coaster.
"Stop the car!" Erik commanded Garrett, gripping the handle above his window.
Jane kicked Garrett's foot off the gas pedal and instantly hit the brake. The car screeched to a complete stop, causing everyone to have a whiplash (except for AJ because he was strapped in his car seat). The escaped patient fell off the hood and landed face-down on the concrete road.
"Nice job, Brad," Darcy complimented him sarcastically, giving him the okay sign. "You ran over the same guy twice - smooth!"
"Shut up, Lewis!" Garrett snapped.
Jane and Erik exited the vehicle to aid the man back on his feet.
"I'm so sorry, Sir!" Jane apologized. "I swear that we're not doing this on purpose!" The man squeezed his eyes and groaned in obvious pain.
"You come here... to abduct me in your... grr-tar-tar-boom," his voice was slurred as Thor wagged a finger at the air instead of the mortals holding his arms to keep him from falling backward. "You come to torture the son of Od... One-eye guy..." Thor didn't finish his sentence as his world slowly darkened.
"Whoa!" Jane grabbed his shoulders, pulling him back towards her, while Erk held him from behind. The professor's face flushed when he saw the ties of Thor's gown undone. He fumbled with the strings to keep the robe from showing off the man's bum.
"Easy. Easy," the woman patted Thor's cheeks, hoping to keep him conscious. "Please, open your eyes. Please. We're not here to hurt you. We need your help."
"Hell... Help.."
"Yes, help. We need your help," she pleaded. Thor blinked his eyes and frowned, bringing his face close to hers. Jane couldn't help but lean back, repulsed by the smell of alcohol on his breath. "Please, sir. Can you come with us?" The woman squeezed her eyes and tensed her muscles; her voice pitched as the man intruded her personal space, possibly sniffing her hair. "We'll give you bandages for those scrapes, ibuprofen-"
"And clothes," Erik added.
"Yes, whatever!" Jane cried dismissively, anything to convince this man to come with them. "Whatever you want, just come with us."
"Which..." Thor grumbled, leaning his head back against Erik's shoulder. His jaw hung up as his eyes averted in a daze. Jane pinched her brows, wondering what he was trying to say as he pointed at her. "You... witch..."
"Excuse me?"
"You bewitched me, witch. Witch..."
Jane blinked, not sure if that meant to be an insult or a compliment. She didn't have the chance to ask because Garrett stuck his upper half through the roof, demanding Thor stay away from her. The muscled man raised his brows at the boy, probably didn't pick up what the boy said. Garrett mistook it for intimidation, quickly ducking back inside the van.
Whatever Thor meant, Jane interpreted it as acceptance. The mentor and mentee guided him to the trunk, only for Jane to glimpse the parted knot from the bottom of Thor's gown that dangled back and forth with every step they had taken. Her cheeks reddened at the round buttocks and his defined thighs. She wondered what other parts of his body were substantial.
"Jane," Erik scolded.
The woman instantly looked away, but her flushed face remained. She continued apologizing to Thor throughout the ride back to the lab.