I couldn't sleep.
The dark shadows of the dim room, and semi-soft mattress underneath me threatened to pull me into Lady Dream's domain. Yet, my mind remained stubborn and refused to rest. Whether I was my back, stomach or side, nothing seemed to sooth me to sleep. Finally, I admitted defeat.
Throwing off the thick blankets, I snuck out of the dark room that I shared with my older brother and sister. I wasn't really that hard, even though we don't share blood, everyone in my family seemed to have been heavy sleepers.
I stepped out into the hall way that was drenched in black shadows. I squinted against the black, trying to see, but it was useless. I sighed, before raising my hand. I snapped my fingers a few times, before they finally spark, and my first two fingers burn with tongues of newly birthed flames. The warm glow illuminating the hallway's dark stone walls.
The soft shuffling from my slippers seemed to be louder than usual, but I couldn't take them off. Well not in good conscious. The air around me was cold enough to turn my breath into wispy pale clouds. I wasn't going to risk my feet to frostbite. I continued down the hall, the hand that wasn't in flames, rubbing my other arm trying to warm me. There must have been a reason that I couldn't sleep, so I begin to check the safehouse. The kitchen, dining hall and lavatories were clear, my next stop was the children's room.
I unlocked the heavy door and gently pushed it open, dimming my flames a little as to not disturb them if nothing was wrong. I quietly creeped between the rows of miniature cots. Little ones tucked safely underneath warm soft blankets, with their little heads atop fluffy pillows. Their faces somewhat peaceful. Hopefully that meant that their dreams were mild or their minds were empty. I always pray that the poor little souls were never dragged back to the horrid places that they were forced to call their homes, once their eyes closed to rest. Though, sadly tonight not all of them could escape that fate.
A small whimpering caught my ear from across the room. I turned around and slowly approached the cot, furthest on the right. The little boy that was resting in on the cot's face was wet with silent tears. He was still too scared to make any kind of noise, still too scared to take the risk. His glistening yellow eyes were bewitched by my flames. Fear overflowing his face as he shrunk away from me. I could see what he was wondering, and it hurt me to think that such a thought could come from a child so young.
Finding a nearby candle, I transferred the tender golden flame from my hand to it, before returning to the boy. He whimpered as I came closer and pulled him into my arms, blanket and all.
"Shhh, shhh, it's okay. You're safe. I won't hurt you. You can be scared," I whispered, as I lifted him up.
I gently sat myself in the nearby rocking chair, adjusting where the boy was sitting on my lap. Rubbing his back, I gently used my power to wrap him in a comforting warmth. His whimpering began to grow louder, as he finally let his fear run its course. I let him just weep, he needed to learn that emotions were not something to be punished for, while I tried not to cry in front of him. He didn't need to see my tears, nor would he understand why I would be crying for him.
Before I know it, the gentle words of an ancient chant begin to pry at my tongue,
"'Little soul, don't let these dark nights haunt you. Our island home will protect thee.
Pain caused by soldiers unchosen, will not bring your fall. Forced into the light, longing like us all.
Your queen upon the shore, her pale eyes see your heart. She will not allow us to be torn apart.
Your eyes now opened, your body scarred, but your blood of warriors, whom fell for our home.
Little soul, don't let these dark nights haunt you, for you are no longer alone.'"
It was within moments that the little one in my arms was quiet, but he still didn't feel safe enough to fall back asleep. His eyes still seemed to be fearfully staring at the candle. I thought for a few moments, before shifting him a bit, so I could use one of my hands. I reached out over to the candle, but didn't grab it. Twisting my wrist and clearing my mind, I made the flame grow in size, and change its shape. Messy wings made of burning hot plasma stretched out from the middle before, before the small form of a sparrow burst forth from the candle's flame.
Its warm glow washed over us I flew it over our heads. The flames became glowing fiery feathers that lined its tail and wings. Gold, and copper danced together in its untamed appearance. Though this was difficult keep up this beautiful spectacle, I managed to hold it together for the boy. Until I made my little fire puppet twist above us and exploded into millions of sparkling embers that rained down us. I was careful to make them just glow and not be too hot to start a fire. And as the little specks of light faded, the little one in my arms drifted off into the world of Lady Dream.
Once the little boy was safely tucked back into his bed, I slipped out of the room. But I still didn't feel tired. The kids were safe, my siblings and the rest of my family could handle themselves if anything happened. So, why did I still feel uneasy?
It must've been the boy. My mind began to swirl as it recalled what happened the previous day. I didn't even remember all that much of what happened, after I rounded the corner of those rocks it was like I was on autopilot. My mind wasn't fully there, and my body took over following my training and instinct. The next thing I remember clearly was that I was in the lavatory washing off his scarlet blood. Maybe this was what was keeping me up.
I decided that checking on the boy wasn't a bad idea as I had nothing else to do and I couldn't sleep. Reigniting my fingers, I continued down the halls towards the med-bay. The door to the med-bay wasn't as heavy as the one on the children's' room so getting inside was easy. He was still there, lying on his medical cot. I tried to convince myself that I was worrying over nothing, but I still couldn't get myself to go back to bed.
I turned the lights onto their lowest setting and blew my flames out. I didn't want to risk fire so close to his oxygen tank; he didn't need to be blown up. I walked over to his right side, and took his hand in mine. It was still feverish, at least I think it was. With temperature manipulating powers also comes issues with feeling temperatures.
He looked so sick, and I couldn't imagine what he was feeling. Sure, he was on some pain medication, but those meds could only stop physical pain. Waking up in a completely unknown location, with a missing limb, is defiantly not something that is easy to bounce back from.
I just sat in a nearby chair and held his hand. Hoping that it would help him. I hadn't really learned how to comfort adult, yet. Sure, I could handle a kid no problem, I just followed the big sister instincts. But adults were different; they remembered. They remembered all the pain, all the loss. Of course, adults are much more of a rare occurrence in the system, usually because they were too much of a hassle. Children were more common as they were much easier to break down and build up into weapons.
A sudden groan, snaps me from my thoughts. I look over to the boy, and at his vitals, his heart rate has gone up. I see his eyelids fluttering.
"Hey, are you alright?" I squeeze his hand, and it seemed to draw his attention. His eyes were a beautiful icy blue; open but unseeing.
The machines hooked up to him began to flare with screaming alarms. His body shook with a heavy coughing fit. His hand broke from my grasp as it went to grip his stomach as if in pain. His coughing quickly turned into hacking and wheezing. Once I saw crimson blood splattering the inside of his oxygen mask I started for the door. I needed to get Aunt Amelia, or even my brother. But before I could open it, it suddenly swung open, letting my father come rushing in.
"Arrow?! What are you doing here in the middle of the night?!" Dad asked.
"I-I…" My throat felt dry, and sticky.
"Arrow! Go wake up Aunt Amelia!" my father shouted, once he noticed what was going on.
Waiting was always the hardest part when someone is in the med-bay, at least for me. When I was younger, the times that Dad got hurt on a mission and I always hated waiting to hear about what condition he was in. The anxiety and sometimes boredom, got really old, really fast for little me. And even for big me, I still don't like waiting.
Once Aunt Amelia had gotten to the med-bay she shoved me and Dad out of the room. Now the two of us were sitting the floor, outside the med-bay. The cold stone wall was pressing against our backs. Well, with me there the wall didn't stay cold for long.
"You alright, Firecracker?" Dad, asked. He had given me that nickname when my powers emerged.
"Yeah, just tired. Now, at least," I answered.
"You should be its nearly 4. What were you doing awake?"
"I couldn't sleep. I just had this uneasy feeling, so I decided to check around. One of the kids had a nightmare, I managed to get him back to sleep. But I still felt uneasy, so I came down here."
"You did a good job following your gut then," Dad wrapped his arm around me, possible for comfort but I think it was because he was cold.
"How did you know what was happening? I was going to get you, but you opened the door before I could even get to it."
"Mindsight struck again. Kiddo. A vision woke me up and I came running down here."
"I'm glad you did."
"So, am I kiddo so am I," and he pulled me into a hug.
I turned back to the med-bay door. It had become eerily quiet in the last what, I guess was a half an hour. His coughing and choking could not longer be heard, nor could the shouts of Aunt Amelia ordering Taiga to fetch her something or to do this. I hated not knowing what was going on.
"You, should try and get some sleep," Dad said.
"I don't think I can. Not until…"
"We're probably not going to get any info until morning, Firecracker. You shouldn't wear yourself out if you don't have to."
I might have said that I was fine, but the next thing I knew I waking up in bed. Dad said I had sat there with him for another thirty minutes before I passed out from exhaustion. It wouldn't be the first time I lost some memory from being tired.
"You don't need to constantly watch him, Row," said my older brother, Taiga.
"He woke up last night, Tai. He could wake up again, and I'm not going to let him wake up alone," I said, looking up from my Harry Potter book.
"You're just as stubborn as Mom was with Dad," Taiga said.
I rolled my eyes, and turned my attention back the mysterious boy the bed. Thankfully Aunt Amelia and Taiga managed to stabilize him, but he now laid unconscious, this time with an intubation tube down his throat. Turns out he had some minor internal bleeding that we had missed. He only started to cough it up when he somehow fought through the pain killers and woke up. His oxygen levels after the treatment just wouldn't stay high enough for him just have the mask, so Aunt Amelia had to put the tube in.
"You think he'll be, okay?" I asked.
"His pulse is strong, and he has decent brain activity. He has a pretty good chance of survival. However, his recovery time will be…" Taiga said
"Off the medical record?" I said dryly.
"Sorry, Row. I think he will. It will take some time, but I think he will make it."
"What about after that?"
"What do you mean?"
"After we treat him, after he's healed what do you think will happen?"
Taiga sighed, "I don't know. Row. It all depends on what Dad decides."
He knew why I was asking about what would happen. Dad and Uncle Nico had a somewhat heated discussion after breakfast. They tried to keep it quiet, but for me and my sibling we might have as well been right in-between them. We learned how to eavesdrop on their "private" conversations' years ago. They still think we didn't hear them arguing over who would be the best grandfather, when we were twelve.
I know that its Dad's final decision but Uncle Nico did make some good points. If we take this boy in, it could risk our entire mission, that goes back generations. But if we don't, he might not have anywhere to go. What if he had no family? What if he had no home? No, one would want to give him a job. Who would accept an amputee? He couldn't have been older than my brother. Meaning, he couldn't have gone to a normal collage and it was nearly impossible to live with out some kind of degree beyond high school nowadays.
*EEep EEep EEep*
"What's going on?" I asked concerned, the machines connected to the boy were going off again, "Is he flatlining?!"
"No, he isn't. I think he's waking up."
