Post by Alex on Jan 13, 2012 23:43:34 GMT -5
His eyes flutter open to a swath of blinding white light that floods his senses. The young man squints against the harsh light, letting out a soft groan. Slowly he regains his groggy senses and things come into focus.
The light blurs into view and he's now staring up at the tile panels on the ceiling. He blinks, trying to make sense of the view. Turning his head slightly he glances at the table beside him; on it sits cards, a glass of water, a few wrapped items, and numerous bottles of medication. Confused, he tries to reach out and take one of the cards for closer examination, but the sight of his arm catches his eye. There's an IV stuck into his skin, held in place with medical tape. The thin tubing runs a few feet before hooking into an iv drain sac. Beyond that, a few screens flash and beep quietly amongst themselves.
Alex blinks again, this time in confusion, and turns his head the other way. Peering around the room, he takes in his surroundings. He's in what appears to be a hospital room, quiet and white and solitary. A flurry of panic sets in deep in his chest and vaguely he hears the monitor's beeping speed up accordingly. What had happened?
A set of footsteps approaches and pause at the doorway, then there's a scuffling sound and a holler and all of a sudden two nurses are surrounding him.
"Alex dear! Welcome back!" They coo and smile, fluttering around him with an excited air. While they busy themselves with unhooking the iv from his arm another figure appears in the doorway. Alex meets her eyes and in that split second he sees an overwhelming emotion in them before she's rushing across the room to embrace her son in her arms.
"Alexander honey, oh my god. I couldn't believe it when they said you woke up, after all this time, I've been so worried and I'm so sorry I wasn't here when you woke but I've been here since the incident and have hardly slept a wink because I've been so scared-"
"...mmum?" Alex mumbled, voice sounding groggy and foreign. He cleared his throat and sat up, his mother taking his arm in her hands and sitting on the edge of the bed, watching him earnestly. "Mom? Why am I here? What happened?"
A tension fills the room that makes Alex nervous. He glances around, meeting the eyes of the two nurses and finally his mother again, her previously joyous expression having taken on a slightly worried look. "You mean you don't remember?"
"Ms. Rowe, it's quite common for patients to wake up out of a coma and not remember the events leading up to the event, he'll probably recall them in a little while-" one of the nurses started, but Alex's mother spoke up again.
"You were assaulted on your way home from school, honey," she started, voice quiet and quivering ever so slightly. "About two weeks ago. A group of kids...a gang, the police said, they-" she wavered, hesitant, but continued and as she did so her grip on his arm tightened protectively. "They cornered you in an alley. You were missing a few hours before the police finally found you. You've been unconscious since the incident."
Alex's heart skipped a beat then faltered as this information sunk in. Out two weeks? But just yesterday he'd been caught up in a fight with some third gang across town. The Assassins were there, or at least Tenma and Tabris were, as well as a young panther...didn't he figure out that was Rohjyx's kid? And another guy, Kyrian...the gang had him held up inside the warehouse. He had been considering helping Tenma in rescuing him. Last thing he remembered he had been scrambling towards the roof with three armed men close on his ass...
"That...that doesn't make any sense." He declared, looking at his mother with confusion written clear across his features. "That can't be what happened. Something's wrong. Can you get my cellphone, I have to call Danny, or Trinell, or someone to help explain this-"
He trailed off as he met her questioning gaze. "Danny? Trinell?" She asked, glancing at the nurses who had paused their busywork to watch the conversation. They exchanged glances and quickly returned to their jobs, but Alex's mother paid them no mind and instead looked searchingly at her son. "Who are Danny and Trinell? Do you suspect they were part of this?"
Alex stared at her incredulously. "Mom, Danny and Trinell? Danny spends like, all his free time at our house? And you've met Trinell, she's the friendly one you get along well with?"
A moment of silence passed between the two before she slowly shook her head, still searching his face questioningly. "No, neither of those people have ever been to our house before," she said slowly. "Alex, are you sure you're alright?"
The boy's eyes were wide with fear and confusion and he took a while to gather his racing thoughts before he could respond. "I don't...I...can I see my phone?"
She nodded and left his side for only a moment before returning, handing the cellphone to Alex. He flipped it open and clicked through his contacts. His heart grew heavy like lead and dropped to the pit of his stomach by the time he had scrolled through the list.
No Danny, no Trinell, no Amber- Unbelieving, he switched to his message inbox and poured over his sent and received texts. They were flooded with worried messages from friends at school as well as some family members, but no messages concerning the Thieves or his shifter friends.
"Mom?" He asked quietly, closing his phone with a soft click and lifting his eyes to meet her worried look. "The gang...did they catch the guys that did it? Do they know their names?"
"They were just a bunch of street kids and junkies, they weren't a real gang sweetie. I'm sorry for calling them that, I didn't mean to scare you-"
"No, tell me! Were they called the Assassins? Are any of the gangs in this city called Assassins? Or Thieves? Do the Thieves exist?"
Her face looked frightened for a split second before she regained her composure enough to answer. "No, Alex. Those gang names don't exist in Austin."
Alex froze and fixed her with a wide-eyed stare. "Austin? Mom, we live in Shelpey. Remember, we moved after you and dad got divorced?"
She couldn't hide her fear any more and looked at the nurses again, both of whom had stopped their tasks and were back to listening with growing confusion. One of them nodded and left the room, saying she'd return with the primary doctor. Alex's anxiety was rising and he fought hard to keep it at bay, but reality loomed over him and he felt tears prick at the corner of his eyes before his mother even spoke.
"Alex, Shelpey isn't a city."
The light blurs into view and he's now staring up at the tile panels on the ceiling. He blinks, trying to make sense of the view. Turning his head slightly he glances at the table beside him; on it sits cards, a glass of water, a few wrapped items, and numerous bottles of medication. Confused, he tries to reach out and take one of the cards for closer examination, but the sight of his arm catches his eye. There's an IV stuck into his skin, held in place with medical tape. The thin tubing runs a few feet before hooking into an iv drain sac. Beyond that, a few screens flash and beep quietly amongst themselves.
Alex blinks again, this time in confusion, and turns his head the other way. Peering around the room, he takes in his surroundings. He's in what appears to be a hospital room, quiet and white and solitary. A flurry of panic sets in deep in his chest and vaguely he hears the monitor's beeping speed up accordingly. What had happened?
A set of footsteps approaches and pause at the doorway, then there's a scuffling sound and a holler and all of a sudden two nurses are surrounding him.
"Alex dear! Welcome back!" They coo and smile, fluttering around him with an excited air. While they busy themselves with unhooking the iv from his arm another figure appears in the doorway. Alex meets her eyes and in that split second he sees an overwhelming emotion in them before she's rushing across the room to embrace her son in her arms.
"Alexander honey, oh my god. I couldn't believe it when they said you woke up, after all this time, I've been so worried and I'm so sorry I wasn't here when you woke but I've been here since the incident and have hardly slept a wink because I've been so scared-"
"...mmum?" Alex mumbled, voice sounding groggy and foreign. He cleared his throat and sat up, his mother taking his arm in her hands and sitting on the edge of the bed, watching him earnestly. "Mom? Why am I here? What happened?"
A tension fills the room that makes Alex nervous. He glances around, meeting the eyes of the two nurses and finally his mother again, her previously joyous expression having taken on a slightly worried look. "You mean you don't remember?"
"Ms. Rowe, it's quite common for patients to wake up out of a coma and not remember the events leading up to the event, he'll probably recall them in a little while-" one of the nurses started, but Alex's mother spoke up again.
"You were assaulted on your way home from school, honey," she started, voice quiet and quivering ever so slightly. "About two weeks ago. A group of kids...a gang, the police said, they-" she wavered, hesitant, but continued and as she did so her grip on his arm tightened protectively. "They cornered you in an alley. You were missing a few hours before the police finally found you. You've been unconscious since the incident."
Alex's heart skipped a beat then faltered as this information sunk in. Out two weeks? But just yesterday he'd been caught up in a fight with some third gang across town. The Assassins were there, or at least Tenma and Tabris were, as well as a young panther...didn't he figure out that was Rohjyx's kid? And another guy, Kyrian...the gang had him held up inside the warehouse. He had been considering helping Tenma in rescuing him. Last thing he remembered he had been scrambling towards the roof with three armed men close on his ass...
"That...that doesn't make any sense." He declared, looking at his mother with confusion written clear across his features. "That can't be what happened. Something's wrong. Can you get my cellphone, I have to call Danny, or Trinell, or someone to help explain this-"
He trailed off as he met her questioning gaze. "Danny? Trinell?" She asked, glancing at the nurses who had paused their busywork to watch the conversation. They exchanged glances and quickly returned to their jobs, but Alex's mother paid them no mind and instead looked searchingly at her son. "Who are Danny and Trinell? Do you suspect they were part of this?"
Alex stared at her incredulously. "Mom, Danny and Trinell? Danny spends like, all his free time at our house? And you've met Trinell, she's the friendly one you get along well with?"
A moment of silence passed between the two before she slowly shook her head, still searching his face questioningly. "No, neither of those people have ever been to our house before," she said slowly. "Alex, are you sure you're alright?"
The boy's eyes were wide with fear and confusion and he took a while to gather his racing thoughts before he could respond. "I don't...I...can I see my phone?"
She nodded and left his side for only a moment before returning, handing the cellphone to Alex. He flipped it open and clicked through his contacts. His heart grew heavy like lead and dropped to the pit of his stomach by the time he had scrolled through the list.
No Danny, no Trinell, no Amber- Unbelieving, he switched to his message inbox and poured over his sent and received texts. They were flooded with worried messages from friends at school as well as some family members, but no messages concerning the Thieves or his shifter friends.
"Mom?" He asked quietly, closing his phone with a soft click and lifting his eyes to meet her worried look. "The gang...did they catch the guys that did it? Do they know their names?"
"They were just a bunch of street kids and junkies, they weren't a real gang sweetie. I'm sorry for calling them that, I didn't mean to scare you-"
"No, tell me! Were they called the Assassins? Are any of the gangs in this city called Assassins? Or Thieves? Do the Thieves exist?"
Her face looked frightened for a split second before she regained her composure enough to answer. "No, Alex. Those gang names don't exist in Austin."
Alex froze and fixed her with a wide-eyed stare. "Austin? Mom, we live in Shelpey. Remember, we moved after you and dad got divorced?"
She couldn't hide her fear any more and looked at the nurses again, both of whom had stopped their tasks and were back to listening with growing confusion. One of them nodded and left the room, saying she'd return with the primary doctor. Alex's anxiety was rising and he fought hard to keep it at bay, but reality loomed over him and he felt tears prick at the corner of his eyes before his mother even spoke.
"Alex, Shelpey isn't a city."