Everything else whizzed by in a blur. Emma slapping Shane, Lily passing out, the trucks, the stretchers,
Shane passing out, Brent, the hospital.... Callan sat in the "entertainment" corner with her hair down and hood up, synching the gaping hole in the side of her hoodie with her hand. She'd noticed it on the way back and would have likely died of embarresment had that acidic blood splashed any higher. Her main concern, however, was Lily and Christmas. They seemed to be in the most critical condition. Under any other circumstances, she might've been all too happy to explore the numerous games and comic books-- but not now.
One hand in her pocket, she watched the numerous blood bags being attached to Christmas. Leaning up against the wall, she anxiously chewed on the cord attached to her collar. She watched as Lily was injected with some of his blood and as her injuries magically dissappeared. She watched as they patched up all the other injured students-- cleaning and bandaging cuts, ice for bruises, stuff for the nausea.
She felt another pang of isolation-- slightly different this time. All these people were so fragile. The doctors, the nurses, her roommates, teammates, classmates. Any of them could be killed so easily-- like Padma, the tall red head, or the two soldiers she hadn't even noticed until what was left of them was scooped into bags and carried away. That gorey sight still nawed at her from its designated spot in the back of her mind. She'd never given much thought to the miracle that was her existence in a world that was so dangerous. As she attempted to ponder it, however, she had to remind herself that this sort of thinking really didn't suite her. She was asking for a headache and she knew it.
"Psalms chapter 116, verse 15."She remembered the voice of her teacher from bible study. That lesson had been the same week she'd looked in the mirror and seen that mark on her cheek-- stark white against her caramel skin. Another life. Then everything had gone to hell.
"Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints. What does this mean exactly? Why does He consider that precious?"Callan joined the class in their blank, expectant stares-- opting to lean on top her open bible, which definitely wasn't on the right page. Arms folded she chewed the cord to the same hoodie she was currently wearing-- forcing herself to stay awake. She felt like she owed that much. Anyway, it was Monday night and class participation hadn't been much of a priority for anyone-- least of all Callan. In fact, this was the only part of the entire lesson she remembered from that day.
"Well, first of all it's because he "seeth not as man seeth." He doesn't judge by appearance. He always sees things as they really are. We need to remember that he uses the infinite scale of eternity when deciding whether or not it's our time. We can't possibly know all the reasons why certain things happen, but we do know that when we die, we're delivered from evil--"Callan dropped the cord from between her teeth and sighed harshly, forcing the memory away. She withdrew her hand from her pocket to grip the bridge of her nose. What was all that supposed to make her think? That Padma, that girl, and those soldiers were
lucky? Delivered from evil? That she shouldn't be sad or upset? They weren't lucky-- they were dead. Gone. It wasn't okay. It didn't make sense. She didn't understand. More people were going to die. Would it ever stop?
"Any questions?"She wished she'd thought to ask then.
The darkness that claimed Lily was not empty for long. Faceless people appeared one by one. Some were pointing an accusing finger at her, others were laughing and some were just standing around staring at her. Were they there to mock her? Because she didn't know who she was and where she came from? She felt anger surge through her. Was it her fault not being able to remember? She glared at them. Who were they? What did they want?
For the longest time, they stood there, silent and daunting, watching Lily and making her feel like some sort of freak show. She wanted to shout at them, to tell them to go away. But a part of her felt like she was missing something, that staying there in front of this collection of faceless people would somehow fill in the gap.
From the crowd that had gathered, a tall, slender figure walked up to her, his face, like everyone else's, was hidden by a thick cloud. He was saying something. She could see the faint outline of his lips moving but no sound came from them. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't make out what he wanted to say. And then his lips curled up into a smile and he offered a hand to her. Should she take it? What would happen if she did? Would she finally be able to see his face, finally remember who he was and why she forgot him?
The scuffling of boots and sudden hush of the room drew Callan's attention to the door as it swung open and several soldiers walked in. Among them, a handsome man with dark clothes and black hair-- but that wasn't all he was. She knew that face in an instant. Benediction. Her jaw dropped and she felt frozen in place. He looked straight through her as he glanced around the room. In a flash of light and sudden feeling of mental relief, he was gone. Relieved was not how she'd say she felt about him leaving, though.
Don't go, she wanted to say,
Stay with us. We need you. Who knew when they'd all be fighting again? Without him, more people would die. Without him, four already had.
Lily reached out her hand toward the boy's hand. But as she did, he seemed to move farther away. Did he take a step back? Lily took a step forward and reached out again. All she could touch was air. Lily furrowed her brow and reached out a little more. But no matter how many times she tried she couldn't seem to reach him. His smile wavered, taking on a mocking look. She hesitated but she kept on reaching forward. Just a couple of inches more and her fingers will touch his.
She felt a hand on her shoulder and jolted her awake.
"Thank you, for everything you have done."Lily opened her eyes, blinking at the bright light. The faceless people that plagued her mind replaced by Angelique. She looked at the black haired girl, vaguely remembering how she had gestured towards a small group of people. People who had injuries... Memories of the moment before she fell unconscious flooded her mind and she reached down and patted herself, looking for the injuries that she had taken. When she didn't feel any pain, she slowly sat up and looked around.
"Hospital..." she murmured. How did she get there? She looked at Angelique again.
"Are you okay?" she asked in a confused tone and then scanned the room again, looking for specific people. Her team mates.
Callan, Marcus, Grant, Siena, P--- She paused at the thought of the deceased and instead, replaced her with the pink haired boy. That pink haired boy. The one that made the crystals. Was he okay?
"
I'm okay. We all are, thanks to that Precursor, I guess..." Angélique replied to Lilianna.
Angelique mentioning a Precursor didn't quite register to Lily as she looked to the bed beside hers. That boy whose blood she drank... She could taste it all over again and she shuddered. She vowed to avoid doing that in the future. She was afraid that she might have drained him too much despite only having a single shot. Expecting to see a pale, perhaps bloodless boy, she sighed in relief when she saw that he looked well enough and appeared to be sleeping.
Callan released the breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding and shook her head in disbelief. Of course she couldn't ask someone like that to stay with them. By the way he'd looked at his watch, he had more important things to do. She was so enthralled by seeing one of her childhood hearoes, she almost didn't notice Lily sitting up-- finally awake. A girl with black hair and shades was already there with a comforting hand on the short blonde's shoulder.
Her eyes lit up and a wide smile spread across her lips. Now
that was relief. Callan lowered her hood and rushed forward to see Lily, stepping over the mess of fluids on the floor. "
Hey-- you're up!" she stood a step away from the two--displays of comfort weren't really her forte and Shades seemed to have it covered.
"
Uh," she decided she should probably say something else. Of course she was up. Bene-fucking-diction had just been here. "
Thanks for healing me back there."
Lily looked towards Callan and grinned, the realization that nothing hurts obviously putting her in a good mood and chasing away thoughts of faceless people.
"You're okay, SuperCal. I'm glad," she nodded her head enthusiastically and gave Angelique a grin as well.
"And me too," she patted herself again, making sure that nothing really hurts. Her clothes were still torn and bloody but there were no wounds anywhere. She gestured towards Christmas' bed.
"His blood works wonders," she said, obviously unaware that Benediction had come and gone.
"Not that I wanna drink any of it again," she wrinkled her nose in distaste.
SuperCal? She smiled at that. It was nice to see that Lily was okay-- more than okay even. She almost found her sudden burst of energy a little overwhelming. Her smile faded when she realized Lily had no idea that Benediction was the reason she was healed so well.
"
Oh man," she gawked, "
You missed it. Benediction was here! He healed everybody just now!" She found that she was the one speaking a little too enthusiastically now. Even after witnessing the Precursor's tangibly salty attitude first hand, she couldn't help but be amazed by how easily he'd just healed an entire room of people.
Lily looked at Callan.
"Benediction..." she repeated and then looked around. Of course.That was why no one else was in the hospital. The Healing Precursor had come and healed everyone, including her and the boy with the blue ribbon on the next bed. Having never encountered Benediction or any other Precursors, she wondered if he was a nice guy. He had a miraculous power, after all. She wiggled herself off the bed and onto her feet.
"Where did he go? Maybe I can still catch him," her eyes were big as saucers as she stared expectantly at Cal.
Callan stared back in surprise, slightly dumbfounded by Lily's question. "
Y-you're gonna follow him?" The thought hadn't even occured to her. "
I don't know... he went out the door just a minute ago...."
Lily nodded, bouncing on the balls of her feet.
"Yep, yep. Wouldn't it be nice seeing a Precursor up close? It's unfair that I was still asleep when he passed by," she said in an as-a-matter-of-fact tone. As soon as Callan told her where he went, she made a beeline for the exit. Halfway there, she turned back around and looked expectantly at both Callan and Angelique.
"Did you two wanna come along?" she asked.
Callan shook her head instantly. The Precursor hadn't seemed too thrilled to be there in the first place and she didn't want to make him mad by wasting his time somehow. "
I, uh... I think I'm gonna head back to my dorm now actually," she said, more tightly twisting the side of her hoodie in her hand-- meeting a Precursor. Why did that thought make her feel so anxious? "
Let me know how it goes though... if you find him."
Angel has listened to the two now talking about the Precursor who had showed up and healed everyone in this very room with a simple flick of his hand. While she was indeed curious about the reason behind the visit of this walking miracle, she wasn't as enthusiastic as the two others girls about these people who were considered almost close to being living gods. Still, while her opinions were tainted by her experiences, she still respected their seeming admiration for the Precursors.
Shakind her head negatively, Angel waved a dismissive hand at Lily's offer. "
I'll pass..."
Lily nodded as she continued walking towards the door, her attention still on the two girls.
"Okay. Thank you for..." she paused, trying to think of how best to put her thoughts into words. Did they wait for her to wake up or were they just there by coincidence? Thinking that it didn't really matter and appreciating them being there all the same, she continued.
"...for watching me wake up," she flashed them a grin before turning back to where she was headed. She stopped in her tracks, just in time before she crashed onto a wall. She blinked, scratched her head and then headed towards the right direction, muttering about why a wall was suddenly there.
Returning her smile, which melted into a concerned grimace as Lily almost walked into a wall, Callan briefly wondered if she was going to be alright. She shook off the concern in favor of the thought of a nice hot shower and her warm bed. Stifling a yawn, followed by an awkward sigh, she spoke to Shades. "
Er... goodnight! she called out, making a
very fast paced beeline for the door-- sprinting into the night as soon as she was outside. Of course, this probably wasn't the best way to avoid that uncomfortable occurance of saying goodbye and walking side in the same direction, but she was eager to be alone. As much as she liked her roommates so far and as much as they probably wouldn't bother her, she didn't know them well enough. They were still the equivalent of company just by being in the same room. Slowling to a walk, she filled her lungs with the crisp night air.
Watching the two former members of Blue Team leaving the hospital room, Angélique offered a short aknowledging nod to the aquamarine-haired tan girl who had left her with a simple goodnight. It was finally her time to leave this place, she figured, already having extended her stay way longer than how she would've liked. Glancing over the bed where the blond-haired healer was lying in, she sighed softly, muttering "
Goodnight." before exiting through the room's door as well.