“Everything would be alright,” he said, his mouth was close behind her right ear.
She turned. “Petter, please ... Stop!” Her words were hasty and shaky.
“Did I do something wrong?” Petter backed up a step. His voice was apologetic. “I just want to make sure you are okay.”
“I ...” Wanda looked away not trying to make eye contact with him. This was something she could easily have done without batting an eyelid if it had been the day before, she could have put her hands in his hair and ran her fingers through it while Tutu complained about it. “I ... we should go. By the way, what happened to Alexis' face, and why are you here?”
“Okay - one thing at a time.” He smiled, and Wanda could see the Petter she had always known behind the smile.
She looked at him properly, almost assessing him. He was well dressed in a beautiful gray Calvin Klein shirt with a pair of chinos worn on Nike sneakers, and his blond hair looked nicely trimmed.
“We have the whole evening,” Petter responded, interrupting her assessment. “Why don't I walk you home,” he saw the surprise in her face and explained, “and on our way, I can fill you in on everything.”
“Okay,” Wanda answered, closing and opening her eyes again in a bid to take her mind off Petter's subtle flirt. “After you,” she looked at the door, signaling she wanted him to be in front. She did not want to imagine Petter staring at her lecherously from behind.
Immediately they stepped out of the room, Wanda noticed the change in the environment. Nurses and doctors were walking fast along the corridor she came out to; so many nurses in white and a few doctors. They all appeared from several rooms, opening and closing doors as they stepped in and out of the rooms and walked towards the end of the corridor some distance away. They were all carrying different medical items and folders.
“This way,” Petter said, waving his hand gently that Wanda should move faster.
The instant she began to move, she noticed some of the nurses were staring. Some looked aggrieved to see her, but Wanda couldn't understand why they looked like that.
“Petter,” she called, hiding her face away from the nurses and hurried up to meet him.
“Ignore them,” Petter said faintly to her as she got to his side. He was about to continue when he noticed she had gone frozen, looking at the vast and enormous room the corridor opened into and the number of people and patients in the room.
Wanda was shocked that the hospital was so busy. The room she was in had given the wrong impression that the hospital was abandoned. She was now looking at people who had bandages on, lying, or sitting up on different hospital beds. About twenty of them had tubes and drips connected to their bodies. She could perceive it in the air, the hospital smell she had always hated that reminded her of when they went to view her dad's body, but her mother would not let her into the room where her father was.
“Wanda ... Wanda!” Petter shouted as Wanda held on tight to herself, with her arms wrapped around her like she had a cold and was trying to control her body temperature.
“What happened here?” Wanda cried out.
Petter understood the question, but he ignored it. He knew all eyes would be on them very soon and wanted to get her out of the hospital.
“We should go. I will explain,” Petter was brusque.
Wanda had barely taken a step when she heard a whisper close by, “that's the girl.” She turned to the side to see who was whispering, but she couldn't figure out who had spoken. Five men were looking intensely at her. They had bandages on several parts of their body. The most severely wounded had bandages wrapped around his face with bloodstains on the dressing. Looking away from the five men, she looked around and saw that there were about twenty others in the room, all with several kinds of injuries, some with broken legs as their legs were suspended up high on their sickbed. For some, it was their hands, and for others, they laid down aching and groaning in their agonizing pain.
She didn't have to be explained to; Wanda could see the pain in their eyes as more and more of them, one after the other, including the nurses, turned their heads to stare at her. Some with an expressionless gaze, some with a bit of hope and others in despair. It was apparent they were all not sure what to expect from her. The truth was, neither did Wanda know what to expect from herself. And, the sudden new life of being The Chosen child of the Vitrian was even more confusing to her.
As soon as they stepped out at the other end of the vast room, Petter made a left turn, and in a moment, they were out of the hospital.
“What happened to those people?” Wanda asked, feeling the heat of the late setting Sun.
“Demon battle,” Petter answered, and just hearing the answer gave Wanda the chills.
“Is that how it is every time – I mean when Vitrians fight demons?” She'd asked before she remembered how petrifying the battles her dad had described to her were, which she was sure he had toned down because she was a little child when he narrated the stories.
For the first time after waking up, Wanda suddenly remembered Eric. The dreadful scene she had witnessed as the demon pinned him down with its talons.
“Not always,” Petter, who wasn't looking at her, answered. He was already walking towards the hospital's main gate. “I heard those men in there, fought some strong demons. Demons that had not been seen by anyone in the last century. They were overpowered.”
“They seemed to be in agony.”
“Of course they are, and the Healing Méndez is not here, so they have to bear the pain and wait the regular time for their bodies to heal as any normal human does – Well, that is for those who would make it,” Petter said his last words in an unusual way and Wanda felt the pain in his voice.
Wanda began to think about the Healing Méndez when Petter continued. “Those were the men who went to rescue Jason, and it was during the battle that one of the demons poisoned Jason.”
Hearing that they were the men who saved her brother's life, Wanda's attention rose as her anger began to boil.
“The rebels would get rid of Jason because they can't have him,” Wanda thought out loud as she recalled what Bathe had explained, and animosity encompassed her. “We must find the Healing Méndez!”
“Well, more like they would like to get to you through Jason,” Petter included ignoring her comment about the Healing Méndez.
“What does that mean?” She squinted with a bit of frown on her face.
Petter turned to her and smiled. “You don't know – do you?”
Wanda shook her head like a little girl and could see from his smile that Petter had high confidence at the Fortress, which he didn't have at school.
“Okay,” he cleared his throat, not to sound arrogant. “You are the one the rebels really want.”
“Me? I thought it was Jason and me.”
“Well, yes, but they can't confirm Jason would be of any help yet. He is younger, and they probably can't confirm he can see demons like you can right now.”
“So why hurt him – Why hurt Jason if they can't confirm he can see demons.” Wanda's vexation was evident.
“Come here,” Petter turned. “Let's take the main street, so I can show you the entire Fortress properly.” Wanda followed him when he continued. “For one, I think they don't want us to know ...”
“Us.” The word 'us' caught Wanda's attention. She hadn't thought of Petter as a Vitrian up until now.
“Us?” Petter looked confused, wondering why Wanda echoed the word.
“You used the word us.” Wanda reminded him.
“What!” He smiled. “I'm not around here by mere coincidence, you know. I know about the Vitrians because I am one.” He paused as Wanda watched him in surprise. “Anyway, let's talk about me later.” Petter waved the issue about him being a Vitrian off. “Since you have the power of The Chosen, I think the rebel would like to keep Jason silent in case he later shows tremendous powers of The Chosen ...”
“What tremendous power,” Wanda moaned. �
��Even if it means killing him, how can people be so callous?” Wanda became aggravated as the thought of the rebels treating her brother with such wickedness filled her mind. She believed neither Jason, her mum, or even she deserved what the insurgents have done to them. “How can they be so cruel? What has Jason done to deserve this?”
Petter let her vent for a while and then continued, making sure she understood very well what he had to say next. “I believe my second theory is even a stronger reason why Jason was poisoned.”
“What's the theory?” Wanda was all ears. She waited and walked quickly to make sure she didn't miss a single thing Petter had to say. They had always been close, chatting and telling each other stuff close friends talked about. The only person more intimate to her than Petter and who made sure she kept Petter away from Wanda was Tutu.
“You - It's because of you, Wanda.”
“Me?”
“Yes.” Petter's eyes revealed no form of doubt as he looked straight into Wanda's eyes. “I think the rebels are trying to force you to come to them.”
Without knowing why Wanda's stomach felt knotted. She couldn't imagine being in the hands of the rebels and what they would do to her. If they could have poisoned Jason, used so many demons, which left so many Vitrians wounded and in agony, she could not fathom what kind of pain or suffering they would inflict on her to get whatever they needed out of her. Continuously, she could feel her stomach making dangerous noises. She wondered if she was going to gag any moment from then.
∞∞∞
Some moments after Wanda stepped out with Petter, Alexis and Bathe stood outside the premises of the Medical hall.
“Did you send any Vitrian to Wanda's school?” Bathe inquired, trying to get information about the boy that Wanda claimed she saw and that fought with the demon at her school.
“Any Vitrian ...” Alexis' eyes showed confusion. “Petter is in her school, her class....”
“I know Petter is, but did you send anyone else?” Bathe’s eyes showed he believed Alexis knew something about the boy Wanda saw.
“No – I didn't,” Alexis looked at Bathe suspiciously. “Did you see any other Vitrian there? Petter told me he was the only Vitrian in the entire school.”
“No,” Bathe looked away. “The rebels must have been playing with Wanda's mind when she saw their demon.” He waited in a long pause, pretending he was pondering deeply. “You know the rebels would never give the Healing Méndez back to us,” Bathe said in a frustrated tone, turning back and looking straight at Alexis. Bathe's eyes showed he had other intentions than what he was talking about.
“So, what would you have me do?” Alexis complained like he had no plan but wanted Bathe's input and whatever good suggestions Bathe could offer.
“You know what we have to do, Alexis,” Bathe said with his firm voice like he was convinced he had the solution. “The rebels want Wanda Troms; you have said it yourself time and again... we have to send her out there.”
“Bathe!” Alexis called, his eyes opened wide like Bathe had said something that Vitrians were not allowed to voice out. He was staggered that Bathe would suggest such a thing knowing that Bathe and Marcus were good friends. “She just got here – we should be protecting her.”
“I'll protect her,” Bathe was confident. “With her, the rebels would talk and negotiate. If you want, I can present it to the other Vitrian elders at the elders’ meeting,” Bathe included after Alexis paused for some time pondering on everything.
“You know Sofia would never consent to that.”
“We just have to tell her and the elders.” Bathe sounded certain this was the best option, and he could see Alexis was pondering on it too. “Even if Sofia objects, we have to let the elders know. A lot of people are sick, and they will die if we don't get that Healing Méndez.”
“But the girl, she's The Chosen ...” Alexis halted, his eyes moved to and fro searching Bathe's expression, to see if there were other reasons Bathe, who was highly respected among the Vitrians, would suggest that Wanda be sent out to the rebels. “You think the rebels would not kill her.”
“Why are we relying on prophecies that were given years ago,” Bathe said. “If this prophecy is real and Wanda is 'The Chosen' she would survive, wouldn't she?” Bathe used a phrase that Alexis had used in the past. A phrased used whenever they spoke about the prophecy of The Chosen. “We can't let everyone in there die,” he pointed at the hospital, “because of a prophecy we want to believe at all cost – If you want Alexis, I am ready to raise the issue at the elders’ meeting.”
“No,” Alexis replied instantly. “I don't want you to be the one to raise the issue. I will do that - I am the head of the elders, after all.” He stopped and looked away. “In fact, I think it is better to leave the entire elders group out of the issue, they would gladly go along with this because they know a lot of people are at the point of death, but I want you to explain the scene with the unusual demon you met yesterday to them.”
Bathe raised his eyebrows sheepishly, seeing that he had gotten Alexis' attention, and his plans to get Wanda out of the Fortress were on track. “And what are you proposing?”
“I would mention your suggestion to a few elders and get Wanda to come over.” Bathe knew Alexis was playing politics; he knew Alexis was going to involve elders that are very close to him and not those that would probably object to his ideas.
“And how do you intend to get Wanda to this meeting?” Bathe enquired. Alexis smiled. “I have my ways old friend; leave that to me. I want you, on the other hand, to support whatever views Wanda has, though. You and Petter are the only ones she's close to here, so I don't want you suggesting or saying things to her that might make her not trust you.”
Bathe responded with a smile, he preferred even Alexis' suggestion to what he had in mind before.
“But promise me Bathe,” Alexis tried to look even more severe behind his disfigured face. “You will protect Wanda out there with everything you have. I'd not forgive myself if anything happens to her out there. Losing her father - Marcus, was a very painful occurrence to us all. I want her back here safely.”
“Oh, don't worry about that.” Bathe assured. “I am bringing her back and with the Healing Méndez.”
∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞
Chapter 8
Petter could see distress written all over Wanda's face. He became concerned feeling he probably should not have mentioned the reason why Jason was poisoned.
“I think Ventress would heal Jason, though,” Petter said.
“Ventress ... that's the person my mum went to see?”
“Yes, she's the head of the medical section,” Petter answered. “A creepy looking woman, I must say, with the way she talks and moves.”
“So the rebels are trying to use Jason to get to me,” she responded, oblivious of the fact that Petter was describing Ventress.
“Yes, they are, and they would ...” he stopped walking and held her by the arm.
“What is it?” Wanda looked up at Petter, and at the same moment, she felt like falling into his arms and weeping. She now understood what other students at school had said about wanting to be in the arms of their boyfriends when they felt distressed or were in despair. She felt like weeping in someone's arms right now. Now that she was much older, she could understand what her mum must have suffered, having no one to cry to and no one to comfort her when her father died.
“The delay when the demon attacked you guys on the road allowed the poison to spread, deep into Jason's body,” Petter said. “I think that is why it's taking some time to heal him.”
“Then, we have to get the Healing ...” Wanda retorted.
“No, no,” Petter shouted, “this isn't like one of those bad girl stories, where you get out of the house against your mum's wishes to meet up with other friends at a party.”
Wanda kept quiet. But Petter knew her well enough and was sure she could do it.
“Just know that Jason would be fine; Ventre
ss is very good at what she does. She has, in the past, healed people who have had injuries and poisonous bites that were worse than Jason's.” Wanda was no longer listening to him, and he knew she wasn't. He wanted her to ponder on the idea of getting the Healing Méndez back.
“She even healed Alexis' face.”
Mentioning Alexis' face intercepted Wanda's thoughts about Jason's situation. She had seen the huge deformity on Alexis' face when he came in, and it had disappeared by the time he was about to leave the hospital room.
“How did she heal the scar, I ... I saw it.” Wanda sounded unsure about what she had seen or not seen.
“Yes, you did see it,” Petter assured. “Ventress has a unique gift; she has the power to heal poisonous bites and unusual lacerations caused by demons.”
“So is he healed? Is that why it disappeared?”
“Yes, Alexis is healed,” Petter explained. “Though the scar is still there, they can't go away. We all have scars from our battles with demons.” He saw that Wanda was staring at him.
“Wait,” he said and pulled his sleeve up. “Wanda could see the thin line on his right arm. I got this in a battle some months ago.”
Wanda gaped at the extended cut and the stitches across it. “With Ventress' unique gifts, the demon scratches would not be seen unless I wanted you to see them, even with your ability to see demons.”
“Alexis allowed me to see the scar.” Wanda could put the puzzle together, now that she has a better understanding of what had happened to Alexis’ face earlier at the hospital. He definitely wanted to verify that I could see things ... demons.”
“Yes,” Petter smiled. “He told me he was going to do it when we spoke outside the hospital room before he stepped inside to meet you, Bathe and your mum.”
“How did Alexis get such a deep scar,” Wanda face puckered, remembering the bizarre look of the scar.
“A demon,” Petter said and started walking again, “a powerful and unusual demon, one that no one had ever seen before. Even Alexis had decided to keep it silent. He said it is better not to scare or get people worried. He got the scar a long time ago, about ...”
The Healing Mendez (Vitrian Secrets, #1) Page 9