8
Awakening once again in the hospital bed, Phavian surveyed his surroundings. The last thing he remembered, he was talking to the doctor about leaving. He never remembered saying goodbye to the doctor, the realization causing him to exclaim aloud in shock.
“Those fuckers drugged me!”
Finding himself full of much more vigor than the last time he was awake, he immediately set upon the bandaging on his left arm he was sure he had removed. Taking it off was a simple task, and under it was the smooth brown skin he was accustomed to. His fingernails had grown quite long, but other than that everything seemed to be normal.
Checking other parts of his body he found that the castlike feeling was still present. He now knew it to be his previously burned flesh encasing him. He wanted to rip all the tubes and cables from his body, but he was sure it would only cause the medical staff to rush to his location. Now aware of their tactics, he knew to not let them near him if they were to enter.
Working through his bandages and exoskeleton piece by piece, taking care to not disturb the cables, Phavian set about freeing himself. He had gotten 3/4 of the way when a nurse came in to check his condition. Seeing what he was doing she tried to run to alert someone, but Phavian was much too quick for her, bringing the woman’s body to such a temperature in an instant that she fell to the floor unconscious.
Understanding his time was indubitably short now that one of the medical staff would be missed, he continued his work until he was completely free and standing naked in the room. Looking down at his body, there was nothing he could see that would indicate he had ever been injured. It was almost like déjà vu as he looked upon himself in awe. Dragging the machinery into the bathroom with him, he looked into the mirror to confirm his face and even his hair were also untouched. He was in desperate need of a haircut and a shave now, but otherwise he was back to normal.
He had no clothes to put on, and he immediately wished his nurse was male so he could steal the scrubs they were wearing. With little other choice, he decided to jump out the window, but found that impossible for two reasons. He appeared to be on the fourth floor of the hospital, so unless he wanted to end up right back where he was, he was stuck. He could try timing his Energy Negation with his fall, but the sealed window also prevented him from leaving, and he did not want to destroy school property.
Making up his mind, he decided he would just take the stairs and the emergency exit out. His clothing would not help his movements, his backside open and extremely breezy, but he figured as long as he could make it from the hospital, he would be fine since the Cafeteria was fairly close by, and he could buy clothes there. Leaving the woman there, feeling slightly remorseful about what he did to her, he picked her up and placed her in the bed. Attaching the monitors to her, he closed the door and made his way out of the hospital.
Unfortunately for him it was midday, which made traffic around the Cafeteria quite heavy. Strolling in, taking care to hold the back of his gown to ensure he was not giving anyone a show, he rushed downstairs to find clothing to put on. Once he was dressed, he did the first thing that made sense: He called Codi. After it rang for a while, it finally picked up, the sound of his best friend a soothing relief to his ears.
“What the fuck are you doing calling me in the middle of class?! If you hadn’t dropped off the face of the earth for the past few days, I’d seriously fuck you up!”
“Love you too Codi. What are you doing right now?”
“What about the words ‘middle of class’ were unclear you idiot?!”
“Skip it. Meet me in the Cafeteria. I just realized I’m hungry as fuck. Actually, I’m starving. I’m surprised my stomach isn’t distended.”
“You are lucky this class is so fucking easy and I didn’t want to be here right now anyway! You have some serious fucking explaining to do! I’m not far away, I’ll see you in ten. Oh, and I want a greasy ass burger! If I find you on some floor other than the first, I’ll rip off your ball sack!”
The call ends and Phavian can only smile, something he desperately needed. Moving back upstairs, he loads his tray with mounds of food, this scene too being overwhelmingly familiar. He noticed he was receiving a number of stares, and he could not pinpoint what was the cause of so much attention.
If Codi did not know where he had been for the past few days, news about what happened could not have circulated very well. He always ate a lot, but even this portion was far greater than his norm, so perhaps that could be what was causing the stares. Finally, he realized his heavily overgrown beard and unruly hair might come as a shock to people who were so used to seeing him well groomed. Regardless of what it was or what people were thinking, he did not care at the moment, and only wanted two things: food, and his best friend.
It did not take Codi very long to find him considering her small tray of food would not have delayed her much. If it were not for him facing her as she approached, she would never have recognized him.
“What the fuck happened to you?! You look like a piece of shit that came out of a piece of shit!” Sniffing the air, “Eww, is that you? Why do you smell like balls, ass, and Korean barbeque? Fuck Koreans by the way.”
Leaning down to smell himself, still chewing a mouthful of food, “Do I really smell that bad?”
“No, I just like giving you shit for no reason.” Catching the look on his face, “Okay, I do enjoy giving you shit for no reason, but trust me, this time is completely legit. How can you not smell that?! And why does it look like you have gone five months without taking a bath or grooming?!”
“Maybe because I have been in a hospital bed for… well five days.”
“Wait, you weren’t on a mission?”
“No. When have I ever left on a mission without telling you?”
“I don’t fucking know, but with you getting all up in the Headmistress’ twat these days, who the fuck can keep up?”
“Well I’m sure she had something to do with it.”
“Do with what? You being in the hospital?”
“Maybe, but I’m thinking more so why no one seems to know about what happened. Is there not a huge crater going toward the west side of campus past the math building? It should be somewhere between there and the Weaponplay Studios.”
Shaking her head, “Nope, but there is a huge area that looks like it was freshly redone. It blends really well, but people have been saying they noticed it looked a bit off. It isn’t like many travel that way very often anyway, there isn’t much of a path and it has rained the past few days.”
“I can’t believe she fucking covered it up! Of course she would, it is for Anaar. I thought she had control over him, but it very well might be the other way around.”
Waving her arms in the air, “Hold the fuck up… You really need to wash your fucking balls.”
“Shut up Codi.”
“No, I mean seriously, like dude, I can’t even eat my fucking burger you asshole. While you are at it wash that too. And what is up with this ‘I don’t give a fuck’ look?!”
“If you’d shut the fuck up, I could tell you already.”
“Fine… Go on with the story.” She leans back in her chair, pinching her nose a bit.
“Anaar tried to kill me.”
“Like for real?”
“What does that even mean?!”
“Because… No offense Phave, but we both know if he wanted to kill you for real, you’d be dead before you could blink.”
“Thanks for the vote of confidence.”
“That kid can literally turn you into goo. Not even your powers can stop that. Are you sure he meant to kill you? Or even hurt you for that matter?”
“If he wasn’t trying to kill me, he damn sure makes a convincing show of it. I have been wrapped in bandages for days because I was literally cooked alive from a massive explosion.”
Squinting at him skeptically, “Are you sure? You look pretty good to me. I mean, you look like shit, and you do smell like roasted meat, but there is
no way you could look like this if what you say is true. From what you say, you should have had extensive burns through to the flesh and massive nerve damage, not to mention your brain getting cooked. How are you even here talking to me right now? Medics are good, but they aren’t good enough to heal that kind of damage. Even if they could, it wouldn’t be so quickly.”
“Are you calling me a liar?! When did you become a medical expert?!”
“Can’t call myself an expert, but I have better grades than all the Medics in the school in our medical classes so…”
“Whatever.”
“You still haven’t explained why Anaar would do this to you in the first place.”
“Merc.”
“Anaar is fucking Merc?! I call bullshit again. He isn’t a dumb fuck like you. He would never get fooled so many times, and the kid is a boy scout. The day he cheats on you is the day the moon crashes into us out of orbit.”
“I thought you were supposed to be my best friend!”
“I am! That is why I can call you a fucking idiot, with love. It just doesn’t add up.”
“Well I don’t know if they were fucking…”
“So you think he would do something like what you claim because they are friends?!”
“Look what he does for Maggie.”
“Yeah, Maggie! She isn’t some random! She is like his family, and that kid goes apeshit for his family. I know you told me he was friends with Merc, but I find it hard to believe he is that close to Merc and you just never knew. Well, it is you, so maybe you didn’t know, but still…”
“I know who I saw, I know what I felt Codi. No one else in the world could do that other than Anaar.”
“Have you tried talking to him then? He was on a mission for a few days, but I hear he is back now. Somehow that fucker still got a perfect score on our assignment…”
“What am I supposed to say to him? “Hey, can you please explain why you tried to deep fry me?”
“Not exactly eloquent, but it’s a start.”
Dropping his head in confusion and despair, “I don’t know… If he didn’t have anything to do with it, why did the Headmistress cover it up? Why didn’t he come see me?”
“If I didn’t know you were in the hospital, can you expect him to know?”
“He is eerily well informed.”
“Good point. I don’t have an answer for you then. He was on a mission, maybe he couldn’t get back. Also, if he was on a mission, how could he have hurt you?”
Sighing, Phavian continues eating as Codi bids him goodbye since she had lost her appetite. Once he had eaten his fill, Phavian returned back to his room, showering once he realized Codi was right about his stench, and falling onto his bed for a nap. Though he was not nearly as tired as he had been the past few days, he was still fairly weary. When he had finally awoken, he found it was late evening. Showering again for good measure and putting on fresh clothes, he finally made his way to the Ebony Twin to confront his issue head on.
Entering the room, he found it quite dark, only a small patch of light visible from the depths. He could only assume either Anaar was not home, or he was in his room. Creeping slowly, his heart pounding wildly in his chest with every step he took, he finally made it to the hallway which would take him to Anaar’s bedroom. It was as he thought, the light was coming from there, and when he finally made it to the gargantuan master suite, he came face to face with the man he most longed to see, but simultaneously most dreaded seeing.
For a long time, the two just stared at each other, Anaar sitting on his bed, and Phavian perched just inside the door. The air seemed to become heavy with anxiety and anticipation until Anaar finally sprung from the bed and barreled toward Phavian. Seeing the heavenly creature running toward him, as perfect as he remembered, Phavian swelled with joy and excitement. As he neared however, Phavian’s mind was flooded with the memories of Anaar’s face as he was incapacitated on the ground, fighting for his life. The resurgence of memories proved too strong and Phavian cowered in fear from the approaching man.
When Anaar saw Phavian recoil in fear, he stopped in his tracks, crumpling to the ground. When he looked back up, seeing Phavian still terrified as he stood, attempting to brace himself for whatever was to come next, all he could do was drown in sorrow, his eyes springing leaks and his chest constricting as if it was in a vice. Left at a loss, the two both held their positions for a long time before finally Anaar was able to speak.
“I’m sorry. I’m sorry for everything.”
It was with those words Phavian’s fears had come to pass. Anaar was aware of the pain he had inflicted upon him, and the even greater pain of leaving him there alone for days. It seemed perhaps his darkness was enough to take hold of him because he had just heard from Anaar’s own lips an admission of guilt.
Part of him was excited. If it was Anaar’s darkness that was responsible for the abominable actions, perhaps it would be possible to forgive him. Seeing firsthand and hearing accounts of Anaar’s struggles with his darkness only made it clear it was a formidable foe for the usual paragon of perfection.
The other part of him, the one that was bursting with fear, internalizing the agony, and unwilling to forgive, wanted nothing other than to hurt him as much in return as possible. That same part of him found itself unfulfilled because nothing he could do would ever match the pain inflicted upon him by Anaar. Mortal wounds healed in mere minutes if not seconds. Pain was possible, but it seemed the man had grown extremely tolerant to it, or was capable of shutting it off completely. There was no way he could ever make Anaar feel the abject terror he did.
With his mind and heart split, he stared stone faced at the weeping man before him. His typical low ponytail having swept over his shoulder, likely when he fell to the ground. His always well-groomed facial hair as manicured as ever, though now spattered with moisture and mucus from the outpouring of emotion. This would not have meant much to him if that flash of agony had not appeared again in his vision, perfectly overlaying with the man he saw now.
Once again his mind was thrown into confusion. With the two images superimposed upon one another, things were unclear. The image of the man who seemed to revel in his pain was not quite as bulky as the one before him, even in his hunched over state. While the man before him had his ever-present facial hair that made him look quite mature and stately, the afterimage was completely clean shaven. Even his long flowing hair, almost always in a ponytail did not match the loose flowing mane of his antagonist. Even though they seemed minor, they were also enough to call his memory into question.
“What are you sorry for?”
Looking up at Phavian in surprise, “Everything! If it wasn’t for me, you would never be put into these situations. It wasn’t until I came into your life that you started being attacked so frequently. I’m sorry that instead of being there by your side, I was off on a mission. They wouldn’t even let me see you when I got back. I’m sorry I can’t protect you from all the pain I cause.”
“But you did this to me.”
Extending his arms as if pleading, “I know! I didn’t mean to! I’m sorry! If I could catch the person who left you there to die I would, but there is not much to go on.”
Shaking his head in confusion, “What are you talking about?! It was you! You did this to me! I know I attacked you first, but then you gave me what I always feared. You showed me just how big the gap between us really is!”
“Wait, what?” Wiping his face and standing, “What do you mean me? I know I’m responsible for the people who keep attacking you, but are you trying to say I personally was the one who put you in that hospital bed?!”
“Stop playing dumb! You somehow looked a little different then, I thought you were Merc at first, but just hitting you shattered the bones in my arm and hand! You didn’t even budge! You just stood there as those two bitches you were with laughed at me! Then you burned me alive! You spat in my face! Don’t act like you don’t remember!”
His face bec
oming extremely severe, “Did you say I shattered the bones in your arm? I didn’t even move? Did you hit me with all your strength?”
“Of course I did! I even had Adrenal Trance activated and nothing! How else would you know I was in the hospital if you didn’t do it? Even Codi didn’t know!”
Now more confused than ever, “Phavian, you are the only real witness to this attack other than the two unidentified girls. Do you understand what you are saying?”
“I’m saying you are a low down dirty fucking cheater who beat the shit out of me just to get some cheap pussy wet!”
Rushing up to him, placing his hands on his face, disregarding the attempts to pull away, Anaar stares directly down into his eyes, luminescent variegated grey into sparkling emerald green. “Phavian, think about this for a moment. You have hit me before, probably not as hard as you can, and I have crumpled against your strength. How would I suddenly be able to take a fully powered hit from you and not even move, nevertheless injure you in the recoil?”
“I don’t know! It is probably some other power you have! Who knows what else you are keeping from me!” Twisting trying to turn away, Anaar holds tight onto his face.
“Look at me! What would that accomplish?! Why would I almost kill you, only to almost destroy the hospital and exhaust myself into unconsciousness to heal you?!”
Stopping his squirming, “What? You are the one who healed me?”
“Yes! When I found out what happened I immediately rushed to you and the shitty doctors said you were about to die and there was nothing they could do. I refused to accept that, and Ixnes cleared the entire wing and I was healing you for almost two hours straight. It took so much out of me I passed out.”
Now falling somewhat limp as he tried diligently to remember, “But I saw you! There were some very minor differences, but there is no one on this planet like you, it isn’t like you are hard to miss.”
“I was told I was the person behind your injuries too. Where are people getting this from?”
Apotheosis (Song of Sophangence Book 3) Page 11