Recovery

It all happened in an instant! The man lunged forward at Sparrow, and she started to turn her head. When she started to see the man, her reaction was too slow. Undoubtedly, the hours of concentration had taken its toll. Even though her training as a professional allowed her to try and push the man away, his mouth was already at her neck!

‘Smack’

Her fist landed right at the sweet spot, the underside of the hijacker’s jaw. Even 30 pounds of force exerted at this spot could knock out a trained boxer, much less a petty criminal.

The man flew back and landed on the floor, unconscious. But Sparrow wasn’t unharmed either. Blood seeped out of her hands as she tightly held her neck, and Gabe rushed to her quickly. I finally got my seatbelt off and came over as well, unsure of what to do.

Before my ability had awoken, I had been aiming to become an orthopedic surgeon. My knowledge however, was limited. As a junior in high school, I had learned how to do vital tests, preform CPR, and deal with basic wounds such as small lacerations of tissue and broken bones. As such, I knew that the most important thing to do on cuts was to apply pressure using some sort of cloth; gauze was preferable. But the neck?

I would likely end up choking her to death before doing anything worthwhile. And I also knew she had 5 minutes before she would suffer permanent brain damage.

All this contradictory information flew through my mind as I stood completely still. But suddenly, a voice resounded in my head. ‘Tic tock, down counts the clock. 4 minutes and 45 seconds till she drops.’

‘Sh*t!’

I flew into action immediately, tearing off portions of my shirt to press on the side of her neck. At this time, I couldn’t care about accidentally choking her. It was make it or break it, and the best I could do was to try and avoid the trachea1 when applying pressure.

(Author’s Musings: Just a short FYI incase you didn’t know, but the trachea is a medical term for your windpipe.)

Sparrow had already sunk into an unconscious state; a lack of blood flow to the brain would do that to you. I hurriedly supplied my shirt scraps to the side of her neck, performing it exactly as I had practiced. Then I looked over to Gabe, who was already on the phone. He was calling for help.

*****************

I sat on a chair next to the hospital bed. Sparrow was lying on top of it. Breathing. It had taken them some time for them to arrive and rescue her, but thankfully my first aid delayed her death by quite a bit. She was also helped by the fact that her cardioid artery and trachea remained somewhat intact, but they were obviously damaged by the bite. Estimates by the hospital were still somewhat unclear, but one thing was for certain. Sparrow would never let out a single chirp again.

Right now, she was only breathing properly due to a tube stuck down her throat. And I felt horrible about it. If I hadn’t opened that door so suddenly, she would have been able to properly react to the person biting at her. If I had taken off my seatbelt first, I might have been able to push the man away before he could do any real damage. If I had some f*cking common sense, I would of used a flame point x10 to separate the two!

I was angry at myself, at my own inadequacy in the whole situation. But most of all, I was pissed off at my other self. Even if I was incompetent, this would not of been an issue in the first place if not for my other self!

That’s right. I clearly saw the Blackmist invade the man before he attacked Sparrow. Sure, the man wanted to hijack our car. But he was not at fault for Sparrow’s brush with death. My other self had been the one to let Blackmist out to wreak havoc upon my life. My other self had been the one that voiced his hateful desire to ‘silence her.’ Guess what? He succeeded. Was he happy now!?

As I gazed upon the mangled figure on the bed, anger flooded my body. I needed to do something, anything!

Storming out of the hospital room, I noticed something I didn’t think of before when we arrived. This is the same hospital that I was taken to when that woman kidnapped me!

The discovery irritated me further. I just Using the new method of running that I had learned, my body fell forward and a foot slammed onto pavement. The golden aura was summoned, and just then I realized it had returned to its full splendor. So after the task was ‘complete,’ my power threshold would return to full? But why hadn’t the golden aura protected Sparrow!? I recalled my exact words through my now powerful memory.

‘First priority, prevent them from getting the idea to harm me, Gabe, Chloe, or anyone else that I care greatly about. Second priority, do not negatively involve any unrelated persons or party that is not hostile to me, or anything defining me.

At the time, I thought this was pretty thorough and all encompassing. But reviewing it again, I found several loop holes. Loopholes that kept the golden aura from preventing Sparrow from getting hurt. The second priority did not cover Sparrow, because she was part of the ‘related persons’ group. And ‘the people I greatly care about?’ This was literally my first day meeting her. Our relations were shallow at best…

That’s the reason why I felt anger and guilt upon her injury, not sadness. That’s why I was focused on my own inadequacy instead of her hurt. Truly I was probably thinking, what if that was Mom, Dad, or Chloe. What would I do then?

I had inadvertently stopped running and had slowed to a stop. At my core, I was a selfish, cold-hearted person. I could not empathize with anybody, but I mimicked empathy with my reflections on why I wasn’t normal. Even now my thoughts were self-centered. And…

The only reason I was averse to killing was because of what was mentioned above, and the fact that Chloe might see me differently. That she might see me as a monster. So by criticizing myself for feeling little remorse, I am in actuality not a monster, and my fears are unfounded. Right?

I didn’t want to attempt to answer that question. My mind moved onto other things, like how late it was already. When we were driving back from the library, it had already started turning dark. It was nighttime, outside of the hospital. And again, I was running away from my problems and fears.

*******************

At a speed of 90mph, getting home was a breeze. My parents were still awake; undoubtedly, they were worried about me. Grandma, however, was a little distraught. Sparrow had been like a niece to her, and hearing about her present condition was devastating. Granddad was not that close to Sparrow, but he also had a certain position within the clan. A position that came with select advantages.

Granddad- “Can you check the ability usages within a certain area for me? Yeah, its coordinates are 31.9686° N, 99.9018° W. The time should be around 9:11. Oh? You said three? Interesting… Thank you for your time, and have a good rest… Ok, bye.”

After he finished the conversation on the phone, Granddad came to the couch and sat next to me. His arm was still wrapped in bandages, but it didn’t look to bad. More concerning was the ugly look on his face.

Granddad- “Nathaniel, did you notice anything abnormal about the situation with the hijacker? Anything at all?”

Of course. The black gas invaded the man, and then he bit out her throat. I was not going to say that however, because it could be linked back to me. And since it technically wasn’t my fault, I wasn’t going to give any details that might make him have a misunderstanding.

Me- “I don’t know… But the man looked like he had suddenly gone insane.”

Granddad mumbled to himself,

Granddad- “Influence type maybe…?”

He turned to me and consoled,

Granddad- “I know it must be tough for you, having to deal with this kind of thing. But try to get some sleep. You might need it.”

I recognized this as my cue to leave. I went to bed, and my eyes closed.

*************

My eyes opened. I was now in the dreamspace.

I didn’t take any time whatsoever to admire the natural beauty of the place, nor did I slowly get up. Instead I jumped to my feet and roared,

Me- “YOU!!!”

I stormed up to my other self, and the golden aura surrounded my fist! Using the strongest punch I could, I slammed him in the face!

“Bam!”

He flew outwards, skipping on the water at least 5 times before he smashed against the mirror defining the edge of the space. His bloodied body faded underneath the water.

As I watched this, I looked at my fist that had cuts and abrasions all over it. It healed quickly.

Me?- “Now that wasn’t very nice.”

The voice came from an area near my foot. I looked back only to see his body emerging from the water. I growled,

Me- “Stop playing around!”

I stomped, pushing his head back into the water.

“Splash”

Me- “I don’t want to see your face again!”

I heard the sound of something falling through the air, and then the water rippled out in waves behind me. I turned around,

Me- “Leave me alone!”

Me?- “It’s not my fault.”

Was he really trying to push the blame!?

Me- “What do you mean its not your fault! It was your desire!”

Me?- “Think about this for a moment. A doorman is outside a hotel, letting guests in. If one of those guests turns out to be a terrorist, is the doorman at fault?”

Me- “That isn’t even related to the situation!“

He continued on that train of thought, seemingly oblivious to my rejection.

Me?- “No, right? Then let me ask you another question. If that doorman was trying to keep the terrorist from getting in, but he failed, would he be at fault!?”

I sneered,

Me- “But if the doorman called the terrorist to come in and then said he tried stopping him, he would still be at fault.”

Me?- “No. Blackmist is always looking for an opportunity to strike, searching the heart while one is unaware. In time, you will come to understand this too.”

He leaned in closer to me, scowling as he spoke,

Me?- “Personally.”

Me- “Bullcrap.”

Deciding not to contest me further on my words, my other self stepped back and danced into the edge of the space. The endless reflections of myself faded away, but his voice echoed into my ears,

Me?- “Heed my words. Distance yourself from Chloe; her presence will become a hindrance to your goals, our goals. And remember, I will be watching you…”

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