Jericho was back at the prison, this time healing patients in a sectioned-off room. He had no recollection of how he got there and he could thank Eda for that. The calm-caster sat on a stool to the right of him, while Doctor Yorke watched closely from behind. A few computer monitors were positioned in front of her and she had an open notebook on her desk. She took notes and made suggestions as Jericho healed.

People came and left. Not many words were spoken apart from idle greetings. Everyone he met was affiliated with the organization in some way, so pleading for help would not benefit him, not even discreetly through a note. Most of them had fighting injuries which was like second nature to Jericho at this point, although second nature still took some time to do. Jericho went on to heal cuts, bruises, broken bones, and torn-off skin, the usual.

“Damn, you’re pretty good.” One of the patients said when he finished healing. “Doctor Yorke, you should have this guy out of here already. I know we could use a guy like him.”

“I’ll be sure to keep that in mind.”

The man left the room and Doctor Yorke scoffed. “As if I’d let him go to waste working for you.”

Eda looked down on a clipboard. “The next patient has a brain tumor.”

“Take it slow,” Doctor Yorke said.

Jericho thought that was a good suggestion.

The next patient came in and like the rest, they did not speak much.

“I’m going to touch your head, is that okay?” Jericho asked. He made the mistake of getting down to business without informing the first patient, which left him with a smack to the face. He forgot he was interacting with regular people, and not animals.

“Sure,” the man said. “Whatever you need to do, just do it.”

Jericho placed his hands on the man’s head and moved his energy around the skull.

“That feels good,” the man said.

“You can feel it?” Doctor Yorke asked. “What does it feel like?”

“Not sure,” the man said. “It’s comforting, I know that, for sure. It’s like my hair is getting washed and my scalp is being massaged.”

“Soothing feeling.” Doctor Yorke nodded as she wrote down her notes. Her eyes shifted from monitor to monitor. “This is amazing stuff, Jericho.”

Jericho was not allowed to look at the monitor since he was told it would skew the results, but it was practically pointless. He was notified of every good thing he did by a positive affirmation from Doctor Yorke.

The next patient came, a burn victim this time. Third-degree burns ran across the person’s right arm. They looked fresh, but he did not think much of it.

“Take your time healing her too,” Doctor Yorke said.

Jericho nodded and continued to work. He mentally split each portion of the arm into four parts and worked through the first section. Despite starting slowly, the woman squirmed slightly, and he quickly adjusted. He asked if his slower healing felt better and she nodded. The burns slowly went away and decreased in severity. At the end of the healing process, its color was a paler version of her white skin.

“Try moving it slowly,” Jericho said.

The woman hesitated but slowly twisted her arm around then moved less cautiously when she realized she felt no pain.

“Thank you,” she said. Tears poured down her face.

Jericho smiled and nodded. His throat tightened.

“I don’t know what to say,” she sobbed.

“You don’t have to say anything.”

“Do you want me to pay you?”

“No, no need,” he said. “I’m just happy to help.”

The person from behind the scenes must have seen the delay and politely removed her from the room. Despite that, nobody else came in. Jericho figured he was done healing for the day.

“That’s enough for now, Jericho. Give me a few seconds. Good wor—,” Doctor Yorke said. She trailed off as she began to furiously tap on her keyboard and click on her computer mouse. She shifted her notes around, grumbling at times. She was looking for something, but could not find it. He was interested to learn what thought suddenly popped up in her head, but she did not mention what caused her to become flustered, even when he was done healing.

When she was ready, she said, “Good work, Jericho. You’ve made considerable progress in such a short time. The results I have are very interesting, but I can’t share them with you just yet. All you need to know is you should be applauding yourself because you’re the future of healers. Every person, even healers are going to be looking up to you.”

“Thank you,” Jericho said. He appreciated the comments but did not like the flattery. She sounded too fictitious.

“Nice job, Eda. You may leave for the day.”

Eda nodded and left the room.

Jericho waited to be dismissed too and sat there until he was. It would be five minutes before Doctor Yorke would notice.

“You’re still here?” She asked. “Didn’t I dismiss you?”

“You dismissed Eda, but not me.”

“I told you that we were done. That was your cue to go.”

“I didn’t realize,” he said. “I didn’t want to leave in case you had anything else you wanted me to do.”

“Actually, it’s a good thing you stayed. I want to talk about your progress.”

“I thought you didn’t want to share it with me since it would cause a bias.”

She took a second to inhale then exhale. “That’s the thing, Jericho. What bias? You’re far exceeding my expectations, everyone’s actually. I think it’s pointless to keep you here, honestly. What are we testing for? You’re a brilliant healer, healing things I never thought would be so easily healed by a new healer like you. There are amazing healers out there, but you’re on a higher caliber. Maybe, not yet, since you haven’t perfected it, but I know you’ll soon take the throne of the most valued healer.”

“What’s this mean for me?” Jericho said. He would do anything to leave this place and he had to key in on this opportunity to sway her. “Am I finally allowed to leave, doctor?”

“Not now. It’s too soon,” she said. “Plus, I don’t have a say in it. Well, I do, but you need one other person at my rank to promote you. Someone like your teacher Watkins can be that person.”

“Or, even Meacham, doctor?” He thought about the agreement he had with Meacham, the one where Jericho had to defeat Kenny. He was still unsure if it was a fight, but that would make the most logical sense.

“Yes, him too.”

“Would you vouch for me, doctor?” The question felt too pushy for him, but he said it anyway.

“I would. Without a doubt.” Her fingers drummed on the desk as she pondered. “I have an idea, a challenge to be exact. If you pass, then I’ll fully consider vouching for you.”

“What do I have to do, doctor?”

She walked across the room and stood against the wall. She wrapped her fingers around her thumb, pulled it back, and— SNAP!

Jericho knew what he had to do without being instructed. She wanted him to heal her from that distance. He had never healed from that far before, nevertheless even a couple of feet away, but he knew if he hesitated, if he doubted himself even a little, he would fail. It took three seconds for Jericho to realize the situation, then another two to act.

He breathed in softly then exhaled and allowed his energy to form around his fingers. He positioned his right hand as if he were loosely holding a pencil and imagined a thread flowing from the tips. The room illuminated a reddish-pink, the thread he visualized actualized before him. His healing was no longer simply a feeling, a pressure he felt, but something physical. He stared in awe. It was his first time experiencing this feeling.

He also noticed a shimmering and he turned to stare at himself through a glass cabinet. He could not see himself clearly, but he could tell his hair glowed fully white.

Focus. A voice from inside him said.

He snapped out of it and pushed the pink thread forward and it twirled in a straight line across the room towards Doctor Yorke. The thread cut away from his fingers then slowly spun around her thumb until it was entirely covered. He was in full control and he allowed his energy to collapse on the thumb. It dispersed after it surged through and tiny sparks of light sprinkled off of the thumb. The room’s colors turned back to normal and his hair no longer glowed a full white.

Doctor Yorke’s voice softened. She said, “Good job, Jericho. I’ll vouch for you.” She had a smile that Jericho instantly reflected back.

“Thank you, doctor.”

Goosebumps raised across Jericho’s body and only now did he realize how fast his heart was beating. He was not fully sure what he did just now, but he was rather proud of himself for doing so. His progress augmented in such a short time and he knew there was something special about him. The way Doctor Yorke treated him, vague talks about his white hair, and the feat he achieved just now, it was all so ethereal. Not only did he heal from afar, but he tapped into a source of energy, unlike anything he had encountered before. He was eager to enter this glowing hair state again, to see his healing in a solidified, pink form.

“I’m very proud of you,” Doctor Yorke said. The way she spoke caught Jericho’s attention. Her voice was alluring. It was like he was at sea, a sailor captivated by a siren’s song, and like most sailors, he was foolish enough to heed to those songs.

Doctor Yorke walked back to him and they were now inches away from each other. The way she moved looked like she was reaching for a hug, so he instinctively leaned into one. He was not sure why she hugged him, but when she held him tightly, he hugged her back just the same. Her head pulled away, her eyes now looking into Jericho’s. She caressed his hair, her fingers running through his thick strands.

Before Jericho realized what she was doing; she pulled him in and pressed her lips against his. At first, he allowed it, not fully understanding the situation. It was not every day that an attractive woman twice his age would take interest in him, nevertheless a girl. But, then he tried to move away. He did not like this dynamic, where it was leading. Despite Jericho’s efforts to push away, she would not budge and instead pulled him in closer. It was when her tongue coiled and wrapped around his, when she attempted to reach down there with one of her hands, that he decided he had more than enough and aggressively pushed her away. He wiped the kiss away explicitly. Even if he obliged at first, he wanted to express his discontent.

Rage filled Jericho but also confusion but he forced himself to remain calm. The goosebumps had a different meaning now.

Did this voucher have implications?

Did she want to go further than this?

Should he just follow through?

She was an attractive person, maybe it wouldn’t be too bad.

Maybe it’ll be just like a bad hook-up?

Anything to get out of here, right?

Just once?

What does she want?

His mind rushed violently.

“I’m so sorry,” she said. “I thought it would be an appropriate way to congratulate you, but I took it too far.”

Jericho calmed down slightly but remained silent. He knew silence would be his acceptance of the apology, but he also did not want to acknowledge the kiss. He did not know what to say. He wanted to remain on her good side, but he knew he had to take a stand.

He assured himself that he was still in control, that he was pulling the strings, but even he knew he was lying to himself.

“I honestly didn’t mean to do that,” she said. “That was very unprofessional. It won’t happen again.”

A lump in his throat formed and he swallowed in a gulp of air. Uneasiness ensued in his throat and he struggled to breathe; his breathing patterns turned ragged and before he knew it, he ran out of the room. Even though he breathed improperly, he kept moving. He walked the halls in a daze, his body staggered in odd directions. He kept moving until he tripped and crashed. He crawled around the floor and maneuvered himself so his back would be against the wall. He cradled his legs and his knees pointed up.

He scratched at his hair and shook his head. One by one, ants dropped from his hair and onto his lap. He picked one up and noticed the ant was practically split in half, moving with a detached abdomen. Without thinking, he healed the ant and it was as good as new, then it visually disappeared. His attention shifted to the other injured ants and he watched as they scurried into a crevice in the wall. Once they had all disappeared, he found himself staring at a wall forgetting how he had gotten there.

“Are you okay, Jericho?” He turned to see Doctor Yorke. She cooed, “Your breathing isn’t normal.”

She grabbed his hand and pulled him up. Her hands had a warmth he had been looking for. Her lips curled into a smile and his eyes fixated on them. Something about them was so enticing.

“That sounds nice,” he said. He approached Doctor Yorke. All he wanted to do was kiss those lips and then—

“Jericho?” Zeta said. She appeared from behind him.

“Huh?” Jericho looked back and forth between the doctor and Zeta.

“Hello, Zeta. I assumed you would be eating,” Doctor Yorke said. “Odd of you to be walking around here at this time.”

“I just finished. I’m also within the set boundaries, so I’m not doing anything wrong taking walks in this area,” she said. Her head tilted towards Jericho. “What are you doing?”

“Nothing, just having a friendly conversation with Jericho.”

“That question was directed to him, not you.” Zeta nodded at him. “I need to borrow you for a second. Come with me.”

Zeta lent out a hand but she waited until Jericho took it. He did and upon contact, his mind turned less hazy and he was recalling memories from just minutes ago. His throat squirmed when he remembered, but he tried to act coy. This must have been the effect of Zeta’s ability.

Zeta knew the consequences of using her powers outside the field house but she did it anyway, in front of Doctor Yorke nevertheless. Doctor Yorke must have known what she was doing too, but she allowed it to happen. Without another word, Jericho and Zeta walked together until they arrived back at their room.

“Thank you,” Jericho said. He rested and sat on Isaac’s bed. He had no strength to get onto his bunk.

“Do you want to talk about it?” she asked.

“No,” he said. “Not now.”

“I’ll be here if you ever do,” she said. “And, Jericho. Me and Isaac are always here for you. Don’t forget that.”

“I won’t.”