The power of observation can do more than you think

23 3 2
                                    

Reuben jumped in alarm as Luca let out a scream, fear overtaking his body. Everyone else was was watching Luca with wide eyes as he curled into a ball and continued to scream.

"Someone do something!" Oscar exclaimed, sounding just as scared as Reuben felt. What are we supposed to do?!

Reuben swallowed, struggling to think. Don't panic don't panic don't panic- Ace grabbed a glass from the table and dashed to the bathroom. He's probably getting water...
"I'm going to call an ambulance!" Jasmin exclaimed, pulling up a screen from his wristband.

"N-no, d-d-don't!" Luca suddenly yelled, making Jasmin freeze.
"Luca, what's wrong?!" Reuben asked, trying to keep his freaking out under control. Luca curled up tighter. "I-I'm on fire!" He shouted.

W...what?

"B-but you aren't-" "You can't see it!" Luca managed to reply before shouting out a string of curses.

"I don't understand-" "It's a disease." Ace appeared back at the table with a glass of tap water. "He needs the medication for it."

How Ace was being so calm during this situation baffled Reuben. How is he- Then Reuben realized that he wasn't just calm. He was being serious.

"W-where do we get the medication?! He needs it now!" Reuben looked at Luca, beyond panic at this point.

Okay, Reuben, think... he said he was on fire, but you can't see it... fire... how do you get rid of fire... His eyes slid to the window.

"Water!" He whispered, quickly grabbing the glass that Ace had brought and splashing it onto Luca. For a moment, he thought it had worked. But a few seconds later, Luca began thrashing around again. What do I do now?!

Reuben looked outside again. We need to get him outside, it's the only other option we have!

"Help me get him up!" Reuben said, standing and trying to think of the least painful way to move him. Ace seemed to be thinking the same thing.

Reuben took a deep breath. "L-Luca, hey, you're going to have to stand for me, o-okay?" He said, putting his hand on the shaking boy's shoulder. Luca glanced at him for a quick moment but began to shriek again before he could reply.

I need a better way to calm him down.

"Ace, go tell the staff not to worry," Reuben said quickly, having noticed them starting to come over. "Just tell them- tell them..." He couldn't think of anything to say. "Okay." Ace nodded in understanding and dashed off.

Reuben bent down to Luca and took another deep breath. "Luca, do you think you can stand up?" He asked quietly, forcing his voice to remain stable.

Luca gave him a shaky nod before squeezing his eyes shut in pain.

This is bad.

Reuben carefully helped Luca sit up and put his arm around him to help him stand. The black-haired boy was shaking horribly as Reuben began to lead him to the door. He had stopped screaming, but Reuben could his jaw was clenched with all the strength that Luca probably had.

Finally, Reuben managed to get him outside. It was a matter of seconds before they were both completely soaked and Luca's knees gave out on him.

"Whoa, hey-" Reuben caught Luca before he hit the ground and lowered him the rest of the way. "How do you feel?" He asked after a moment of silence between the two. Luca's face looked terrified.

"B-better... the... fire's gone." The black-haired boy's voice was so weak that Reuben barely heard it.

He let out a huge sigh of relief. Thank goodness...

PaperWhere stories live. Discover now