Resurfaced

Chapter 9

It's beyond painful to see your friend on a gurney. To sit and patiently wait as their lives are put in someone else's hands, and it's ten times worse to look at the scene and know I caused this .

Glancing around the room nervously, Grian estimated that only half the hermits sat or lay, scattered around the castle's hospital wing. The rest, however, were nowhere to be found.

Grian turned to the nurse, a nice merling hybrid by the name of Nichu. "Soooo, is this everyone or what?" He was terrified to know the truth but not knowing killed a bit inside with every passing second. What if more of his friends had passed last night? What if he wasn't the only one who had gone missing. What if Mubo or Iskall or X or-

A soft voice cut through his spiraling thoughts. "I think this about half of them, and then a few are in the emergency room, and the rest are getting food. Yeah, that sounds right."

The winged hermit slumped with relief. Food. They were getting something to eat. They were not dead, not missing; nothing terrible had happened to them. Thanking the nurse, he stepped out of the examination room and into view of the others.

"Grian! Your really back! Void man, when did that happen? Everyone thought you were, well, you know-"

Grian turned toward the voice. It was Tango, a bandage wrapped around his right arm and the widest girn over his face. Grian laughed. "Yeah, well, It's not like you guys are easy to find when you don't want to be."

" Our hideout was a little too hidden for you, huh?" It was Tango's turn to laugh. "Nah, you're fine. Scar, Cub, and X worked really hard to make us unfindable. We mostly stayed at the fourth colony."

"Ohhhhhhh. That makes sense. Um, Tango"

"Yeah?"

"Do you know where Impulse is? I saw Zed earlier at my, um, my' holding chamber,' let's call it, but I'm yet to see Impulse, is he around?"

The redstoner made a worrying hum but pointed at one of the doors anyway. "He's In there. Do you want to see him?" Grian nodded, strolling over and opening the door, Tango right behind him. To his surprise, it was Zedalph who answered the door.

"Grian! Good to see you again buddy, how are you?" Grian smiled widely, overjoyed his friend could still uphold his upbeat attitude, even after everything. The ex-watcher hadn't even noticed how worried he was that the other Hermits would never smile again after everything they had been through.

"I'm good, I'm good. Got my wings fixed up, and I was free to go. Is Impulse around? I'm trying to check in on everyone, and I haven't seen him yet."

    "Of course, of course! Impulse you want some visitors?"

    "Yeah, sure. Come on in," a raspy voice called. Grian stepped through the door and around the curtain to come face to face with a very scared-up Impulse.

"Grian! I thought I heard you back there, but it's been a while, you know? I'm so glad your back!" His face was smiling, and his voice was kind, if a little ragged, but Grian couldn't help internally cringing at the sight of him. The upper half of his body was covered in burn scars, raising his arms and twisting in lines along his face. Bandages covered the worst of them, and various medical equipment lined the room.