Star of the Cosmos

Misplaced

Novu turned back around to face her.

"Because his master willed it. You must listen to me very carefully, Claire Bowen. The time draws nearer. You must trust no one."

"What do you mean trust no one? What time? Why are you so cryptic?" Instead of an answer like she desperately wanted, a blinding blue light enveloped her vision.

-

When Claire's eyes opened once more, she sat up in what looked to be one of the Cave's medical beds as her eyes adjusted to the darkness.

She gasped. The memory of the Halloween party came to her, and her hands immediately went to feel her abdominal area. She winced lightly at the slight pain that welcomed her at her sharp movements but let out a sigh of relief when all she felt was the smooth consistency of her skin.

She was sure that she probably had a couple of bruises but thankful that she didn't seem to have any lasting injuries.

A gentle puff of warm air fanned her already abnormally warm legs. Claire focused on the area and saw a figure sitting in a chair with their head laying on her limbs. Their arms covered their face. But by their hair color and their predictably terrible outfit, she could tell who it was.

"Wally?" Her voice cracked from unuse, and his name came out as more of a croak. She swallowed thickly, hoping to get at least some fluid down there.

She placed a hand on his shoulder and gently shook him.

"Wally." She tried again, and this time he stirred with a small groan before snuggling more into the pillow that was her legs and sighed.

"Five more minutes, please."

Claire's jaw clenched, and she hit him in the shoulder.

"Wallace! Wake up!"

His head popped up, and he looked around groggily while rubbing his shoulder. His eyes finally met hers and focused on her annoyed face.

"Claire?" He asked before his eyes widened, and he all but jumped up and pushed her back so that she was lying down.

"You're awake! Don't move, okay? I'll get you some water. You're thirsty, right? Probably hungry too. I'll be right back." The boy rambled and sped away before she had a chance to say anything at all.

A little while later, he returned with a couple of bags of chips, two bottles of water, and some candy bars. After placing the snacks on the bed, he sped away again and came back with a laptop.

Claire raised one eyebrow in question, and he smiled sheepishly.

"I kinda guessed you wouldn't really be sleepy. And I'm not either, so I thought we could watch some movies?"

Claire opened her mouth to respond, but her words came out cracked once again, and her throat burned. She didn't even look at the water before it was being held up in front of her. She gave him a nod in thanks and downed it.

After drinking her fill, she sighed and cleared her already soothing throat.

"Thanks, Wally." She whispered and looked up at him. "What happened? Last thing I remember, I was bleeding out in front of that school."

He placed the laptop at the bottom of the bed and maneuvered the chair so that it was somewhat in front of her face before he sat down in it.

"Well... we brought you back to the cave and, um, Captain Atom and Batman brought you in here. I guess they did something because when the rest of us were allowed to see you, you weren't bleeding any more."