Catching the Hero

Chapter Twenty-Four: To Retrogress

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Chapter Twenty-Four: To Retogress

I thought I woke some hours later, lying in a room I vaguely recognized. The lights were turned down low, and the windows were blocked by curtains; it was darker in here than I'd remembered it. The door to Raina's dorm room opened quietly, and she peeked her head around it to look at me. Her eyes widened when she saw I was awake, and she quickly walked inside, letting the door shut behind her.

"I didn't realize you were awake," she said with a soft smile. "I would've come back sooner."

I moved into a sitting position, feeling strangely energized for having just woken. "What happened? Why am I here?"

Her eyebrows scrunched slightly. "What's the last thing you remember?"

"I was..." I drifted for a moment, thinking. "I was visiting Jamie in the hospital, and I touched her hand... And that's it. Did I pass out?"

Raina's hand covered her mouth as a choked sob escaped her. "You.. you don't remember what happened last night?"

"Last night?" I asked in confusion. "That was last night, Raina. Is everything alright?"

A tear escaped her eye, but she hastily swept it away. What was wrong with her? Had something happened? Her hands gripped mine and squeezed, and she murmured hoarsely, "Oh, Layla, I'm so, so sorry..."

I moved onto my knees, the energy transforming into worry. "For what, Raina? What happened?"

"You," she squeezed my hands again.

"Me!" I said in alarm.

"It's... it's your powers. They're gone. You lost them yesterday."

I stared at her, unblinking.

"You... just freaked out in the middle of training two nights ago. There was screaming, and then Twistair kept saying you were gone. Everyone was so scared; you didn't come back for over a day. No one knew where you were. And then yesterday at dawn, you came back, and we... we argued in the Center. Bolt found us and intervened, and you ran outside, and we found you just lying there when we followed you," she rushed out in a single breath, and had to take a moment to compose herself.

My voice stuttered, "W-what?"

She wiped her cheek with her shoulder, and continued, "I'm sorry, I know this is so much--."

"Raina, stop," I interrupted. "What are you saying?"

Her brown eyes looked so sad. "You really don't remember anything, do you?" When I cocked my head to the side, she said, "Trace has been a wreck, Layla. If you could've seen him..." Suddenly her eyes widened and she looked at me in concern. "I don't think he knows you've come back. He's probably still out there looking."

She stood and moved to her phone, quickly dialing. Before she could press the phone to her ear, I lept from the bed. "Wait!" I almost screamed. She stopped and looked at me in confusion. "You- you just told me my powers are gone."

She reluctantly said, "Yes."

"That's impossible. If this is a joke, it isn't funny."

"You think I'd mess with you about this?"

"No, I'm just... I feel so energized and-- and powerful right now. There's no way I don't have my powers!"

"Layla," she began, but I interrupted her.

I picked up my coat and clicked my car keys, walking out the door and opening the back seat to my car.

"What are you doing? Stop, please, you need to stay calm until you're fully recovered," she said.