Innocence at its Worst

Recovery - 12

Charlie's head throbs incessantly. "Ungh," she groans, sitting up suddenly and hit with a wave of nausea. "What happened...?" she asks nobody in particular. She looks around the nurse's office at everybody questioningly. She sees Levi hunched over in the corner, Rhea is sitting on Charlie's leg, rubbing her left arm that Charlie can't see. Arian is knelt by the nurse on the floor, trying to calm her down and Mason is busy closing the blinds and locking the doors. Brook shifts uncomfortably underneath Charlie's rear.

"Sorry about that," Charlie whispers, sliding off her sister. The smell of copper fills her nose and something wet slides down her face. Charlie reaches to touch it, but it drips down her eye. "Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh..." she leaps up from Brook's bed and jumps around the room. "I'm bleeding! On my face! What happened! Somebody please tell me!!" Her hand erupts into a golden fire. "OH MY GOSH I'M ON FIRE. SOMEBODY HELP!!!"

Arian looks over his shoulder at her, then back to the nurse. 

"Arian! I'm on fire! Put it out!!" Charlie slips in a puddle of blood, falling to her knees beside Arian. "Ow," she moans. 

"You just fell," he assures the nurse. "So did Charlie. I think the custodian came in here to clean up Brook's puke and forgot to remind you that the floor was wet."

"Charlie?" the nurse gapes at Charlie who was a bloody mess. 

"Oh, she hit her head on that metal stand," Arian lies smoothly. "I'm sure it's not bad. You know how head bleeds seem worse than they really are."

The nurse nods and heads to the cabinet to gather supplies. Arian turns his attention to Charlie, "So you see you're on fire now?"

Charlie, too shocked to verbally answer, nods.

Arian relaxes, "Glad to know I'm not the only one going crazy," he gives Mason a pointed look. Mason shrugs, dodging around the nurse as she bustles about the room, being careful to not touch her. She might panic even more if she found out one of their students was practically a ghost. 

Charlie gapes at her hand, "This is what you were trying to tell me?"

"I was trying to tell you a lot, but you didn't listen. Like usual."

"I do too listen," Charlie protests, hurt that he would say anything like that. 

"Anyway, while you were knocked out, Queen Maeve did something to Rhea over there. I didn't realize it until it was too late, so Mason and I knocked her down. She left for now, but she's going to come back," Arian's expression darkens. 

"What happened?" Charlie peers at Rhea, trying to get a glimpse of what she was hiding. 

"Don't know yet. But your brother looks pretty beat up over there," Arian gestures to Levi.

"Oh my gosh! I forgot about him!" Charlie gets up to check on her brother when the nurse comes back to her with sterile cleaning supplies and a bandage.

Charlie had to wait a full minute while the nurse cleaned her up and covered the enormous gash on her forehead. It was an agonizingly long wait for her to endure. As soon as the nurse finished up, Charlie zoomed across the small space and hovered over Levi. "What's wrong?" she asked him.

He wouldn't look at her, much less speak.

"Levi? What's wrong? You can tell me." Charlie prods for information.

His breathing is ragged, so at least he isn't dead. Charlie releases a sigh of relief. She was about to poke him when she saw itsy-bitsy tendrils of darkness writhing about on the floor by his hands. "Woah," she covers her mouth in shock. "What's that?" her voice warbles. 

Levi sits up, his eyes looking more haunted than ever. "She's going to get Rhea," he raises his eyes to meet Charlie. "After Rhea, then it's me... Brook... then you. She's going to get everybody else once we're gone." His voice is hollow and broken.

"Why us?"

"Because we have powers," Levi replies spitefully. "I didn't ask for this. None of us did."

"Well, we could just get rid of our powers, right?" Charlie cocks her head. 

Levi clenches his fists, "It's not that easy. Look what happened to Rhea! We're next if she doesn't survive--" He turns away, obviously fighting himself.

"Didn't the dark creep-o lady say that she had to sacrifice herself? What if she took her before she gave herself up willingly?"

"I don't know," Levi rests his head against the wall.

"Why is Rhea so important anyway?" Charlie muses.

"Light. It's darkness that wants us, so it's going to take out it's exact opposite first. The only one of us that can really fight it."

"I bet I could burn it?" Charlie suggests, holding up her flaming hand. "I mean, I'm on fire."

Rhea's choked sob grabs Charlie's attention. She turns back to Levi, "Whatever happens, we won't let it. She's our friend, and you're our brother, and Brook's my sister and I'm me. So yeah. We're not letting that crazy lady take us down. Mom would be seriously mad--"

"Mom," Levi interjects, horror filling his eyes. "Oh no. We can't let her find out-- She would--"

"OOO I forgot about her! Good thing you're on track. But first, let's make sure Brook wakes up. 'Kay?" Charlie springs to her feet, the world spins around her until she regains her balance. "Blood loss, right," she laughs nervously. Charlie goes back to Brook whose eyes flutter open. "Brookie?"

She moans, covering her eyes. "Is that you, Charlie?"

"Yes?" Charlie leans over Brook, barely restraining herself from opening Brook's eyes manually. 

"Please be quiet..." Brook groans. "It's too loud in here--"

Rhea's shaky voice grabs everybody's attention. "Guys?" 

Arian, Mason, and Charlie all crowd around her, "What?" Charlie asks. 

Rhea slowly uncovers her left arm, showing everybody a dark spider-webby mass crisscrossing back and forth all the way up to her elbow like a glove.

"Oh my God," Charlie covers her mouth. "Is that--?"

Suddenly Levi pushes past all of them, stopping just short of Rhea. Silence fills the room, save for the nurse trying to clean Charlie's blood off the floor. Levi's voice is barely audible, "This is my fault..."

Rhea peers at her arm, blackened by the evil lady. "It feels numb and... lifeless."