Silver Lining

Chapter 6

Okay, I hit a major writers block with this and my muse ran away. So sorry!

It was dark when I woke up again to the sound of the night nurse closing the door behind her. I counted to twenty before pushing back the covers and padding to the only window in the room. Down below I could see people coming and going in A & E and ambulances speeding off. The streets were bathed in the orange light from the street lamps and I rubbed my face, wincing at the error. I felt the air shift and counted down from ten. When I reached zero Ilish crashed in through the door, closing it behind her and diving under the bed.

Before I could ask her what was going on the door opened again and the night nurse re-entered. “I didn't think you'd be up.” She said distantly but not really sounding surprised. I decided then and there that I didn't like her and when she demanded gruffly 'where's your sister?' I really decided I didn't like her.

“Wouldn't know.” I snapped. “I haven't seen her.” The nurse huffed, stalking from the room and closing the door loudly behind her.

“What a cow!” Ilish called from under the bed, scrambling out with a grin. “Been after me since she spotted me on the floor below. She isn't too smart. Or that quick for that matter.” She stands up, dusting herself down and straightening her shirt. “Your face looks better. Not perfect but it never was.” I rolled my eyes, giving her the middle finger as I headed back to the bed.

“How may I help?” I asked as Ilish flopped across the end of the bed.

“Bored. The press are crawling all over the place trying to get statements out of Xavier, Jasmine, Elliot and Lacy's parents. They nearly got me but I led them to the wrong floor and caught the attention of the security there. Reporters ran even faster in the other direction.”

“But that's not why you're here?” I guessed and Ilish grinned.

“Nope. I'm here because there's one tiny little detail that's bothering me about you; you didn't heal. I healed and had to cause the damage all over again. You just never healed. Why?”

“If I knew the answer I'd be sleeping.” I confessed. I don't know if you remember, but when I introduced Ilish and I, I said that we healed fast. And by fast I meant ten minutes for a break. And my face still hasn't healed. Conclusion; there's some weird voodoo crap going on here. “We've done exactly the same thing for so long now it can't be related to our everyday life.”

“Maybe this just 'wears off' after a certain amount of time?”

I shrugged. “It may be possible. We're rare enough to find as it and it would why that's so.”

“175 is a bit of a strange age to stop though.”

“Maybe I'll have another twenty five years left of ageing then I'll just drop dead or something.” I sighed. “Look, I don't know and I can't hope to find out without speaking to an immortal older than me.”

“Well, when you find one, I say 'hi'.” Ilish smirked before sighing. “You know there's no chance of that happening. You've been alive for this long and you've only found me. And you made me what I am!”

“Yeah, unfortunately. It's a pity the bastards which started this whole thing didn't hang around.”

“Well, that's boys for you. Completely unreliable.” Ilish grinned. “Is there no one that you can talk to?”

“No. To be honest, I think I'd rather not know.”

X

We're all let out of the hospital the following day except for Xavier, who needs to stay for another few days and Lacy, who still hasn't woken up yet. We're still not allowed to see her. The day after our release and Jasmine, Mel, Ilish, Elliot and I are seated on our living room floor. A game of Cluedo sits between us, unfinished. Mel and Elliot are playing a game of Eye-Spy and Jasmine's braiding Mel's hair. Ilish and I are reading through old history books. She's finally gotten me to look up Immortals in history. Unless you're looking at Gods there are just a bunch of cook-coo people claiming to be immortal. Not a great help. “I think you'd be Hades.” Ilish said under her breath. “Or the ugliest one.”