The Custodes

Chapter 7 - Confessions and Comas

------------------------------

Noah sat on a chair in a hospital room, resting the back of his head against the wall. The hospital he was in was different to the one that had collapsed, being on the other side of the city and also still being intact, of course. After the first hospital had been completed destroyed, all the patients had immediately been transferred to the other, smaller one, meaning the entire place was pretty jam packed. On the hospital bed beside him lay Neo, completely unconscious with an oxygen mask attached to his face and an IV bag that was nearly empty. The curtains were pulled in a semicircle around the whole bed area to allow the pair some privacy, although it was mainly because Noah didn't enjoy seeing all the other badly injured people in the wing. Four days had passed since the original hospital's collapse and the group of friends that had made it out had been pretty wrecked since. It took days to find Neo and Synthia, and in that space of time all of their moods were at an all time low. Noah had no doubt that each of them had secretly considered the possibility that the pair had died, but regardless of what they believed they didn't stop searching. It was tedious to do so, they'd gotten the authorities involved who ended up getting some heavy machinery to clean up the ruins faster, all while the group tried everything they could to assist. They would sneak into the area at night to try and use their powers to help search, but they weren't exactly well suited for searching around in rubble. Eventually they found the pair however, still incased in Neo's cocoon which looked to be on its last legs since it had endured getting crushed by the wreckage. As soon as the debris was removed from on top of it however it crumbled away, leaving Neo and Synthia's scarily lifeless bodies amongst the ruin. Naturally, Kelsie did everything she could to help them, however it didn't seem to be enough and Axel had to stop the girl from nearly killing herself. They settled on taking them to the hospital, and had been looking over them ever since. Synthia woke up a day later, but since Neo had taken most of the burden on himself during the collapse he remained in his comatose state. Noah was thinking about everything that had happened when Kayla stepped through the gap in the curtains, flashing him a small, halfhearted smile as she took a seat next to him. He tried his best not to look as tired as he was, but Kayla saw right through him. "You should rest." She said, more as a statement than an actual demand. Noah let out a small sigh and shook his head, rubbing his eyes with one hand "It's my turn to wait with him. If he wakes up, I want to be there to explain things." "I wish I could stay and help." She said, glancing over at Neo as she spoke "He'd do it for me." "No one blames you for not being around all the time, you know that." Noah told her, trying to be as comforting as possible "That includes Neo. He's hardly been around us for any time at all but he's a good guy, and he doesn't expect anything from you." Kayla ran a hand through her hair, letting out a small exhale "I suppose you're right. Hopefully he'll wake up soon; he deserves thanks for what he did." "I agree. Synthia's itching to speak to him, I think it's been real bothersome for Axel trying to get her to focus on fixing her health first." Noah said, shaking his head in disapproval. "Well, he did save her life. By almost ending his, mind you. If Kelsie hadn't gotten to him as early on as she did I don't think he'd be in nearly as good condition as he is now." She said, which Noah gave a small nod of agreement to before glancing down. Kayla watched him as he shifted slightly, an expression of pity crossing her face. It was clear he was thinking about Kelsie, though there seemed to be more to it than his usual love-dazed appearance. For Kayla and Synthia, Noah's feelings towards the girl were beyond obvious, so it seemed miraculous that neither her nor Axel had figured things out. For the two of them he'd simply just been their mutually close friend, and nothing more than that. "What happens now Noah?" Kayla asked him, trying to change the conversation but also wanting to bring up one of her most prominent thoughts. "With what, exactly?" He questioned, giving her a curious look. "Our lives. The city. Everything." She glanced down, a solemn expression on her face as she tried to keep her emotions hidden. "I don't know Kayla. Now that we know Synth and Neo are alive we can discuss what to do next as a group. Personally, I think we're the only ones that stand a chance against Zuro. And we need to be here to protect people from him." Noah told her, which she let out a small sigh at. "We might end up getting ourselves killed." "Maybe so. But is helping others survive worth the risk? That's the sort of thing we need to discuss." Noah said as he crossed his arms and closed his eyes. Kayla stayed quiet for a second, thinking about his words, then stood up "I should go. It's almost time that...you know. Text me if anything happens with Neo, and really Noah..." She placed a hand on his shoulder and gave it a small squeeze, causing him to open his eyes at look at her "...sleep. You need as much strength as you can get nowadays. Never know when a hospital's gonna collapse on you." "Yeah." Noah said with a small laugh, smiling slightly as she let go of him and moved towards the curtains "Stay safe Kayla." "You too." She said, before disappearing through the curtains and walking off. Noah let out a small yawn, glancing at Neo now that it was just the two of them alone again. He thought about Kayla's words and, since she was far wiser than him, figured he would rest his eyes for a short while. Hopefully Neo wouldn't be too mad if he woke up in the meantime. He leaned his head against the wall again, shut his eyes, and in no time at all was fast asleep.