The Scions

Chapter 9

We stepped through the portal outside of a hospital. Perfect. I glanced around. Nobody had witnessed our strange arrival.

I ran through the doors, Aleyn by my side.

"Help!" I screamed. "Help!"

A nurse walked up to me. "You're going to have to wait your turn," She said, gesturing to the waiting room. I shook my head. "There's no time. He's dying."

She saw Zander in Aleyn's arms, and called for a gurney. Aleyn laid Zander on it, and the nurse started to wheel him off. Another nurse started to talk to me, ask me questions about what happened and where.

"We were mugged," I responded. "His name is Zander."

"Okay," the nurse said. "What's your name?"

"Merlyn."

"And his?"

"Aleyn," Aleyn responded. "I can talk for myself, thanks." I glanced at him but didn't say anything.

"And where are your parents?"

"That's....a long story," Aleyn said, at the same time that I said, "A trip. A cruise. No cell service."

The nurse nodded, and I could tell she didn't believe a word out of my mouth. "Right," she said. She moved off to talk to a doctor. I could see them pointing at us.

"It's not safe here," Aleyn warned, his expression serious. "Zander was probably hurt on purpose. They knew we'd come here. They're probably waiting for us right now. We have to move."

"We can't leave him here. He's virtually defenseless. They'll have him in seconds."

Another nurse interrupted our conversation. "Excuse me," she said, "but you and your friend are dripping blood on the floor. Would you like to be treated?" She had a sweet smile and kind voice, but I wasn't really in the mood for it.

"No," I snapped.

"If that wound on your arm gets infected, you could die, you know."

I sighed. I knew that perfectly well. How stupid would it be to come this far only to die because I refused to be treated.

I walked over to bed and sat, and the nurse bandaged my arm.

"Are you hurt anywhere else?" The nurse asked me, still sweet smiles. Aleyn was in the bed next to me, getting stitches on his thigh for a cut I didn't notice.

I wanted to say no, but the truth was, the battle had really taken a lot out of me. I was pretty sure that the hole in my knee had opened back up, and my knee was hurting. A lot.

I lifted up my pant leg, and saw that the bandage on my knee was indeed soaked through with blood.

The nurse took off the bandage and gasped. "Who treated this," she asked. "A doctor from the 1500s?"

I laughed. She wasn't far off. I didn't say a word. She gestured another doctor over. "How did this happen?"

"I was playing around with a bow and arrows. It was stupid. One hit me in the leg."

The doctors still looked doubtful, and I let them. I didn't have time for this. Worry for Zander made me unable to feel anything else. He had to be okay. He had to.

They bandaged my knee back up, expertly this time, and told me to take it easy. I figured that would happen sooner than the real Arthur would come back and save us.

"How's my friend?" I asked. The nurse glanced at Aleyn.

"Not him." I said impatiently.

"It's only been an hour. You have to give the doctors time to work. Miracles don't happen by accident."

The nurses led Aleyn and I back to the waiting room, where we waited on news about Zander for a full three hours. Finally, as the third hour was winding to a close, a doctor came to us. He had a look on his face that told me everything I needed to know.

"Your friend... he did not make it. I'm sorry. There was just too much damage."

The doctor's voice faded out. In my minds eye, I saw Zander sprawled on the hospital bed, wired plugged in, machines beeping, but he wasn't moving.

My heart dropped. I had just gotten to know him. My half brother. And how was I going to face my father after this? How was I going to tell him that I got his only son killed?

I shoved past the doctor and sprinted to Zander's room. It was like there was a force drawing me to him. I didn't even need to be told where to go.

I stood by his bedside and felt tears prick my eyelids, and I let them fall. I put a hand on his shoulder and reached out with my mind, searching for any kind of light. Any kind of life.

I found a spark, and I grabbed it, and I pulled. Hard.

I felt Zander shudder beneath my touch, and then groan. The machines changed from a flat line to a steady beeping again, and I watched his eyes open.

I called for a doctor. The same one who told me he was dead. I was exhausted from pulling him back to life, but I didn't let it show. I was too happy. I felt my face stretch into a smile, and the doctor started working again.

"I don't know what happened kid, but your friend is fine. Like nothing ever happened. Everything's healed. All of it."

Aleyn was standing in the doorway. I walked over to join him.

"That was risky." Was all he said. Like he knew what I had done when even I didn't know.

"I did what had to be done." Still pretending like I understood what the heck was going on.

The doctor that had been treating Zander walked up to us.

"How did you do that?" He asked, his gaze trained on me. "I know you did something. People don't just come back from the dead like that."

"What could I have done? He's just better. It's a miracle."

"Did you fake his injuries somehow?"

I shook my head. "How could I have? You saw him when we brought him in here."

This conversation was taking too long. The doctor was stalling, asking the same questions different ways, I could tell.

"We really have to go." Aleyn said.

"I think the cut on your thigh is infected," the doctor said. "Would you mind if I took a closer look at it?"

Definitely stalling. "I'm good, thanks," Aleyn responded. I glanced at him, and I could tell we were thinking the same thing. Someone was coming.

I glanced up and down the hallway, and when I saw no one, I nodded to Aleyn, who gestures to Zander.

Zander shook his head. For a second I thought he was still hurt but then I realized that didn't make sense. Aleyn nodded a head to his hands.

They were zip tied to the bed, and before I could blink, a nurse had seized me from behind and tied my hands together too.

Aleyn tried to fight them, but it was no use. He had three guys on him, and after about thirty seconds he realized it was pointless.

We were trapped.

I realized the nurses weren't nurses when I glanced behind me and saw that they weren't even wearing scrubs. They were dressed nice. In suits. Like government.

But I had the most sickening feeling that they weren't with the government at all.