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𝐈𝐍 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐊 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐒𝐓 𝐓𝐎 Chase's normal classes, every student was silently watching him teach this lesson. His skin had paled over the last few days since the arcade incident to a sickly, ashy gray. His usual dictatorial lectures had made way for him barely being able to bring out a sentence without coughing. He was trying to explain a fighting technique, however, no one could follow it. He kept losing his train of thought and none of his sentences made much sense.
His cocky demeanor was long gone as he had no comments to anything that was thrown his way. His quick wit had dimmed until he resembled Adam in his dumbest moments. Even his dark brown hair that used to shine underneath the TLC lights had dulled to a messy heap on top of his head.
However, the thing that Lorelei noticed most of all were his sad eyes. The spark that used to glint whenever he was about to react to someone or share his knowledge had died that night at the arcade.
Over the past few days, Chase's students and siblings had watched him deteriorate into a weak zombie, but he refused to take rest. Mr Davenport and Douglas had been working endlessly to find out what the projectiles that had hit Chase were and as more days passed by, they became more desperate to find an answer.
'I forgot what the official name for this next one is,' Chase muttered as he typed something on his tablet that was connected to a screen. 'But let's call it a foot sweep.' He showed several pictures and videos of the karate technique and pointed to them the moment the technique was shown. 'See, it's when your foot sweeps against someone else's foot.'
He sucked in a long breath, but ended up coughing because of it. Lorelei craned her head backwards to catch a glimpse of him. He was sweating profusely causing his skin to appear pasty, even though all he was doing was sitting down.
Her eyes kept following him as he stood up from his chair and walked to the front of the classroom. 'I think it's time for a break,' he said, his chest heaving violently. Before anyone could get up from their chairs, his expression suddenly changed. He seemed almost confused as he grabbed his chest and slightly swayed back and forth as he collapsed onto the ground.
Lorelei and Sebastian were the first ones to spring up from their chairs and kneel besides him. One of Lorelei's hands slipped underneath his head so it could rest on it, her head lowering towards his chest. Her nerves calmed a little bit as she felt the soft raise and fall of his lungs and his heart beating along with it, though dangerously slow.
Sebastian was busy keeping an eye on his pulse to make sure his heart wouldn't be skipping any beats. 'Come on, man,' he muttered under his breath, the worry creasing in his forehead.
Lorelei could hear Mr Davenport and Douglas bicker in the hallways from their classroom. She called out to them in a desperate scream, hoping she wouldn't have to let Chase's head roll on the cold ground to get them. 'Mr Davenport, Chase fainted! Come, please!' she cried out.
The door swung open with a forceful push and revealed Mr Davenport and Douglas. 'Get Adam, Leo and Bree and a stretcher right away,' Mr Davenport ordered Douglas, who remarkably obliged without any backtalk. Mr Davenport shoved Lorelei to the side and knelt down too. 'I will find out what they did to you and fix it,' he whispered to Chase and wiped his glossed-over eyes.
Adam, Leo, Bree and Douglas returned much faster than Lorelei had anticipated along with a stretcher. Adam and Leo carefully lifted Chase off the ground and onto the stretcher. Lorelei had no idea Adam could actually be gentle when it came to Chase, but he seemed to treat his brother like a porcelain vase now.
Mr Davenport gave the entire class the day off and told them to forget about this whole thing and that everything was going to be okay. However, as Lorelei watched all of them leave with Chase, she was left with an unsettling feeling. . .
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𝐈𝐓 𝐇𝐀𝐃 𝐁𝐄𝐄𝐍 𝐓𝐖𝐎 days since Chase had fainted in front of her and yet, there was still no update on how he was. Most of his students had tried to visit him, but when they were denied by Mr Davenport, they'd opted for a get well soon card instead.
Nearly every class had been canceled as no mentor could teach in the state of mind they'd been in. Lorelei had seeked out Bree's company and to distract their thoughts for a moment, they'd been sparring a lot. It also helped greatly with getting rid of the buildup anxiety that had nowhere else to go.
Lorelei tiredly rubbed in her eye to make the blurry haze of her vision disappear. She'd been sleeping terribly for at least a week now and especially the last two nights were very sleepless. She wanted to see Chase and know what was going on with him. Everyone who did have answers remained vague about him, but if she knew what he was battling, she could brew him a specific healing concoction. There still wouldn't be a guarantee she could heal him completely, but it was worth a try.
She roamed through the halls, close to the hospital wing of the academy, but far enough away to avoid being sent away by Mr Davenport. She was pacing back and forth between attempting to sneak into the hospital wing unnoticed and letting the whole matter go.
If that projectile was to be Chase's death, it would be perfect for her. He'd been the one person who'd been doubting her and making the execution of her plan nearly impossible to set in motion. For as far as she knew, he was on the brink of dying and in the mournful days after his death, his family would be fragile enough to never see her betrayal coming nor have enough spirit to fight back.
She wanted him dead after all. She needed him dead. She hated him more than anything just a week ago. He needed to be gone, she needed his whole family to perish like her father had. She had to do it. . . for him. She had to make him proud and she knew this would.
She had to let it go. She already hadn't done so once and thrown away the perfect opportunity for him to pass away and continue with her revenge. That's what had been the reason for her coming to the academy. She was wasting all of her time on classes and getting to know the Davenports, but not on her plan.
However, as much as she tried, she couldn't stop thinking about Chase. Every moment she could think went to him. Whenever she thought of him, her heart would sink and feel so incredibly heavy, the same sensation she'd had when the wall-like man had threatened to hit Chase's heart.
Her thoughts were betraying her. When she made an effort to push away her worry, another sensation began soaring through her. She could nearly feel his hands resting on her cheeks and her hand gliding over the soft fabric of his shirt and the strong, forceful rhythm of his heart beating against her hand. She'd hiccup on her breath at the thought of him so close to her and his eyes searching hers as he tried to figure her out but couldn't.
She had to let it go.
She startled and almost tripped over her own feet when she spun on her heels in her quick pacing stride and stood right before Adam. 'Oh, hi Adam,' she muttered and fumbled with her hands. 'Off to see Chase?'
'That's the plan, yeah,' Adam replied.
'How is he?' she asked.
He didn't really respond at first, his eyes sinking downward until he was solely staring at the ground. He wasn't really there with his mind. 'Not good,' he mumbled. 'And there's nothing I can do about it. I'm too dumb to help Mr Davenport and Douglas find a cure and no matter what I do, Chase doesn't feel any better.'
He'd been getting sadder every day and the toll of not being able to help was getting to him. The spring in his step was gone and his shoulders were slumped forwards, but even when he felt so lowly, he put on a smile and would be there for his brother. Lorelei felt bad he couldn't be of more help and knew that. He'd often joked about his low IQ, but when he'd just called himself too dumb to help, she could tell that it stung him.
She had to admire his dedication to help Chase any way he could and not give up. However, that admiration had swiftly turned into envy as there was no one who'd do the same for her. She had to constantly remind herself that they'd taken away the only person who she was ever close with, to keep the fury within her burning.
'I'm sure he appreciates everything you do for him,' Lorelei said, her teeth gritting together to keep her swirl of emotions under wraps. As Adam nodded and began to walk past her, her hand found itself holding onto his sleeve.
He stopped walking and laid his hand on her arm. 'What's wrong?' he asked worriedly. Even with his brother in the hospital bed, he paused with everything to talk to Lorelei once he thought something bothered her.
'I know we're not allowed to see Chase and I get it.' She bit hard on the inside of her cheek to keep herself from speaking more. She squeezed her eyes shut and her heart sank in an instant when his face appeared in front of her, his eyes soft as they gazed over her. 'Is there any way I can see him? Even for just a second, that's okay, I just have to see him.' She glanced up at Adam, the defeat and fatigue wearing on her face. 'I can't sleep since he fainted in class.'
Adam looked unsure and nervously shifted his weight from one leg to the other and back. 'I know how you feel,' he muttered. He moved her to the wall of the hallway and craned his head around, before ducking closer to her. 'I guess you could make a quick visit while I distract Mr Davenport and Douglas. They're the ones not allowing anyone to see him.'
'Thank you, Adam,' Lorelei had blurted out before she could realize what she'd done to herself.
Adam was a few steps in front of her, his tall build shielding her completely from sight. He barged through the doors of the hospital wings, though he slowed down his pace so Lorelei could keep up with him.
'Who's there?' Mr Davenport's voice rang out from a room not far from them.
'Just me, Mr Davenport,' Adam replied and winked at Lorelei. He walked closer to her until they were strolling side by side. His hand on her back ushered her to keep going ahead when he took a left into the room that she assumed Davenport was in.
She followed his lead until she stood before a white double door. Her hand rested on the chilly metal as she took in a sharp breath. She gently pushed open one of the doors and slipped into the room, making sure the door wouldn't keep swaying. She barely got a glimpse to take in the massive room as her gaze landed on Chase's unconscious body.
Her throat closed up and she swallowed heavily to break through the barrier, but to no use. She staggered towards him, her hands cupping his face before she could change her mind. His skin sent shivers down her spin as it was cold to the touch. His face shone with sweat that was slowly trickling over his forehead. 'What did they do to you?' she whispered, more so to herself than to him.
He seemed nearly a ghost of his past self. With how little sleep Lorelei had been getting and the dark circles underneath her eyes that came with it, she didn't seem much more alive than him either.
He was breathing gently, but too slow. Even as he lay asleep, he seemed in pain. Lorelei sluggishly slid her hand down to his heart to feel his breathing rhythm, but felt something else. His heart was beating at the same pace it had two days ago, however, it wasn't regular. The projectile had somehow managed to alter his heartbeat.
She accidentally gripped his shirt as panic engulfed her. She'd imagined him on the brink of death, but actually finding out that his heartbeat was irregular for who knows how long made her worry skyrocket. If it wasn't fixed soon, he could very well die.
Something black peeked out from underneath Chase's hospital gown that caught Lorelei's eye. When she pushed his gown further down his chest, she found a web of pulping, black veins. All of them originated from his heart that seemed like a pool of the darkest, starless night skies. 'I will heal you. I promise,' she whispered to him and softly pinched in his hand to comfort herself.
She had a hard time to let go of him, but when she'd finally gained the courage, she swiftly left the hospital wing. She rushed to the students' dormitory, ignoring everyone and everything in her path. In the state Chase was, he was not going to last for many more days. She had to give him a concoction as fast as she could, because if it didn't work, she had her work cut out for her to find something that would.
'From dust to solid with one blow
rising from the earth they grow
they cleanse the air clear
make my garden appear.'
She'd barely dropped the pinch of earthly dirt and closed the door so others could not enter, before she'd spoken the incantation. She normally loved taking her time and feeling the energy of the different plants, but she felt like she had to be swift.
She tore off flowers, leaves, stems and more from various plants in the Sun, Moon and Mars categories. The strong scent of lavender brought Lorelei some peace, even if she didn't want it. It blended well with the citrusy smells of the lively Sun flowers that should restore Chase's energy levels. She had to filter out the thorns of the plants in the Mars category, which would help Chase's fight against the heart disease that had developed.
She turned off the heat below the cauldron and poured the potion into a phial. She'd brewed many concoctions before, but none quite as strong as this one. Then again, nothing Lorelei had ever endured in the face of injury or illness had ever been as terrible as this.
She tucked the phial away in her pocket and after the snap of her fingers, her potting station disappeared. Her door opened to a loud alarm ringing through the halls that made her run alongside the other students towards the main area. When she saw Adam, Bree, Leo, Mr Davenport and Douglas standing there without Chase, the loud, frantic chatter of the students fell on deaf ears.
She paid little attention to the men as she ran into Bree. Regretful tears were swimming through her eyes as she held onto Bree's arms, her head shaking as she didn't want to hear what she was about to say. 'Where is he?' she asked Bree, who was staring in front of her in complete numbness.
'Chase is gone. They kidnapped him. . .'
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Hello hello!
This storyline was originally requested to me by munat20. I tried to incorporate it as best as I could, but that it would also make sense within the story that I am writing as a whole. I hope you enjoyed it so far!
Ps; I'm getting a euro from everyone who dares to make a Frozen reference lol--I swear, I can't even write 'let it go' anymore without that song blasting through my head.
Anyway, thank you for reading, voting and commenting!
xx Theresa
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