by Simon Archer
At first, it looked like nothing had happened, but then the thing flared to a brilliant orange light, and a force field snapped around her. It pinned her close, contorting her body into a submissive position. Try as she might, she was unable to break free.
Writhing around in the sand like an impotent worm, she glared at up at me and screamed bloody murder. Despite her rage, the storm died immediately, with such unnatural jarring force that I stumbled in reaction to its loss. The sun tentatively peeked through the clouds overhead, and I felt the power that I’d clung to for the last ten minutes flood out of my body. I stumbled again and resisted the sudden weakness in my knees.
Fulgurite screamed again and again until her voice went hoarse. To spite her, I gave her a cute little wave, then spun around to assess the others. Andie was fine, but Eric was not. He was unconscious in the sand. He didn’t look any worse for wear and was most definitely breathing, but Andie held him close.
“He got hit with a lightning bolt, and it knocked him off his feet,” Andie explained. “He should be fine, his powers make him resistant to shocks like this. Aylin, take Nick to the cliffs. Kara needs help.”
I blinked, then registered that information. I nodded back to Andie, then took Aylin’s hand. She carefully flew us back to the cliff. Kara was a mess in the debris, but she was still awake when we found her.
“D-Did it work?” Kara asked, voice hoarse with pain.
It was Aylin who lost it, silver tears rolling down her violet cheeks. “Kara Johnson, I admire your bravery, but do not ever do that again.”
“Sorry—”
“Not ever,” Aylin reminded her sternly. “You are my friend. Friends keep each other safe, yes? You will let Starlight and I take care of you.”
Kara gave in with an exhausted huff, though it did sound a little bit indignant. To be honest, that little bit of spunk gave me no small amount of relief.
“Aylin,” I said, “we need an ambulance.”
“I will acquire them, Starlight.” Gently, she placed a comforting hand on my shoulder. “She is strong and will recover. Bring her to the beach. I will send help there.”
After the longest fifteen minutes of my life, Triton and the others arrived and hauled Fulgurite to prison. He granted me a troubled glance as we passed each other. It was clear that disapproved of us taking her on again, but he was proud that we’d captured her, regardless. There were no civilian casualties, despite the chaos in the carnival. Focused on keeping Fulgurite under lock this time, Triton didn’t spend very long in my company and raced off with the others back to the prison.
Eric recovered a few minutes before the ambulance arrived, bouncing to his feet with one agile motion. He looked perfectly fine, better than, with little sparks dancing all over his body.
“I think I absorbed it!” He giggled wildly. “I need to try that again!! Wait... is Kara alright? Oh, we got her! Awesome!”
Andie managed to pull him away from Kara and me with a gentle laugh. He was too innocent and didn’t understand the weight of what had just happened. Nor did I want him to.
When they finally took Kara into the ambulance, I followed and joined her in the back. The paramedics didn’t bother to stop me and wound up letting me sit quietly in the corner while they worked.
“Concussion,” one of them remarked as he made notes on a form. “A mild one. Arm fracture. Ribs okay. No internal bleeding from what I can tell.”
“Good,” another called back while looking at some readings on a monitor. She glanced down at Kara with a tender smile, and added, “You’ll be okay, sweetie.”
“Now, here’s the hard part, okay?” The first one smiled in reassurance. “You have to try to stay awake for now. I know it’s difficult, but you can do it.”
Kara, of course, rolled her eyes at both of them. “Alright, fine, but I’m not a child nor am I a ‘sweetie.’ I don’t need coddling.”
“Kara, please try to work with them. Be gentle,” I said with a smirk as I glanced at the two paramedics who were both clearly thrown off by her attitude and chuckled softly.
“You’re gonna forget my fish,” she grumbled and then glared at me from the stretcher. “You take care of them, buster, or I’m gonna be pissed.”
It was all bluster, but I was happy to see it. This was the Kara I remembered, all fire and sass. She was the first girl I’d ever loved, and it was nice to have her back finally.
“I’m going to be alright,” I said. “Thanks for asking, by the way.”
“I know that.” She rolled her eyes again and then settled back into the stretcher with a grumble. Despite that, I caught the hint of a smile at the edge of her lips. “Just don’t forget the fish.”
“I won’t.” I gave her a quick salute. “You can count on me.”
Chapter 24
Two hours later, I’d finally managed to secure a small aquarium and deliver it to Kara’s dorm room with the help of Eric and Aylin. The fish were added with a huge sigh of relief. Honestly, it was a miracle they’d survived the attack, the storm, and two hours stuck in those little plastic bags. I made sure to get a separator, recalling Kara’s comment about the betta. He wasn’t particularly happy with the setup, nor was he a fan of the other fish who shared his waters, but it would only last a day until I had more time to find him something better.
“We keep something like this at home,” Aylin said as she practically pressed her face against the glass to get a closer look. “But it needs a cage up top.”
“A cage?” I quirked a brow at her, confused.
“To keep them from flying out of the tank.” Aylin smiled and nodded knowingly.
“Wait... yours fly?” I asked.
“Of course.” Aylin frowned slightly. “Yours do not?”
Flying fish. Of course. Kara would lose her mind if she found that out.
“No, Aylin,” I said as I smiled and shook my head, somewhat amused. “Our fish don’t fly.”
“Actually, Nick, there are at least twenty species of them.” Eric piped up. He was busy installing the pump and the filter, amid a mess of wires at the back of the aquarium. “They’re really cool—”
“They jump, Eric,” I interrupted him. “That doesn’t count. And for that matter, is there anything you don’t know?”
“Photographic memory.” He tapped his temple with a cheeky grin. “Mom did a lot of puzzles when I was a toddler. Lots of things rattling around up here.”
“I bet.” I chuckled. It made a hell of a lot of sense in retrospect. “That means Kara’s not the only genius in our growing family?”
Eric snorted and looked offended at the very notion. “Just because I can remember things doesn’t mean I compete with a girl who can make spy tech out of a cell phone. Heck, she’s already learned Aylin’s language.”
Aylin nodded in confirmation, looking quite pleased. “She improves each day! It is wonderful to witness, I never thought any human would take an interest in it.”
“See? That’s genius, Nick,” Eric said as he plugged both the filter and the pump into the wall.
“Fair enough,” I conceded with a tired sigh and then sat on Kara’s bed. A huge, jaw-cracking yawn overtook me. The fight had really knocked the wind out of me, on top of everything else that had happened.
“Alright, Nickie, that’s the third time you’ve done that.” Eric jabbed a finger at me and gestured towards the door. “Time for bed. Get up.”
“Nickie?” I blinked at him.
“Bed,” he insisted and gestured at the door again with a bit more force.
I rolled my eyes, but just as I was attempting to convince them both that I was perfectly fine, another yawn interrupted me. I huffed in frustration and rubbed my eyes.
“Doesn’t matter,” I objected. “I’m going back to the hospital. Kara’s probably—”
“Sleeping,” Eric cut me off. “Andie’s watching her, so she’s perfectly safe. Go to bed.”
“Eric—”
“If she finds out you’re ne
glecting yourself over this, she’s gonna be really mad at you. And she will find out because we’re all gonna tell her the truth.” Then Eric put his hands on his hips. “Bed. Now.”
Resisting another oncoming yawn, I blinked at Eric, then glanced up to Aylin. She’d crossed her arms and looked just as stern as he was.
“Use her bed, Starlight.” Aylin nodded toward it. “She won’t mind.”
“Actually, that’s brilliant, Aylin!” Eric exclaimed with a nod. “Then you don’t even have to walk anywhere.”
“Sure, it’s just against campus rules, but who cared about those?” I grumbled in protest, but Eric gently shoved me backward, so I was almost fully lying down.
I sat on my elbows and gave them both an indignant look, which died the second I started to yawn again.
“Alright, alright,” I gave in. “Fine. Two hours.”
“Three,” Eric bargained.
“Two.”
“Three,” he said again and put his hand back on his hip.
“Fine. Three hours, then we go back to the hospital.”
“Deal!” His grin was wide and a bit too cheery for my taste, but I was also really, really tired, and some sleep did sound good.
The next thing I knew, I’d tumbled into strange dreams. Sir Longbottom was trudging through a twisted forest made out of chocolate, trying to find a screaming Princess Pea who had been taken by Lord Maxian again. Maxian cackled like a lunatic, but she didn’t sound like Kara. She sounded like Fulgurite, and her eyes burned with my father’s searing heat.
Fortunately, Eric woke me with a gentle shake. Unfortunately, it was five hours longer than I’d bargained for. I was furious, of course, but apparently, Kara had slept the entire time and was still doing so when we finally made it to the hospital.
“Hey,” Andie called as she looked over at us from where she’d curled up in one of the hospital’s uncomfortable chairs. “How are you guys?”
“We’re fine,” I said with a smile as I came over and gave her a quick kiss. “How is Kara?”
“She woke up only once, and that was to ask where you were.” Andie gave me a sleepy smile. “Something about fish?”
I glanced at Kara’s sleeping form with a tender smile. “Yeah, Eric, Aylin and I already took care of it.”
“Good. She sounded really worried.” Andie let out a small sound of relief that was cut off by a yawn. “Man, I could really go for some coffee right now.” She gave Eric a pointed look.
“Oh! I’ll get you some,” Eric said without missing a beat. “Come on, Aylin. Let me show you hospital food.” He took her by the hand and began to pull her out of the room. “It’s like the best worst thing ever!”
“Um...” Aylin gave us all a semi-frightened look. “That does not sound like it is the most appealing...” She bit her lip. “But I shall be glad to assist in the gathering of sustenance.”
With that, the two of them headed toward the mess hall, and I closed the distance between Kara and me.
She looked thin and fragile in that bed, her red hair mussed from all the attention during the night. Her arm was held in a cast, but aside from some light scratches on her face, she seemed relatively fine. Andie pulled my gaze away with a gentle hand on my chin.
“You alright?” Andie asked. She looked me deep in the eyes, her own wide and far too knowing.
“Yeah,” I told her. “Of course I am. It’s her that you should be—”
“I’m asking about you,” Andie interrupted. “Be honest with me.”
I sighed and glanced back at Kara again. I nodded slowly, reassured by the gentle breaths she took in slumber.
“Yeah. Yeah, I’m good.”
With a sudden kiss to my cheek, I turned and met Andie’s loving gaze again. She smiled, warm like she’d always been.
“You should tell her how you feel, Nick.”
“I did. Back at the carnival, I mean. At least, I’m pretty sure I did.” I blinked, then frowned as I struggled to remember exactly how things went down on the Ferris wheel. “Didn’t I?”
Andie snorted and gently clapped me on the shoulder. “Remind her when she wakes up. She’s stubborn and has probably since convinced herself that you’re just being sweet.”
“I am being sweet,” I insisted and then sighed. “I... I love her. I really, really do.”
“Yeah, well, tell her that.” Andie patted me on the back as she gestured toward the door. “I’m gonna go catch up with Eric and Aylin and eat something. I’ll check in later, okay?”
After giving Andie a thumbs up, I pulled the chair so that it was closer to Kara’s bed and took her delicate little hand in mine.
“You were really stupid on that beach,” I whispered, then kissed her knuckles. “But you’ll be happy to know that I took care of the fish. They survived and are well fed in a tank in your room. Thank Eric. Apparently, his dad had one that he wasn’t using.”
His dad was a kind middle-aged man with a potbelly and hearty laugh that shook the whole of him. His mother, gray-haired with a smile that dimpled her cheeks, offered us an army’s worth of cookies, cupcakes, and chocolates.
Then the two of them shared several embarrassing stories about Eric’s youth. They were so proud of him that they were bursting from it, and it leaked all over the house in pictures, framed certificates, and knickknacks representing happy memories. Eric wanted to die of embarrassment of course, but Aylin and I were enchanted by the whole experience.
“It’s weird,” I told the sleeping Kara as I looked off into distant memory. “His family is so... so normal. I’d forgotten what that was like. I mean, my dad, he... he does his best. But after Mom, it was... it was never really the same. Nothing was after leaving you behind. I... I should have written, Kara. I’m sorry. I wanted to, but... but I didn’t know what to say, or... or how to say it, and...”
I sat back in the chair and huffed in frustration. I hated the way my vision swam, and how hard it was just to tell her what I wanted to say. Her hand was so small in mine, limp and lost to dreams.
“Dad wanted me to hold on to happiness. He always made sure I had it. But I... I think I left it behind with you. You were my normal, my... my girl next door. My best friend, my arch nemesis, my everything—”
“God, Nick. I get it, okay?”
My heart lurched when her hand squeezed in mine, and her blue eyes cracked open just enough to leer at me.
“I told you, it’s just a broken arm,” she said, though her voice wavered a bit and there was a suspicious wetness in her eyes. “Don’t be so dramatic.”
“Dram—But Kara, you almost—”
“I didn’t,” she cut me off. She squeezed her hand in mine again, and her expression fell to tenderness. “Nick, seriously. Everything is alright.”
“I love you,” I blurted and scooted closer to the bed. “I mean it. I always have. I should have said it more. I should have written you, I should’ve kept in contact, I should’ve—”
Kara swore and released her hand from mine to grab the collar of my shirt. She pulled my face down to hers with surprising strength, and our lips locked into a fevered, desperate kiss. Air flowed from my lungs into hers and back again. Our tongues danced to the rhythm of our beating hearts.
By the time we parted, she and I were both panting. Her grip still tight around my collar, she leaned her forehead against mine.
“When I get out of here, you’re going to join me in my dorm,” she said. It wasn’t a request. “I have something I want to show you.”
With that, she let me go, and I stumbled back into the chair. I stared at her and blinked without a thought in my brain whatsoever.
She giggled at my expression. It was the sweetest sound I’d ever heard in my life. “The kiss was that good, huh?”
“Yeah. Yeah, kinda.” I touched my lips with a vague nod. My tongue was still tingling.
“Kinda?”
“Yup,” I confirmed. “Good kiss.”
“Just good, huh?”
�
��Great,” I corrected, grinning a little. Then I frowned, overthinking things. “Wait, you did like it, right?”
“For god’s sake, Nick. Yes, I liked it. Now, tell me about the fish.”
“Well, it wasn’t much.” I shrugged. “We put them all in quarantine for a while and medicated them pretty heavily. They were all showing signs of stress, but I think they’re on the path to recovery. The water isn’t medicated anymore and has been balanced with a decent PH.”
“You tested for ammonia?”
“Yeah. There’s a door at the bottom of the tank. You’ve got several options to keep track down there, including both ammonia and nitrate. When you inevitably progress towards saltwater tanks, there’s even a KH tester down here.”
“When I inevitably get salt water, huh?”
“You can’t fool me, Kara.” I grinned.
“What about air pumps?”
“You’ve got an air stone in the back of the tank right now. It’s pretty gentle, considering the size of your fish.”
“Good. What about the filter?”
“High quality,” I assured her. “It’s a small internal one we chose for the tank size. I made sure it didn’t have too much pull. It’s going to have a pretty big bio-load, so you’ll need to keep track of the filtration daily. And don’t worry, we’re going to do a full water change before the fish really settle in.”
She nodded. “Of course, and the power strip?”
“It’s got a day and night timer already programmed in and has multiple failsafes to protect against electrocution. Which reminds me, you have a heater already set to balance your temp, and a strip to show you where it’s currently at.”
She smiled in approval. “What about the betta? He can’t stay in that separator.”
“We plan on getting a smaller tank with pretty much the same setup,” I confirmed. “With a really gentle filter because I know he doesn’t like the current.”
“No, he doesn’t.” Kara nodded. “Sounds like you’ve got a handle on it so far.”
