Axel Light Trilogy: Wands and Shield

Chapter 02

Axel opened his eyes to blinding white lights.

Was he dead? Alive?

It did not matter.

He tried to breathe.

He seemed to be alive.

He spluttered. Coughed.

His throat was dry and when he breathed, the air tickled his throat. He heard voices, sounds; unfamiliar, foreign. Someone touched him but he could not react. His whole body was numbed.

'Axel?' a voice said.

He knew this voice.

'Dad...' Axel wheezed.

Did he have an accident and had plunged into a bad dream while he was unconscious? A dream where his parents were killed, and he was told that he was a Magical? Absurd. Laughable. It could only happen in a dream and nowhere else.

He remembered that he was on a broom with Elliot, and he had passed out for a moment. Maybe the dream had made him think that it was just a moment. Maybe they had an accident. He recalled the falling sensation. They must had fallen from a broom!

'Elliot!' spluttered Axel as his eyes slowly adjusted to the white glare.

He tried to sit up. Some hands helped him and placed some pillows at his back.

'Yes, I am Elliot's dad,' said the voice that Axel knew.

Axel stared confusingly at the man in front of him, where the voice came from. He was, indeed, Elliot's dad – Robert Green. Axel knew that he was a Healer – a Magical medical doctor.

'Elliot... is he alright?' asked Axel urgently, 'We fell...'

'Elliot is fine, Axel,' said Robert edgily, 'He was here earlier, but he is in school now.'

'School...' said Axel absently.

He looked around the room that he was in. He was in a hospital room. A Magical's hospital room as there were different tools as compared to a Non-Magical hospital room that he had stayed in once before, when he had kicked at a goalpost instead of a ball and had some broken toes and fractured bones. He had to stay two nights because the goalpost broke and hit his head – he had vomited, so they had to observe for concussion.

There were two nurses in the room, hustling over some tools. They looked happy to see him. Even Robert had looked glad, though with some reservations.

'Do you remember what had happened?' asked Robert softly.

Axel tried to think, but his head hurt him.

'I fell...' muttered Axel.

His chests hurt too. He wanted to touch it, but he was restricted by some tubes stuck on his wrists.

'... with Elliot,' continued Axel, 'I... can't...'

Axel shook his head. He could not remember anything else.

'You didn't fall with Elliot, Axel,' said Robert softly, 'You had fallen from a tree, the one outside your bedroom window.'

Axel closed his eyes to think. The memories came rushing to him suddenly, like waves that had been pulled back into the ocean and had rushed back to the shore, crashing and sweeping everything in the way.

He did have a ride with Elliot on the broom. He was late to reach home. He was worried his mother would be furious at him. And when he reached home, there were people inside. Many people and in uniform. The living room was in a mess, a wall was broken, furniture strewn on the floor. His parents on the floor. Dead. Holding wands.