6. P R O D I G A L : Redemption

CHAPTER II

DAY ONE

Addison woke to the taste of salt and to fresh pain.

Agony wracked his abdomen, causing it to cramp. He coughed and let out a short cry of pain. Indistinct voices cut through the silence, muffled to his ears. He opened his eyes as best as he could and almost immediately closed them as sunlight made his head pound.

The voices seemed to quiet down. A hand gently shook Addison's shoulder. "Hey," one of the voices—more audible than before and carrying a Chinese accent—said. "Hey, don't go back to sleep, buddy."

Addison groaned and opened his eyes again, squinting in an attempt to stave off the light.

Leaning over him was a young Chinese man with a big grin plastered on his face. His black hair was spiky and streaked down the middle with light brown, and he wore a white t-shirt with Mandarin characters on it.

"Unh... Xiao... Lang?" Addison mumbled, barely able to get the words out. His mouth felt swollen and his lips were cracked, making even speaking painful.

"You got it, buddy," the Xishuangbanna Worthy replied. "I can call you 'buddy', right?"

"Heh." Addison turned away, closing his eyes again. "Did you save my life?"

"Kinda, yeah," Xiao Lang confirmed.

"Then go ahead." Addison opened his eyes again. "Why does my mouth taste like noodle soup?"

"The answer to that should be self-explanatory."

Addison lifted his head and Xiao Lang looked over his shoulder. Standing in the doorway of the room was Tián, another bowl of soup in her hands. Her black-and-white hair was styled in two buns and held in place by two long pins. She wore a plain gray sleeveless shirt that left her midriff bare and baggy jeans held up by a belt.

Addison opened his mouth to speak again but found himself too exhausted to keep his head up, so he laid it back again. "Thanks," he said, looking up at the ceiling. "I thought I was done for out there."

"You were. But then you weren't. That's how saving a life works," Xiao Lang pointed out.

"How do you feel?" Tián asked, walking over to the bed and sipping the soup.

"I thought that was for—" Addison paused and sighed. "Never mind. Uh, I feel better, actually. Thank you." He suddenly winced, feeling a pinching sensation in his hand. "Ah! What the—" He glanced over to his left and saw a needle connected to an IV setup sticking out of his hand.

"Antihistamines," Tián explained.

Addison stared at her blankly through bleary, bloodshot eyes.

"You ate a philodendron berry. Several philodendron berries, actually," Tián amended. "We're flushing the poison out of your system. Well, I am," she added. "Xiao Lang got the soup."

"And I carried you here," Xiao Lang put in. "You're welcome." He checked his watched and then said, "Unfortunately, I can't hang out right now and talk about how amazing I am for saving your life. I've got school in an hour." He grinned and flashed peace signs at Addison. "Peace, buddy! Get well soon!" He bumped fists with Tián and then hurried out of the room.

Tián shifted her weight as Addison turned to her. "School?" he asked.

"He's at university," Tián told him. "He graduated from Z.G.A. last year."

"Z.G.A. What—what's Z.G.A.?"

"Zoo Gryphon Academy."

Addison blinked, his eyes still squinted. "Oh. That actually makes sense."