Academy for the Strange

Chapter 20: Fallen

            Fiona ran. She ran through the courtyard, ignoring the stares, ignoring Chay and the girls who trailed behind her and ignoring her aching legs. There was only one thing on her mind and that was Meredith.

            She raced through the bottom of Fire dorm without slowing, her hair a banner of red flying behind her. Fiona kept up the pace even as her lungs began to burn. She paid them no attention, her stomach sick with the dread born out of Tyna’s words and her mind running through all the possibilities except for one. She couldn’t even think for a second that Meredith had…

            Fiona tried to force her body to run faster as she entered the school’s main building. Her footsteps echoed through the empty halls, the sound melding with the footfalls of the four who still followed her, though Tyna and Jordana were beginning to fall behind. Not that Fiona noticed.

            When she reached the right hall, Fiona put on one last burst of speed and practically slammed into the medical centre’s door before she ripped it open. She burst inside, head swivelling back and forth as she panted. Dr. Volkov half stood at her entrance before he settled back into his chair, his blue eyes sad.

            Everything about the room was the same as the last time Fiona had been there, except more of the beds at the back were occupied. She took a few hesitant steps towards them, feelings fingers of ice spreading their sting out from her core. When she saw the familiar figure in the last bed she broke into another run as she crossed the remaining distance between them.

            Fiona knelt beside the bed, eyes locked onto Meredith’s sleeping form. Her roommate looked peaceful, her arms straight at her sides, her back flat against the mattress. It looked wrong to Fiona, who was used to the tangle Meredith made of herself and the blankets around her. She never looked like this. Like a doll put away until the next time she was played with.

            “Hey,” she said, her voice breaking slightly. She swallowed, fighting down the tears, trying to keep to together. “Hey Mer, why don’t you get up?”

            She got no response, not that she’d expected one. She reached out and gently shook her shoulder, but Meredith remained still, only the gentle rise and fall of her chest proving she was still alive. “C’mon,” she said, tears welling up and spilling over.

          “Please wake up,” she whispered as her cheeks each sprouted a tiny stream of salt water. “Please. I need you.”

            Fiona ignored the footsteps coming to a stop beside her. She grabbed Meredith hand and squeezed it gently as the tears continued to stream from her eyes. “Please Mer,” she begged.

            Her shoulders shook as the sobs came when she again got no response. She fought against them but knew she wouldn’t win. She never did. Fiona buried her face in her free arm that lay on the bed, her other still holding her roommate’s hand as she broke down. She wept as her face went red and her eyes began to ache. She wept as her best friend lay in a coma in front of her. She wept as the one person who knew her best was effectively gone and that she was alone again. She wept as she realized that she’d been doing something as frivolous as flying when Meredith had needed her most.

            She paid no attention to her surroundings as the tears continued to fall, not hearing Jordana break down into sobs of her own, not hearing Chay saying they should leave, not hearing him promise to stay with her. All Fiona knew was her own pain, her own guilt, her own sadness.

            But even the pain of losing someone couldn’t last forever, as Fiona knew. When her sobs began to slow, she felt a gentle hand on her shoulder. She turned a red and wet face to see Chay hunkering down beside her, his face lined. When she looked at him, he opened his arms in a clear invitation.