The Eldritch Trials

Chapter 10: Involuntary Hospitalization

Anita

"Yes?" I ask. I was brought to wait in another office.
"Your son is—dangerously suicidal," the doctor says, gravely.
"What?" I ask, "No, that's—,"
"He admitted to experiencing suicidal ideation and drew weapons to coerce me into giving him drugs. I left him in the room now there are nurses watching on cameras but I have no choice but to recommend involuntary hospitalization."
"No," the room is spinning. No. I'm not leaving him. I'm not leaving him in any place— that is my baby. How could he want to hurt himself? Just no.
I promised her I'd look out for him.
She was only a child herself. Face sweaty as mine, I'm sure, barely wrapped in a coat, pale blonde hair sticking to blood shot skin. Holding her baby to her chest. Tears just streaming down her face as she lay him in my arms. So much stronger than my baby, bigger, and healthy with thick arms and soft round cheeks. And his mother there, sobbing.
I swore I would give him the best life. I meant it. I loved him for us both. I had to. I give him two kisses every night. Anything he needs, anything. He's to have the perfect life. She gave me the most beautiful gift in the world. And I was not about to let that ever go to waste. I was always going to be more than worthy of being this precious person's mother.
"Ma'am? He's a danger to himself right now. he's clearly, deeply unwell. He's threatening to kill himself."
"No," I whisper. Just no. He's not in danger. He's my precious little boy. I taught him to walk holding his chubby hands. I could always make him smile at me. Always. If he ever cried the servants were to come fetch me. Even when he was older and just playing on the grounds. Every skinned knee. Every disappointment. Every bad grade; every rainy day. I was there to talk with him, to make it all better. I had to. That's what he gets to have the most perfect life I can make it. So he can't be—he wouldn't be like that. Just no. He's possessed. Or something. It's a spell. No, he would never be hurt himself.
"Let me see him—I need to see him—," It's a spell. That's all it is. It's a spell. I can cure him I can—I just need to see him. "Let me talk to him then. We'll do that yes whatever, but let me speak with him first."
"Of course."
The doctor leads me down the hall to the exam room. I don't even know why I'm surprised the window is open.
"He can't have jumped from the third story—," the doctor leans out.
"I don't see why not; it's the main reason my husband had his bedroom put on the fifth story," I say, getting out my phone. Fine, someone has put a spell on him. This is fixable. We just need to find him.

Mac

"Why are you going through my locker?" I ask, watching Jade. We're supposed to be in class, but we missed the start because we were kissing in the girl's bathroom so we figured it was quite over now.
"Because I worry about you constantly because of who you are as a person, and I have two curses I already need to get off of you," she says, matter of factly. I guess I just got adopted by a Necromancer? Cool, I guess. She's very pretty and a very good kisser.
"Three technically," I say.
"I don't think I'm going to break that third one," she sighs, "That and restoring your memories of past lives would require the kiss of the Necromancer and you've said—,"
"I've said I'm not doing that. My mother would not forgive me if I got killed even if it was just to let you bring me back," I say.
"Fair, mothers worry. Also, if you'd refrain from making decisions without consulting me or your mother first that will keep you alive longer, great?" she says, holding up a flyer for a werewolf fight night.
"What, that looked like fun?"
"Mac Embry I'm going to disown you."
"It did! You get to fight werewolves that their packs have thrown out—,"
"Mac Embry you can't breath or walk right!"
"That's abusive to the disabled."
"Don't be disabled and I won't abuse you," she says.
"God you're such a jerk," I want to kiss her so bad. My phone starts buzzing, Jade looks at me critically, "Don't worry, it's just Gale. He's my level-headed friend. He still has a bed time—hey Gale what's up?"
Clearly panting, "You have to swear to tell no one what I'm about to tell you."
"Fine, I swear."
"Do the spell," he says, video calling me. It looks like he's in a store or something?
"Fine," I say, Jade is in front of me so he can't see she's here, I look like I'm cutting class (kind of typical of me if I'm being honest). I prick my thumb and preform the spell of silence over my mouth, finishing with my ears. Then I put the phone on speaker. He ends the video.
"I'm running away from home to complete the trails right now because I told my mother I needed to go to a doctor which I do but the doctor was an idiot because he wanted to hospitalize me because I threatened to kill myself if he didn't take me seriously well he took me seriously but I don't want to be hospitalized, so I'm completing the trails right now because if my dad finds out any of this he'll let an apocalypse start rather than let me not go to the hospital so I'm just going to complete the trails, and I can't go home because my mother believes the doctor but after I complete the trails if I don't die then I'll probably be all better and they'll have forgotten, except I have no idea what I'm doing and I don't want to go alone and if I die then nobody will know what happened so I'm telling you," he says it all in a rush.
Jade tries to talk, but I was poised to cover her stupid mouth.
"Yeah, I'm coming with you, mate, meet me at the last stop of the red line, we'll go together, all right?" I ask, grabbing my backpack.
"Really?"
"Really," I say, taking an iron sword out of my locker. It's from my dad, I don't have the magic to wield it usually, but Gale might. By 'it's from my dad' I mean I took it and he probably doesn't know that. I've got the silver dagger now, I'm guessing Gale doesn't have anything with him if he bolted from a doctor's office. "Of course I'm coming, what are friends for?"
"Thanks, okay, I'll meet you there—it might take me an hour?" He sighs.
"Cool, I will be there, be careful," I hang up and take my hand off Jade's mouth.
"I wasn't going to say anything."
"Your mouth was open."
"I was gonna mouth at you," she mutters, though I doubt it's true. I think she's allergic to not talking. "I take it you know where we're going?"
"Yeah, it's a place we sometimes get off for duels, he'll know it—you're coming?" I ask, as she follows me.
"Of course I am, I can't let you two go alone, do you even know where the trials are?"
"No," I admit.
"Do you think Gale knows?"
"Now that you say it probably not."
"I do."
"Cool, you can be part of our friend group—,"
"I've been kissing you for an hour!" She seethes. She's such a short, angry person. I might be in love with her.
"Yeah, anyone can kiss, only the real ones go on epic quests that will probably result in their deaths or the death of a beloved side character."
She starts talking rapidly in another language. I don't know what about, but I feel like it's about me.
I ignore her, in favor of calling Ozzie, "Hey, Ozzie—,"
"I AM IN CLASS—,"
"I need you to —,"
"AS YOU SHOULD BE, YOU WANKER—,"
"It was boring—,"
"HOW WOULD YOU KNOW YOU HAVEN'T BEEN TO CLASS ALL DAMN DAY—,"
"—anyway can you cover for my mom with me? I'm telling her I'm staying with you for a few days, please? It's important," I say.
"Yeah, sure, what do you want me to say?"
"Just that we're cramming for tests? I dunno make something up you're smart," I say, "Thank you! Bye," I hang up. I hate lying to my mother but there's little else to do. It's for her—well kind of—that I'm watching over Gale anyway. I mean I'd do it for him as well he is my friend, but. A friend I'd just go with. My mom's biological son I'm going to take a bullet for. Literally, considering I'm the one who can close the seal, not him.

Gale
So, I googled drugs that help prevent suicidal ideation, got a nice list off WebMD, and then robbed a pharmacy. Well. I didn't really rob it in a dramatic sense. I spent half my strength creating an invisibility spell, slipped in, and pilfered a selection of meds. I figure I'll follow the doses on the bottle for a week, and if it doesn't help I'll go to another one. The deadly battles I'll be going through will be a nice distraction.
I have a feeling that my current strategy of managing my mental illness, will not seem like such a good one once I've actually got my mental illness managed.  But I'm ignoring that for the present. This is my best plan.
However, I cannot worry my mother.
I text her, "I love you all good, I'll call you in a few days."
How long can the trails possibly take? Like a weekend?

Jade
Well, the first time I completed the trails with a brain dead moron with no sense of personal safety, it took us two and a half years. About five hundred years later when we did it again we whittled it down to six months. I don't feel like we're going to beat that record this time. I really don't. Half of 'us' doesn't have his memories (not that he learns from experience but he's got more spells so that's something) and he's currently cursed so not great, and Gale is a literal child. I mean, I'm in a child's body with a child's brain but at least I've got years of knowledge to lean on.
Gale looks shaken, pale and sweaty, as he paces and waits for us on the platform. Mac just walks up and crushes him in a hug while he cries: "What's she doing here?"
"First rule of magical bindings—they're hella specific, be very careful when making them loopholes abound, you were on speakerphone, mate, swearing me to silence did you no good—however she's not telling anyone, she's here to help," Mac says, holding Gale's arms so he doesn't run.
"I am here to help you on the quest," I say, holding up my hands, "That is it. I am your friend, I know you do not believe because I am Necromancer. But, I promise I am."
"Here, I nicked this off my dad when he left it lying around the house he said it once belonged to a vampire king," Mac says, holding out the Oldman Cutlass, which I forged a few dozen lifetimes ago, and yes was last wielded by a great vampire king.
"Who?" Gale asks, taking it anyway.
"I don't know," Mac shrugs.
"Henrich Oldman, he was a vampire king in Europe, slaughtered his whole coven and was preying on others, a group of covens hired a famed vampire hunter, Brock Evanson, to slay him," I say.
"Vampires hired a vampire hunter?" Gale asks.
"Vampire Kings gain the title by slaughtering the vampire coven that turned them. Vampire blood is addictive to them—while they need blood to live, the vampire blood—it is like crack or more, heroin—it makes them stronger and they crave it, usually they set up their own coven and demand vampire sacrifices, but Oldman would just prey on other covens. In the end, a group of covens made deals with Evanson to go kill him," I say.
"Did he?" Mac asks.
"Oh yes," I say, smiling. No vampire could ever escape my son. He thought it was amusing to bring me back a blade I'd forged myself in a previous life, that he'd won off a vampire king. Now, I look upon it again in this child's hands.
"Cool, fun story, bet my dad didn't know that," Mac says, lightly.
"He might," I shrug, rubbing my neck, wondering how much of this is common knowledge at this point or just legend. How long ago was all that even?
"Okay, where do you think we're going?" Gale asks, casting a spell on the sword so that the regular humans don't see it. It'll look like a cane or something to them.
"What—where's the horror? It's supposed to tell you?" I frown at them.
"What?" Mac asks (not believably).
"Um—there's an Eldritch Horror, comes with the amplifier—but I've not seen it since my birthday night—my dad told it to leave," Gale says.
"It's supposed to guide you on the quest," a very good system somebody with a brain (me) suggested so future generations could find the seal.
"Well, he's not here. My dad told him to leave me alone, I don't know how to summon him," Gale says, a bit sadly.
"Whatever, I know where we're going it's just—been a minute," I sigh, rubbing my temples, "Okay, let's go find the gate."
In unison: "Gate?"
"There's a gateway that leads to a Labyrinth, which is what guards the seal and in fact forms the trails," I explain, "Given you're of age all the 'pro-apocalypse' groups will be clustered around the gate. However, we can manage them, come on. Now, let's find a map."
They both hold up their phones.
"I love technology," I sigh.
"Is she always like this?" Gale asks Mac, quietly.
"Thank the gods," Mac smiles. I resist smiling back, but I'm sure he can tell.