Sector B

13

Decha heard a soft groan that jolted him awake. He fell asleep waiting for Rory to wake up. When Decha came to school, he was just getting off of night patrol by the border. When he arrived, he wasn't expecting to hear Rory screaming her lungs out from the roof of the main office.

Decha immediately ran inside and alerted Dean Risor about Rory's distress. Risor was a lot slower than Decha. Decha's inner general kicked in, explaining why he was able to get to the roof so fast.

It also contributed to his blacking out when he saw Rory about to be tossed off the edge of the building.

The adrenaline rush wore off the moment he sat next to the bed. His exhaustion overcame him and he fell asleep. When he realized, he shot up out of his seat so Rory couldn't see him.

It was already too late. Rory woke up a few minutes before. She felt sore, extremely sore. It felt like her arms and legs had been crushed because they were too heavy for her to raise.

Rory started groaning because she wanted water. Her throat was dry. But she didn't want to alarm the general who sat beside her. The groaning sound was just her trying to sit up on her own and get something to drink.

Decha wiped his face, rubbing his eyes to keep awake. "How do you feel?"

Rory finally managed to ease up, but Decha monitored her movements carefully. "Take it easy."

"Water," Rory murmured while looking down. She refused to look into his eyes. Everything was coming back to her slowly. The images of Terence beating her almost to death flashed in the front of her mind.

How she got here, she couldn't remember. Perhaps it was he who saved her. But she felt ashamed.

Decha grabbed a bottle of water from a minifridge, he would pay the staff back later. Then he handed it to Rory, she took off the mask that was supplying her with oxygen and drank.

In the corner of her eye, she saw the TV screen above. The same news report from hours earlier was still broadcasting. When she saw the devastation, houses that were demolished, the blurred-out images of dead bodies, and the people in distress, her heart sank to her stomach.

She felt lightheaded. She wasn't involved with the bombing, but even she was starting to feel that the Bracketers were behind it. It didn't matter how much the Astellians screwed them over, innocent lives didn't need to be taken.

Rory felt like she had to puke. At the same time, she felt like she wanted to cry. Her breath came out shaky, and Decha noticed. He took the bottle of water away from her and fixed the mask on her face, but she snatched it off.

"What are you—"

"I don't need it." Rory coughed. "I'm fine."

Decha dropped his hands to his side and turned his back. He knew she was lying, but decided to leave her be. "I've already reported the incident to Dean Risor. He'll be handling the situation according to the right procedures. I've also checked, and nothing of yours is broken. There are some minor bruises on your legs and arms, but they'll heal in a few weeks." Decha stopped when he turned back around and saw tears streaming down Rory's face.

He wasn't sure what to do. "Uh..."

He walked back over to her, but she turned away from him. She was embarrassed for crying in front of him.

"Does anything hurt? Do you need any pain meds?"

"Please, can you leave the room for a moment?" Rory sobbed, wiping some of her tears away, but they didn't stop flowing. It didn't help that her heart was heavy, and she was also in a lot of pain.