Clear Skies

Chapter 14: In Loving Memory

"Get away from her, you creep!"

Brightness seared my eyelids. I shadowed my eyes as I blinked awake. Tubes stabbed into my inner elbow. A lengthy, white cloth clung to the gash on my inner forearm. I pushed up using the heels of my hands. Machines hummed beside my bed. One copied the beat of my heart. A white paper gown matched my ghost-white skin.

Alive. When the rock crushed me, I was ready to kiss the world good-by. A sigh escaped me. I focused on my surroundings. A shout had woken me up. The person in front of me had seafoam-colored hair.

"Luna?" I asked. "Is that you?"

The kid turned. My vision sharpened. Leo kept a ready stance, his feet spread. "Luna asked me to keep an eye on you while she's visiting Akiza. Now, this crazy chick's after you!"

The woman in the doorway wore pink scrubs. I didn't realize what the problem was until I noticed her right forearm. A dark mark resembling a spider shone violet. I said, "Where am I? What is this place?"

"The hospital, obviously!" Leo hollered. "Geez. You're not gonna be any help. Yusei told us to watch out for the creeps with the purply arms. He said a guy like this attacked, and he was possessed!"

"The woman isn't a true Dark Signer?"

"What's a Dark Signer?" Leo asked.

It is not, the Crimson Dragon answered. The being before you is a human controlled by our true enemies. She seeks to harm without option to defy her commander.

"Soul Reaper." The woman's voice doubled, deepening the tone. "Do you remain docile as a doe, or have you taken steps towards becoming the lion? I challenge you to a test. Win and the nurse is freed; lose and you die."

A blaze ripped through the hospital floor. The flames tore the headboard off my bed and cut me from the machines. Liquid spurted from the tube in my elbow. I pulled out the needle and yelped in pain. Tears pricked as I dropped the sliced tube.

"Ack!" Leo screamed. "Creepycreepycreepy!"

The Dark Signer targets you, the Crimson Dragon said. Why? Are they aware of my presence within you?

That couldn't be right. The term "docile as a doe" dug up a memory: the man I'd met in the Satellite so long ago. The Dark Signers existed even then. He must've been speaking to me through the nurse. Last time, he used my name. This time, he used an odd title - Soul Reaper.

A reaper was nothing without her scythe. "Leo, I need help."

"Huh?"

"My duel disk is gone," I said. "I can't duel her. You'll have to duel in my place."

"Ahaha. Ahahahaha. Let's run!"

"Where?" I asked, looking to the violet flames encircling us. The arena was made, the terms set, and the players locked within. "Our only option is to win the bet."

"You really don't want me doing that!" Leo said. "I'm, like, the worst duelist in my class!"

"It's okay. I can help you."

Leo shouted, "I don't need your help!"

Yeesh. Which was it? The nurse activated her standard white duel disk. Leo's was a custom blue model with a golden gem as the center dealer. The possessed woman said, "You may move first."