The Stronghold

Here All Week!

An ambulance arrived and I was taken to a hospital. Trix was taken by the police and I didn't see him again for quite some time. He didn't visit me in hospital and that made me a little bit pissed off. But I guess it was good because then I could explain my fabulous backstory to the nurses and doctors. I had to edit it a bit, so I wasn't arrested.

Salt came to see me a lot, dressed in the same white outfit as before, not injured in the slightest. He seemed to be bulletproof, bomb proof and just generally immortal.

"Are you an angel now?" I asked him on his fifth visit. My ribs had been smashed and my knee shattered so I was staying for the long haul. They were also treating me for stress and that was my argument for keeping Cat.

"Well, I can either go incredibly evil and powerful and become Satan," Salt explained, "or I can go all charming and fly. I like flying more so I'll try and stay sane." He laughed, making some of the people on the ward smile at the musical, lilting sound.

"You could entertain people," I suggested. "They like your laugh and angels do good, right?"

"I'm not an angel, nor a devil," he said sternly, "I'm king of purgatory."

"Is that official now?"

"I have a badge," he said proudly. There was a soft light around his open palm and when it cleared an oval badge was sat there.

"'Salt, King of Purgatory'," I read. "'Happy To Annoy'."

"I designed it," he said smugly. "And I'm working on giving the others badges, too."

"Others?"

"The secretaries, all of them. They think I'm being arrogant but then I turn into a demon thing and they scream and hide behind chairs." He grinned and his eyes glowed briefly. He'd curbed his power, allowing his eyes to go red again. He could pass off as an albino in a snazzy suit and that's what he was aiming for.

"Go and be interesting," I urged him. "Stop irritating me."

"All I'm doing is talking," he said, mock-offended.

"Yes, and it's annoying. Go and talk to someone else."

"What do I say?"

"Well, everyone is really bored," I said, waving my arm around at the other beds. There were about twelve of us in total, all with broken bones. A thin curtain separated each bed but at that moment in time they were drawn back so that we could all converse. Not that anyone did. No, we were all too wrapped up in our own misery to notice one another.

"Go and tell a joke or something."

"I don't know any jokes."

"Then do a magic trick!"

"I don't know any magic tricks."

"You have magic powers," I pointed out. He frowned and I snatched his cane off him.

"This?" I said pointedly, raising my eyebrows. His mouth formed an 'o' shape and he nodded then smiled sheepishly. Salt rose from the end of my bed and hesitated.

"What do I do?" he asked me.

"Stand in the middle of the ward and get people's attention. You're the only visitor here."

Salt stayed where he was and I picked up my glass of water. I threw it over him and he spluttered, ducking away so that he was forced to stand in the middle of the ward.

"Attention, injured people!" he said cheerfully, clapping his hands together. "If you would like to make sure that you're listening? If you can see me, or have means to see me, then please make sure you're watching! Brother, may I have my cane?"