FALTER

CHAPTER 40: Giant size.

When Imti awoke, the first thing he noticed was the pain. He gritted his teeth. Clearly, the ideal decision would've been to leave the Drive on all night and-

The light streaming through the curtains was so intense it was as if the sun had situated itself beside Imti's windows. The young man swung his legs out of bed, wincing as he did so. There was a creak from the frame as he got up.

Imti looked at the picture he had been clutching all night. A wave of emotion was surely coursing through his veins but he held it back with immense effort. After one last glance, he carefully put the picture in his drawer and locked it.

He looked over his shoulder, shooting a cursory glance at the Drive sat atop his dresser, illuminated by a single stray beam of light piercing through the gap in the curtains. Imti felt the pain throughout his body, feeling like small bites had been taken out of his shoulders, his sides, his arms and especially his legs. One press of the button on the device and it would all be gone.There was a chaotic sound of hustle and bustle coming from downstairs. The sound of footsteps buzzing like bees confirmed Imti's guess on why there seemed to be an abundance of people today.

As usual, Imti started his morning with an unhealthy dose of guilt, but today it had combined with all the turmoil inside from Rachel to form a new ugly type of pain. And so, Imti grimaced and march towards the Drive - only to ignore it, throw his dresser open and look for a change of clothes.

Javed smiled at the man as he finished wrapping up the last of the bandages. He glanced over at Marci, who gave him an approving nod over her checklist before going back to taking count of the people lining up in front of the Falter Mission. The boy patted the man on the shoulder, getting only a grimace in response, and stepped to the side to check his phone.

His family group chat was ablaze with messages from everybody at home, who had seen the ugly scene unfold on the news. They had urged him to return immediately, but Javed insisted on staying and helping. After gaining their begrudging acceptance, the boy had woken early in the morning and, to Marci's pleasant surprise, began helping in the volunteering efforts in response to the fight the previous day.

Emergency vehicles lined the street, but to the workers' surprise, any citizens who needed support with their injuries or otherwise had flocked to the Falter Mission. It was the biggest operation the shelter had taken to date, but the novelty of it hadn't deterred anybody inside from giving their best.

The admittedly grimy, squalid building was alive with the chatter of every hand inside, the murmur of the patients and the inaudible grumbling of the residents. Not to mention the city services and press outside - the media had taken advantage of the incident to flock the already overburdened shelter.

There were incessant questions, and every flash of the camera made Marci snarl, but Javed was told to focus on the people inside and nothing more. Still, they were close to being overwhelmed, and though Marci kept an ice-cold demeanour throughout, Javed was feeling the pressure. His hands shook as he typed another message to his family.

"Woah, oh, woah, woah, oh, are all the cameras for me?" A jovial voice called out, somehow piercing through the wall of noise.