Thorns

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Tobi finds himself in an unfamiliar room. Dim and musky with two windows at either end of the left wall. On one wall is a door and simplistic desk. Tobi glances behind to see a closet wide open and a pile of clothes next to it. In front of him is a small bed with a plaid cover and a lump underneath. A rickety, wooden chair sits to the left side instead of bedside table.

Tobi takes in the details of his new surroundings. This must be Ethan's bedroom. It's early morning, the sun is just waking up and so is the young teen. Tobi walks over to the bed. The lump stirs underneath; a head pops out, arms snake out stretching. The boy has brownish-ginger hair and a slightly chubby face. Bags sit below his eyes.

Ethan looks around his room, dazed and confused. He can't see, Tobi because Tobi is an otherworldly being. A spirit to the Earth people.

"You must be, Ethan. You look like an alright fella." Tobi says out loud. He's gonna need someone to keep him company. Might as well be his own voice.

Ethan gets out of bed and dresses himself for school. Plain dark blue jeans, trainers, and a gray hoodie. He looks in the mirror and plays around with his hair. He groans,

"Shitty..." he mumbles to himself. Tobi notices Ethan's blue eyes in the reflection. There's barely a flicker of light left in them.

Ethan heads downstairs and Tobi follows. Ethan's house is definitely not one to impress. Mostly empty, messy and falling apart. Tobi can tell he's on the poorer side but that's okay.

Inside Ethan's plain white kitchen, is his mother standing over the oven. She looks older for her age and her hair seems to be overdue for a coloring. Ethan sees the homemade pancakes ready on a plate beside her. Tobi watches from the table to see how they interact with each other.

He needs to gather as much intel as possible about Ethan and his life in order to find a good friend for him.

Ethan reaches for a pancake. A warm metal spatula hits his hand.

"Those aren't for you! Make your own breakfast, you're old enough now." Her voice is high pitched but has a soft undertone. Ethan sighs and goes to the fridge for eggs. "I'm not working late tonight but I still won't be home when you are. I've got get some groceries."

" 'Kay." Ethan responds.

"So don't stay out late and wander the streets, wasting time. You have things to do around the house." she reminds him.

"I don't even have anywhere to go."

"I know. Just stay safe."
~
There's a steady beep ringing in Vik's ears. In front of him lays a sickly boy. School has done its best to prepare Vik but even after seeing pictures, hearing stories, and acting out scenarios, nothing could prepare him for the emotional heartbreak of seeing a real life boy with his life in danger.

Vik briefly looks out the window to his left. A nice outlook over the city. He gathers himself together and keeps his emotions under control. He needs to harness his compassion for strength in helping the sickly boy. Vik walks up to the boy, Harry. He doesn't bother looking around the dull white room. He'll be plenty familiar with it over time.

Harry is clearly awake but far away, deep in a daydream. Vik's eyes scan his white skin and ruffled blonde hair. He stares into the sharp blue eyes; Life still present within them. They glimmer with hope.

The clicking sound of a door opening startles Vik, as well as, Harry. A doctor enters with only a clipboard in hand which he places on a table beside Harry's bed.

"How are we doing so far today, Harry?"

"Good. This is the third day without any headaches." Harry remarks.

"That's good. I'm just gonna do a quick check here and then, I have a surprise for you." the doctors says with a cheeky smile. As Harry moves to sit at the edge of the hospital bed, Vik walks over to the clipboard. He peeks at the papers, skimming over them.

He sees that the lead in Harry's body has been decreasing over the past months. Which is good but he's had so much built up in from the water over the years, there's still some in him. No amount of lead in the body is acceptable.

"Smile for me, I wanna see those teeth." The doctor orders. "All the brown muck from the lead is almost gone. Keep brushing." The doctor grabbed the clipboard right from under Vik's nose. "Harry. Look at me. See my finger? Can you follow it? Harry, follow my finger." Vik notices the poisoned boy having trouble keeping his attention on what the doctor tells him to do.

After that quick session, the doctor wrote down some notes and then walked to the door.

"Remember that surprise I told you about, Harold?" He opens the door to reveal some nurses and one other woman with balloons and flowers.

"Mom!" Harry gasps.

"Hi sweetie!" She runs over to hug him. "Your classmates and the rest of your school decided to send you some gifts." Vik finds that so sweet that Harry has so many people there for him. Actually caring.