Strange but True

Chapter 6

I'm okay.

It hurts, a lot, but I'm okay.

I'm out of the hospital. There's stitches in me, where Lui decided to stab me. Every time I move, they tug and it hurts. Every time I breathe, they tug and it hurts.

Let's just say, I can barely do anything for myself.

I've been hiding out in the dojo, trying to keep myself away from Lui at all costs. My Sword Flames have been taking care of me. Mostly Yugo, I've noticed. He's the one that always comes up here to check on me and make sure I'm not bored to death.

Xander's grandfather has been helpful, too. He's been trying different methods to ease my pain. A lot of herb mixtures, I've noticed. Some help, but others just taste disgusting and don't do anything. He also keeps checking my wound to make sure it doesn't get infected.

Xander is the one who's been changing my bandages every now and again, and actually giving me the prescription pain medication that the doctor gave me.

It's a team effort to make sure I'm comfortable. It's also a team effort to find where Quon went.

We first checked his house, figuring he ran back home after Lui tried to kill him. It makes the most sense.

He wasn't there.

That sent us into panic mode. The Sword Flames tried to keep it a secret from me, thinking that me stressing out would aggravate my injury, but eventually Yugo told me about it.

We called the WBBA. We called the police station. We called everywhere we could think of. We even called every single one of Quon's teammates. None of them had seen him.

I started thinking that maybe Lui did kill him. Maybe Lui wasn't just lying to scare me. The thought disturbed me, and nearly sent me spiraling into grief until Yugo said something to calm me down.

"You really think Lui was able to kill Quon without hundreds of people seeing him do it?" Yugo had said. "If Lui did kill him, everyone at the party would've saw him do it, and they would've told the police."

Yugo was right about that. If Lui did commit murder, he would've done it front of a giant crowd of people, and they all would've seen him do it. Quon can't be dead.

That leaves the question of where he is, though. He has to be somewhere. He isn't at his house, he isn't with any of his teammates, he isn't at the WBBA. Where can he be?

I wish I could call him, but I can't. His cell phone is right there, on the nightstand beside my bed. If I did call him, it would ring right there, and there's no way he could answer it.

There is someone else I could call, though.

I dread the idea of calling Lui right now. I dread it more than anything else in the world. However, he has to know where Quon is.

I grab my cell phone, and call him.

It rings once. Then he answers.

"Ukyo," he says, sounding so excited that my heart starts to pound.

"Hi," I say. "Where's Quon?"

"Huh?"

"Where. Is. Quon?" I have to demand it. I have to be stern, and stubborn, or else he won't tell me.

"I told you already. He's gone, dead, and there's nothing you can do about it."

"He can't be dead. If he was, everyone at that party would know. Quon isn't at home. He's not at the WBBA. He's not with any of his teammates. Where is he?"