Blend the Light

Wakey, Wakey

When morning finally rolls around, I'm bored out of my mind. I'm staring at the wall on the opposite side of the room. I must've drifted off at some point, because instead of laying on my back, I'm on my stomach and sideways across the bed. My legs dangle off the side. Stretching, I roll over, and sit up. I rub the sleep from my eyes as I change into clean clothes.

Hawk walks into my room a few minutes later, not bothering to knock. "Oh, you're up. I thought you'd still be sleeping," he says.

"I need to make sure Arrow's alright."

"She'll be fine."

"I know. I don't doubt Karla's abilities or any of the other doctors, but I want to see that she's still fine with my own eyes."

"Go then, Jay. I'm going to get breakfast."

"Can you get me something? Pretty please?" I give my best impression of puppy dog eyes.

"Fine." Hawk roll his eyes, padding out the door.

"Thanks," I reply as I walk in the opposite direction.

As I walk, I speed up. Faster and faster I go, my feet speed walking across the floor. I travel as fast as I can without running. Doors and lights blend into the walls when I finally break into a run. Screw the rules, I think as I make my way towards Arrow's room. One left, a right, another right, straight for a while. The directions become even more firmly embedded in my mind. There's no forgetting. Arrow's door comes into view, and I skid to a halt. When my sock feet lose traction, I almost fall onto my back. Hawk's reaction is so easy to picture: him doubling over with laughter as my face flushes into a tomato. Blindly, I grab at the wall. After uprighting myself, I walk through the door.

"I thought you'd be here earlier, Jay," Karla says. She's doing something with the IV in Arrow's hand.

"She's still not up?" I murmur.

"We've done many tests, and she's perfectly fine. I-."

"She's not perfectly fine! She hasn't moved since she fell in her Blended form after Tremor tore off her side! So don't say she's perfectly fine when she's not! Something's wrong. If you're perfectly fine, you are up and moving, not laying motionless," I growl the words. My hands clench into fists, and I curl my lip as I speak.

"I can see your point. Let me rephrase: all of Arrow's vitals are fine, and every test we did turned out perfect. We believe that she's just extremely exhausted."

"So she'll be alright?"

"We believe so."

I sigh. I know there's never a guarantee that someone will be ok. My feet bring me to the chair off to one side of the room, and I sit down in it, stretching. Karla takes Arrow's blood pressure, along with a few other things. She makes note of the numbers. "Aren't you hungry, Jay?"
"No, not really. Hawk's getting me food though." My eyes scan the walls. There's a painting on one of the walls. Swirls of colour overlap as they make their way across the canvas. It almost looks as though there are two creatures. One is chasing after the other. Dust is frozen in time as it sprays, obscuring the creatures. But then the painting seems to change. The abstract shapes shift. I can almost see the creatures running.

I tear my gaze from the painting when I hear Karla sigh. "Very well. I cannot force you to eat anything. Please try to eat something by midday or so. It's about eight in the morning right now."
"You're not going to drop this until I eat?"
"You need to eat."
"I think I'll be fine until lunch. There's always something down there, so I won't go hungry."

We remain in silence. Please, Arrow. Wake up. Why are you still asleep? It doesn't make sense. Karla said everything looks fine. Do you know? What will you think of The Loyal Order of Thorny Devils? Questions fill my brain as I sit in the chair.

xxxx

I stay in Arrow's room for just under an hour before Hawk walks in. "You know, staying in someone's room while they sleep can be considered kinda creepy?" He says as he hands me a plate. I set it on my lap and take a bite. It tastes like sand.

"So you're saying I should leave?"

"You shouldn't be in here all day. We've got to help Adrien. He wants to know what the Wasteland looked like, what happened with the Clicks, everything and anything. He says it's safe to say the Karly's backpack is now in the hands of Guthrie Harper."

"Told ya," I murmur.

As I finish the plate of food, a thought drifts into my mind. "Hawk," I begin slowly, "What'll happen if Guthrie Harper and his Wasteland guards attack?"

"For one, Guthrie Harper would never leave wherever he's staying- it's too much work apparently. Second, we'd fight them off. Three, that's a stupid question. Why are you even asking?"

"I don't know..."

"Is this about when that Wasteland guard had the dagger against my throat?" That image is all to clear in my mind- the sun beating down on us, the sand burning beneath my feet, Hawk's body twisted as the Wasteland guard locks my brother's head in his arm, the dagger biting at Hawk's throat. It's all so vivid in my imagination. "How can you tell what I'm thinking so clearly?" I groan.

"It's not that hard to guess. I've had many years to perfect my skills." He smiles.

"You're done! Great. Let's make a pitstop at the cafeteria, then head up to Adrien's office."

"Sure, just give me one second." My brother nods and disappears through the door. I slowly stand up, making my way towards the hallway. I look back. Was that my imagination? It almost looked as if Arrow's hand stirred and twitched. Frowning, I move closer to where she lays. "Jay! Are you coming?" Hawk's voice is laced with impatience.
"I know I said one second, but I think make that a little longer."
"What do you mean by that?" Hawk pokes his head through the doorway.
"Get Adrien and Karla here."
"Fine."
"Arrow? Can you hear me?" I murmur.

Thank you so much for reading! As per the norm, feel free to comment and please consider a vote!

Is Arrow up?

What's going to happen with Guthrie Harper and the Wasteland guards?

What will Arrow think of The Loyal Order of Thorny Devils?

How will she react to being in her human form, not the wolf?

-Werewolf14-