Lainey and the Magicians (First Draft)

Chapter 14

 The fragrance of the room was new and was like the calming ocean. Despite the pristine white floors of the hospital room, there was a radiator in Lainey's far right corner of the room next to the curtained window. This reminded Lainey of her grandmother's house. When you were in a certain part of town, a lot of things seemed to smell old and the buildings had one simple texture to make up the building. This was what happened when it came to stores. Sure, there could be bricked buildings, but these were few and far between. That was one thing Lainey had thought. Memories came back to Lainey. She wanted to shut them out, but they splashed around in the terrain of her mind. She recalled when she had unwillingly shifted back to her Rider form and how she had proudly proclaimed that she was the Shadow Rider again.

 She made excuses in her contemplation about how she would forget after she had fought and defeated Fire Rider. She wouldn't go after Fire Rider because she didn't want to change the past too much, but he had left her for dead. She still hadn't caught the guy who shoved Nathan against a tree. They had lost him. "Also, I feel bad that I didn't catch Fire Rider," Lainey said. "He left me for dead in the caves."

 "Tell me the whole story. Start from the beginning and don't stop until you get to the end," the nurse ordered. Lainey told her the whole story, but she left out the part about her being from the future and how she was actually Lainey Paris. "Why were you in the neighborhood anyway? That's what irks me. There's more to this. Isn't there?" She asked.

 "I was in the neighborhood to get an understanding more of humans and to master myself to make my carnal nature disappear. All I want is to be like everyone else. I wanted to be a complete human, but I still feel like I want to be a full-blooded human deep down. I hate being a part of darkness. You might think as a Rider I'm connected to the darkest forces since we are the literal darkness that makes you stumble from day to day, but I've shut myself out from that network," Lainey said. Most of this had fabrications of truth hidden inside it. She couldn't believe she was lying partially, but it felt good to her internal being to tell the truth.

 "Well, except for that voice in your head from earlier," the nurse answered.

 "Yeah, you have to remember that it was against my will, but I am half-Rider for a reason. Do you think there's a reason for everything?" Lainey asked.

 "Yes. I also think everyone was created by someone for a purpose," the nurse answered.

 "I hover between different beliefs and I'm wishy-washy about them," Lainey admitted.

 The nurse looked back towards Lainey instead of at the wallpaper. Just then, there was a knock on the door. "Is Lainey Paris here?" Nathan asked. Was it really Nathan? The nurse went over and opened the door for him. In came Nathan and Officer Grace Nuhad, with flushed faces and confident eyes.

 "Natasha, you may excuse us a moment," Grace nodded toward the nurse, who walked hesitantly out of the room. Did that mean she was going to listen in? Lainey put a smile on her face. Grace was right up against Lainey's hospital bed, "Lainey Paris, Natasha texted me that you aren't really her. Is this true? Be honest or I will lock you up."

 Lainey had been in jail many times before and she had escaped multiple times. She didn't have the time to sit in jail and to form an escape plan. She had to tell the truth so she could get out of this quicker. They had seen her true form. They knew that she was a Rider. She would be found out soon enough. The truth was the best resort. Lainey said, "This might sound crazy, but I'm Lainey Paris from the future and I've gotten flicked by the past against my will by some magician possibly named Piopold. I think Nathan might be from the future too, but I have my doubts on that." She couldn't be so sure that Piopold had taken her back to the past or not.