Half-Breed

Chapter 7

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          I sat up gasping for breath; I scanned my surroundings and found that I was still in Ace’s room.  I looked out of the tiny window and guessed that it was about noon.  I looked down at Ace.  Everything was that same, I watched the steady rise and fall of his chest, which gave me comfort that his death was just a dream.  I stood up and stretched.  I took a last look at Ace’s face and walked out the door.  The house was clean and empty, but I heard voices coming from outside.  It was lunchtime so everyone was outside getting his or her share of the barbecue.  Everybody seemed a lot happier.  I walked out and sat next to Artie, Meo, and Mace.  Mace was lackadaisically munching on a hot dog and Meo was savagely tearing chunks out of his beefy burger.  Artie looked at me and then looked down guiltily.  I guessed he felt responsible for Ace getting hurt.  I sighed and put on a beaming smile.

         “So where’s my piece?” I asked happily.  I didn’t want Artie to feel bad, after all, it wasn’t his fault, and it was no one’s fault, just HACK’s.  Artie gave me a cheeky grin and stood up proudly.

         “Right this way,” he said leading me towards the grill.  I was shocked after recognizing the one in front of the grill flipping burgers.  I could barely hold in my laughter as Jiro turned around to reveal a “Don’t Kiss the Cook” apron.  He studied me thoughtfully and asked in a very relaxed voice,

         “What would you like?” I could only shake my head in amusement.  I couldn’t even trust myself to talk so I pointed a shaky finger at a burger.  He nodded and turned back around.  He stared at the burger seriously and patted it with his tongs.  I could barely breathe so I ran back to our table.  Artie ran after me confused.  I collapsed onto the bench laughing hysterically.

         “What’s wrong?” asked Artie in confusion.

         “Ji- Jiro, he’s- he’s grilling,” I managed to stutter out in-between laughter.  Artie pouted like a child and said,

         “Well of course, Jiro can do anything,” he said.

         “How come everyone reacts this way when Jiro starts grilling?” he muttered under his breath.  I chuckled and Artie looked down at me.  He began laughing as well.  He wiped his eyes and went to go get our burgers.  I sighed and looked up at the sky.  The stars were beautiful tonight, just like the night that Ace and I had met.  I stared at the moon melancholy.  No matter how many fake smiles I put on my face, it doesn’t change the fact that Ace wasn’t here with me.  But I needed to be strong so that I don’t worry everyone.  Artie walked up holding my perfectly cooked burger on a paper plate.  He smiled.

         “Here you go, cooked to perfection,” he said.

         “Thanks Artie,” I grinned back.  I grabbed my burger and took a hearty bite out of it.  Wow!  Jiro could cook really well!  I quickly gulped down the rest of the juicy burger.  Artie laughed in surprise.

         “Wow! You can eat!” he said.  We began talking about the weather and things in general.  We sat there for a while relaxed without a care in the world.  I looked over and saw Meo scolding Mace for not being emotional enough.  Then I noticed Hinda walking into view.  She cleared here throat loudly and said,

         “Okay everybody, it’s time for us to head back!” she yelled sternly.  A few people groaned in disappointment, but everybody got up and grabbed their things.  Once everybody was all set, Hinda called Blade and and another man into the house.  They emerged a few minutes later carrying Ace on a makeshift stretcher.  Everybody’s conversations came to an immediate end and the mood shifted to worry and sadness.

         “Let’s go everyone!” Hinda yelled as she walked towards the manhole we had arrived here through.  I grabbed my small duffle bag full of things and slowly walked over to the manhole.  I overheard Meo silently talking to Mace.

         “I hope Ace will be okay.  He’s all we got,” he whispered sadly to Mace.  Mace nodded his head anxiously.  I glanced gloomily in their direction and sped up.  Everyone was silent walking through the tunnel.  Every once in a while Hinda would walk back and check on Ace’s condition.  Eventually a soft buzz of conversations began.  As we made our way home, people’s moods began to pick up, but I walked on in silence worrying constantly about Ace.  I kept shifting my eyes over to him, unconsciously checking on him, making sure he was okay.  After what seemed like forever, we saw light at the end of the tunnel.  We stepped into the light, blinking as our eyes adjusted.  Headquarters was just the way we had left it.  We all made our way to our separate living areas and began to unpack.  Blade and the other half-breed carried Ace into his room behind a small door in the Resistance.  I didn’t see Ace for the rest of the evening and fell asleep with worry weighing heavily on my mind.

I woke up to the usual Resistance chaos.  Hinda was taking care of Ace all day; apparently he had started to run a high fever.  I couldn’t concentrate on anything I was doing.  I was a nervous wreck.  This continued for three days.  By the time Hinda was able to leave Ace alone, The Resistance was a mess.  Hinda ordered a clean-up day.  She scolded everyone as they worked saying that just because she was busy, didn’t mean that they could let headquarters fall into shambles.  When she walked by me I looked up at her expectedly.  She nodded and smiled.  She bent down and whispered into my ear.

         “He’s awake and waiting for you,” she said.  I jumped up and ran for the door.  I slammed it open and saw Ace sitting up in his bed staring at me in shock.  His face changed into a warm smile.

         “Hey Hesper,”

         “Ace!” I sobbed running over and burying my head into the blanket.  He slowly patted my head and I calmed down.  My left ear twitched as I heard a cough by the doorway.  I looked back and saw the entire resistance staring at us.

         “Wh-Wha- What are you guys looking at?!” I yelled as my face turned scarlet red.

         “Well the door was wide open,” retorted Meo.

         “Why you little-“ I began.  Ace started chuckling behind me, but his chuckle turned into a pained cough and everyone looked on in worry.

         “Okay okay.  Ace needs some rest and you all need to clean, so clear out!” Hinda came in dispersing the group.  Ace was breathing heavily and wincing slightly in pain.  Hinda placed her hand on his forehead and shook her head in disapproval.

         “Your fever’s back up,” she said.

         “You shouldn’t have strained yourself after just waking up.”  She forced Ace to lie back down and tucked the covers over him.

         “Can you watch him till he falls asleep?” she asked looking up at me.  I nodded and she exited the room.  Ace smiled up at me reassuringly and then closed his eyes.  Within minutes he was asleep.