Stonebrook High School

Chapter 65

"Jesse, seriously? Through my public email?"

"Sorry, Aunt Isa, but I needed a way to get your attention somehow!"

Isa scolded her nephew for not using a more urgent form of communication between them when Jesse pointed out that he had no way of reaching out to her. She sighed. "Ah, but you are right. I'll give you my phone number."

A few seconds went by as they exchanged numbers. "Anyways, what did you want to talk about?"

Jesse had sent the email yesterday, explaining that he wanted to talk about some things he had seen and heard over word of mouth and what little reception they had. "My friend, Vienna, has one of the largest... news accounts... and has taken pictures of the Witherstorm's damage. I saw in a few images my friend Lukas. I thought he had gone with Jess and Axel but from what I've seen, I'm guessing not. I don't know what happened for him to get split up but I want to know if he's okay. Has anybody with blonde hair and cyan eyes been taken in recently?"

Isa tapped her chin. "Hm, not that I'm aware of. What was he wearing?"

"He had a black leather jacket with an ocelot on the back. Uh, a striped white and purple shirt... black pants..."

"Oh, I think I remember that shirt. It could be him. But, Jesse..."

"Huh?"

She looked at him with a tilted glance. "Jesse, your sister had a black leather jacket around her when she went down with the Storm. Maybe he gave it to her and then left for whatever reason?"

"With the ocelot on the back?"

"Yes, with the ocelot. It's not recognizable anymore, though. It was in tatters."

"Maybe he did leave. But no one knows why. Nobody has told me why, at least."

"You can't ask that large friend of yours?"

Jesse scoffed. "As if. He's not doing so well, right now. I know Axel. He needs some space before we can do anything with him. It's not like I can ask Gabriel or Jess either since, well, they're both out. And Ivor and Soren are still missing."

"It is such a hassle searching for those two," Isa admitted. "I've used too many resources on them. If they weren't there when the Storm went down and part of the Order, I would have focused more on medical help and rebuilding."

"What are you going to do when you find them?"

"As part of the job, I need to investigate and interrogate them. Especially Ivor, since he illegally snuck out a Wither under our noses and applied something as unstable as a command chip on it. I met Ivor a few times before - he seemed eccentric in a constantly exciting way, unlike Soren, always ready for the next adventure. He liked being with the rest of the Order, it seemed. I don't know what happened afterward, though. Such a shame I'll have to hold him for a while until the whole situation is cleared up."

"Is he going to be in big trouble?" Jesse scratched the back of his neck.

"Well, of course, he will be. Not that he isn't already."

"I feel kind of badly for him."

Isa patted his head. "Don't be. He knew the consequences and I'm sure he's mature enough to understand that he has to repay all the damage done."

"Yeah, well, maybe that's the Jess in me talking."

"... By the way, your sister had a sign of waking, earlier."

Jesse sat up straight and leaned in. "Wait, what?"

"Her heart spiked and we saw brain movement. She was having some sort of dream."

"Is she out of her coma?"

"No, she's still medically under one, but her resilience is shining through. She managed to clench her fist through the anesthesia."

"... The metal fist?"

"... Yes. The prosthetic hand."

When Jess had been discovered in the rubble, her right arm was up in the air, wedged between rocks. They were unable to move the rocks and lift her out so, as an emergency procedure, her hand was cut off. The appendage could not be surgically applied back and so she was given a prosthetic hand that moved with the electric signals from her body.

Jesse wrapped his arms around his legs. "Will it feel the same to her?"

"It should." Isa pitifully looked at her nephew sulking on his bed and sighed. "Jesse, I have to tell you something. Your arm is also partly prosthetic, you know."

He paused in confusion.

"Jesse... your left arm. It was severed in an accident a few years ago. It was surgically reapplied but a few parts had to be connected with implants. I know you're not aware of what I'm talking about but all of this was in your medical record. Both you and your sister were drugged to forget."

"What? Isa, what are you talking about?"

"I heard about your pig."

He froze. Reuben? What did he have to do with this?

"He died due to a car accident after being lit on fire. That's what happened and that's what you remembered. But what you can't recall is that both you and your sister were hit as well, and rather fatally, as well. You two were in the hospital for weeks to heal and to allow new memories to form."

"You... you must be lying. Right? We weren't hit... no way..."

"Wasn't Belle very protective of you two afterward? I'm sure she was. It wasn't because she was scared of what happened to Reuben - she was probably scared for it to happen to you again. Your parents changed your last names and everything so you would forget it ever happened. I'm telling you all this because my team removed the effects of the drug in you and Jess so you would heal correctly. You won't remember now, but you will eventually and I'm telling you this beforehand so it doesn't come as a shock to you."

Jesse couldn't do or say anything. He just sat on the bed, jaw dropped as he tried to comprehend the situation. Isa stood up and rested her hand on his shoulder. "I'll be outside and give you some space. The door will be locked so no one will bother you. Take it easy, Jesse."

... Who was he?

~*Ω*~

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A. Apology  or  B. Assemble

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– Crystal