Rise of the Phoenix

Chp. 8: Cruises bring Bruises

It was a few days later and the play was a few scenes from being done. I was a lead called Karolina. It was intermission and I was choking in the dress I had to wear. "You okay? You look like your going to pass out." Jean came into my dressing room. I laughed, "How many times have I done that before?" She places me a bottle of water on the mirror stand. "Here." "Thanks. So do you think the play is going well; I mean you are the stage director." She smiled, "All I know is that the money we get for this will help the school to get better air conditioner." "We are on it five", Mr. Conwell said. I chugged down the water and followed Jean out. But that water had more than H2O.

It was close to the end of the play and I was feeling sick to my stomach. We were in the scene where Lance prepossesses to my character when my mother along with Sir Leal is there. He says his line as I began to feel light headed. "I know this maybe a bad time but it is the only time that I have. Karolina, with you marry me?" Carina, who played my mother gasped, "How dare you ask for such a thing? My daughter is of noble birth. You are nothing but a peasant boy. Be gone with you we have matters to discuss. Come Karolina." All the colors started to blur together, "Come Karolina." "No mother. I-I-I..." The pain in my stomach numbs my body as I fell to the ground. "Karolina." Both Devin and Carina yelled as they tried to get me back up. Everything next was a mix of yells, murmurs, flashes, and then white.

"What happened to her?" A deep male voice filled my head. "We were in the middle of a school drama and she just collapsed. It wasn't a part of the script or anything so we figured that something was wrong when she wasn't responding." Devin's voice answered. I blinked in some color then faces came into view. "Let her rest, the poor girl has strange things happen to her. We did some tests on her and we found some substance that seems to be affecting her. We were able to isolate it to do some test be we won't be able to identify it for some time." I watched him walk out the room after he gave Artemis a clipboard. She looked at me, "How do you feel, my dear." "Some where between fire-ants eating me inside out and how you feel after you ate too much carnival food." "Yeah, well, it turns out you are filled with . But no worries I called someone who could help." "Who?" "Me." I looked in the direction of the 'Me', "Silver Surfer? Why him?" he twitched as everyone looked at me. "Look I didn't mean to shot your parents out of the sky. I was hanging out with Johnny Storm and we started to aim at each other, he ducked and I hit the plane." Devin's cheeks glowed red, "You shot our parents' plane down?" Artemis tried to keep him from coming to close to him but he melted in to the shadows and formed back at my bedside. He was ready to pounce on SS, but I grabbed his wrist. He turned in rage then calmed down when he say it was I. I pulled his arm until his face was close to my bedside and placed my hand on his face. Tears streamed down his anger eased. "You didn't only kill my parents but Devin's too." Artemis spoke up, "Other then there being three people who want to kill you and two that can. We need your help. I want you to restore the balance of cosmic energy with in her." He looked at Devin as he slumped in a chair next to the wall. "Okay. We will need my blood. So we have to get her out of here and by a large open flame." "I can do the illusion of her being better. Devin can you make a bon fire at the manor?" he nodded and took off. "Doctor, can you please come here one minute. I think there is something wrong. This chart says it is for Diana Leon. Her name is Twilight Olympia." He looked at the chart "I am sorry. So I guess you are free to go home. We will get you a wheelchair, you body may be little nom for a few hours." As he looked at me Artemis flicked her hand, then he called for a wheel chair.

They carried me off to the manor and placed me in one of the beds at the infirmary. SS came up to me with a tray of needles filled over with a golden and silvery substance. "That was a long waste of time. All of that comic energy and I had to uphold a bonfire." Apollo walked in after him. "All I have to do is inject this energy into her. Then she will be back to praising you guys and hating me. Life will go on." I turned my eyes towards Silver Surfer, "I don't hate you." "You do hate me, you have even before your parents died." "No. I do not hate you. I hate the fact that my parents are dead." "See you do hate me." I rolled my eyes, "Can we get on with this, last time I checked antis can eat away a soul and then body in twelve hours and we have forty-five minutes left." Artemis pressed him.