Anathema

Chapter 2: What in Ozdis?

Luis felt movement around him, but he couldn’t see anyone. He squinted his eyes against the bright lights that burned into his brain.
     “We’ve got them.” The voices around him spoke. “Check for breathing!”
     “Patient showing symptoms of heat stroke.”
    “Ok, I know he’s bad, but that’s just cruel. They could’ve died!”
     Someone turned Luis over on his side. “They still could! Hurry up!”
     The people around him showed an intense interest in his legs, poking and pulling at him. There was a sharp sting in his right leg. “How do we remove this?”
     “Get a telek or a healer!” A voice yelled out. “Someone with experience!”
     “On it!”
     “I’m removing it now. Prepare to apply pressure.”
     Luis groaned, and they began to speak to him. “This’ll sting a bit.”
     Liquid trickled down his leg as he heard something rip.
     “It’s out! Bring bandages quickly!” Someone pushed on his leg, and it throbbed in pain. “Don’t worry, you’ll be fine.”
    Luis winced in pain as the soft bandages touched against his wound. “We’re moving on to burns now, okay?”
     “They’re burned pretty bad.”
     His eyes snapped open, and he sucked in a deep breath, ending up in a coughing fit. One of the healers walked forward, removing his shirt and pulling on his binder. 
     “Stop! Let go!” He tried to scream, only to cough more. They pulled out scissors, cutting off the binder.
    “You’ll need to stabilize them. They could be violent.”
     Luis gasped as they injected the needle into his skin.
     “Don’t worry. You’ll still be awake, we just can’t have you fighting while we’re trying to help you. Save that for training.”
     “Training?”
     “Relax, honey. Just focus on me.”
     “Uh-huh… yeah. Focus. Can do.”
     “You’ve got full thickness burns on your neck, upper right arm, and lower left leg.” She explained. “You’ve got heat stroke, and we have IV tubes in you right now. We haven’t found any other complications, but then again, we’re not in your body.”
     “Every- ing’s blur.” Luis felt way out of it.
     “One moment.”
     A hand brushed over his head, letting Luis see a soft golden glow. “Are you magic?”
     “No, just a healer. You could learn to, if you like, but the training takes forever if you aren’t a natural one.”
     Luis’ eyes refocused, and he could clearly see who was in front of him. “Oh.”
     “Good. You can see.” She smiled before turning to the other healer. “Bring them to the single bedrooms. They need to rest.”

Luis followed obediently as the healer led him through the hallway, supporting him with one arm. They didn’t bother talking to him, or anyone around them. They just offered a small smile as Luis layed down.
     “Don’t let the bed bugs bite or whatever.”
     “Thank you…” he mumbled. “You’re a... good person.”
     The healer shook their head. “Not quite. But hey, get better.”
     With that, Luis drifted off into a peaceful sleep.

It wasn’t yet dark outside, but it was oddly quiet. Luis took a moment to enjoy it, feeling his father behind him, present but out of reach.
     “Hey, Mundes.”
     There was no answer, there never was anymore. Only a vague presence, a way of saying “I’m still here.”
     Luis sighed, waiting for something to happen. Still nothing. He stood up, wandering the room, trying not to pick at the IV tubes or anything.
     He wondered if they’d just let him leave. With healers around, he’d recover quickly enough to leave by the end of tomorrow.
     Unless he was a prisoner. But he doubted he was. Prisoners don’t get healers freaking out over them.

The door opened, and Luis jumped. 
     “Don’t worry, just me. How’s the room been treating you?” The healer smiled.
     “Fine. I like it cold so… thank you.”
     “It’s better for heat stroke patients. Anyway, I would like to chat with you for a second. I’m Griffin. They/them.”
     “Luis, he/him. What’s wrong? Am I dying?”
     “Well…” Griffin shook his head. “Let’s start at the beginning. What do you remember?”

“But, your appearances…”
     “It’d make so many people uncomfortable, if they even got a glimpse of who you are. We could never let someone of… your background-”

“So there was a sudden change- but it wasn’t like a flash- it just changed like-”
     “Like it was always that way.” Griffin finished. “Yeah, that happens.”
     “And it was extremely bright. It burned, like, really bad.”
     “So you’re a shadow manipulator.”
     “Absent energy, actually.”
     “Is there a difference?” Griffin took a seat on the bed. “I mean, it’s got to have some similarities.”
     “Yeah, both have control of shadows. AEM focuses on the complete absence of energy, though.”
     “Oh, sorry. So, continue?”

He was going to die. Right here.
     “I couldn’t breathe. Everything was gone.” Luis continued. “And there was this- power-taker-awayer or… whatever it was.”
     “Prendrey.”
     “What?”
     “Prendrey.” They repeated. “That’s what it’s called.”
     “Oh.” 
     “It was never supposed to be used. The project was banned because it invaded the rights of Powers. I can’t believe they’re using it.” Griffin shook their head. “Anyway, I have the information we need for your file, so-” they handed Luis a starch bag. “We removed yours in the healer’s hall. I figured you’d want a new one.”
     Luis pulled the binder out, grinning. He almost jumped up to hug Griffin. “Thank you!”
    “No problem.” They set down some pamphlets on the bed. “And hey, if you’re interested-” they pointed to the one on top- “welcome to the Anathema.”