Accessory Wars

Chapter 46-Felisa

            I sat in my bed listening to people argue outside my door while I texted my new friends out in Bailey via a group thread. They all sent me panicked messages at the news Serenhe was under attack by a rogue, especially when they saw footage of me. I assured them I was fine, as was Kami who wasn't answering her phone. My eyes flashed to the television playing silently on the wall. The police and ERT were hosting a press conference. Damage reports continued to flood in and the current death toll stood at seventeen. Over one hundred and forty were injured with twenty two of them being life threatening. People clamored about the poor response to the rogue attack and demanded the Serenhe ERT chief to step down.

Four hours had passed since I arrived at the hospital and my main concerns lay with Kami and Benjamin. Whenever I asked, they told me to be patient or they would let me know later. Later never came. All I could do was sit and watch every news station play the same footage over and over. Seeing clips of myself in battle didn't look cool or glorious. They looked pathetic, sad and incriminating. The public wanted me in custody while the ERT vouched for my behavior. I even got a call from Officer Colfry saying he vouched for me and that he was going to help on what he could from his end. I told him about Ken's warning he'd be at Mondue's tournament and Colfry said he'd look into it. Having him on my side was a huge relief. The media certainly wasn't.

My phone rang, Jay's name appearing on the screen. "Hello?" I answered. I could hear Jay telling someone to calm down in the background.

"Hey, Felisa. It's Jay," he greeted, sounding tired and stressed. "Hang on. Ki, stop. You're going to burrow a hole in the carpet."

"I am not!" Ki's strained voice shouted. I heard the phone be set down.

"Hey, come here," Jay stated.

"No," Ki protested.

There was a series of ruffles followed by a soft sob before Jay's voice came back on the line. "Sorry. Ki's really upset. We all are. Where are you? Are you okay?"

"Why don't you put me on speaker?" I suggested. There was a pause and the audio shifted in the background.

"Can you hear me?" Jay asked.

"Yes. Hi, Ki."

There was a pause. "I'm not sure if you heard but he said hi."

"I'm alright. I some fractures but nothing broken. I haven't heard anything about Kami or...well, his name is Benjamin. We're sort of acquaintances. He's the one who..." I swallowed a lump in my throat. "...who was forced into submission."

"My God," Jay breathed.

I gripped my phone tighter. "I've never seen someone more scared in my life. Is that really what happens when you force an Accessory into submission?"

"Was he burned?" Ki asked.

"Yes. It looked like he was wrapped in molten chains."

I heard Jay murmuring to Ki as Ki stifled a sob. It broke my heart. Ki didn't deserve this. I started talking to fill the void of conversation, telling them about Ken, our past fights and his dark words about his Accessory's whereabouts. I told them about Benjamin, what little I knew, and how minutes before Ken showed up our situations were reversed. I told them about my call with Officer Colfry. The news eased some of the stress on Ki.

"Colfry will get answers," Ki said.

"I hope so." I fiddled with the edge of my blanket. "You don't have to answer this if you don't want to but what should I expect? I mean, what's it going to be like with Benjamin?" I wanted to be there for him but maybe the situation was beyond even what I could help with.