Ch. 8: Untimely Introductions

POV: Kyle

Adrian looked so peaceful in her sleep. Her damp, reddish-brown hair curled around her face, along her side, and down to her waist. Even though her eyes were closed, I could still imagine her intense blue eyes glaring at me, and for whatever reason, it made me smile.

I was nervous about the amount of blood she lost, but the doctor said it seemed as if everything was fine. Her face was still sickly pale, and the bandages on her shoulder had blood stains that made me queasy. I knew she didn’t trust me- she didn’t seem to like me much either- but I couldn’t help being impressed by her taking on those monsters on her own.

“Kyle,” Dylan called when he found me.

“Dylan! You guys made it!” I was relieved to see them. In my experience, being left with my thoughts never results in anything good during stressful situations.

“How is she? Why isn’t she awake?” Her friend panicked.

“The doctor said she will be alright. They gave her painkillers that made her drowsy. He said that she’s going to be weak and woozy when she wakes up, and they want to keep her here overnight just to be safe. You should call her parents to let them know,” I told her.

“Actually… I probably shouldn’t,” she said nervously.

“Why not? They’re going to be worried about her.”

“Her dad is... Irrational. And her mom passed away years ago. I’ll call my parents and try to explain what happened. They can tell her dad that she’s sleeping over at my house or something.”

“Well, he’s going to find out when the hospital bill comes,” Dylan pointed out.

“Right… I’ll figure something out. Keep an eye on her while I call my mom.”

She pulled out her cell phone and flipped it open as she left the room. I sat back down by Adrian, and Dylan sat in the chair beside me.

“So how are you doing?” Dylan asked, examining my expression.

“I don’t know,” I admitted, “It was scary. She looked so pale, and the blood just kept coming. I was so worried she might not make it, and it’d be all my fault. I’ve never felt so helpless in my life.” My face started to burn as I spoke.

“Kyle, even if she didn’t make it, that wouldn’t be your fault. There was nothing else you could do. We beat the monsters, and you got her to the hospital quite literally as fast as possible. She’s lucky you were there."

“I suppose. Man, if I’m this messed up worrying about her, I can only imagine how her friend must feel. By the way, what is her name?”

“It’s Beatris, but she likes to be called Bea instead.”

“Like bumble bee?” I laughed.

“Yeah, I guess,” Dylan laughed, “On the way over here, she was telling me how her and Adrian both hate their names, so they gave each other nicknames. Now Beatris goes by Bea and Adrian goes by Ari.”

“Ari,” I said as I looked back at her. I thought Adrian suited her better.

We could hear Beatris talking to her mom in the hall, “Mom, I’m not making this up. Didn’t you see the news? No, Why would I lie about Adrian being in the hospital? Yes, she’s going to be ok. Yeah, I’m fine. Will you just come down here? We are in room 106. Ok, see you in a bit. Thanks, mom. I love you too.”

Beatris walked back into the room and pulled up a chair on the other side of Adrian’s bed, “How’s she doing?” She asked.

“Good, as far as I can tell,” I said cluelessly.

“I talked to my mom. She’s going to talk to my dad about it and tell Adrian’s dad that she’s spending the night. Then, she’s going to come here to see Adrian.”

“Do you think she’ll pay for the bill?” Dylan asked.

“I don’t know; that’s probably up to my dad. I guess we will find out when she gets here.”

Adrian groaned as she began to wake up, “What is that thing flashing in my face?”

“Huh?” Dylan and I asked in unison.

Adrian’s eyes opened, “It’s coming from your backpack,” she groaned.

I remembered that I had set my backpack on the bedside table. I turned and saw there was a pulsing light shining through the fabric.

“What’s in your backpack?” Beatris asked.

I gasped, “It’s the prism.”

“Really? Do you think-?” Dylan stopped himself mid-sentence and looked at me.

I pulled the prism out of my bag and met Dylan’s glance, “It’s choosing her.”

“What do you mean? What is that thing?” Adrian asked as her nose crinkled.

Dylan and I exchanged a look; he nodded, “It’s the prism that gave us our powers,” I told her.

“Really? That’s so cool!” Beatris exclaimed.

“That thing gave you powers? How?” Adrian asked.

“Touch it and find out,” I offered.

“What? No! I don’t even know who you are! Why should I trust you?”

“Well, for starters, we saved your life.”

“That doesn’t mean I should just blindly listen to you!”

“She’s got a point,” Dylan said, “we haven’t even introduced ourselves.”

“Oh, right, well, my name is Kyle.”

“And I’m Dylan. It’s nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you too, I guess,” Adrian said.

“So, how does that thing work?” Beatris asked.

“I’m not sure, really, but I do know I didn’t have super speed before I touched it.”

“This is so weird. Nothing that has happened since the storm started has made sense,” Adrian groaned, rubbing her head.

“It’s still weird to us too, believe me, it’s been hard trying to justify any of this with my concept of reality,” Dylan said, “But you can trust us, and you can trust that whoever created the prism is good. It did lead us to you when you needed us, afterall.”

Adrian glanced between the two of us carefully and looked back at Beatris.

“I trust them, Adrian. And if this prism-thing is choosing you to be a hero, I trust that too. I saw you run into danger to protect those people. If anyone I know was meant to become a superhero, it’s you.”

Adrian’s expression softened. Her eyes shot back to meet mine, “Tell me more, first.”

“Like how much more?”

“I don’t know, all of it.”

“It’s a long story,” I warned.

“We’ve got time,” Beatris said.

“Alright then.” I took a long breath and recounted finding the prism, deciphering the prophecy, trying out our powers, and meeting Cian.

Adrian sat quietly, frowning as she took everything in. Beatris had a huge grin on her face, “This is incredible! There are other dimensions, mythical creatures, magic? Who’d’ve thought?”

“No one in their right mind, that’s for sure,” Dylan said.

“So you guys just travel around the world and fight monsters with your superhuman powers?”

“I mean, today was our first actual fight, but yeah, I guess eventually we will have to travel,” I said.

“That’s so exciting! Adrian, you’re going to get to see the world!”

Adrian crossed her arms and looked away, “I didn’t ask to be a part of all this.”

“And what, do you think we voluntarily fell into a cave and got zapped with super powers?” I said sarcastically.

“No, but you don’t seem too upset about it, either.”

“I am,” Dylan said. I shot him a look, “Sometimes,” he added.

“The point is, people are in danger, and you seem to care about that. So, do any of us really have a choice?”

Adrian sighed and looked down. Her eyes scanned the floor aimlessly. She took in a slow breath and looked up, “Alright, I’ll do it.”

“Yay!” Beatris cheered.

We smiled eagerly as she reached to touch the prism.

“Adrian!” Someone yelled from the doorway.

Photo Credit: Braxton Apana