I sat impatiently, swinging my legs. My lips pursed and my eyebrows clenched together as my outrage bubbled to the surface. The room reeked of hospital odors, the sterilized clean plastic smell that always pulls me back to memories of injections and doctor visits. I don't know how long grandmother had been in the room across the hall; the minutes crept by just as slowly as the clouds outside; seemingly stopped.
I had been staying with my grandmother because my parents had been missing for the past few months. Apparently she wanted custody of me, and I didn't complain. I don't know where my parents were. All I knew was that I'd never see them again, and I was right.
I had been staying with my grandmother because my parents had been missing for the past few months. Apparently she wanted custody of me, and I didn't complain. I don't know where my parents were. All I knew was that I'd never see them again, and I was right.
***
I woke up in the medical branch with a bad headache and a serious case of amnesia. There was a bad taste in my mouth, which was drier than hell. Lena was in the bed beside me, still passed out.
Was it worth it? I got a lot of experience with controlling my powers, but what if Lena is permanently damaged?
I tried to think of all the things I saw while I was in Lena's mind. That she was raised by Mira was the most I could gather, everything else remained foggy. The fogginess was probably part of my extreme mental exhaustion. Everything became white as my eyes glided together and the world around me went blank.
***
When I awoke, Mira and Brix were both standing over me. Mira looked overjoyed, however Brix looked severely displeased.
"He's finally come around," Mira announced as I tilted my head up.
I reexamined the room to find Lena gone, and weeks worth of newspapers beside me. It was either early morning or late night, I couldn't tell which.
"We've had boys come into this school before, but I thought you'd be different." Brix started, but was abruptly halted by Mira's hand.
"Don't you dare start with that again, Brix." Mira's voice became stern, but she continued in a calm, kind tone. "A lot has happened since you fell asleep. You're father is currently working at the military base near the Airfield, I'm here to give you a ride back home. You're long winded torrent of questions may began . . . now."
"Where's Lena? Why is my dad working in a military base? Why's Brix mad at me? What in the world are you doing here? Where's my uniform? Is it morning or night? Why's the headline of the newspaper talk about war with Russia? How long have I been out for? Is Lena okay?"
I wanted to continue, but at that moment my stomach let out a loud, obnoxious grumble.
"You've been out for about five days, and it's about 11:50 at night, but I think we can scrounge up something for you to eat."
The medical bay nurse gave me a very apprehensive look, but still offered me some chicken soup and orange juice. I wasn't sure if my stomach could take it, but after pacing myself through the first few bites it went down easy.
"Well, Isaac, Lena is perfectly fine, she's outside waiting for us at the moment, but she'll be accompanying us back when we leave, she woke up the day after the event took place. Two days ago Russia attacked an American lunar colony."
Mira stopped suddenly before asking Brix for some privacy. Brix was very hesitant to comply, but eventually saw no other option.
"The colony that your father was named after."
"My father? What do you mean?"
Mira let out a deep breath, then continued. "It was called Wagglo colony, after the first pirate station that appeared on the air. You're father was one of the two men responsible for the rebellion that led to the Second American Civil War. He prefers to live in secrecy, however there are key military leaders who got their start from him. Rest assured, he was on everyone's mind the second the distress signal reached Earth.
"Your father chooses to continue his life in secrecy, but his talents, and accomplishments are undeniable. He's been given the rank of drill Sargent based on his 'experience' from the last war, and will be working on the airbase. He provided very detailed instructions on what to do with you in the meantime. He wants you to continue living at home, and assured me that you can take care of yourself, however knowing him you'll be checked up on every once in a while. There's no school for the next month, and as you can guess, I'm swamped. If it's alright with you, Lena might be staying at your residence for a few weeks or so, depending on what happens. She's having a lot of troubles right now with her powers, and I can only do so much. You seem to relate to her on a different level than I do, maybe you can offer better support. I honestly don't know. We just plain don't have any of the data we need. It makes you wonder where all of our research department's money is going, right?"
"Yeah. Well . . . Wow." was the only response I could muster.
"Get your legs moving again. We leave in five."
And so, Mira, Lena, and I all packed into Mira's tiny work-car. Brix seemed to have disappeared, but I honestly didn't want to see her anyway. I could already tell that she's somehow managed to distort reality into making the battlefield all my fault. I'll deal with that when I come back. If I come back, that is.
It was a pretty quite drive back to my house. I was still half-asleep, and Lena looked moments away from tears constantly. I would talk with her later, anyway.
I must have fallen asleep and not realized it. Before I knew it, I was home.
"A bit of insider advice to you, kid." Mira yelled after me as I walked up my front steps. "Prices are about to go way, way up after tonight. I would stockpile up everything you can. Your father left his card on the table, and a list of everything he wants you to buy. I would do it tonight if you can, but don't push yourself too hard."
It was far past midnight, but I felt rested and up to the challenge. Why not?
Hard to know Mira and not take her advice. I almost feel sorry for all the poor saps who have to live their lives without knowing a Brigadier General.
"He's finally come around," Mira announced as I tilted my head up.
I reexamined the room to find Lena gone, and weeks worth of newspapers beside me. It was either early morning or late night, I couldn't tell which.
"We've had boys come into this school before, but I thought you'd be different." Brix started, but was abruptly halted by Mira's hand.
"Don't you dare start with that again, Brix." Mira's voice became stern, but she continued in a calm, kind tone. "A lot has happened since you fell asleep. You're father is currently working at the military base near the Airfield, I'm here to give you a ride back home. You're long winded torrent of questions may began . . . now."
"Where's Lena? Why is my dad working in a military base? Why's Brix mad at me? What in the world are you doing here? Where's my uniform? Is it morning or night? Why's the headline of the newspaper talk about war with Russia? How long have I been out for? Is Lena okay?"
I wanted to continue, but at that moment my stomach let out a loud, obnoxious grumble.
"You've been out for about five days, and it's about 11:50 at night, but I think we can scrounge up something for you to eat."
The medical bay nurse gave me a very apprehensive look, but still offered me some chicken soup and orange juice. I wasn't sure if my stomach could take it, but after pacing myself through the first few bites it went down easy.
"Well, Isaac, Lena is perfectly fine, she's outside waiting for us at the moment, but she'll be accompanying us back when we leave, she woke up the day after the event took place. Two days ago Russia attacked an American lunar colony."
Mira stopped suddenly before asking Brix for some privacy. Brix was very hesitant to comply, but eventually saw no other option.
"The colony that your father was named after."
"My father? What do you mean?"
Mira let out a deep breath, then continued. "It was called Wagglo colony, after the first pirate station that appeared on the air. You're father was one of the two men responsible for the rebellion that led to the Second American Civil War. He prefers to live in secrecy, however there are key military leaders who got their start from him. Rest assured, he was on everyone's mind the second the distress signal reached Earth.
"Your father chooses to continue his life in secrecy, but his talents, and accomplishments are undeniable. He's been given the rank of drill Sargent based on his 'experience' from the last war, and will be working on the airbase. He provided very detailed instructions on what to do with you in the meantime. He wants you to continue living at home, and assured me that you can take care of yourself, however knowing him you'll be checked up on every once in a while. There's no school for the next month, and as you can guess, I'm swamped. If it's alright with you, Lena might be staying at your residence for a few weeks or so, depending on what happens. She's having a lot of troubles right now with her powers, and I can only do so much. You seem to relate to her on a different level than I do, maybe you can offer better support. I honestly don't know. We just plain don't have any of the data we need. It makes you wonder where all of our research department's money is going, right?"
"Yeah. Well . . . Wow." was the only response I could muster.
"Get your legs moving again. We leave in five."
And so, Mira, Lena, and I all packed into Mira's tiny work-car. Brix seemed to have disappeared, but I honestly didn't want to see her anyway. I could already tell that she's somehow managed to distort reality into making the battlefield all my fault. I'll deal with that when I come back. If I come back, that is.
It was a pretty quite drive back to my house. I was still half-asleep, and Lena looked moments away from tears constantly. I would talk with her later, anyway.
I must have fallen asleep and not realized it. Before I knew it, I was home.
"A bit of insider advice to you, kid." Mira yelled after me as I walked up my front steps. "Prices are about to go way, way up after tonight. I would stockpile up everything you can. Your father left his card on the table, and a list of everything he wants you to buy. I would do it tonight if you can, but don't push yourself too hard."
It was far past midnight, but I felt rested and up to the challenge. Why not?
Hard to know Mira and not take her advice. I almost feel sorry for all the poor saps who have to live their lives without knowing a Brigadier General.
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