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Chapter 6: WOW, THIS SUCKS
I wake up in an unfamiliar place, my left arm in pain. What… is this place? How did I get here?
What happened?
Memories rush back and fill my veins with ice.
Nigel. The shitty apartment building. Anna. The magic circle.
Nigel.
Oh my god, what the hell? What the fuck?!
Why did he do that?
My eyes well up. I curl up and immediately regret it when the movement sends a sharp pain up my arm. I almost had forgotten it was broken.
I hiss in pain.
“Are you awake?” a robotic voice asks.
I jolt and hiss again when that movement sends another jolt of pain. The hiss turns into a wordless groan. If my vocal chords co-operated, I would be swearing so harshly that my grandmother would come back to life just to tell me off.
“Whoa, take it easy,” Nana says, sitting at my feet.
“Don’t move. I may have broken your arm,” Nigel’s android says, sitting on the floor.
Wait, Nigel’s android?!
I sit up and frantically look around for Nigel. I only see an old TV (displaying news?) in the corner of the room, some books piled on a coffee table and a worn backpack leaning on it. I’m half-sitting, half-lying on a couch and Nana is sitting at the end of the couch. Wait… This isn’t Anna’s apartment. This isn’t Nigel’s apartment. Where the fuck am I?
“Calm down, child,” Otto says, stepping into the room, followed by a tall, statuesque, Native American woman with long, black hair pulled into a ponytail, “I still haven’t taken care of your arm.”
“Did you find the splints?” Nana asks.
“No, I’ve run out,” Otto says. He walks to the coffee table and sits on it.
“Oh shit, what are you going to do?”
"Valo," The tall woman speaks up, addressing me. “You must be confused. We are at Otto’s place. We discussed putting a splint on your arm while you were unconscious.”
“Which I don’t have anymore,” Otto says.
The tall woman hums. “Do you have a plan B?”
Otto gives me a long look. “Give me your arm.”
Wh… what?
| > Give him your arm | > Don't give him your arm |
| Hesitantly, I hold my arm out to him. He’s helped me once, I have no reason to not trust him. | I hold my arm and draw back. Why should I trust him? |
| Otto rolls his eyes. “Don’t be such a brat. Someone has to treat your arm sooner or later. Better have it sooner.” | |
| …He’s right. I hold my arm out to him. |
Otto grasps it, surprisingly gentle. He squeezes around my bicep inquisitively. His fingers find where the bone is broken and I hiss in pain.
"Sorry," Otto murmurs softy. He keeps squeezing, brow furrowing and eyes slipping closed. Even his eyelashes are white…
Eventually, he nods and opens his eyes. "It's not badly broken. I can fix it."
"What do you mean?" the tall woman asks.
Otto rubs his hands and pushes his glasses up. "Valo, relax your arm. Hold the elbow, right here," he says, taking my other hand and directing to my elbow. "Now, keep still. Do not move. Not a millimetre. Understand?"
I nod.
Otto nods also and sets his hands on my broken arm again. "I have no idea if this will hurt or not."
Wait, that doesn't sound-
The air thickens and Otto's hands heat up. It almost burns. The heat sinks into my skin and muscle, all the way down to the bone. My arm itches, but like, very deep down, under my skin. As if it were burning from the inside. The sensation intensifies steadily until I almost can't take it. Which is exactly when it ends, suddenly like slamming a tap closed.
I gasp for air. What- what was that?!
"There," Otto says, slightly out of breath. The tall woman is hovering nearby, like she’s ready to catch Otto if he keels over. "How does it feel? Does it hurt?"
It… it doesn't. What the fuck?
"What did you do?" Nana asks, just as much in awe as I am.
"Healed the bone," Otto says like it's the most obvious thing in the world.
"With magic?" the tall woman asks.
Otto nods. "I'll go get ice for your arm." With that, he walks off without a word.
The tall woman watches after him, shaking her head. “It’s easier to squeeze water from a stone…” she sighs and sits on the coffee table. She then turns to me and I get a better look at her. Her nose is proudly hawk-like and majestic, giving her an absolutely stunning profile. She’s dressed in a golden yellow tank top that shows off her biceps. “You probably have a lot of questions.”
I actually do, holy shit. I pat around my pockets for my phone, only to remember that I dropped it in Anna’s apartment. Fuck.
“Here,” Nigel’s android says, holding my phone out to me. “Your phone.”
Oh thank fuck. I take the device and check it. The screen is still intact which I gladly accept. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
“My name is Sonela.” The tall woman speaks up. “I’m a friend of Ivy, Nana and Otto. I think you’ve met Irantu and Tatu too? We’re at Otto’s apartment. Anything else?”
| > How did you know where I was? | > How did we get here? | > Why is the android here? |
| Sonela purses her lips. “That’s a weird story…” | “Once we got to Anna’s apartment, I distracted Nigel and Anna with a simple missile,” Sonela says. | Sonela turns to the android. |
| “I texted Ivy,” the android says. "I got her number from Nigel's phone." | “A torpedo?!” | “First of all, I want to be called Adam,” the android says. |
| I stare at it. Its light blinks green, then yellow. | Sonela smiles crookedly. “Ah, no. A magic missile.” | “Like… from The Bible?” Nana asks. |
| “I heard Nigel discuss his plans over the phone with Anna,” the android continues, “I felt that it was immoral. I did not know what else to do, so I texted Ivy. Luckily, she said she would take care of it.” | What the fuck. | “No, from Frankenstein.” |
| “She texted me and Sonela and we hauled ass to save you,” Nana says. | “Then I set a binding spell so they couldn’t move,” Sonela continues, sounding careful, like she’s walking on thin ice, “Then I cast a memory-blanking spell that should make Nigel and Anna forget what happened for the last few days, which should buy us some time. Then we came here. Adam carried you.” Then she looks at Nana and the Android, silently asking for confirmation. | “I thought the doctor’s name was Viktor,” Sonela says. |
| “Wait, wait,” I say, “You have a concept of morals now? And a phone?” | Nana nods. | “It is,” the android, Adam, says, “but the monster named himself Adam.” |
| “Concept of morals, yes,” the android says, “Phone, no. I have an internet connection, which I used to get a WhatsApp account.” | “That is how it transpired,” the android confirms. | Nana laughs uncomfortably. |
| “Oh.” I pause, “But morals though? Are you sentient now?” | Adam's light blinks green. "Second of all, I do not want to be with Nigel anymore. He is a bad person." | |
| The android tilts its head, light blinking yellow three times. “I do not know.” | … I guess that makes sense. | |
| Hmm. | “Where are you going to go now?” | |
| Adam’s light blinks off for two seconds, then blinks back on blue. “I do not know. I do not have anywhere to go.” | ||
| There’s a heavy silence. | ||
| Nana speaks up: “I think Irantu would love to meet you.” |
Otto returns to the living room, with a bag of frozen peas, a bottle of antiseptic, cotton wads and bandages. He tosses the bag to me and it almost hits me in the face, but Nana catches it. She gives it to me and I press the bag on my arm, even if I don’t really see what good would it even do anymore.
“You’re… taking this very well,” Sonela says, carefully.
I shrug. I… I’m still in disbelief over what happened. Which I will now take to its logical conclusion and deny earlier events ever happened. Yeah. That sounds good. It sounds awesome. Who’s Nigel? I never knew him!
The doorbell rings. Otto goes to get it and soon returns with Ivy and Jahid.
“Hewwo!” Ivy chirps, “What’s up, party people?”
Ugh…
Jahid’s eyes immediately land on me. He looks worried, although he relaxes a little when he sees me. “What happened? Are you okay?” he asks.
“We were just getting to that,” Sonela says, “Why don’t you two sit down, so Valo can tell their side.”
Ivy sits next to Sonela on the coffee table and Jahid sits next to me on the couch. Otto gets a chair from the kitchen.
“Now… Valo, if you please.”
A silence falls on us as I try to gather my thoughts.
Oh goddammit. I was hoping that I wouldn’t have to think about this. With a sinking feeling, I remember everything.
I grit my teeth and start typing.
I tell them about how we went to Anna’s apartment and about the circle on the floor. I tell them about Nigel’s rant and how he forced me in the center of the circle. I feel myself start breaking down as I relive the events. It’s now cemented in my mind that it truly did happen. I’m suddenly really glad about the TTS so everyone won’t hear my voice quivering.
After I finish, Jahid is staring at me in horror. Nana and Otto look thoughtful. Ivy and Sonela look vaguely distressed.
“He wants to…” Sonela says slowly “…bring a new age?”
I nod.
“Did he say how he was going to do that?” Otto asks.
Oh my god, what the fuck.
I remember the curse and I feel sick.
| > If Valo got cursed | > If Valo didn’t get cursed |
| He actually put a curse on me. I was just a pawn for him. Did he plan that all along? | He wanted me to be his pawn in his whatever fucked up plan he has. Did he plan that all along? |
| My eyes well up again. | My eyes well up again. |
| “Is everything okay?” Sonela asks. | “Is everything okay?” Sonela asks. |
| I snap back to reality. | I snap back to reality. |
| "Yeah," I say, then change my mind. "Wait. No. Nigel… He forced me in the circle. Anna did… some kind of chant? The circle was glowing.” | "Yeah," I say, “It’s just… Nigel almost… He put me in the circle.” |
| Ivy pales and Sonela’s eyes widen. Jahid looks horrified. Otto frowns. | Ivy pales and Sonela’s eyes widen. Jahid looks horrified. Otto frowns. |
| “He actually had a working spell of that scale?” Sonela mutters numbly. | “You came in before he and Anna did anything, though.” |
Ivy presses a hand on her mouth. She looks exactly the same as after our failed ghost hunt. It’s almost scary seeing her like this. Jahid’s brow knits in a similar expression.
Otto, however, starts to laugh, although it doesn't have any real humour in it. “This is fucked up,” he says.
"Did he say what the curse does?" Sonela asks.
What the fuck was it? Lowering inhibitions, simpler time…
"I think it makes people more aggressive… He wants people to be more violent."
"But why?" Jahid asks.
"'Simpler times,' he said."
Ivy curses heavily.
Sonela looks grim. "We should have intervened… " She bows her head. "Our inaction lead us here. I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive us."
Oh. Wow. That’s a little dramatic. Why is she so invested?
She sees my confused expression and she gives me a look. "This is a lot to take in, I’m sure. You’re still in shock." She pauses and looks somewhere in the distance. "Maybe this is for the best." She focuses back on me. "But, also. I think you shouldn’t be left alone in case Nigel tries to contact you."
“Didn’t you scramble his memory?” Nana asks.
“Yes, but I’m sure Nigel will figure out what happened and he’ll come after Valo sooner or later. And we must be ready when that happens.” Sonela looks determined now.
“Is there a friend you can stay with?” Otto asks, taking my ghost-maimed hand starting to undo the wrapping on it.
I glance at Jahid, who nods.
"They can stay with me," Jahid says.
"Good, good," Sonela murmurs, looking like she’s deep in thought.
“What are we going to do now?” Nana asks.
Sonela blinks, drawn from her reverie. “We can figure that out later. But ultimately, I think we should let Valo rest.”
I nod. God, I do feel like I need a weeklong nap.
“I agree,” Otto says, in the middle of checking the wounds on my hand, “Healing is not an easy process, even if I sped it up with magic. I also only healed the bone, but the muscle could be still swollen around it.”
That explains the ice, I guess.
“What about the curse, though?” Ivy asks.
Sonela frowns. "I don't know… I'd like to ask Shán…"
“It could be bullshit,” Otto speaks up, wrapping clean bandages on my hand.
Sonela rolls her eyes. “But we don’t know that." She turns to me. "In any case, do try to keep calm and keep an eye on your moods. Tell us immediately if you start feeling aggressive.”
I nod again, with a sick feeling in my stomach.
A silence falls as I watch Otto wrap bandages on my hand.
"What are we going to do with Adam, though?" Nana asks. "I mean, sorry. Adam, what do you want?"
Adam's light blinks yellow. "I am not sure. What can I do?"
Sonela tilts her head. "You could come to stay at my place until you figure it out."
Adam considers it for a moment. "I agree. Thank you."
After that, Jahid and I are free to go. Otto, followed by Adam, sees us off to the door.
“Valo, I want to apologize,” Adam says.
I blink. “For what?”
Adam’s light blinks yellow. “I broke your arm.”
Oh. Oh, right, it did! “It’s fine. You got my phone, so we’re even.” I'm also way too emotionally drained to deal with this now.
Adam’s light blinks again. “Are we?”
“Just accept it,” Otto says. “Be careful, you two.”
After thanking Otto for healing my arm, Jahid and I leave. Jahid suggests we go by my apartment to get some change of clothes for my exodus at Jahid’s place. I agree, and after a detour at my place, we arrive at Jahid’s.
I settle down on Jahid’s couch, stroking Jahid’s roommate’s dog, who immediately plants her head on my thigh. This is… safe. I am safe.
My nose itches and my eyes sting. My breath hitches as the tears start rolling down my cheeks. Oh, okay, I’m having a breakdown now. This is fine.
“Is everything okay?” Jahid asks, appearing from the kitchen. I guess he must have heard me sobbing.
I shake my head. I don’t want him to worry, but this is getting too much.
I feel the couch dip as Jahid sits next to me. “Do you want to talk about it or do you just want to… be?” he asks softly.
I don’t know what I want. I shake my head again.
Jahid puts his hand on my shoulder and pulls me close. I hadn’t been doing a good job keeping myself together, but him hugging me doesn’t exactly slow it down. Before I knew it, I was sobbing against his chest.
God, Jahid is a saint. He just hugs me and rubs my back until I calm down.
We spend the rest of the night just hanging out quietly. We don't talk much, which I don't mind. I don't think I'm in the mood to talk just yet and I feel like Jahid understands.
But, still. I feel fragile, but… There's a seed of hope. After all, there's no other direction than up at this point, right?
…God, I wish I could be that optimistic. There were so many red flags and I just ignored them all. How dumb can one person be? How did I let it get to this? Fuck Nigel, I hope he has a massive migraine from the magic missile.