Jade rubbed the back of her neck and grumbled.
"Why is there so much homework today?" she muttered underneath her breath. She sighed, counting with her fingers the number of tests that she will have in the next week.
"Math...English...History...ah!"
She felt herself crash into someone as she turned the corner of the street and stepped back. "S- sorry!" she quickly apologized.
She glanced up and saw the familiar face of the man who worked at the store staring down at her. "Oh, sorry, mister," she started. "Aren't you supposed to be-"
But then she looked down and noticed the person he was carrying in his arms. She screamed, her hand flying to her mouth. "E- Emrys?!" she stammered.
Jade paled at the sight of his bloody face and his tattered clothes, hyperventilating. She whimpered, "I- is he dead? He- he's not dead, right? Tell me he's not-"
"Girl, since you know him, get moving," the store worker growled impatiently. "I'll need some help. If you can't, just leave. I don't have a lot of time."
He pushed past her and hurried around the street corner, running towards the direction she was just coming from.
Jade stared after him with her mouth open. She darted her eyes between them and the direction of her home, her fingers trembling.
She bit down on her lip nervously, tears brimming the corner of her eyes. "But...my homework...ugh, forget it!"
She stamped her foot and dashed after them, forgetting about the amount of schoolwork she had to catch up on.
They needed help, and Emrys was the only thing on her mind now.
She chased after them, barely catching up with Mr. Store Worker's long and hurried strides. What happened? How could that happen to Emrys? Didn't school just end? Why isn't he bringing him to the hospital?
She chewed on her lip and ran after them until they reached an apartment complex towards the end of an unfamiliar street. She climbed up the stairs to the second floor, clinging on tightly on the rails to keep herself from collapsing.
The store worker was already waiting for her in front of a locked door. "Get the keys from my left pocket," he hissed. "Hurry up."
Jade looked down at his left jacket pocket and flinched. It was coated with blood and Emry's legs were blocking it, and she didn't dare to reach for it. She panicked.
"H- how?" she exclaimed, her voice quivering.
He cursed under his breath and stepped back. "Get out of the way," he warned.
Then he swung his leg right at the door, kicking it open and destroying the top hinges. He wasted no time and barged inside, quickly placing Emrys' limp body down on the empty floor of the small living room.
Jade clenched her fists anxiously. His place was so empty, how could he save him with no materials?
She shook her head and threw aside her backpack. How can she judge him at a time like this?
He stood up and turned to face her. "Go next door to Mister Park and ask him for a medical kit or medical supplies," he rushed. "I'm going to find some towels and get water."
Jade quickly did as she was told and rushed next door, pounding on the door nonstop. "Mister Park?" she called frantically.
The door flew open and a middle-aged man with wrinkles at the corner of his brown eyes appeared, staring down at her in confusion. "Yes, little one?"
"Medical supplies," Jade blurted, gesturing with her hands. "Do you have any? It's an emergency!"
Mr. Park frowned at her agitated expression and desperateness. "Is something wrong?" he asked. "I'll get the supplies...do you need my son's help? He has some medical knowledge-"
"Yes!" Jade interrupted. "Just...please hurry..."
Mr. Park quickly turned and shouted, "Milo! Milo, get out of your room and take your medkit! Someone needs help!"
The swing of a door opening was heard and a young man with dyed-pink hair and glasses stepped out with a white box in his hands. "Yeah? What's wrong?"
The moment he reached the door and lay eyes on Jade, she seized his wrist and dragged him back next door.
_______________
Gray set down all the towels he could find in his little apartment next to the bucket of water he filled just as the girl ran back inside with Milo right behind her.
"Mister Store Worker, Mister Park sent his son over to help!" she said, dropping to her knees beside him. "He said he has medical skills."
Gray scowled. "Call me Gray," he muttered.
"O- okay...Mister Gray," she said.
Gray sat down on Emrys' left while Milo plopped down across from him, pushing up his glasses. "Hell," Milo started, frowning. "What happened here? Why isn't he at a hospital?"
Gray shook his head. "No, the hospital won't be able to help," he muttered. "Just help me get the wound on his head fixed, along with anything else you find...leave...leave the rest to me."
"What about me?" the girl asked, glancing up at him with anxious gray eyes. "I- I can't just sit here and do nothing."
Gray chewed on the inside of his lip as he tried to figure out what he was supposed to do. "Of course, you'll have to help Milo with whatever he needs," he said.
Milo looked up from his batch of supplies and gave an encouraging smile at the girl. "Great. I'll need help. What's your name?" he asked.
She moved to sit closer to him. "I'm Jade," she answered while she fidgeted with her fingers.
Gray shifted his attention back to Emrys and held his breath. He needed to somehow make up for all the blood he lost while maintaining the newly awakened power flowing through his veins. Not only that, but he also had to fix up the internal damage caused by the last attack that Emrys took directly.
He groaned, ran his hands through his hair, and pulled.
There was only one thing he had to do, of course, and that was to transfer his energy over to him.
Gray cursed. If he had to transfer his energy to him to bring him back to a stable condition, then it was no problem. The problem was that it was a long and slow process, and if he lost focus, he could mess the entire thing up.
He stared down at his hands. He hadn't worked on his healing abilities in such a long time, he wasn't sure if he could do it.
"Mister Gray?" Jade suddenly interrupted.
Gray looked up to see Milo and Jade staring at him in confusion.
He pressed his lips together and glanced back down at Emrys, his eyes closed and unmoving.
He did this, he had to fix it, there was no other choice.
Even if...'that'...was going to happen.
Gray set both his hands on Emrys' left arm and activated his power, watching a black mist form underneath his fingers, mixing with the bright blue one of Emrys' that appeared in reaction to his.
The room was silent as Milo and Jade stopped what they were doing and stared at him in disbelief.
"You're a mage?" Jade exclaimed.
Gray shot her and Milo a look. "I'll explain after all this is over, please continue on your work," he chided.
He watched as they both slipped on sanitary gloves from Milo's kit and began treating the wounds in a serious manner. He let out a breath of relief, glad that he'd found the right people to work with.
"Um, Mister Gray?" Jade interrupted again.
He shifted his gaze over to where she was pointing. A tiny speck of an ice crystal had formed on his faded skin right above one of his eyebrows. "Don't mind those," he said. "They'll form every once in a while, but they'll go away."
"Okay," Milo said, grabbing for the towels and water.
Gray paused, feeling his power flow out from his arms into Emrys'. He was slowly helping him regain his blood loss, and his skin had barely just begun to take back its color. This was really going to take a while.
"After you're done, help me clean up the mess," Gray said. "I don't think I'll finish before you do..." Then, he thought hard, trying to remember the name of Emrys' teacher. "Also, can you help me call...Mister Kinoshi, I believe, and tell him Emrys won't be going to school tomorrow?"
Milo nodded as he continued to work intently. "He used to be my teacher, I have his phone number. I can call him later, or Jade can do that right now."
"Great, thanks."
Gray took in a deep breath after he finished saying what was on his mind. It was time to focus on what he was doing. He can't afford to mess up.
Slowly, he closed his eyes, letting his mind close off everything around him except for the glowing blue and black countering flow of their powers.