Hops was walking around the lobby of the hospital furiously. He didn't even realize how long it was since they had been here but Hops couldn't care about that. All he was worried about was Alice's safety. If she didn't make it, then he would have been responsible, and he didn't wish for that to happen.
"Hops, you fine over there?" he heard Fonda call to him.
"Is Alice fine?" Hops stared her down.
She was going to respond back to him, but thought otherwise, as she stayed seated. Everyone else apart of the group was still anxiously waiting for any news to come out of Alice or if even Jamal had survived. Leon had just came back inside, and Hops could see one of his fingers darkened compared to the others.
"I attempted to make some type of signal for Jamal to see us, if he's still alive. Otherwise, we can't be here for long once Alice recovers. It's going to be an interesting situation from here on out." Leon flicked his finger, barely wincing.
Heskins just nodded his head in agreement, already dosing off, as if he had done something himself. Which he had done, but it still didn't mean he survived. The room was quiet, as no one said another word, with nothing to talk about. How was this supposed to go after all?
A few more minutes had passed, and another person had entered the room, although Hops instantly recognized who it was.
"Jamal?" Hops flashed in recognition.
"Yeah, it's me." Jamal waved at everyone, before coughing.
Everyone in the lobby greeted him, as Hops made space for him to come through. Jamal was telling him the insane action that had gone down against Youden, despite the bloodshed that had occurred at the field.
"I mean, I'm going to be honest, he almost took away my powers, if one of those Keepers of Darkness didn't come in and stop him. Or at least slow him down for me. I'm pretty sure he's dead by now." Jamal managed to say, then coughing some more, wiping something against his side. "I should probably get healed or something now. We can't be here for much longer."
With that, the rest of them made space for him, as Jamal was led to a room with a healer, no one recognizing him or the group, at least yet.
.....
Jamal stretched his legs, feeling better than ever. It was almost as if he wasn't just fighting for his life only mere hours ago, as he moved out of the room, and back to the lobby to see almost no one inside. Looking outdoors, he saw that night was already here and the street was deserted of any traffic. Where did the rest of them go, he was confused, until he heard steps coming his way.
Turning around, he almost got into a fighting stance, until he came to realize it was Hops, wiping away a tear.
"Oh, it's you." Jamal managed to say, before Hops went ahead and gave him a hug, "You good?"
"She's going to make it man. Alice is going to be fine." Hops just cried in his shirt.
"That's good to hear, that really is." Jamal patted him.
Jamal didn't back away, as he simply comforted Hops. At least they were all going to make it, it would've only been a matter of time of finding out that information. And if that didn't happen, he could not imagine fighting Youden again, especially with the man exerting that much power, likely still holding back even more to ensure less destruction occurred so close to his capital. Jamal had much to learn, and so little time to do so.