***Alastair***
When it stopped, the cocoon came undone. Alastair whined. His wrist really hurt.
All the spinning made Alastair so dizzy that he threw up on himself.
That was when a blonde lady approached him. "Hey, kid! Are you okay?" She looked at the puddle on the ground. "Did you vomit?"
Alastair nodded.
"Do you feel sick?"
He shook his head. Alastair was lucky that nasty germs couldn't attack him. His eyes drifted down his arm. But his wrist did hurt. He would have fashioned a sling with his powers like had when he and Del roughhoused too hard at home, but he was too dizzy to focus.
"I'm Wilhelmina. I need you to tell me your name."
Alastair was too frozen to speak.
"I need you to take a deep breath."
This lady was being nice, but Alastair still couldn't speak.
"Count to five for me, please?"
He slowly counted each number on his fingers before saying each one out loud.
"Do you feel better now?"
Alastair nodded.
"What's your name?"
"My name? My name is Alastair."
"Okay, Alastair. Do you know why you vomited?"
"Dizzy..."
She raised an eyebrow. "Do you still feel dizzy?"
"It's going away."
"If you think you can walk, let me take you somewhere you can get cleaned up."
The blonde lady brought him into a convenience store. The red-haired man at the counter was wearing a green apron. "Welcome to the store."
"Can we use your restroom?"
"Of course, miss." He pointed to a hall in the corner of the store. "It's over there."
"Do you have a change of clothes in that backpack?" she asked.
Alastair nodded before running into the bathroom. He wanted to get out of his dirty clothes as soon as possible. His aching wrist made him throw his backpack on the floor harder than he meant to.
He used his good hand to pull out a change of clothes. Alastair was extremely grateful En packed him more things now. The only way he'd get the stuff in his suitcase was if Hannah's friend showed up. Because he was doing it with one hand, it was a struggle to get his pants down. He thought it would be easier than it was, though.
Once he did that, Alastair kicked his pants off. It was even harder to get his shirt off, forcing him to take a break.
Knock-knock!
"Are you alright in there?" the man in the apron asked.
Alastair jumped. What should he say? Would the man get mad at him if he said no?
Another knock.
After a minute, he said, "I'm going to come in."
"Are you having a hard time changing your clothes?"
Alastair didn't move.
The man smiled at him. "Did you need help?"
Alastair nodded slowly. He locked the door before he looked at the clothes. Alastair had to grit his teeth to not cry as the man took his shirt off. He then helped Alastair put on the clothes he'd set on the sink. "Would you like a bag for your dirty clothes?"
Alastair nodded.
"Stay here." He spoke gently. "I'm going to get something to wrap up your wrist while I get that bag, okay?"
Alastair did as he was asked to avoid upsetting the man. It seemed like the man wasn't gone long.
"I'll be as gentle as I can, alright? Your wrist should be more comfortable when I'm done."
Alastair couldn't help making the high-pitched noise he sometimes made when he was uncomfortable.
The man flinched. "Are you okay?"
Alastair just stayed still.
"Are you okay?"
He nodded so the man would stop asking.
"Alright. I'm done. That nice lady is waiting for you by the counter. Let's go see her."
The blonde lady smiled when they came out of the bathroom. "Do you feel better now?"
"I-I feel better."
The man in the apron gave Alastair his bag of dirty clothes.
"Th-thank you."
"Of course, son."
The lady held out a sandwich and a bottle. "I bought these for you. I wanted to show them to you before the cashier bags them."
Alastair went to grab the bag.
"I'll hold on to this for now. You can stay with me until you're ready to go home."
He blinked a few times.
The lady motioned for him to follow her.
***
She brought Alastair to an unassuming house with a gate around the property and led him into the kitchen. "I'm going to step into the other room for about ten minutes. Please enjoy your food."
Why was she talking to me like I was the president or something? Whatever. The ham sandwich smelled good.
Alastair was going to eat it before it could go bad.
The pain in his wrist made it hard, but he got the chips open. The barbecue chips went well with the ham. Wilhelmina made a good choice.
She came back in a more relaxed outfit. "Are you satisfied?"
Alastair nodded. But the pain in his wrist was getting worse.
He took one of the ice cubes out of his cup and put it over his wrist.
"Don't do that. I have an ice pack I can give you if you want ice." She sighed. "But first, let me show you where you're going to sleep."
When they passed through the living room, Alastair noticed a picture sitting on one of the end tables. A girl who looked similar to Wilhelmina was chasing after a little boy on a grassy hill.
"Who's that?" he asked.
"My little brother. You might be the only other person I know other than him who wears glasses." She smiled. "Maybe you can meet him someday. This might be premature, but I have a feeling that you'll get along."
What made her think that?
She opened the door to a spotless room. On the bed were several plushies. It looked like the room of a little boy. Did it used to belong to Wilhelmina's little brother?
Wilhelmina motioned forth "Lay down and make yourself comfortable. I'll go and get your ice pack."
Alastair set his arm on the pillow before he laid down. He blinked. Something about this room felt familiar. Was it the scent? It faintly reminded him of his late father. He turned around and stared at the plush lion, cat, and bear.
***
[Yesterday]
Betty had just finished eating her share of the fried rice they had made for a hungry Del. "I'm going to get the mattresses blown up."
Del grinned at her. He would have done that by now if he wasn't preoccupied with eating.
Since Alastair finished his bowl of rice, he grabbed his strawberry applesauce.
When he got done in the bathroom, everyone else was in the living room. Betty and Del were laying on the couches. Ivy had a gentle smile on her face as she cuddled with the sleeping Len on the smaller blow-up mattress. En and Noah were cuddling on the brothers' bed when Alastair cuddled up next to Noah.
Noah's eyes quivered. "Does Atty really have to go?"
"Don't be a baby…" Len mumbled.
Alastair ruffled his hair.
En shushed their cub, too. "Atty'll be back before you know it. You'll see."
Alastair didn't like it when Noah was sad. If only he could've said something to cheer him up, but he was bad with words.
***
"Noh," Star said, hugging the bear plushie. He needed to hurry up and return to finding his G.K. so he could do his mission. But how was he supposed to do the latter quickly with a broken wrist? Well, if the job required combat, he did have his cat and some long range attacks, but would those be enough? He could barely fend off a couple of bullies. Maybe En was right to have worried about him going on this job after all.