"What in the world is this thing?" Garrick grumbled as he crawled out of the grain pile, wheat sticking to his head.
"I don't know, maybe one of those werewolves from the stories," Elyon speculated, giving the man's corpse a few kicks to make sure he was indeed dead. Just as he was about to move towards the door, darkness overtook him, and he fainted.
The sharp scent of antiseptic mixed with a hint of floral aroma – and was that a whiff of pumpkin? Elyon struggled to open his eyes, only to be greeted by a blinding light. As his vision adjusted, he saw a white ceiling above him. Turning his head, he spotted a thin white sheet draped over him.
To his left, an elderly lady was spoon-feeding porridge to an old man in a chair.
"Darling, next time could you bring me a newspaper? This is so boring," spoke Garrick, propped up in bed with a small wooden table beside him laden with fruit.
"You manage to get injured like this on your last day before retirement and still think about reading the paper. Does this mean our trip around the world is postponed? And what about the young fellow next to you? Did you run into a demon?" the lady asked with a touch of irritation.
"Heh, there's no such thing as demons. Just ran into some trouble with a new gang in town. The youth these days don't know their own strength, daring to assault an officer like that," Garrick deflected with a chuckle. "As for young Elyon here, I reckon he's just catching up on some sleep. His heart rate's steady – he's only been out for a day and a night," he added, although his voice lowered guiltily.
"Mr. Garrick, could I trouble you for a glass of water?" Elyon's lips felt parched, and the thirst overrode the pain in his left arm.
Hearing Elyon's voice, the two by his bed turned their attention towards him. Mrs. Garrick quickly fetched a cup from a wooden cabinet between the beds and filled it with water for Elyon.
"Drink slowly. Little miss, your brother is awake."
"Where is this little sister?"
Mrs. Garrick gestured towards an open space on the right side of Elyon's bed. Shifting slightly, Elyon peered over to see.
A young woman lay on a makeshift bed on the floor, her eyes closed, with unruly curls of black hair falling across her face, threatening to slip into her slightly parted mouth. Elyon reached out to gently part the hair from her face, waking her.
The girl startled awake, her hands sweeping across her face to ensure it was free of any clandestine doodles. Satisfied, she spoke.
"You didn't draw on your lovely sister's face, did you?"
"That's your first question? Good morning, Nyara," Elyon greeted her with a smile.
"Hmph, you slept like a log, completely unaware of the chaos in this hospital. Last night, a child in the next room cried half the night and kept me awake."
Nyara gathered her bedding and sat down on Elyon's bed.
"Be gentle, you're sitting on my leg. Your brother here is still a patient."
"Are you suggesting I've gained weight? How can you say that to a lady?"
After downing the water, Elyon looked around to ensure the room contained only the four of them, and then asked,
"Where's Seraphina? I don't see her."
"She was here during the day yesterday, but I sent her home last night. If you didn't wake up today, I planned to have her catch a train to inform our parents. She should be on her way now," Nyara answered.
Seraphina had been keeping vigil for over a day, arriving at the hospital just an hour after Elyon was admitted, and even spent the first night sobbing beside him. If it weren't for her relationship with Elyon, Garrick joked, one might think the lucky fellow had two sweethearts.
Nyara's face flushed red at the remark. "Old man, what nonsense are you talking about? We're just siblings."
The conversation was interrupted by the door swinging open, and a clear female voice rang out.
"Sis, I brought the change of clothes for you. Maybe you should go home and rest up during the day, and I'll stay with our brother."
A girl with short black hair and brown eyes entered the room. Upon seeing Elyon half-sitting on the bed, she dropped the bundle she was carrying, her hands covering her mouth in surprise.
"Good morning, Seraphina," Elyon greeted as she waved her hand.
Seraphina picked up the dropped bundle and sat beside Elyon's bed. She pulled out an apple from her pocket, peeled it with a knife from the dresser, and handed the fruit to Elyon.
"What would you like to eat? You must be hungry after sleeping so long," she asked.
"I'd like some rice. I heard it's really good," Elyon replied, though he didn't feel particularly hungry; he just craved the taste of rice, which he hadn't had in a long while.
"Okay, my sister and I will go get some for you now. In the meantime, maybe you can think about writing a letter to our parents. They'll probably get the message and start heading this way today."
The sisters rolled up their bedsheets, each carrying a blanket, and left the room.
"Old lady, I'm heading back to prepare lunch. You men can have your talk. Old man, I bought you any paper, so don't be picky."
Mrs. Garrick picked up the empty bowl and left the room, leaving only the two men on the beds.
"So, Mr. Garrick, what happened after I passed out?" Elyon inquired, munching on the apple.
"After you fainted, I struggled to the warehouse door. All the workers outside had fled from the gunfire. I asked two brave ones to help me carry you out. We secured the scene, and just as we were about to be taken to the hospital, the captain arrived. After inspecting the scene, he had Bell take us here."
"Only the captain came?"
"I remember on the way we ran into some folks from the Special Actions Division. Yesterday the captain came with a black-coated, high-ranking officer to check your injury. The captain said he would come by to talk to you after you woke up."
The Special Actions Division, Elyon recalled, was tasked with handling supernatural events. There was no way to explain away the werewolf he had fought for his life.
He had managed to bluff his way past two novice operatives last time, but this time would likely be far more challenging. The thought made Elyon consider bolting from the bed and escaping.
But with his left arm in bandages and slung around his neck, who knew if there were watchers outside ready to gun him down the moment they noticed an escape attempt.
Elyon realized he must have awakened into one of the transcendent beings, although in his current state, he was far from bulletproof. He understood that well.
Might as well be hanged for a sheep as a lamb, Elyon thought, and tossed the apple core into the waste bin several yards away.
There were perks to being transcendent, after all. The orb had said once he awakened, he'd see it again. What exactly was a transcendent's nature? What about magical attributes? He had so many questions.