Chapter 33: The Spotlight Burns
The next morning, Tessa stirred, her body still aching from the hospital ordeal. Outside, the early morning sunlight filtered through the blinds, casting thin, golden beams across the sterile room.
She glanced over to Adrian, seated at the foot of her bed, his usually calm blue eyes clouded with worry. His smell of fire, which once gave her comfort, now seemed like a warning.
Meanwhile, leaked footage from the night before—captured on a doctor's cell phone—was already making rounds on every major news network.
Adrian, healing the patient. Tessa, standing by his side. It was grainy, but the sheer impossibility of what had happened made it undeniable.
People on social media began speculating wildly. Some hailed Adrian as a hero, the dawn of a new age of superhumans. Others were terrified, calling him a monster, something that should be contained before he caused harm.
Conspiracy theorists began connecting dots where there were none, claiming that Adrian was the first of many alien invaders sent to infiltrate Earth.
The hospital's press office issued an official statement, neither confirming nor denying the claims, but the damage was done. Adrian and Tessa were no longer just teenagers—they were public figures, their every move now under a microscope.
BANG! BANG!
The sudden, loud knocks on the door made them both jump. Adrian immediately stood up, his eyes narrowing. The door opened, and Ms. Caldwell entered with her usual poised steps, but behind her, outside the hospital, was a flood of chaos.
A mass of reporters had gathered just outside the hospital. Camera flashes burst like fireworks, their lenses zooming in, capturing every angle of the hospital entrance. Microphones were shoved toward the front, hungry for the first word from anyone involved in last night's event.
"They're everywhere, and it's not just them," Ms. Caldwell said, her voice low but urgent. "The government is getting involved.
Agents are waiting downstairs to speak with you both. They want answers."
"Answers to what?" Tessa whispered, though she already knew.
Ms. Caldwell shot her a knowing glance. "They know."
Adrian clenched his jaw, his gaze distant, as if preparing for the storm.They both started to make their way to the lower floors in their bid to leave the vicinity of the hospital on time.
"Just wait for me downstairs, I want to use the restroom real quick and also wake Mr. Thompson, he is still sleeping since he hadn't gotten much sleep since yesterday." Ms Caldwell said as she turned back from the advancing pair.
---
Downstairs
As they stepped into the lobby, the hospital's sterile calmness was no match for the pandemonium outside.
The building was flanked by vans from every major news outlet. Reporters yelled questions, their voices a chaotic blend of curiosity, fear, and demand:
"Adrian! Are you really an alien?" "Tessa, what's your role in all this?" "Is there more we should know? Are there more of you?"
The questions hit Tessa like bullets, each one a reminder of how much their lives had changed in just a few hours. She tightened her grip on Adrian's hand, their only form of silent support amidst the chaos.
Before they could get far, two men in black suits intercepted them, their badges flashing.
"Adrian East, Tessa Caldwell," one of them said sternly. "We need you to come with us. The government has questions."
(Tessa had been adopted by Ms Caldwell, so her last named had changed from Kael to Caldwell.)
Adrian stepped forward, placing himself between Tessa and the agents, his protective nature flaring. "We're not going anywhere until we know what you plan to do with us."
The agent with the hard-set jaw leaned in. "This isn't a request, son. We've seen the footage, and the doctors corroborated your... abilities. You're a national security concern now."
Tessa felt her stomach twist. It was worse than she thought. They weren't just curious—they saw him as a threat. And by extension, she was implicated.
Unknown to Ms Caldwell, both Adrian and Tessa had been apprehended.
---
Later, Inside the Black Van
As they sat inside the government van, heading toward an undisclosed location, Tessa's mind raced. The two agents up front said little beyond vague mentions of protocol and "ensuring the public's safety." But she could feel the weight of what was coming.
"They're going to study us," she whispered to Adrian. "Like an experiment."
"I won't let them," Adrian said, his voice a low growl, though there was a hint of uncertainty in his eyes. For all his power, there were some battles he couldn't fight head-on.
"We'll figure something out," he added, though it felt more like a promise to himself than to her.
--
The revelation of Adrian's true identity had spread like wildfire, and Riverdale Academy was thrust into the glare of media scrutiny. What had once been a quiet school in a small town now became the center of a public spectacle.
Outside the Riverdale Academy, the crowd buzzed like bees in a hive. Reporters jostled for position, their cameras flashing as they tried to capture every angle of the story.
Students who had witnessed the battle firsthand were hounded for interviews, and the media painted a picture of chaos, heroism, and fear.
Oxlade and Karl, their eyes still wide with disbelief, found themselves at the center of attention. A reporter thrust a microphone in front of them.
"So, you two were directly involved in the incident?" the reporter asked, the camera zooming in.
Karl nodded. "Yeah, we… we were getting jumped by those SSG guys. They had us surrounded. We didn't stand a chance." His voice was shaky, but there was admiration in his eyes.
"Then outta nowhere, Adrian shows up. Dude took them down like it was nothing. Saved our lives, no doubt."
Oxlade chipped in, his voice less shaken but equally stunned. "I thought I was dreaming, man. He moved so fast, like… like something from a movie. We didn't even see half of what he did until it was over. And then, bam! They were on the ground, unconscious. Just like that."
The crowd erupted into murmurs. Adrian, the stellar student with the god like confidence and football genius, had become the town's unexpected savior. But not everyone was convinced.
---
At Fiver academy, admist the chatter of students hungry for gossip, Bridget Mills stood to the side, arms crossed, her lips curled into a sneer.
She'd managed to escape the hounding reporters, but she wasn't about to let this opportunity go to waste.
"So, it turns out the beast of Riverdale is actually a real beast," she drawled, loud enough for a few nearby students to hear. "Can you see, Coach? I didn't lose unfairly—I mean, I lost to an alien."
The coach, standing nearby, sighed, clearly tired of her antics. "Bridget, you didn't lose because of Adrian's or Tessa's alien status. You lost because they were faster and smarter on the tracks. Being an alien had nothing to do with it."
But Bridget wasn't about to let it go. "Sure, Coach. Whatever you say. But I bet if I had alien powers, I'd have won too." She rolled her eyes, enjoying the chaos as much as she had resented Adrian's quiet presence at school. For once, she had something to hold over him.
---
Back in the hospital, Ms. Caldwell discovered later that Tessa and Adrian were no where to be found. She tried calling Tessa's and Adrian's phones but nobody picked up.
After a few tries, a deep voice responded at the other line.
"They are now in custody of the federal government security bureau, you would have to wait patiently..."
Before the government agent could say anymore, Ms Caldwell screamed like a mother hen whose chicks had been taken before her very eyes,
"Listen here you bald freaks, if you don't want to see the sun rising from the west , give me back my dsughter....and my star student"
Instead of responding, the government agent just cut off the phone, and shut it down.
Ms Caldwell felt like someone whose life was flashing before her very eyes.
There was so much to consider now—Adrian and Tessa were gone and now in the hands of the government agents, and who knows, they may actually be the SSG thugs who were pretending to be Governemnt agents.
There is also the issue of the alien publicity and media frenzy, shit, it's going downhill too fast!
What to do? Ms Caldwell felt like there were ants all over her body, she was panicking and pacing, unsure of what step to take.
First she needed to seek help from the school proprietor before she could decide on the next step.
Pah! pah! Pah! She tapped the sleeping Mr. Thompson.
"Adrian and Tessa have both been abducted by the Governemnt agents, we need to do something...." Ms Caldwell mouthed off her words to Mr. Thompson who was barely awake and she rushed out, not caring if he heard her clearly or not.
Mr. Thompson was more confused than a deer in headlights as he stirred and yawned trying to understand the words that were still floating around his semi-conscious mind.
Then all of a sudden, as if hit by realization, he sprang up, "Wait what? They have been captured?"
He got up like a stunned squirrel and ran forth to catch up with Ms Caldwell.
For Ms. Caldwell, her heart was breaking, She'd just adopted Tessa not too long ago, a decision made out of love and the desire to give her the family she'd never had.
She was just getting accustomed to this lovely individual who was Tessa, and her lonely life had gotten some warmth to it, but now, things had gone downhill and it all started with that damn Mr. Rudbick and his stupid son.
Well they both deserve to be in coma, unfortunately only the son is presently in coma.
Along the way Ms. Caldwell ran into a doctor, his face lined with concern.
"We need to talk about what happened," he said softly, glancing at the distressed Ms. Caldwell. "People are going to ask questions… and we'll have to give answers."
Ms. Caldwell wasn't in the mood for any of these, her daughter was in danger and that is all she could think about.
It was weird that an unmarried woman who hadn't managed as much as a kid could be so worried over a teenage girl.
"just tell them whatever you want, for now I need to save my daughter, I will deal with the aftermath as it unfolds." After saying that and without giving as much as even a glance to the doctor, she ran her fastest, out of the hospital.
She could swear that she had never ran that fast in her life.
---
Meanwhile, back at school, the students continued to share their stories, their admiration for Adrian growing with every retelling.
"He didn't just fight," Oxlade said, his voice filled with respect. "He protected us. That's the kind of guy he is. Alien or not."
But amidst the admiration, there were whispers of fear. What did this mean for Riverdale? Would they be safe with someone like Adrian among them? What would happen next?
--
In the midst of it all, Bridget's mocking laughter cut through the crowd back at Fiver Academy. She was loving every second of the chaos, savoring the chance to twist the situation to her advantage.
But as the hands of time ticked by, one thing became clear: Riverdale Academy, and the people in it, would never be the same again.