Cynetic Wolf

When I came to, everything was white and orderly, lights raking my eyes. The medical ward again, probes on my arms and legs, a pulsing red heartbeat on a virtual screen floating above my bed.

“I was wondering when you’d wake up.”

What? I looked around, groggy, eyes half open.

Fitz stood from his chair in the corner and walked over. “How you feeling?”

“Like crap.” Ugh. “How did I get here?”

“You remember what happened, the meeting and all?”

How could I not? I nodded, grimacing.

“You passed out. All the commotion and attention. It must have overwhelmed you.”

“Where were you?” I looked at him and remembered why I’d been alone. “I couldn’t find you.”

“I’ll tell you the truth about the space race later, okay?” he said, his tone turning businesslike.

The space race? I was about to ask when Lilia came in. Fitz caught my eye as he turned to leave. Something told me to hold my tongue.

“How’s he doing?” she whispered. “Is he okay?”

“He’ll be fine. Doctors say it was shock. They’re giving him fluids and monitoring his vitals, but he’s fine.”

“I see. I came by to apologize for not giving him a heads up about what we were planning.”

“That was planned?” Fitz exclaimed.

“Well, more or less.” She looked away. “It wasn’t set in stone, but I felt the moment, the energy… Didn’t you? It was perfect. It was the right time.”

“Perfect for who?” Fitz snapped.

“You know as well as I do, Lyam, why this matters. You’ve sacrificed more than most.”

He has?

“He’s a boy, Lilia!” he hissed. “Remember that.”

“You think I don’t? You think this isn’t hard for me too?” She was getting louder, but Fitz was blocking her view.

“You know what I think, but now’s not the time. I need to go.”

“I’ll tell him you came by if he wakes,” she said as he left.

I kept my eyes closed another five minutes. What was that about?

After what felt long enough to be convincing, I opened my eyes a crack. Feigning sleepiness, I looked around, avoiding Lilia before doing a double take.

“What, what happened?” I croaked. “Where am I?”

“Everything’s fine, Raek. You’re in the medical ward. You had a little fall, that’s all.” Her voice was soft as she held my hand. “The excitement of last night shocked you.”

I let my jaw drop. “Is Fitz here, I mean Lyam?”

“Not since I got here,” she lied. “I’ve been here an hour, maybe he was here earlier.” A forced-looking optimistic smile crossed her beautiful face.

Something was definitely up. I needed to find Fitz and find out what he’d wanted to tell me. “I’m thirsty. Do you have water?”

“I’ll ring the nurse and have her bring you something nice. How does that sound?”

“Thanks, Lilia.” I did my best dopey smile. “You’re nice, you know that. Pretty too. I’m glad you’re here.” I opened my mouth in mock surprise. “Uhhhhh, I didn’t mean to say that... the medicine.”

“It’s okay, Raek.” She smiled at me.

Lilia hung around another half hour or so, talking to me, telling jokes and asking about life as I gnawed salty jerky. If I hadn’t known better, I’d have fallen for it.

As it was, I was lost and confused. I fell asleep not knowing what to do or who to trust.

A light tap on my arm jolted me as a hand clamped hard over my mouth.

Alarm bells exploded in my head.

This was it.