The Green Guardian

Chapter 18: Night of the Second Moon

        Evie felt relieved to be back at Paperblank Village. She, her friends, and her family loitered around the hospital with the rangers. Evie, her group members, and her parents sat in a row of chairs just outside the building. The rangers checked them to make sure they were okay. The ones who had been injured were treated: Ben for his thorn gashes, John for his wing, Sam for his arm, and Mateo for his belly. There was quite a lot of activity going on around the hospital.

The witch doctor moved her fingers across Sam's arm. Smiling, she said, "Well, young man, it looks like your arm is nearly healed. I don't think you need this anymore." She untied Sam's sling.

He shuffled excitedly on the gurney. "Thank you so much, Evergreen." He, John, Ben, and Mateo were separated from the uninjured people. The young boy looked up to the billions of stars shimmering through Paperblank's treetops.

On his gurney, John shared heroic tales from his and Ben's journey with Ranger Krysta. He was having a little too much fun. "One day, we found a nearly dried-up mermaid. Ben and I fought against two sea monsters to save her."

Ranger Krysta moved his wing back and forth. "You must have been very brave, John."

"Oh, I was. Even more so than Ben."

"Hey!" Ben shouted from his own gurney. "Last I checked, John, wasn't I the one who dove into the ocean to get the sword?" He flinched a little when a doctor rubbed some medicine on his gashes.

John, Ben, and Sam may have been good patients, but Mateo was still stubborn as ever. He refused treatment. There were two doctors and rangers with him–including Ms. Julie. Maria and his mom tried to keep him calm, but nothing worked. Frankly, Mateo felt better (the fairies' magic helped him), so he believed he didn't need a doctor. Every time someone tried to touch his belly, he pushed them off.

"I'm fine!" he said. "Let me go. I have a mission to complete." He hopped down from the gurney and shoved his way past the doctors and rangers.

They stumbled. Mateo was scrawny, but he was very strong.

Ms. Brook turned all motherly. She pointed at the gurney. "If you don't get back here when I count to three, young man, there will be consequences," she threatened.

"Please, Mom, I'm not a child anymore." Mateo sure as heck was acting like one. He tried to leave, but he bumped into Ms. Julie.

She took his shoulders. "Listen to your mother, kid. You need to let the doctors look at your belly."

"I will heal on my own. I am twenty-one years old." Mateo fought against her. He managed to pull Ms. Julie off him. He shuffled to the hospital's bridge.

"Why is he being such a jerk?" Tate asked.

Evie had the answer. "It's because he's scared."

Keegan did not agree with her. He crossed his arms. "No, it's because he's a baby. I don't know why the Union hired him. He's pretty useless if you ask me. A sorry excuse for a ranger."

Evie flashed him an angry look. "No, he's not, Dad. He's scared. I think he has an injury he doesn't want us to know about."

Euphorbia, who rested on her shoulder, watched the young man leave. Even she was trying to figure out his strange behavior.

***

Mateo hit it up at the bar. He promised he would never have another drink, but he could not help himself. He was too stressed.