Vial 126

Chapter 21

I opened my eyes and looked around me. I sat up to get get a better view.
I was shaking violently.
I practically yelled Strawberry's name before I could stop myself.
"What? W-why do you need Strawberry?" Michael asked.
"Is she okay?" I asked, probably still being too loud.
"W-why would she not be, should I go check on her?" Michael asked, sounding worried about Strawberry or me or both of us.
"She fell into a river, this place blew up. The-the gasoline, we have to get rid of it!" I started ranting.
"Woah, ok. It was just a dream. Calm down. You're shaking like crazy. Explain what happened... Slowly." Michael said.
I tried to concentrate and calm myself. I started to tell Michael what had happened, but the memories were too horrible. I started to cry.
I didn't know why, they were just memories, but I was overwhelmed by everything that was going on.
"It's ok, it's over now." Michael said, softly.
"Why? Why did this happen?" I asked.
"You passed out after your knuckles started to bleed." Michael told me.
"My knuckles? My knuckles feel fine. I'm not bleeding. How are your knuckles?" I asked defensively and confused.
"What?! No! My knuckles are fine. You had blood on your knuckles, so I wrapped your hand in some fabric." Michael said.
I looked at my hand.
They were wrapped in a small, red-stained fabric piece.
I began to unravel the fabric.
My blood-stained hand was revealed.
"Told ya." Michael said.
Most of the blood was on the ring.
I was so confused.
"Th-this isn't my blood." I stammered.
Michael gave me a sarcastic look that meant, 'Then whose blood is it, Sherlock?'
I licked fingertips and started to rub the blood off of my nuckles.
The red stain came out and there was no visible cut.
"It's not my blood." I repeated.
I licked my fingertips again to start scrubbing the ring.
I got some of the lingering 'blood' in my mouth.
I made a disgusted face and gagged.
"It's not blood." I said, the taste still lingering.
It tasted like licking lemon infused mustard off of a block of lead, not that I have tried that.
"What is it then, ketchup?" Michael asked.
"Nope." I said.
I started to scrub off the red stain that covered my ring.
When the stain was mostly off, it revealed that the stone was no longer red.
The ring was a hollow glass marble with a crack running down the side. It had about a drop of liquid left in it.
"This ring was never stone. That's why you couldn't have identified it." I informed Michael.
"What?! No, that's not right!" Michael challenged.
"No, really. Look." I said.
"That's... Interesting." Michael said.
Interesting. Yes, very. But how could a few drops have any effect on me, and it stopped my powers from spazzing. If this liquid controls my powers, then it has to be on my blood system. If I test my powers, then they should work.
But if I don't have this liquid in my blood system then I must implant it there to keep my powers. Which would mean I would have put it in my bloodstream myself.
I looked around.
I was starting to confuse myself.
I focused on one of the steel buildings.
I began the process of teleporting.
It failed.
I tried the rest of my powers.
Fail, fail, EPIC fail.
"What are you doing?" Michael asked.
"Michael, do we have a first aid kit in the plane?" I asked.
"All planes do, but-"
"Let's go." I commanded.
I started off in a jog, covering the ring with my other hand to avoid losing anymore of the valuable liquid.
Michael caught up and began to sprint faster than me, I didn't bother to speed up, though.
He reached the plane about 45 seconds before me.
Within a few minutes, we had the first aid kit in our hands.
I flipped the lid open and rummaged through the supplies, I was looking for something to get the strange liquid in my ring transferred into my bloodstream.
I found a pair of reading glasses.
I threw them on the ground and stomped on them.
I picked up a small shard of glass,
I placed the sharp end of the blade-like shard of glass on my arm where you would get your blood draw.
I tried to make a cut, but I couldn't. I didn't have the will-power.
"Michael, I need to ask you a favor." I said.
He had a terrified look in his eyes. "No, I won't hurt you."
"Just cut a small cut, then pour the liquid in it. Then I will have my powers back and I can heal myself. Please." I begged.
"No! You're my friend I would never do that to you." Michael said.
"Well, you can't not do it to me." I said.
"No." He insisted.
"Fine."
I walked outside and shouted Strawberry's name.
Her luminescent red hair was visible as soon as she rounded the corners of one of the storage lockers.
"What?" She asked.
"I need you to dissect my arm." I said.
"Sure." she responds.