The Fall of the Aftons

101: Michael Afton

The sounds of banging lockers, falling footsteps, loud chatting, and the ringing ten-minute bells woke Michael from his fatigued sleep. He was either unconscious or asleep for the majority of the long weekend--he didn't know which. It was easier to sleep than starve and be on the verge of death due to dehydration.

Trying as hard as he could to push through the murderous fatigue and lightheadedness, he slowly stood up and pounded on his locker door with as much strength that he could muster. Now that there were people in the hallway, he had a better chance of being heard, so then he could be released from his locker.

Suddenly, after about six minutes of slowly banging on his locker, his locker door opened and he fell out of it, landing hard in someone's arms. 

"Holy crap!" someone exclaimed worriedly. The voice was so familiar, but Michael couldn't remember who it belonged to. Everything was too fuzzy and blindingly bright, only worsening his terrible migraine. "Michael! Michael, can you hear me? It's me, Analex. Open your mouth, I'll give you some water from my water bottle."

Michael obeyed a drank a few sips of her water, knowing that he couldn't drink too much or else he'd just throw it up.

Analex cautiously leaned Michael against the lockers, then felt his forehead to see if he had a fever. "Wait here, okay? I'll be right back. I'm just going to grab help."

Michael slowly nodded his head, listening as Analex's footsteps disappeared. He wouldn't move, even if he wanted to. He could barely keep himself upright--if he tried to leave, he would just end up sprawled across the floor a few feet away.

~ ~ ~

There was a lot of excitement when Michael walked through his room's front door. There was a lot of crying and hugging and questioning. It was so overwhelming. He never expected that everyone other than his family would've missed him so much. The Emilys, his friends, and his friends were all there. He hadn't realized that so many people would've cared that he was gone.

"Where were you? Why were you there? How long were you there?" William asked worriedly, wrapping Michael in a tight hug. "Did anything happen when you were away from home? Why didn't you come home, in the first place?"

Michael softly pushed William off of him, stepping away from all of the people crowding him.

"Mister Afton, with all due respect," Analex said politely, "I found him about twenty minutes ago. It'd probably be best to give him some time to adjust. He's been stuck in his locker for days!"

"I guess," William mumbled.

Suddenly, Henry grabbed Michael's wrist and dragged him away from everyone, trying to feel his forehead. "How are you feeling, Michael?" he asked softly. "You don't look so good. Did you have any food and water with you?"

Michael slowly shook his head before he nearly collapsed--Henry was barely able to catch him before he fell to the floor.

"William, get one of Evan's sippy cups and fill it with water!" Henry demanded. He watched as William ran out of the room before he carefully guided Michael to the living room couch.

Michael flopped onto the couch and rolled over onto his side, trying to ignore everybody's questions as they surrounded him. There were so many people--Evan, Elizabeth, Henry, Sammy, Charlie, Mister Bellulose, Analex, Ella's dad, Ella's mom, Mister Riley, TJ, Lavendar, and Mason.

Wait.

Mason?

What was he doing here? He was probably the one who had gotten Michael into this mess!

"Everyone, give him some room to breathe!" William shouted as he returned from the kitchen with a sippy cup filled with water.

Everybody obeyed, carefully stepping away. Well, everyone except for Evan and Henry.