Façade (DISCONTINUED. Revised and redone as a webcomic)

Chapter 8: Tragedy of the Innocent

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Day 004 11:12am
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The clock's monotonous ticking was the first thing I heard as I returned from sleep. Once I'd re-established my connection with the waking world, I opened my eyes. The once-vibrant glowing stars were now pale against the off-white colour of the ceiling, barely visible among the posters that covered my ceiling in a vivid collage of anime, pop culture and animals.

I wore nothing more than some pyjama shorts, so I could definitely see that my torso, wasn't even scared. I swallowed, bringing my hand up to touch my throat. I immediately remembered the events of the night before and felt an inner turmoil surging within my chest. On one hand, I wanted to leap out of bed and rush out to find Distance. On the other...I was SO TIRED.

Fortunately for me, Triumph opened the door just after I began screaming internally at my predicament. Our eyes met, then he stepped in and sat on the edge of the bed. I could still smell the vague, coppery tang of blood in the room, but it was faint. I could easily focus on Triumph while he talked since the smell was faint.

"Take it easy, you nearly died last night."

He warned me, but I still say up abruptly and asked,

"Distance?"

He groaned, rubbing his temples in exasperation.

"I don't know why I bother trying to help you. Distance is fine. He's just sleeping in his bed. He's still fevered though, so I'm going to get some medication for him today. There's a good chance he's gonna transform unexpectedly a few more times. Those are transformations that won't let him retain his human mind."

I cautiously sat up, shuddering as I remembered the gashes on my back from Distance's panicked clawing...his terror...my own fear.

"I'll come."

"Fine, fine. Not like I could stop you anyways."

He muttered, rolling his eye.

As I shifted to let my feet hang over the edge of the bed, Triumph continued,

"I called Aspen last night, since she gave me her number and told me to call if anything happened. I told her that it had gotten sorted out but things had gotten too intense to call her in the middle of it. I also let her know that you'd gotten badly injured but would live. She called me about five minutes ago and told me that she's on her way over now. When she gets here, she can watch Distance while Shark sleeps and we can go buy some meds. Shark was up all night monitoring you and Distance. She needs rest."

I nodded. I understood his explanation perfectly and had no arguments against it. I stood up, cautiously testing my right leg. Distance's rear claws had torn my right thigh up pretty badly, but I couldn't feel any pain or soreness at all.

"Oh yeah, one more thing."

Triumph added, prompting me to turn my head and look at him.

"Don't tell Distance about anything that happened last night."

I shrugged.

"Don't worry, I won't."

I replied.

Triumph sighed, rising to his feet.