Element

✯ Chapter 54 (and explanation)

"There you go, hon! That should do it!" A kind woman finishes wrapping my side in a bandage. She gives the loose end a light tap to pat it down. "It should be healed in a few days!"

I nod unsurely. All she did was wash and dress it... I thought it might warrant a few small stitches, or at least a bit of time at the doctor's. Maybe I've been accustomed to extra special treatment after the Drexel incident...

Drexel. I'd completely forgotten about him. Must've been because of the injection before the tourney.

Taking a deep breath, I hop down from the raised table, wincing as the impact of my landing shoots through my side.

The silence in the dark, cool hallways is broken by my forced steady breathing. The doors along the walls that appear in intervals are all simply labeled "Viewing Room," so I resort to sticking my head in each one, quickly glancing around to see if any of my friends are inside.

Room after room, and still no sign of Alanna or Kaelie. Just as I walk in front of a closed door, it swings open, making me side-step hastily. I'm about to trip and fall but strong arms catch me.

"Ramaya! I'm sorry. I- I didn't see you. 'm sorry Ramaya..." I look up into familiar hazel eyes that dart away, unwilling to make contact. His jaw clenches ruefully, letting go of my wrists. "They're in there..." He steps aside to let me through the door. I don't look back at him, letting the door bang shut behind me.

"Ramaya!" Kaelie, Alanna, and Parisa smother me with hugs.

"You guys did so good! The way you fought the Fire team was soooo awesome!"

"You should have been fighting longer! You were pretty much the only reason the Air Team won that!"

"I'm so proud of you Ram!"

I clamber away from them, grinning tiredly. My encounter with Rhodes slips out of my mind in seconds.

"Thanks for being here guys, it means a lot, really."

"Of course we were gonna be here. After everything you've worked for the whole year, how could we not?" Kaelie exclaims exuberantly. "Really too bad you got knocked out so early, though. We dunno how the Air Team will win anything without you!

I chuckle softly, still feeling bad about freezing so early on. "We've still got plenty of good fighters. Calum, Lystal, Gavin, Dre— Um, yeah we'll be fine."

"I think so too! You can see from over here, if you wanna." A chipper voice comes from behind the barricade of my friends. Aately is sitting in front of a screen, pressing buttons and fiddling with computer windows.

"Whaaaaa..?" My curiosity takes over, and I ease myself into a chair beside her. "What's this?"

"It's an intelligible video analyzing program thingy. I'm pretty sure it pulls up the videos with the most movement going on, so you don't miss a battle. My dad works for the company that makes the computers that runs the program. During summer I sneak into his office and use it." She glances up at me with a hopeful smile.

"So your dad works at DETAC right? My dad works there too. He's in the aerospace department."

"Dimicel Engineering and Technological Advancement Corporation, yup. 'M pretty sure they designed a lot of the programs that run this whole Battle Team facility."

I sit back, watching the team eat around a small fire. They look happy, confident. Lystal talks to the group as a whole. Man, I wish I could still be there. I wish I could've seen the tournament through to the end.

Staring at the scene, so familiar and comforting, my eyes begin to droop. Soon I doze off. In the back of my mind I can hear Alanna and Kaelie discussing terms for our History final. Parisa and Aately excitedly chatter about summer plans. The bright lights of the screen flash through my eyelids, making everything feel surreal.