Noctura

twenty six

seunghoon

FINALLY, I walk out of the hospital and start walking toward my house.

Spending an entire night in the hospital isn't fun, but at least they were able to get my rib healed with their new technology. My concussion isn't so bad, so they said I could get back to work in two days. I'll just have to keep the bandage on my arm for a little while, until the bite mark heals.

As I'm walking toward my house, I look at my phone and see that I have a message from Teagan. She's asking if she can come over to my place and have dinner tonight.

I smile as I answer her, telling her that would be great.

I still can't believe I was put in a hospital because of a Noctura. I'm supposed to protect everyone else from Nocturas, but I can't even protect myself.

That's why I've vowed to train better and harder, until I can beat any Noctura. Until I can kill every last one of them.

I make it to my house and quickly step inside, locking the door behind me. I sigh in relief at the feeling of finally being home. I know I was only in the hospital for one night, but it felt like an eternity. I'm glad I'll just be able to sleep in my bed tonight.

I quickly grab a glass and fill it with water. I stand in the kitchen and drink the glass of water, looking out the window, across the street.

There's nothing going on outside. It's just dark and cloudy.

But I know the evil that lurks around here.

I take another drink of water and then go back into the kitchen, setting the glass down. I look through my fridge and pantry to see what I can make tonight with Teagan, but I can't really find anything. It looks like we'll be ordering in tonight.

Teagan told me she would come over around six and it's already thirty past five.

To waste time, I sit down on my couch and turn the TV on. I watch some news and then flip through some sports channels, just trying to pass the time.

I'm really glad that Teagan came to see me at the hospital, but I wish she didn't have to see me like that. I'm a rank one senior officer. I shouldn't be put in the hospital because of a single Noctura on the streets.

This fuels the fire inside me.

It just makes me want to head over to the AAN building right now and do that simulation. I want to train harder. I want to be the best AAN officer there ever was. I want to be a rank three soldier and I want to kill every last Noctura on the face of this earth.

I have to. After an incident like that, how can I even call myself an AAN officer?

I need to train harder. I need to get better. I need to be the best.

Suddenly, the doorbell rings.

I quickly turn the TV off and head down the short hallway to the front door. I open it up and see Teagan standing outside, dressed in a gray sweater and jeans.

"Hey," I greet her with a smile.

She smiles back. "Hey, there. You look like you're doing better."

I shrug and gesture for her to come inside. She does and then I close the door behind her.

"Yeah," I tell her. "I am doing better."

She glances at my arm. "You've gotta keep that on for a while?"

"Yeah," I answer. "Until the bite mark heals. And I'm not allowed to work or train for two days because of the concussion."

"And your rib?"