When You Came

Chapter 7

Mia bolts up and stands. "What happened?"

"I went for a walk and a guard found me," I start slowly. 

"That's it? You were caught going for a walk?" She slows down and sits down on the bed. 

"No. Something was wrong with the guard," I tell her. I explain my encounter with the guard. Her face starts to get pale. All of a sudden, she jumps up and heads for the door. 

"Come on, we have to tell Deraci."

        I quickly follow her to his office, only to learn he's not there. She then heads to the staff dorms. The next thing I know is I'm explaining what happen with the guard to Mr. Deraci. I feel uncomfortable in his room, but this could be a big problem. It might not be a Center guard, someone could be breaking in. Just because I don't like the Center doesn't mean I will risk anyone's life. Once I'm done he thanks us and tells us to go get sleep. 

"I will go sort this out with the guards and the Arrow himself," Deraci says. 

        The Arrow is the person who started this whole project, he's the one in charge. No one knows where he got the nickname, just that it has stayed the same since the beginning. His real name is Derrick Vladimir. Some say he's a vampire because no one ever sees him and he's really pale. The reason he's so pale is really because he has Alpha Thalassemia. 

        He's had it for his whole life, but he's one of the smartest people anyone knows. You would see him with everyone before it got really bad. He grew too weak to leave his dorm, which is why no one ever sees him. The disease causes a reduced production of hemoglobin. Which is the protein that carries oxygen throughout the body.

         How do I know this? He posts a 'Get to Know the Disease' paper each year with his story in it. My point is, if Mr. Deraci is going to see the Arrow then this is a bigger deal then I thought. Mia and I walk quickly back our dorm, we don't talk as we go. Once we're back she grabs a towel and heads to the shower. I understand, I won't be able to sleep after that, too. I brush my hair and put it up. I head to the closet to grab some jeans.

        I open the door and someone jumps out at me. I get punched in the jaw as I fall onto the floor out of surprise. They land on top of me and hit my nose, blood gushes out. I punch their head and they fall off of me. I scramble to my feet as they stand up. I can't run out of the room, they're in between me and the door. I have to fight. 

        They lung at me and I duck. I jab my fist at their stomach. It connects, but my hand hurts and they don't flinch. I realize they're wearing a bulletproof vest, it's the guard from earlier. I freeze for a second, but that's enough time for her to kick my stomach. I get pushed onto the bed and she starts throwing her fists at my face. 

I put my arms to defend myself. All of a sudden she collapses on top of me. I look up and see Mia standing in a towel holding a lamp. 

"You can't go five minutes without a fight can you?" She asks glaring at the guard. Instead of answering her I shove the guard off of me and stand up. 

"It's that guard, isn't it?"

        I look at her and nod. You can see her hair, but she's wearing a ski mask. Mia goes over and remove the ski mask. I don't recognize her. She has a short nose and a jagged scar above her eyes. We lift her and set her down in a chair. 

        Mia goes to the closet and pulls out a headband. We tie her to the chair as best as we can. Mia hands me a metal pole and leaves to get Mr. Deraci. I sit down on the bed across from her with an ice pack to my jaw. She stirs a few minutes later. She looks around before her eyes land on me.