Prego and the Phoenix 🐇↩️✔

Bourne - Twenty-Two

The unknown is a very scary thing. It's so vast and strange but holds so much things away from others. It is full of mystery and deceit. It is the ultimate teller of truths and the ultimate liar all in one big universal fear.

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We all pile back in the car, putting the bike in the trunk as Humphrey climbs into the back seat. The cuts on my arms hurt a lot but not that much. Arabella looks at me in concern and I put my hand under her chin.
"Hey, cheer up. I'm okay and Humphrey's alright."
"I just don't know what's going on and it's scaring me. Bourne, he had his hand in Humphrey like some anime villain... He did something to him."
"I'm fine, Arabella, really..." Humphrey says from the backseat, leaning over her seat to look at her. "Honestly."
Arabella doesn't look too certain, frightened almost and I look at Humphrey in the rearview mirror. He looks at me with the same confusion as me but the only thing we can do is wait and see what happens in the long run.

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We reach my house and I help Arabella out of the car as Humphrey goes to put the motorcycle away in the garage. As we go up to the house, Arabella grabs a hold of my arm tightly and I look at her casually.
"What is it?"
"There's something weird about Humphrey now. I don't know what it is but I can feel it in the pit of my stomach. Something is not right. Please keep on your guard."
I nod and go inside.
Ma is watching something on Univision, laughing her head off, when she turns and sees us. She frowns at me and stands up.
"Y no se podía llamar por teléfono?"
"Yo estaba atrapado en el momento... Lo siento..." I say as I rub the back of my neck a little.
"Lo siento, lo siento! Yo estaba muy preocupada por ti! Pensé que podria haber sido muy lastímado! Haciendo que su pobre madre se preocupe." She says with a sniffle and a dramatic display of acting heartbroken.
I frown. "Ma, yo estaba con Arabella. I estaba explicando todo para ella. Ella aceptó, así que fue arrebatado. You're over complicating everything and confusing Arabella."
Ma looks behind me and sees Arabella, who looks like she was trying to follow along but got lost along the way.
"Oh..."
"Um... hola?" she says and Ma smiles.
"Sorry about that. I tend to speak in Spanish when I'm angry. It is just habit sometimes."
"That's fine."
Ma smiles and then looks at me and yells.
"Ai, Dios mio! Los brazos! she says, coming up to me and looking at my arms. "What happened?"
"Humphrey should be in and we can discuss this in a minute. If you could get Lochner for me..."
She nods and goes to get Lochner. I look back at Arabella and grab her hand.
"I didn't know you spoke so fluent Spanish." She says.
"Well, Ma is Spanish and all plus, like she said, when she gets into a tizzy she speaks Spanish. Would you like something to drink?"
"No, I'm fine thanks."
I nod, going to get myself something to drink.
We wait for Humphrey to get in and he finally walks in, looking very sweaty.
"Humphrey?" Lochner says, looking at him with concern.
"I'm fine... We having a meeting?" he asks, sitting next to his brother.
"I want to know what that guy is. He told me something today that disturbed me."
"What do you mean? Bourne..."
"This guy starts chasing me on the bike when I was going to Arabella's. I called Bourne to tell him and Arabella said that it was a crony of her ex. We cornered him and then he came about. He did something to me and then he just rakes his fingernails down Bourne's arms for no reason and walks off." Humphrey explains quickly.
"That's the gist- Ow!" I say as Arabella dabs my scratches with a cotton ball with peroxide.
"Sorry... He went pretty deep all things considering."
"What did he tell you?"
"He said that I was not alone and that winter was coming. He told Arabella that before I got sick and now he's brought it up again. There has to be something about that and he also says that I'm not alone. Does he mean the phoenix or me? He also said 'ice, ice baby', which I'm trying to figure out means he likes Vanilla Ice a lot or had to do with winter. Ow!"
Lochner gets his laptop and sits it in his lap, typing something in there. His eyes scroll and he clicks on something. He scans it for a moment and then nods.
"I think this might be what he was talking about." He turns the computer to me and I see this huge bird that looks like my phoenix but is covered in white feathers with blue flames. "It's called an 'ice phoenix'. The exact opposite of you in a sense. It hosts cold flames and can survive in very cold climates very well. Seems to do everything that you can..."
I look over at Humphrey and notice he is breathing heavy, grabbing at his shirt a little to air off his face. Arabella is staring too and Lochner looks at us. He looks at his brother as he looks over Lochner's shoulder and then looks at us.
"What?"
"Are you alright?" Arabella asks cautiously.
"Yeah... Why?"
"You look like you've just run a marathon." She says, her eyes narrowing at him.
"So I'm a little hot; sheesh, is that a crime?"
I look at Arabella, who looks like she is fighting getting up and leaving. Whatever is going on is bothering her and she seems to be the only one who can feel a threat.
"You're raging!" Lochner says, standing up suddenly and putting his laptop on the table. "No wonder it felt like a furnace over here."
"Lochner, get over here..." Arabella says softly.
Lochner does as she says as Humphrey looks at us all like we are crazy. He looks scared.
"G-guys?" he says, breathing harder and still fanning furiously. "Guys, why is it so hot in here?"
"What else did that thing say, Lochner?" Arabella asks, her arms seeming to be protectively over her stomach.
"I didn't get that far... Arabella, what's going on?"
"I don't know. But in the pit of my stomach, I know that it's bad. I know that something is terribly wrong and I just... I have to protect my baby and Bourne."
Humphrey is breathing extra hard now and suddenly just collapses on the floor. Lochner moves to go to him but Arabella holds him back.
"Wait. Please..."
We wait for a moment and he stirs awake. He moans a little and Lochner sighs and I go to the kitchen to get him to water.
I come back and see that Humphrey is still on the floor. I go over and kneel next to him to give him water.
"NO!" Arabella yells.
Suddenly I feel this sharp pain in my gut and I drop the water glass. I feel blood start to climb up my throat and pain sear through my body. Goop begins to leak out of me like I am a pudding filled container with a hole. I cough and red sprays from me as I fall to the side and I hear screaming. I feel myself being slightly lifted and see Ma holding me, cradling me. I hear Arabella scream and I see that Lochner is keeping Humphrey from going to her with something sharp. Arabella is trapped in the couch and I gather my strength to save her, pushing from Ma.
I grab Humphrey from behind and feel another slice go into my shoulder and my chest but anything to keep Arabella safe drives me on, even as I feel the heat of the phoenix trying to take over so that I can heal. Finally, someone pulls me off and Lochner gets a hold of his brother, punching him in the face to knock him out. More goop comes from me... I pass out.

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A/N: disclaimer on the Spanish. if anyone has a more accurate translation, please kindly let me know and i will edit it. thx!