Balance of the Skies (bxb)

CHAPTER 7

Koray stirred in bed but could not find the inclination to open his eyes just yet. He could sense someone moving around him, he could hear murmurs and whispers, yet he still did not want to open his eyes.

"I think he's coming to," a hushed, soft voice whispered from somewhere to his left. Was it Sen or his sister? He really could not tell.

"I'll call the nurse." That was definitely Ty's deep voice.

Koray frowned slightly in his dazed state. The nurse? And then he remembered the pain. It had felt like a thousand knives had stabbed him all at once. Not only that, but it felt like their sharp points had been dipped in poison, a fiery poison. It had felt like his side was on fire and that the flames would soon engulf him whole.

It was then that Koray remembered – just a moment before the pain started, he had looked straight into a pair of eyes that had looked vaguely familiar. Or was it because they had a strange light that reminded him of warm campfires? A small moan escaped his lips.

"Koray? How are you feeling? Can you tell me if you feel any pain? Nausea? Dizziness?" This was the nurse.

He opened his eyes slowly and shuffled around, trying to sit up.

"Woah there, lie down for a while. The doctor still needs to examine you again. Can you tell me what happened?"

"I don't really know. I just felt a sharp pain here," he indicated his right side, "and then -"

"You lost consciousness Koray. Has this happened before?"

"No never. I've always been generally healthy."

The doctor walked in then and began a series of examinations, looking into Koray's eyes and into his mouth and then he began prodding him around his stomach, belly and sides.

"If this hurts anywhere, just let me know," he said. Next he asked Koray to take some deep breaths while he listened to his heart and lungs. "Everything seems fine now, Koray. However, if you feel any sort of pain again, come to the clinic immediately. Remember to drink plenty of water and make sure you rest. When did you return from America?"

"On Sunday, Doctor."

"And how did it go?"

"Fine, I guess. The gallery commissioned three of my pieces, so it went well," Koray smiled.

"That's great. Keep up the good work. You may join your friends. They are all anxiously waiting for you outside. And take it easy for today. No physical activities."

"Yes, Sir, thank you," Koray smiled as he headed to the door. His sister Auryn burst into tears as soon as he appeared. She ran to him, hugging him tightly.

"Oh God Koray I thought I had lost you," she breathed, her face muffled into his chest. She was petite, with blonde hair. The siblings looked nothing like each other, yet they were extremely close.

"Hey man, glad you're better," Rylan fist-bumped him.

"I'm fine," Koray smiled. "I think I'll just head to my room though, you know, rest a bit more."

"Yeah, you do that. I'll get you any notes we might take down today."

"Thanks, man I appreciate." Koray walked into his room, closing the door behind him. Much as he loved his friends, he really needed to be alone at that moment. He needed to process what exactly happened earlier. He felt fine now, yet he could not deny the tingling feeling on his right side, right where his birthmark was.

Koray lifted his shirt and looked down.

~~~~~

Wilford was concerned. His friend had rushed out of the canteen over two hours ago and he had not returned. Wilford had tried to run after him, but he had lost him in the commotion by the door when Koray had collapsed. Lorien had missed Creative Design, he had not returned to their room nor had he answered his calls or messages. Wilford had already gone round the school once, looking in their usual hangouts – the library, their classrooms, even the toilets. He was now seriously thinking of braving the weather and going out into the garden. The rain had slowed down to a drizzle, yet the wind was still unforgiving. He grabbed his thick jacket and headed out. It was then that he saw the blue-haired girl from History Class walking down the corridor.

"Hey, erm, Melia, right?" She looked up a bit startled.

"Oh, hi Wilford." Then seeing his concerned face, "Is something wrong?"

"Have you seen Lorien? He sort of left in a hurry quite a while ago and he has not been back. He missed class -"

"Lorien missed class? That's definitely not like him. I hope he is not hurt or -"

"I looked everywhere, even the clinic. There was some commotion there after what happen with Koray -"

"Wait! What happened to Koray?"

"I don't know, he fainted or something but his friends called the nurse. He should be fine now. Look, I really need to look for Lorien. Perhaps I should report - "

"Give me his number, we have to find him before night falls," Melia seemed really agitated all of a sudden.

"Yeah sure. I'm going out in the garden. I haven't looked out there yet."

They parted, but suddenly Melia had an idea. She sprinted three flights of stairs up to the roof and a small frown appeared on her forehead when she saw that the door was not bolted. She ventured out into the wind and looked around. Sure enough, in the far away corner was a huddled figure, soaking wet, trembling.

"Lorien," she walked slowly towards him. "Lorien, it's me Melia. I have history class with you."

The boy looked up at her absolutely terrified, his face a deathly white, only made to look paler framed as it was by his dark, wet locks. Yet what worried Melia most were his eyes. They were hazel, with flecks of orange and red sparkling through them. Even in his numb, frozen, scared state, his eyes were like scorching flames.

There was no mistaking the heated power that lay there, waiting to be unleashed.