I awoke to the sound of heavy breathing. It sounded so loud in my ears that it cancelled out all other noise. I also felt a dull ache in my right side with every breath I took. But I greedily gulped at a steady flow of cool air, and the ache seemed to subside at least a little.
Opening my eyes, I blinked as I tried to take in my surroundings. I could tell right away that I was in my bedroom at the chalet. I was in my bed with the soft white curtains down. The wide open balcony to my left told me it was early evening outside and to my right I spied a man sitting in a chair. It took me a moment for me to register the person as Master Kiev.
I tried to speak, but it was difficult and my words were muffled. It took me a moment more to discover why. My brain fumbling for comprehension. There was a mask covering my nose and mouth. This was where the cool air was coming from. I reached for the mask to move it so I could speak. I found it far more difficult than I had anticipated to move my arm.
Master Kiev must have seen me move. He jumped up from his seat first with a look of concern, which quickly spread to a wide smile. He reached over and helped me remove the mask.
I inhaled without the mask and the pain in my chest rose significantly, but I was determined to have a conversation. “Kiev what’s going on?” I spoke, but it was in a rasp and barely above a whisper.
Kiev must have heard me, because he quickly replied, “You are still healing from the blaster shot. I don’t how much you remember, but Pledge Pezeri shot you in the back. The energy bolt pierced your right lung. You’ve already had five treatments and much of the damage has been righted, but Caretaker Yoshi says you need at least six more treatments for the lung to completely heal. Until then, you may need to use the oxygen mask and to keep your activity at a minimum.”
I rested my head back on the pillow behind me as I took in this information. I did remember the encounter in the bathroom with Pledge Pezeri, Pledge Gunther and Disciple Wy-lin. And it was coming back to me about the gun shot. I’d certainly felt it before I had passed out. I also remember seeing Hotoe had already been knocked out too.
“What about Hotoe?” I asked. “How is he?”
Kiev took the mask I discarded, set it close where I could reach it if needed, moved the chair a little closer, and sat back down. I could see the tall cylinder of a Remaker behind him at the other side of the room, which had not been there before.
“Cadet Shem is fine. He only needed three treatments. I believe he was released yesterday afternoon from the Repository.”
Relief coursed through me. I was glad my friend was alright, though now that he knew the truth about me, I wasn’t sure he would want to be my friend anymore. I immediately felt terrible for lying to him.
“He’s been around since asking about you. He hasn’t come up to the suite, but I’ve been told he’s inquired of your health to the guards stationed down at the courtyard twice already. Once yesterday and once today.”
I nodded. Well that was something at least. Maybe he wasn’t so mad after all? “Do me a favor, if he comes back, tell him to come up, I would like to speak with him.”
“Of course.”
A terrible thought then came over me. “Wait, how long have I been out?”
“Two days.”
Damn. More time lost from healing. This was starting to become a thing, and I didn’t like it. I eyed the Master sitting in the chair and I noticed there were a few discarded dishes on the floor around it and two different data pads.
“You haven’t been here the whole time have you?”
Kiev shook his head. “Just since this morning. We knew you wouldn’t wake up yesterday. The injury was still too severe and the Caretaker had given you a sedative to keep you asleep. He said you could wake up anytime today though, so it was decided that I would sit with you since you’ve gotten to know me the most so far. We thought it best to have a familiar face for you to wake up to, so to put you more at ease after everything you’ve been through.”
You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.
“We?”
Another bright smile cut across the Mind Bender’s face. “Caretaker Yoshi, Markus, King Rainus, and myself. We’ve all been doing what we can to make sure you have the best recovery possible.”
A feeling of warmth washed over me at his words, “Oh,” and then one of the names registered, “wait, King Rainus?”
Kiev nodded. “Oh yes, he’s pretty much put himself in charge of your care and safety. He put members of the Vanguard down in the courtyard as sentries, and Markus and the King’s Protector have been taking shifts up here in the chalet. I very much doubt anyone will be trying anything else against you, not that there are many left in that little group.”
I then remembered Gunther and the quick but violent fight we had, and the Hand of Death I had delivered to him. He’d collapsed and couldn’t breathe. A feeling of dread washed through me.
“Oh god, Pledge Gunther did I kill him?”
Kiev’s face darkened and I immediately knew the answer without him saying a word. I blinked at the Master, hoping I was wrong, but knowing that I wasn’t. In that moment, it felt like my stomach had dropped right through the floor, and all of a sudden, I was having a hard time catching my breath.
I gasped for air and Master Kiev quickly took up my breathing mask and settled it back onto my face. I sat there for a long moment sucking in the flow of oxygen and contemplating my new status of killer.
A flashback of one of my new memories and that damn shirt my dad always worn when he’d been teaching my quat-lo. The Kill Or Be Killed words taking on a whole new meaning. It had always been his intention that I could become a killer if the circumstances arose, I supposed that meant I’d finally lived up to his training after all. The happiness I had because I’d discovered years of new memories with a man I loved and respected dimmed considerably. I was a killer like he’d made me to be.
Eventually, my breathing settled and I was able to take the mask off. I took an inhale of the regular air without any problems, so I set the mask aside. Though now, my stomach was queasy and I felt a heaviness in my chest that had not been there a few moments ago. Master Kiev stepped back with a concerned expression, but he waited until I had gathered myself before finally speaking.
“I know that news is upsetting to you. It’s not easy to know you have taken a life, but you also need to know that you did the right thing. You were in mortal danger and you reacted appropriately. Though it makes my heart heavy to say this of a fellow College member, he deserved what he got. There is no doubt in my mind that Pledge Gunther would have done the same to you if you hadn’t dispatched of him first. I know that may not help right now, but perhaps it will allow you come to terms with what happened eventually.”
I shook my head. “I made a choice, Kiev. I chose to hit him with that move.” I leaned my head back and exhaled a lot of my frustration out, “but god, I had no idea it would be powerful enough to kill him. I just saw him reaching under his coat, and I knew he had weapons there. In the little training I did get in as a Cadet, I knew it was standard procedure for Disciples on up to carry a blaster and a stun baton even while in classes. During our Basic Weapons class Chief Winters explained it was to get the trainee to become used to carrying at all times, and then he quoted the be ready any time, any where College motto. I was just trying to stop Gunther from drawing. That’s it.”
Kiev nodded solemnly. “Tell me if I am wrong, but I am sure in your quat-lo training with Aragon he must have mentioned that in any encounter with a person who is trained to kill, you really shouldn’t mess around. Every action should be aimed to immobilize your opponent as soon as possible. If you can manage to knock the other person unconscious, that’s great, but many times, quat-lo fights in the real world are quite often deadly.”
Logically, I knew Kiev was right. I had no doubts either that Gunther wanted me dead. Hell, I could feel his intent the first time I met him in the auditorium. But it still felt bad whichever way you cut it, and I didn’t like it.
Kiev patted my left knee gently in an attempt to console me. “Well, I know this will be a process for you and I am here if you want to talk about this more after it’s had some time to settle. The College also provides counselors for exactly this sort of thing if you find need of it. In the meantime, there are a few people in the other room who have been awaiting for you to become conscious again. May I get them?”
I absently nodded my head as my mind went back to that moment in the Cadet bathroom. Gunther standing there with rage on his face and his hand moving under his coat. And me, making the fateful decision to plant my feet and swing my right palm into his chest with as much force as I could manage, because I was afraid he’d draw his blaster and shoot me dead.
My hand made contact with the center of his chest, and then in my mind’s eye it all slowed down and I watched Gunther’s face go from anger to shock, and then to panic as he gripped his chest and gasped for breath. His body then slowly falling to the floor. A shutter went through my body. My god. Would I ever be able to get that image out of my brain?