Typhon's Revenge

Chapter Fourteen

EARTH

As I laid on my bed, staring at the ceiling, I couldn't help but ponder about all that had happened throughout the day. Alex and I explored the forest until we came across the metallic, black fence that surrounded all of the castle's territory. We decided to turn back while she told me the story of her last birthday with her parents. I could tell it was something that really marked her, something that she would always cherish.

"My parents took me to the beach. That birthday fell on a long weekend, and I always wanted to go to the beach," Alex said as she chuckled. "I kept pestering my parents to take me. I told them it would be fun and that I wouldn't ask for anything else on my birthday. We lived a couple of hours away from the coast, but as a child, it seems easy just to drop everything and drive to the beach. My parents went through great efforts to fulfill my wish, especially since they normally worked during the weekends. We weren't a family that had many luxuries, but we had enough to get by," she continued and paused as she recalled the memory. 

I didn't pressure her to go on. I knew that with everything going on, she probably missed them more than ever. 

"Somehow, they did manage to fulfill my wish. I remember that they woke me up early on a Friday and told me to hurry and get ready so that we could go. They said it was a surprise, but that I should pack my swimsuit. I was beyond excited and I was ready in record time. 

My dad drove for hours as he followed my lead and sang the whole way to the beach. My mother only rolled her eyes at us but smiled and joined us, nonetheless. I didn't even realize hours had passed until lunch was upon us and my dad stopped at a drive-thru to get us some burgers. Then we headed to the beach and ate in the car before changing into our swimsuits and getting all our things and moving towards the sand. 

I ran straight for the water, and my mother told me to wait but I was too excited. I didn't listen and I jumped into the ocean. I already knew how to swim and I wasn't scared of the ocean. I always felt at peace in it.

Anyway, to sum everything up, we spent the whole day there. We played, we swam, we made sandcastles and by the time night was upon us, my parents surprised me by pulling out a small, blue box from the car. I was shocked, I didn't know what could be inside that could be so small. I couldn't think of one toy that could fit in the box. So when they gave me the box, I hesitated and looked at my parents in confusion. 

My mother was the one to say, 'I know you said that if we brought you to the beach, you wouldn't ask for anything else. But your dad and I thought you should have this. It's a family heirloom, it used to belong to your father's mother and when she died, she passed it down to me, and now, I want you to have it, so you always remember where you came from. And that you will always be in our hearts. No matter what.'" Alex stopped talking and I looked at her from the corner of my eyes just as a tear slipped from her eye and she quickly cleared her throat. Trying with all her might not to cry. 

Gently, I reached for her hand and squeezed it softly, trying to comfort her without words and I felt all of the tension seep away from her. Taking a deep breath and nodding, she continued. 

"It was a chain. A silver chain and locket. The same one I had to give up in order to come here," she whispered sadly and shook her tears away. 

"The next day, my parents woke me up with a small cake in their hands. We had stayed in a small hotel room for the night but it was enough to celebrate. They sang 'happy birthday to me and then we ate. We couldn't stay long since my parents had to work the following day, so we walked alongside the shore and regained our strength as we spent a quiet afternoon together. A little while before dusk, my parents said it was time to head back home. We got into the car and started our journey back home. 

I was very sleepy. It had been a good, calm day, but the adrenaline that had kept me on my feet was drained. My feet were aching and my body felt exhausted. I remembered leaning my head to one side as I tried to sleep. My hands were on the locket hanging from my neck. Everything was perfect. And in one brief moment, I opened my eyes to see if we were home yet, but I only saw the darkness of the night around us, the lights of the highway in front of us, and my parents holding hands. It's the last memory I have of them. After that, everything happened so fast. 

One minute I was sitting in the car, and the next... a loud piercing sound changed everything before ambulances were rounding up all around us. Their blares making my ears ring. 

When I regained consciousness again, I was lying on a bed in the hospital. The doctors said it was miraculous that nothing had happened to me. I only had a couple of scratches and bruises but nothing major. I didn't know what was happening and I remembered asking and pleading to see my mom and my dad but all of the doctors and nurses that passed only gave me sad and sympathetic looks. I couldn't understand what that meant or why the doctors were saying that my parents were in intensive care and that they hadn't woken up after the surgeries. 

The next thing I knew, by sunrise, the doctors helped me back into the clothes I had come in wearing since the others were destroyed in the crash. They led me to a room with numerous chairs and individual couches before getting me something to eat. I could barely muster any strength to eat. I knew something wasn't right, I could feel it. 

So, as soon as the nurse keeping an eye on me turned her back, I sneaked back into the hospital rooms and looked for the sign that said intensive care. I had to see what was going on with my own eyes. I was a smart kid, I was able to find the area almost immediately, especially considering it was a small hospital. 

A doctor was just making his way out of the unit and he didn't see me standing in front of the doors which was how I was able to sneak inside. In there, there was only silence and the random sound of machines beeping. I walked further in and froze when a loud alarm went off and my blood went cold. In one of the sections in front of me were nurses rushing towards a room and something told me to follow them. I did. And when I was able to see what was going on, my blood went cold and I could no longer move or breathe.

In the room, my mother was there, hooked to many machines and even though I was little, I knew that the alarm going off wasn't a good sign. Nurses and doctors were calling out orders as they maneuvered and tried to regulate everything. I only watched with my face drained of color until I saw the line go still and a constant beep filled my rings. A sound I knew from when I had seen my grandmother die. 

I could feel the ground around me tremble and I was no longer in control of my actions. I panicked, and a loud scream left my body before I could stop it. All eyes were instantly on me and shock covered their faces as one of the nurses quickly grabbed me and carried me out of there. I was no longer paying attention. I felt hollow and cold after seeing my mother die. 

The nurse took me back to the room that I had been in and gently set me down on a couch. Her eyes were filled with tears and sorrow as she took a deep breath. I will always remember that nurse because at least, she had the decency to tell me, a small girl, what was going on. She told me my father had died in the night and my mother had held on until now. She asked me if I had any other relatives and I slowly shook my head. I didn't have any aunts or uncles and all of the grandparents had already passed away. 

So the nurse gave me one long, sad look and then nodded her head and told me everything was going to be okay. That she would take care of everything. I couldn't do anything but sit there in silence, without being able to move and my hands clasped tightly on the chain around my neck. 

A couple of hours later, Barbara came in with Aileen and... I was taken to the orphanage. Believe me, the last thing I expected was to end up here," she finished with a chuckle as she wiped away all the tears that had streamed down her cheeks with the back of her hand. 

I pursed my lips together as I let everything sync. She had been through so much and I couldn't help but wonder if that was all destined to happen.

I was out of words and so I only pulled her close to me and embraced her tightly as she calmed down. We had reached the end of the forest and we were just a couple of meters away from the door that led back into the castle. 

Alex's arms were wrapped tightly around me as she took in a couple of deep breaths and then nodded her head and pulled away. "Are you okay?" I whispered softly and she nodded her head. 

"It's alright, Mason. I have made my peace with what happened to me. It just hurts that I had to give up the last thing I had of my parents," she whispered and I felt my heart clench in my chest.

Placing a soft kiss on her forehead, I nodded my head and rested my forehead against hers. "I will get it back for you, I promise," I whispered and she only smiled slyly and nodded her head. 

"We should get back inside. I'm getting kind of hungry and I don't think we should leave Andrew and Kalani alone more time if we don't want things to become tenser between Aileen and her," she said and I nodded my head. 

Holding hands, we walked back inside and headed towards the common room Noah had shown us the day before, thinking that they would be there. To our luck, they were, at least Andrew and Kalani were. Aileen was still nowhere to be seen.

"There you are. We were beginning to think something had happened to you," Kalani said with a small smile and I shook my head. 

"Nope. All good. Is there anything we missed?" I asked and Andrew and Kalani shared a look before shaking their heads. 

"No. You're just in time. We were thinking about heading to the dining room. It's past noon and we're starving," Andrew said as he got to his feet and Alex's eyes quickly gleamed. 

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go," she said cheerfully before leading us out of the room. 

I couldn't help but wonder where Aileen had gone off to. It wasn't like her to just take off. But after everything she has been through, I decided to give her some space. Maybe she just needed to cool off. So I didn't reach out to her through our bond. If she needed me, she could always find me.

I'm sure she's fine, Mason. Don't worry, I thought to myself as I followed the others.