Page 57 of The Not So Super Hero
The darkness faded.Khalia didn’t move.Oz heaved a heavy breath and groaned.
“Shh, it’s all right, bud.It’s ok, everything is ok.You’re safe,” Chris spoke softly.He sat with Zane leaning against his chest.His eyes rolled into the back of his head, conscience fading.
“You’re safe now.I’ve got you, you’re safe.”Chris clutched the needle in his hand that he had used to knock Zane out.
“You’re safe, kiddo,” Chris repeated, pressing his lips to Zane’s temple.His soft breathing signaling he had fallen asleep.
CHAPTER 18
BaileyplannedtocallZane after work, but would going to do that far sooner than he expected.At the end of his shift, Darcie rushed to switch the TV on.Whispers broke out through the café.All eyes stared at the news report.Bailey couldn’t even hear what the reporter was saying when he saw a familiar sight that made him go short of breath.Blurry footage revealed a dark mist rising into the sky.Bailey had seen it before, knew the movements and thus knew exactly who that belonged to.Only bits and pieces of the report slowly flowed into Bailey’s chaotic thoughts.
Civilian attacked.Rebirth involved.Police on the move.
“Bailey, where are you going?”Darcie called after him when he darted out the door.
Bailey’s hands shook furiously while running to his vehicle.His keys jingled in his grasp when he tried to unlock the car door.The phone that he now had trapped between his shoulder and ear went straight to voicemail, no matter how much he tried to call Zane.
“Damn it, pick up!”he hollered, ripping open his car door after several failed attempts.
He wasn’t sure why he was trying to call or what made him think Zane would answer.If it really was him who was attacked, then he probably wasn’t in any condition to answer or couldn’t.He froze at the thought of Zane’s condition.The last time he used his powers caused some serious damage.Based on the little footage Bailey saw, Zane was even stronger than before.What if it made him even worse?That tacked on to being attacked…
Bailey slammed his foot into the gas pedal, peeling out of the parking lot with screeching tires that left billows of smoke behind him.
Calling wasn’t doing anything.Bailey threw his phone into the passenger seat.His heart raced on the drive to Zane’s apartment.He hoped Zane would be there.Bailey would run to Zane’s room, knock on the door, and he would answer in a pair of sweats and fake annoyance.Nothing would be wrong.Everything was going to be ok.Bailey prayed that would happen.
His prayers weren’t answered.There was no response when Bailey arrived.No matter how much he banged on the door or called Zane’s name, no one opened the door.
Bailey ran back to his car to try calling again.When it went to voicemail, he let out a panicked cry followed by heavy breaths that left his legs shaking.
“How the fuck am I supposed to know which hospital he’s at?!”Bailey screamed, wondering if he should have watched the news more.He doubted they would announce it, but maybe Darcie heard?Bailey called her, but the girl claimed there was no mention of who the civilian was or what hospital they were at.Though the news claimed they were being treated for injuries at the E.R.
That didn’t calm Bailey in the least.The Emergency Room?The name itself told people something was wrong.It had emergency in the name!What injuries did he have, life-threatening ones?Was he in critical condition?How long would he be there?How was Bailey going to visit him?Which hospital was he being treated at?
What made Bailey think Zane wanted him to visit?
Unsure of how to proceed, Bailey sat in his vehicle gripping his phone like he expected Zane to call.When that never happened, he searched for the nearest hospitals on his phone.With shaking hands, Bailey retrieved a notebook from his backpack to scribble addresses and numbers.He would call every hospital to ask if Zane was there, though he wasn’t sure if they would answer, or if they were even aware of Zane’s identity yet.
After the second failed call to the hospitals, Bailey’s phone went off.His heart almost burst from his chest in a mixture of fear and excitement.He didn’t bother to look at the caller I.D.before answering quickly, “Zane!”
“Hello, Bailey.This is Chris Walker.”
“Are you calling about Zane?Is he ok?Are you with him?Where is—"
“One question at a time,” Chris spoke calmly.“Zane is at Ruby Hospital.Do you know where that is?”
Bailey nodded until he realized Chris couldn’t see him, so he responded with a quick yes.
“Good, why don’t you come on up here?”
Chris hadn’t answered Bailey’s most important question, though.Completely ignoring Chris’ request, Bailey asked the thing that was bugging him most, “Is Zane ok?”
Chris hesitating to answer made tears brim at the edge of Bailey’s eyes.He forgot how to breathe.
“He’s...he will be fine,” Chris responded, although his voice gave off the indication that it still wasn’t good.“Honestly, Zane hasn’t used his mutation in such a long time that it took more of a toll on him than we could have expected.He’s in surgery now.”
Surgery?Bailey brushed his fingers beneath his glasses, pinching the bridge of his nose while that word sunk in.He hated it.His stomach sank.The news shouldn’t have been surprising, though.Bailey already knew Zane was in the Emergency Room.
“I’ll uh...I’ll be up...”Bailey hung up, tossed his phone, and sped to the hospital.Many laws were likely broken, but he had priorities.If he had driven slower, he probably would have gone mad from fear and concern.His brain couldn’t stop conjuring the worst-case scenario, that Zane wouldn’t make it out of surgery.
