Chapter 4

I stand up protectively in front of Shadow as the buzzing door creaks open.

"Is there someone in here?" I hear a boys voice ask.

"What do you want?" I try to make my voice sound less panicked than I feel.

A boy pokes his head around the door; he looks about my age with light brown hair and single streak of blonde in the front.  He's speaking English so I can tell he isn't from Stone.  He reminds me of someone I've seen before but I can't place who.

"I heard a noise in a place I didn't think anyone should be, so I came down." He says.

He seems nice and I really need help.  I pray that I'm making a good choice as I say, "It's my brother, he’s been hurt. And -"

I don't get a chance to tell him who I am because he comes rushing in as soon as I say the word "hurt".

He's dressed in a black coveralls, which are zipped up half way.  The top half is tied around his waste and he wears a grey long sleeved shirt with combat boots.

He bends down and examines the bullet wound in Shadows stomach, muttering to himself as he goes. He stands up and whirls around to me; his face is only a few inches from mine and I notice something very startling … the boy has maroon eyes.

"What's his name?" he asks.

"Um, Shadow." I manage.

The boy smiles, "Shadow? Very nice name, I like it."

He bends down in front of my brother and looks him in the eyes, "Shadow, you've been shot in the liver, which is bad. The good news is, the bullet went through so it won't have to be taken out. But-" Shadows eyes begin to close but the boy slaps his cheek, "Keep your eyes open. Now, you're probably going to die from blood loss but don't panic because it will just make you bleed more.  Can you get up?"

Shadow shakes his head.

"Huh, it's worse than I thought." The boy says, "Well, I'll just have to help you up. Come on." The boy puts Shadows arm over his shoulder and hoists him up. Shadow gasps in pain and almost falls down but I catch his other arm before he does.

"Thanks," the boy says.

"Are you a doctor?" I ask.

The boy smiles, "Nope, I'm an electrician. Help me get him out the door."

"There are cameras out there," I say. "Someone will see us."

"Well, lucky for you that's why I was in this area anyway. I was repairing the cameras, they're all off."

We drag Shadow out the door where the boy has and old shopping cart full of tools and equipment.

The boy and I lean Shadow against the wall, "If he starts to pass out," the boy says as he quickly unloads his cart, "Slap his face. Sometimes if you pass out, you never wake up."

My heart pounds harder, "What do I do if he's already out?"

The boy drops the power drills in his hands and run over.

Shadows eyes are closed, his forehead is sweaty and there is no sign of a pulse.

The boy puts his fingers on Shadows neck and then on his wrist.

"Uh oh." The boy says, "Crap …" He runs back over to his cart and begins to rummage through his things.

"W-what's wrong?" I ask, my voice is full of panic and I feel like my heart is going to burst.

"I should have known this was going to happen." The boy mutters, "Getting shot in the liver is fatal anyway, so I don't know why I'm trying but…" The boy grabs a cylinder shaped leather case and runs back over to me and Shadow, "It's worth a try. Help me get him on his back."

Together we pull Shadow into the middle of the hallway, "Take his jacket off him and anything else that's metal." the boy says.

I work Shadows jacket off and then take his metal identification bracelet of his wrist.

"What are you going to do?" I ask, the panic still rising in my voice.

"His heart isn't beating," the boy says. He pushes up his sleeves to reveal leather bracelets on his arms and then reaches under the neck of his shirt and pulls out several leather necklaces. "So, I'm going to start it again."

Suddenly he grabs my hand and I find his strange maroon eyes staring into mine, "Avril, my name is Adain and I promise you everything is going to be alright."

I don't ask how he knows my name, I just trust him.

Adian pulls out his cylinder case, "Stand back."

I scramble back to the wall, unsure of what he is planning.

He opens the case in his hands, a crackling sound fills the air and a bright light illuminates the walls.

I see Adian's face crinkle with concentration as he puts the palm of his hand on the open top of the case. He takes a deep breath and lifts up his palm.

Several moving lines of blueish white electricity follows his palm, sticking to it like glue.  The zapping of the electricity fills the air as Adian forms the electricity into a ball, takes another deep breath and smashes it.

My eyes grow wide, the electricity is racing around his arms and hands like tiny snakes. Adian cracks his knuckles sending sparks flying on the floor, "Here goes nothing." He yells over the crackling.

He slams his hands down on Shadows chest and Shadows body jerks on the floor. Nothing else happens.  Adian rubs his hands together and shakes his head like he doesn’t believe what he’s doing will work. 

“I must be crazy.” I hear him say. “Nobody is this lucky.”

Once again he slams his hands down over Shadow’s heart.  My brothers body jerks, his eyes fly open and he gasps for air. Relief fills my heart.

"Ha!" Adian exclaims, “I didn’t think that would actually work but it did!” He shaks out his hands which no long have electricity on them. “But he’s not out of the woods yet Avril.”

"How did you …" I begin but Adian cuts me off.

"Help me get him into the cart."

Shadow pulls himself back against the wall as best he can, "Who are you?" He asks painfully, clutching his stomach.

It takes a moment for me to realize he's not just taking to Adian but to me as well.

"Shadow, it's me, it's Avril." I say crawling over to him.

My brother looks at me with feverish eyes, "I don't know you."

The panic rises again, I turn to Adian.

"He's lost a lot of blood and he's dying." Adian says, "He's in shock."

"But he'll get better right?"

Adian smiles, "Of course." He walks over to my brother, "Shadow, you need help, you're dying so I need to get you to the hospital wing.  Will you help me to help you?"

Shadow looks uneasy and I can tell he's still the same person with trust issues but reluctantly he nodes.

"Good." Adian says.

We hoist Shadow up and help him sit in the shopping cart that has one end missing in the front.

"Stay here," Adian warns. "Go back to your room and stay there until I come back."

"Who are you?" I ask.

Adian smiles, "I told you, I'm just an electrician." He playfully salutes me and pushes the cart down the hallway leaving me alone.

I look amongst Adians tools and contraptions and finally spot the cylinder case he'd kept the electricity in.

I nudge it with my shoe before picking it up for fear the getting shocked and when nothing happens I bend down and grab it. The case is aluminum on the inside and leather on the outside. I flip the top up and discover that a mark has been carved in the middle. It's an arrowhead facing up an bellow it arrowhead facing down and in-between them there is a line.  I didn't know what it means but something about the case strikes a chord in my brain. I feel like I'd learned about it at the academy I'd  attended in Fire … something about lightning and dust.

Also something about murder.