Role: Guardian
Items: Guardian radio, cell phone (in removed jacket)
Location: Guardian HQ Infirmary
Status: Early Evening
The tech who was carrying Melinda’s message looked in on Piers and, seeing him still sleeping, passed by in search of another Guardian.
A few moments later, a beeping noise awoke Piers. The brief rest was not long enough to substitute for sleep by any means, but it had served to clear his mind and strengthen his senses. Or perhaps it was the lack of intense pain he’d felt before the techs had done their job.
He sat up slowly, afraid of a new rush of pain. To his relief, he only felt small degrees of pain on random places on his left arm, chest, upper thigh, and shoulder.
“Awake, are we?” one of the techs said, looking over to him. “Don’t worry, it wasn’t bad enough to require skin grafts. What really hurt you was the cloth that burned into your skin. As you can see, the burn spots were minor, but even the smallest burn causes intense pain. It seems that you were burned by a sudden, brief wave of heat or fire, from my guess; otherwise, you’d have larger, more intense burns, and the clothing would have been burnt all over you. You’re lucky.”
Piers wasn’t sure “lucky” was the right word, but he took what he could get from the tech’s briefing.
“Oh, and you did require stitches for your shoulder. That will take the longest to heal, and your mobility will be hampered a bit until we take the stitches out. Yet, I don’t think it’ll stop you from doing too much; just don’t make any sudden movements with that arm, okay?”
Piers smiled a bit and thanked the techs. “You guys did a great job…I don’t feel nearly as bad as I did when I came in a while ago.”
“Burns hurt terribly bad, and even worse when you have foreign objects in your skin, as you did,” the tech responded.
Identifying the source of the beeping, Piers asked if one of the techs could bring his half-charred jacket to him so he could get his cell phone out. Upon receiving his jacket and being dismayed that his favorite choices of apparel, his turtleneck and jacket, would have to be replaced, he took out the phone and read the messages from Glaiza and Landy. A brief second later, he said to the techs, “I need some clothes. Something to cover my arms fully, and…oh man, how is my face? I got burned there, too, right?”
He felt the lower part of his left chin and cheek and felt a patch of cloth taped there. “Great…” he thought to himself. “Tell you what…just get me some decent clothes to get out of here with, and I’ll stop by my house to change and get…”
“You shouldn’t leave right now. If you open up those burn wounds, you’ll be hurting almost as much as before,” the tech said, somewhat testily.
“I’ve got no choice. If you haven’t noticed, nothing’s normal around here anymore. Consider it overtime. Which Guardians are here right now?”
“Karn and Ikazuchi,” the tech said, realizing Piers was leaving no matter what.
“Good. And did Melinda see me like this?”
“I don’t think so.”
“Alright, good. Don’t tell her about my injuries. But, if she has any more visions, I want direct contact with her. Seeing how her last one saved my life, anything she has to say will be…highly pertinent.”
Upon getting clothes and dressing, he said, “I’ll be coming back here to sleep tonight. I’ve got a lot to tell everyone, including Melinda. How is she doing by the way?”
“Still pretty sick,” the tech said in a low voice.
Shaking his head as he left, Piers said, “Pray that all this is over soon…”
Location: Residential (Piers’s house)
It hurt. Every step made the small vibrations going up his left thigh and arm hurt, but it was nothing like the pain he’d felt before. Getting dressed hurt, too, as he slipped on another turtleneck, a jacket similar to the one he had on before Sigataph made some…alterations…and walked out the door. He laughed as he passed his couch, seeing that Melinda had lounged around while she had been there, things being splayed on the cushions beside the t.v. remote. He truly wished she could live a “normal” life…if “normal” could be defined…
He sent texts to Glaiza and Landy before getting back into his car. A tech had brought it from the hospital as he was recovering, per Ika’s command.
“Wnt to meet@ the park?” he texted to Glaiza, then, to Landy, “What about the park?” He intended for Landy to meet him first, knowing that Glaiza would have to wait for someone to take over for her at the coffee shop. He wanted an area where not too many eyes would be present as Landy came to give him the tapes (if she procured them) and spoke with him. He hoped that Glaiza wouldn’t be concerned over the patch of cloth on his face, but he wouldn’t have to explain much to Landy…
“I know that Jace shouldn’t have recovered in time to make good on his threat,” Piers thought to himself. “I know that I’m in no condition to fight, either, so I bet Jace won’t make any sudden moves. So, Glaiza should be safe for a good while, but…I can’t take any chances. Oh man…I’ve got nothing to give to Glaiza tonight! Maybe Landy can give me some pointers…”
Location: Park
Driving to the park, he walked over to a bench near a swing set and sat down. Then he prayed. He prayed to the Almighty, his Strength and Shield, and the Reason why, after all his encounters, he was still breathing.
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