Static Reflections: Book 1 of The M... - Chapter 40: Chapter 40

Waking up out of the void he was drifting in for who knows how long, Nick opened his eyes to a familiar white room. Immediately, he registered that it was the Medical Sect. Before anything else, he lifted his left arm, which didn't hurt anymore. Miraculously, he had five fingers on his hand, which had returned to its rightful place. Thank the gods. Fuck.
"Nicholas!" A voice said from his right, and he looked over, seeing Richard there, with an uninjured face. "You woke up."
"Thankfully . . ." Nick smiled. They both stared at one another for a long moment, just taking in the safety of the other. "I didn't kill you."
"No. You . . . you saved me."
"Think Boris will ever say that to me?" Nick half-joked.
Richard stood up out of his chair, coming over and wrapping his arms around the hyena, squeezing him. "Someday."
Nick sighed, hugging him back just as tightly. "What happened . . . ?"
"What do you mean?"
"While that mask was on you. Did you see anything?" Nick queried, rubbing up and down Richard's warm back slowly.
"Yes . . . I did." His friend's voice dropped down low. "At first, I thought it was a bad dream. I was back in the alternate timeline. In that place . . . ." He shuddered. "Then darkness consumed me, and I felt my body lift off the couch. I could see it all, but I couldn't feel anything. When it made me attack you, I saw everything." Richard's ears flattened. "Oh, Nick . . . I'm so sorry I hurt you. I never wanted to."
"You couldn't help yourself . . . ." Nick whispered. "And before I bashed your face in, I saw it in your eyes. You knew."
"Yes," Richard nodded. "You and I both knew it was the only way. You did it."
Nick closed his eyes, smiling. "I did. It totally got a bit dramatic there for a while. I thought I was seriously gonna die, though."
"I'm so glad you didn't," Richard whispered, not letting go of him. "I'm not sure I could have gotten over such a bright light going out."
". . . I wanna make jokes and mess around, but I seriously feel fucked up. Like, I need a long shower, and I just want to be alone."
"Oh . . . ." Yet, Richard still didn't release him.
"I didn't mean from you. I just know that when they come in here, they're going to want to get right to business and . . . I honestly don't care right now. I need time."
"Well, you're supposed to go to Trauma after this. Would that help?" asked Richard.
Nick shook his head. "No. I don't want to talk. I just want to respect Jack. I know what they're going to do to Veronica when they put her back. If they do. So I want to be the one who remembers."
Richard nuzzled him, then. "How can one animal care so much about someone he has never met?"
"Because, Richard. He was still someone," Nick said.
"I wish I had that," the raccoon stated. "But all I wish is that I could forget, and I'm sorry for that."
Nick brought a hand up and stroked his ear, causing it to twitch. ". . . Is this okay?"
"Mm?"
"Touching . . . like this?"
"Well—"
A doctor came in through the door, a honey badger wearing a lab coat with a red armband on it. Richard quickly pulled back and sat down. "Oh, great! You're awake! And responding to touch well, it seems."
Nick nodded slowly. "Yeah . . . I'm alive. I'm guessing they healed me using magic?"
"You're lucky your hand was still in the room," the doctor explained. "Otherwise, we might have had to replace it with a robotic one."
"Ah . . ." Nick sighed. "So, what's the plan now?"
"Well, your Sect Leader told me he wanted to visit you personally when you woke up, so we'll contact him and get him over here," responded the doctor.
The hyena frowned. "Told ya, Richard."
Richard shook his head. "Sorry."
Iwai sauntered in, the smile on his face absent, which was unusual. He walked to the side of Nick's bed. ". . . It's nice to see you back together."
"Thanks . . ." the hyena whispered. Richard had left by this point, escorted out by the doctor to who knew where. After he exited, the badger checked Nick's vitals and physical strength to ensure that the magic had fully worked. He especially made sure that the hyena's hand could open and close and each finger could move.
Iwai rubbed his face, looking rather stressed. His ears went back. "I really jumped the shark, didn't I?"
"Huh?"
"Richie called me and explained the case. It's alarming. We haven't seen signs of that creature in a very long time."
"What was it?" asked Nick, blinking.
"It's called a masquerade. It feeds on deep sadness and grief, draining the animal of their energy until it doesn't need them as a food source anymore and chops them up. The only way to destroy it is to destroy the mask, but the creature itself is invisible and has large blades for arms."
Nick scratched his head. "So that's why the floor tore open like that . . .Shit."
"It's hard to kill one. Most people aren't willing to get close to the mask for fear of getting chopped up, but you-- Why did you do something so reckless?"
"Reckless? That was the only way I would save Richard from falling into the same fate as Jack or Boris. I'm lucky I only lost my hand because I really thought I was done for."
Iwai looked down. "I'm sorry, Nick, for making such a foolish assumption about what the creature could be. I thought it would be an easy case, but there was a lot more bloodshed than we hoped."
"While it does suck that you put me on a more advanced case than I was ready for, I can't be mad at you for it. I made a huge mistake, too. And we lost Jack. I failed."
"You didn't fail!" Iwai blurted. "You passed your first mission. The doctor says you're good to go, so come on and let's get you graduated!"
"No!" Nick sliced through the old deer's excitement, quick and sharp. "Sorry, but I don't care about that right now. I want to go to my residence and rest."
Iwai took a moment to gather his thoughts. "You . . . don't want to get your green tie?"
"I literally couldn't care less about that right now. I need some time if you don't mind. I'm just not in the right mindset for celebrating. I don't feel like I should be."
"Oh, jeez . . ." Iwai huffed. "Well, alright. I'll respect your wishes, Mr. Flynn. Will you come with me to your residence, then? There are a few things I need to give you and show you."
Nick didn't want to do much of anything, but he nodded, moving to the side and getting off of the bed, looking down at the white shirt, pants, socks, and shoes he was wearing. "Uh, can I take these with me?"
"Yeah. You should keep them on. It will tell other members that you were just recently a patient of the Medical Sect and to give you space."
Nick twisted his snout. "Glad I'm using fashion to tell the world I went through hell."
Iwai opened the door, gesturing for him to go out. Nick went through, and the deer closed it behind him. "So, Nick," Iwai said. "As you know, you'll be living in Row 1 since you're going to be living alone."
"Fine with me," Nick shrugged. "All I want is to be alone now."
"I understand," Iwai sighed. "Cases can be heavy."
"Yeah," was all the hyena answered, remaining silent after that, even up to the point where they got onto the moving walkways, letting it carry them to the vicinity of Nick's new residence.
"Here," Iwai announced, stepping off. Nick followed suit, and the big stag gestured his hand. "It's on the second floor. Victor already grabbed your stuff, so it's waiting there. Come along." He began heading toward some stairs that were between the buildings. They climbed them as Iwai spoke. "So . . . after the Wave of Self-Immolation, they put a magic barrier around this place. If you know anything about magic barriers, you know they can have multitudes of properties imbued onto them. These make it so animals can't exit through the windows, bring weapons inside, and they take any bad stuff in the air, and SHOOP! Suck it out!"
Nick nodded. "You want to prevent suicides."
"Well, yeah, of course. There aren't even knives to cut food in there. It's a laser that can't cut living flesh."
"Oh, joy."
They stepped onto the balcony and passed door after door until they stopped at one labeled "239". Iwai pulled out a small white card and handed it to the hyena, who took it between his dark fingers.
Nick knew what to do immediately, realizing that the Institute was like the reflection of Prostasia in the way Hephaestus set it up. He pressed the card to the device on the door, and it clicked, swinging open and revealing a larger space than the one Nick had before.
Except for this time, there was no furniture inside, not even a couch. The floors were as empty as could be, and even the kitchen lacked any supplies to cook. Nick lifted his foot to enter, but Iwai put his hand on his shoulder.
"Before you enter," the deer began. "The barrier is going to make your weapons disappear when you have them. You don't need to take them out or anything. Just walk through."
"Where are they, anyway?" Nick asked.
"Back at Creature Hunting. You'll get them when you're ready to graduate," Iwai said.
Nick walked through the magic barrier and inside, looking around. "Where the hell is the furniture? Was I supposed to bring my own?"
"That's exactly it!" Iwai beamed. "Many hunters celebrate their graduation by going on a shopping spree for furniture in the Mortal Realm!"
Nick put a hand on his hip. "You're telling me they're excited to drag a couch through a portal up here manually?"
"We obviously have methods of getting it here easily. But for now, you should go in and rest. You look like you need it."
"Thanks." Nick offered a false grin.
Iwai glanced at the door, then back at him. "Son . . . it's okay to feel bad about how the mission went. No one's going to tell you otherwise. This job can be intense and emotionally taxing, but I also have to tell you to be prepared for things like this. You can't save everyone. It's a classic lesson but it's true."
Nick felt his breath catch with these words. ". . . Okay."
The old deer sighed. "Rest up, champ. Gather yourself. I'll see you during your graduation."
Nick lifted his left hand, opening and squeezing it shut. The hyena wiggled his fingers in a silent wave and observed as the door closed behind the buck. He turned around, looking at the space. It bothered him how much of nothing was there. The events of the recent mission flashed in his mind.
He missed Richard already.
Nick's chest still felt heavy as he found the bedroom, opening the door and shuffling in, where he crawled into the bed and sighed loudly. The new feelings arising from within him were unlike anything he had known. It was that same feeling he carried when he thought about Astrid, but he had never felt depressed before. He wasn't sure he'd even know what the feeling would be like if he did experience it. What he felt now was a different type of pain, though.
Veronica had probably already had her memories altered, and now she was back home. If Nick had to guess, they made her forget she ever had a husband or son, which rubbed him the wrong way. The boy hadn't gotten to know Jack before he was responsible for his death. And the truth was, he did feel responsible. Nick hadn't been taking the case as seriously as he should have, and they left too soon, which, looking back now, was a foolish thing to do.
It was a mistake he'd never forget or make again.