CHAPTER 42: HOT HANDS

His head was ringing like his skull was a gong being banged on with a mallet. His vision blurred, and he could hear Eliza calling his name, but it sounded like her voice was coming from underwater. He shook his head, hoping it would help stop the feeling, but it seemed to intensify. Then he slumped, and his eyes rolled back in his head.

Eliza was frantic as she ordered the driver to take them to the nearest hospital. Luckily, one of the hospitals owned by a subsidiary of Crestview Group was closeby. Alrik was taken through a private side entrance, and to a VIP room immediately. Two doctors came in to check his vitals, and ordered for tests.

Eliza remained by his side through all this, holding on to his hand as he groaned in pain, though he was unconscious. Tears rolled down her face because she had no idea what was wrong with her beloved. One minute he was fine, and the next he was like this.

"Doctor. You haven’t said a word. You just keep hovering over him. What’s wrong with him?"

The doctor sighed.

"Honestly, we can’t say at this point. We’ll receive the result from some of the tests soon, though the rest would take more time. But from our preliminary examination, nothing seems to be the problem. We’ll keep you updated, but for now, all we can do is help him be comfortable and keep monitoring his vitals.

Meanwhile Alrik was floating. The pain meds did nothing, because his pain wasn’t physical. It was like a phantom holding on to him, but couldn’t be felt. Suddenly, he was in the midst of a field. He looked around trying to identify where he was. He moved, but his feet never touched the ground.

"What the fuck is happening to me?" He asked and his voice echoed. "Where am I?"

"HELLO!"

He turned when he heard a rumbling sound behind him. He saw a motel sign, and then suddenly, the ground opened around the building, and it swallowed the whole five stories in seconds. Then they began to pour out. Portal beasts.

He was confused as he watched them swarm out, but they didn’t attack. Instead, they just moved around the hole in the ground, like they were waiting for something. This couldn’t be real. First, Portal beasts had no patience. As soon as the portals opened, the beats usually attacked mindlessly. Secondly, portals never opened from the ground, always from the sky.

Soon he saw what they were waiting for. Normal portal beasts were grey, but the one that emerged had a deep red colouring, and unlike the others, it only had two hands. There was no extra set of limbs protruding from its chest, and its claws weren’t as sharp as the others. It also had no facial features Alrik could see like the other, but when it stretched it’s arm, he was horrified to see a mouth appear on the creature. It stretched wider than a human smile, with rows of sharp teeth. But no eyes, or nasal cavity.

What was even more odd was the fact that it seemed to command the others. Portal beasts had no definitive command structure, or master as far as was known. But this red one seemed in control of the others, and only when it lifted its arm did they attack.

He immediately moved into a defensive stance, ready for combat like the trained soldier he was. The scene changed to a proper battlefield, with others around him, fighting off the beasts. The other beasts seemed to protect the red one while it only watched with that eerie smile. The red one seemed to be mocking them all. It stretched its arm towards the sky, and shockingly, another portal opened up in the sky and more grey ones poured out.

Alrik growled, and yelled out a battle formation for the soldiers around him. He recognised none of their faces, but they all fell in line.

"Charge!"

As always, he was at the front of the battle, and he was aiming for the red one. Another soldier got there before him, and struck the red one, but surprisingly, the Anamite sword did no harm to the red one. Its mouth stretched even further, widening until its jaw unhinged, and it swallowed the soldier’s head whole.

Suddenly, Alrik could feel his arm burning and looked down to see a different sword in his arm. The Zerdon heirloom sword. There were no flames, but it seemed so hot in his hand, and began to glow.

He gasped, and sat up on the hospital bed. Eliza immediately hugged him, stroking his back, and kissing his head.

"Oh, you’re awake!"

Tears rolled down her face, and though Alrik was still a bit disoriented, he held her close. Her scent and warmth soothed him.

"I’m okay. How long was I out?" He asked as she pulled away to look at him.

"Several hours. It’s almost morning. The doctors couldn’t find anything wrong with you. They’ve done so many tests."

"I don’t think the problem is physical." He sighed.

"But you were in pain, and you fainted!"

He kissed her cheek, and stroked her hair.

"Let’s go home. I’ll fill you in on the way, I promise. But I don’t think staying in the hospital will help me in any way."

"You’re sure you’re strong enough to leave? Don’t try to pretend for my sake. I’ll be more worried if you’re just feigning being strong." She said and he smiled.

"I’m just tired, but I’m really okay. No pain. No fever. No other symptoms."

She called the doctor, and though they tried to protest, she insisted on signing discharge papers for Alrik, and took him home. She didn’t go to work that day, only calling her office to delegate tasks so she could focus on tending to Alrik. He tried to make her leave for work, but she just glared at him till he gave up. She made his meal, forced him to lay down despite his protests, and stayed beside him while he slept.

When he woke up, she was sound asleep behind him, so he didn’t bother waking her. He was sweating more than usual, so he opted for a cold shower. He stood underneath and felt a little better, but that comfort vanished after several seconds. His temperature rose quickly within seconds, so the cold water seemed so useless. He tried to turn off the shower, but as soon as he touched the faucet, it melted off and he jumped back with wide eyes.

He stepped out of the bathroom naked because even touching a towel nearly set him on fire. Eliza was awake now, and she frowned as she saw the look in his eyes.

"Alrik? What’s wrong?" She asked, but he just kept staring with a shocked expression.

How could he explain this to her when he also had no idea what the fuck was happening to him?