Hell Castle

“Help me cut off her clothes. I don’t want any surprises” Eliot warned.

“Yes, Doctor” Ronda responded. I numbly laid on the table as my clothes were removed. Eliot cut my top off, I loved this top it was one of my favorites. The woman named, Ronda swiftly cut off my pants. My body refused to move. I struggled to hear what was going on through the pounding in my head.

“I have abrasions and shallow cuts on the forearm and leg, Doctor, and it looks as though there are small blisters as well” Ronda informed Eliot. “All right get a sheet cover her up then get the saline from cabinet B and kit A from drawer C,” Eliot ordered as he placed a thin blanket over me. They turned me over on my side to get a look at the gash on my head.

“Holy hell” Ronda gasped “How did she move much less get up after that?”

I heard Eliot sigh sadly “I--I don’t know.”

“The morphine should be kicking in now,” Ronda suggested.

“How are we doing, Rori?” Eliot called to me, as he placed his hand on the side of my face. Fighting with all my might to keep from going to sleep. “I need you to stay awake, ok Rori. I can’t give you any anesthesia. So I need you to work with me, all right” Eliot requested.

“I can make sure she stays awake” Ronda offered.

“No! I need you here to help me. You want to become a doctor of both species; this is where you need to be.” Eliot corrected “Loki, get in here.” Loki busted into the room looking paler than usual. “I need her to stay awake. Can you do that?” he asked.

Loki walked over to me, and without hesitation, he sat down. “Look at me kid” he whispered. I looked into his eyes, he seemed to be just as scared as I feel.

“Ok, Rori, I’m going to put some local anesthetic then start. You will feel a pinch” Eliot explained.

“Don’t mind him,” Loki told me “He’s just a doctor. What do they know?” Ow, a stinging feeling in the back of my head suddenly began then vanished. I closed my eyes in pain. I had no strength to talk or cry.

“Ok, good” Eliot bragged “on to the other stuff. Ronda, saline.” Loki stayed by my side while I listened to Eliot call out scary words for instruments that I knew were needed for his work. Quite sure if I could see these instruments it would make me feel worse.

“You are one of the biggest pain in the ass I have ever had the pleasure of watching over.” Loki slightly laughed “Just you wait till you are better. You are going to have to answer for all this.”

I know Loki’s job is to protect me. I know he is a bit of a nut case and oversensitive to his castle. One would think that in this situation, he would have been a bit more sensitive to my feelings. I think things are bad enough as they are, right?

The longer the surgery took, the colder I got. Ronda kept up on the bags of blood and the morphine. It was enough to take the edge of the pain away but unfortunately not enough to put me out of this misery or to sleep. Not as if Eliot would allow such a thing. Keeping me awake is the top priority next to the gash in my head. I’m just too tired. A few seconds of sleep won't be too much of a problem I’m sure.

“Eliot, Eliot” Loki called panicked.

“What is it Loki, I’m very busy right now.” Eliot hissed

“She’s going to sleep,” Loki announced.

“What? No, whatever you do, don’t let her go to sleep” Ronda ordered.

“What do you expect me to do?” Loki questioned.

“I don’t care just keep her awake” Eliot ordered. “Do not let her go to sleep Loki, I mean it!”

Loki reached under the blanket and pulled out my hand. Giving my hand a gentle slap, then a moderate slap. I opened my eyes to let him know I felt that. “Hey now, I did not give you any permission to sleep. Do you hear me? Stay awake, look at me” he demanded. Loki tapped the table, thinking hard. He won’t mind if I just close my eyes for a moment while he thinks. I really need to sleep. If only he knew how tired I am.

“Hey, knock that off Rori. Look at me damn it” Loki ordered “Don’t close your eyes. Not even for a second. Not till I give you the order to.” Even in a situation like this, he can still be a bossy person. My body is going numb, I’m cold and so tired that when I look at Loki I see multiple Loki’s.

“What is that” Ronda exclaimed.

“Forceps. Now, Ronda” Eliot yelled.

Loki paid them no attention. While they talked loudly he never once flinched or looked away from me. His attention and focus on me are so serious. I’m starting to doubt that he even realizes that they are operating on my head. “When you were two you jumped off a tree limb seven feet in the air. Your mother was so worried that you had broken your leg that she brought you into the house crying. With blood running down your leg, you looked at her with a calm expression--” Loki reminisced “you said ‘It’s just blood mom; I’ll make more.’ I will never forget that look. Your mother smiled at you. Her brave, strong daughter. I am going to do the same here. It’s just some blood. So stay awake and show me how brave and strong you are.”

I listened to Loki tell me more stories about my mother. It’s enough to barely keep me awake and interested. “Your mother loved to plant flowers in her garden. She had a particularly hard time doing so because you would come behind her and rearrange the flowers the way you wanted them. Do you remember that…”

It felt like an eternity had passed when Eliot and Ronda finished “All done. You did good, Rori” Eliot praised me. Somehow I doubted that I should be getting praised? Eliot walked over shooing Loki out of his seat “We took it all out; cleaned up the wound and stitched you up nice.” Eliot sighed. “I need you to stay awake for a few more hours. Ronda and Hidi are going to help you get a gown on and then take you to bed. I’ll come in and check on you once you are there. The most important thing is that you stay awake. Do you understand? You cannot go to sleep just yet.”

Ronda and Hidi cautiously helped me off the table. Wondering about what happened, I glanced back. There are blood-soaked clamps, pads and instruments are everywhere. Ten empty bags of blood, if not more, littered the floor and flowed out of the trash can. The table had an outline of where I laid in blood. It kind of made me feel sick.

“Don’t look” Ronda suggested covering my eyes.

First, they brought me to a bathroom adjacent to Eliot’s O.R. Ronda helped Hidi rinse and dry me off with rags and sponges. Taking care not to rub me raw. “She doesn’t need to be perfect she can take a shower tomorrow” Ronda informed Hidi.

We began slowly walking to my room; still, in a daze and tired, I started to give up on moving, my body was just too weak. The moving that I had done up till now, took everything I had in me. Ronda got me into a guest room next to the OR. “It’s not her room, but this should do. I’m just going to examine her head; I’ll be quick. Hidi, if you would inform the Doctor of the room change” Ronda requested as she started her exam. Ronda leaned me forward. Taking an intense look at me “Your stitches are still intact. Expect some bleeding. If it feels like it’s too much let us know, so we can check.”

Astreal entered prancing up then on the bed “Rori, ok now.” Sitting next to me I noticed that he is clean and smelled like roses. No blood at all.

“Let’s have a look” Eliot declared. He came over followed by Loki and Emery. Ronda stood back watching Eliot at work. “Looks good. Now expect some bleeding. The wound was unique and hard to get at some angles. So if you feel it’s bleeding too much, let us know and we will have a look, to see if something needs to be done” Eliot smiled. “Stay awake for the next three hours. Ronda will be here during that time to keep an eye on you and to make sure you don’t fall asleep.” Eliot gestured to Ronda standing at the foot of my bed.

After some more needless babble, Eliot, Loki, and Emery left. The sun started to rise. I could hear the birds outside the window.

“Rori want a bird,” Astreal asked.

I looked at him. “I like to hear them sing” I replied. Three hours are going to pass by slowly. Ronda sat at the foot of the bed looking around. “It’s nice here” she observed nodding. I agree it’s awkward for all of us, Ronda. I thought to myself. Eliot sure knows how to make things awkward, when it comes to giving me a babysitter.

Ronda jumped up “I’ll be right back” she announced darting out of the room.

Astreal sat at attention next to me. Ronda came back in with a radio. “Music is found to help patients in recovery. What channel do you listen to” She asked? I gave her a smile “any.” We sat listening to music. She would come over to check my reflexes, making sure I knew who I am, the year, and how many fingers she was holding up. Before we knew it, three hours had passed. I felt tired but I could talk without using all my energy.

“How are we doing?” Eliot asked as he walked in. Two shadows not far behind him.

“The patient is doing better. BP is normal. Cognitive functions, reflexes, heartbeat, all normal. The wound has stopped bleeding. Other than feeling tired, she is doing well, as expected, Doctor”. Ronda responded, gleaming.

Eliot looked at my head and in my eyes. He proceeded to do all the tests that Ronda has been doing every twenty minutes for the last three hours. “Ok, good. Dr. Burn your assessment of the patient is spot on.” Eliot praised Ronda. Making himself comfortable Eliot looked at me with an intense expression “As your doctor, not as your friend, I need you to explain what happened.”

“I tripped” I answered.

“I don’t buy it” Eliot grumbled.

“I did” I exclaimed, “I tripped on a rock in the woods and…”

“The woods? What were you doing in the woods in the middle of the night” Loki snapped? I knew I would have to explain. For some odd reason, I had not counted on Loki being so angry.

“Loki what did I say. I don’t have to let you in here. One more outburst like that and you’re out.” Eliot warned. Eliot turned to Ronda, “Normally no one but the doctor and patient is present at a time like this” Eliot turned back to me “Rori continue.”

“I tripped over a rock sticking up out of the ground. I fell backward and hit my head. At the time, I felt nothing but a pounding in my head. It wasn’t until I was walking back, that I realized I was bleeding. Honest, that’s the truth. I don’t know what I hit my head-on. I didn’t bother to look.” I explained. I needed them to believe me.

“Is that all” Ronda implored.

Did I miss something? I know I didn’t leave anything important out. I nodded “yes.”

Eliot pursed his lips “While I was removing the metal fragments from your skull, Ronda noticed a few blisters at the crown of your head. Heat blisters. Perhaps you should explain that as well.”

“Oh, that.” I sighed thinking back to the paces of ember that fell on my head, hold on “Wait, did you say metal fragments?”

Eliot glared at me “Don’t change the subject, Rori. I have half a mind to report this incident to your Father” he threatened.

Whoa now, there is no call for this Eliot. “The blisters Ya, I got it” I mumbled “A hot shard of a dead tree fell on me. That caused me to stumble back. Which caused me to trip over the big rock sticking out of the ground. Making me hit my head on something. What’s the big deal? I’m going to be ok, right? So what’s with the hostility?”

Loki charged over pushing Eliot out of the way “What’s with the hostility? What’s with the hostility you ask? Yes, you are going to be ok. If a normal human had that injury they would have died long before getting back. You would not have got up off the ground if you were just human, Rori. That’s what’s up with all the hostility,” he scoffed.

“What?” I whispered in shock. Loki stormed out of the room.

Ronda came over sitting in front of me “If you were just human, there is no way you would have survived or got up off the ground. To put it plainly, we don’t know why or how you are even alive right now. You had lost so much blood by the time we started your IV, by all rights, you should be dead.” Dead? Should I be dead? But, I’m here. This is a dream I fell asleep. This is just some scary dream, right?

Eliot took Emery and left. Ronda got ordered to watch me as her first human-demon patient. He told her this is going to be a good learning experience. She did not seem to mind one bit. Flipping the radio back on she started dancing around the room pretending to sing every song that came on. Her bedside manner is wonderful. She will make a good doctor one day. I could not help but think how angry Loki was. How scared he was while I lay there on the table. What a 180. Well, that’s Loki. Hot then cold.

Hidi brought lunch up to the room for us. She didn’t have to say it, but I knew Loki sent her up with the food. He didn’t want to see me. He must still be angry. “Well before we eat, I need to change your bandage. How are you feeling, a headache? Any pain” Ronda asked.

“Um, no. No pain.” I assured her. I had Ronda stop the morphine drip. I was now just taking painkillers from the store. I feel fine, actually. Like nothing ever happened. I guess Eliot really knows his stuff.

“Uh,” Ronda gasped.

“What?” I asked. What now?

“Um. Just sit tight.” Ronda responded. She sprinted out the door. She left sprinting, that can’t be anything good. She’s in such a hurry she left the door wide open and my bandage half off.

Pulling Eliot by the collar of his shirt Ronda dragged him back. “Can’t you hold on, I can walk you know” Eliot wined. She thrust him in my direction. Eliot got his balance back he turned to Ronda confused.

“Go on, examine her” she whispered.

Eliot turned around gazing at me perplexed he tugged on his vest flattening it once more. He gently pulled back the bandage on my head taking a look. He sat back, dazed. I glanced at Ronda as she stood at the foot of my bed tapping her shoe; frantically biting her nails. Eliot leaned over again looking at my head. Again he leaned back dazed “Ronda, you didn’t do anything did you?”

Rhonda shook her head “Absolutely not.”

“Someone better start talking” I demanded.

Eliot looked at my head again. Pulling off my bandage he looked at it. Closely inspecting it like a piece of evidence. “It appears as though.” Eliot paused in amazement.

I looked at him “As though, what” I yelled demanding an answer.

“Your wound is completely healed” Ronda exclaimed.

“What” I screamed in dismay “is this is some kind of joke.”

Shaking his head Eliot looked at me “It’s as if last night never happened. I can’t find any trace of a scar or injury. The blisters are gone too.” Eliot laughed hysterically. I think he’s lost it.

“Have you ever seen anything like it? Not even demons heal that fast” Ronda remarked.

Emery came in to see how I'm doing. It took a while for Eliot to come to his senses. Ronda was there to help him along the way. Eliot was just thrilled that he didn’t have to report my injury to Father. Even more pleased to tell Loki about it. While neither Eliot nor Ronda knew what happened or why they both agreed that whatever caused me to heal so quickly is probably the reason why I survived in the first place. Emery suggested doing more tests to make sure there was not a parasite living in my body giving me these extra healing abilities. Eliot ran to tell Loki the good news. Ronda took Emery to the infirmary to test the blood samples they took.

Alone, at last. I got out of bed and put on some clothes. Astreal and I both completely tired of people snuck out the window. “Let’s go” I whispered. I jumped onto his back. The feeling is so surreal. My heart started to race I could feel the adrenaline, pulse through my veins. He took off flying fast. The wind through my hair across my body, I was flying with him. I have never felt safer than I do right now on his back, flying through the sky. I leaned in closer to his neck “Show me what you got” I declared. Astreal gladly jolted straight up flying faster and faster. We darted past a passenger airplane. He began a lazy backflip. I let go of him feeling the moment I knew nothing would happen to me. Astreal caught me moments after I left his body.

Suddenly, he began to plummet towards the ground; I screamed with joy. This was better than flying in a fighter plane. Just when I thought we would hit the trees Astreal turned to avoid them. Leveling out, he let his feet gingerly touch the river water. “Yahoo” I yelled with excitement.

“Rori, like more” Astreal asked.

I laughed “We should head back now before Loki has a heart attack.” I joked. Astreal took a pinpoint turn, as he began flying over the woods. I looked down below us. I could see the clearing where I was last night. I spotted something reflecting the sun’s light. Before I could even think to say anything Astreal descended down to where the shiny object was.

I jumped off Astreal running to the shiny object’s location. I looked around, the rock I tripped over was just a few feet away. This must be what I hit my head-on. A large round metal plate had a tree grow around it. It looked as if someone put the metal plate on the tree. I could not tell what the symbols on the plate were. However, I could tell that the metal was flaking. It looked to be something coated in metal. I reached out to get a feel of what the underlying material could be.

A shock jolted through me. “Ow”, I gasped, must be static electricity. I reached out again. Another zap julted me. “Ow”, I groaned. “What is this thing?” I looked on the edge I could see blood and hair, even a piece of scalp with hair attached. That is not what intrigued me; next, to where I had hit my head, I noticed more markings. These I do recognize. Loki has them all over the castle. Hidi told me they are for protection from unwanted or unwarranted people, demons, or things.

These markings looked old and weathered. “I should ask Loki about this. Epically, this one marking, I have never seen before” I pointed to a marking of two circles meeting and overlapping, a teardrop in the middle of them both with the Beta sign on the left side of the circles and Omega on the right one. Astreal and I quickly flew back to Loki’s castle. I crawled back through the window I had jumped from. After Astreal jumped in I shut the window. Turning around, I set off to go speak with Loki.

“Where have you been” a voice called from the other side of the room. Startled I looked over to the bed. Emery sat reading a book “They all think you have been hiding in the bathroom. So, I think I deserve to know where you have been.”

Did he cover for me? I can’t believe he covered for me. “Thank you. I went to go see what I hit my head-on. Do you know where Loki is?”

Emery got up walking over he looked at my head. “It’s true. Completely healed” he pausedm “He is in the library. They have been expecting you.”

I opened the Library doors wide. I wanted to be cautious because it is likely that Loki knows I left. Loki sat in his chair as usual. Eliot sat in his normal spot as well. Carter sat next to Eliot. I’m glad he is back. I could use another person on my side now that Loki will be on the warpath. Unexpectedly, I noticed another person. A young man sitting in my spot; his soft silver hair complemented his gray eyes. Sporting a completely white suit and shoes, he sat relaxed.

Loki stood up fixing his vest “Rori, this is Alexzander, he’s an Angel.”