Chapter 20 – Bitten

“How are you doing?” I ask Pam when I visit her after school the next day. I didn’t want to just not show up for our Tuesday lesson, it seemed rude to simply assume and stay away.

“Considering everything, I think I’m doing okay. It’s kind of hard to tell.” She’s sitting on the bed popped up against the wall with Wuthering Heights on her lap.

“They managed to stop the bleeding alright?”

“Yes, definitely. One of the Nature teachers patched me up nicely, and a Timer came to see me too. No scars or anything.” She holds up her arm. There really is nothing there to see.

“That was fast.”

“We have some talented people here,” she agrees. “It’s more the side effects I have to worry about. They can heal the wound and all that, but a bite from an Unassigned is still dangerous.”

“How’s that? If you don’t mind me asking.”

“They told me you stopped the bleeding?” I nod.

“Professor Holt guided me through it,” I explain. She nods.

“I don’t know the specifics of it, but being bit by someone with uncontrolled powers, especially on the scale of an Unassigned, can influence the functions of your own ability. A serious bite can cost you your ability altogether. They don’t think it will be that bad for me though, a month or two and I should be able to get back to normal.” A month or two.

“What will you do in the meantime? Will you still be in class?”

“I think I might go visit my mother,” she says with a glance at the window.

“She doesn’t live on the island?” That would have seemed the most likely to me since both Pam and professor Holt are here.

“She doesn’t have an ability.” So they won’t let her stay here? Professor Holt mentioned something about families staying at the island though. “Not unless you count getting drunk of course,” she adds. Oh, like that.

“You don’t really see her often, do you?” I deduce.

“She doesn’t come for the family visits. When she found out about my ability she lost it, and Steven, Professor Holt, took me in as his own, brought me here, showed me I wasn’t alone. I was one when he started dating my mom and three when I first showed my ability. He raised me.”

“He took in Brody too, didn’t he?”

“Brody? Do you mean Boy?”

“Yeah, that just seems so… diminishing.”

“I’d be careful around him, he’s a bit…”

“Traumatized?” I don’t like the thought of her choosing another word, a word more accusing, so I offer up my own definition before she can come up with one.

“He has some anger issues, just be careful around him. Anyways, Steven didn’t take him in till he was five. It was different with those two, Boy never really… He wouldn’t like me talking about him like that.”

“That’s okay, I didn’t mean to pry.” A silence spreads between us, making the whole thing just a tad awkward.

“What about you?” she asks. “It seems Steven, I mean, I mean Professor Holt, has been riding you rather hard.”

“You mean he treats me differently?”

“No, not per say. He always knows what it’s fair to expect of a student, what their limit is, and how to get them above and beyond that. It seems he thinks your limit is far above where you are now.”

“It seems he’s wrong. I haven’t mastered a single of the tasks he’s set me.”

“Didn’t you manage that negative space thing? He said something about being proud of you. And you are making progress with the energy sensing.”

“You two talked about me?” That’s… interesting or something.

“You are a Langdale, you can’t expect people not to talk about you.” So, my teacher is gossiping about me. Great. “No, honestly it was more of a passing mention, he was explaining what happened to me.”

“How much do you remember?” I grab the chance to change the subject.

“I was walking down with some Nature friends, they were trying to get me to join them for the rest of the day. Then this giant dog or something comes running up the stairs, everyone screams and runs for cover, but the dog came straight after me. I managed to slow it down with a thorn bush and make my way to my room, I thought I’d be safe there since I’d never seen the dog before. I didn’t think it would be able to get through the door, there are these protection things on each dorm…”

“Yeah, that part has been explained to me.” Except… I used my gift inside her room, and it worked. At least I think it did. And the claw marks that appeared on my arm, that definitively was in the room.

“Transformers are tricky, strictly speaking, their gift is the act of transforming, and since she was already transformed… Maybe that’s why the protections didn’t work, maybe it’s because she’s unassigned, I don’t know. She did stop up when she came to the door; it was as if she could feel the barrier. I could see her heave, and I could see the breath hit the barrier. I could see the claws scratching against the floor and the hairs on her back standing up. And then she lunged. It was barbaric, I could see the warning shock going through her, see the fur move, but she didn’t stop she just growled and pushed on even harder. I’ve never seen anyone endure the shock, but she pushed her way through the door and into the room. I don’t know if it was my imagination, but I could have sworn she looked happy, even satisfied, when she saw me cowering away from her.” That must have been it. The girl getting into the room broke the protective barrier. “She leapt past the closets and in between the beds. I tried to fight her off, to make a plant hold her back, but it broke like an old twig. Her jaw clenched around my arm and she tossed me across the room. That’s the last thing I remember, until waking up here surrounded by teachers.”

“Professor Holt was the first teacher here,” I note. It seems kind of odd to me, why wasn’t Joseph called up to deal with the situation.

“The others came later. Joseph might be strong, but not strong enough to be at the school on a daily basis, it’s too much for him. They had to get him before they could have a chance.”

“Professor Holt came though. And no one told him too.”

“His ability is hard to define, understand. It’s easier if you just figure out that one as it comes.”

“His gift let him know you were in danger,” I say, just to be sure that’s what she meant. “I suppose that’s all that matters right now.”

“I’m pretty thankful for it,” she agrees. “I wouldn’t have survived it if he hadn’t come. If you hadn’t come.” I’m just going to ignore that part.

“Do you know why she came after you? You said she went straight for you.” She tries to hide it by looking down, but there is no doubt a small smile spreads over her face.

“What is it?” I demand.

“Unassigneds always go for the strongest person in their proximity. It’s their instinctive survival technic.” So, she’s stronger than me. Me and everyone else in the proximity, and since she was coming from the basement and went to the 10^th floor, that’s basically everyone at the school – or possibly the island.

“I can live with that. You will have to deal with all the challenges now.” I decide.

“Once I get my power back,” she corrects me. Once, not if. She’ll be fine, she’s strong and she has the right attitude. I pull my phone out of my pocket and show it to her.

“I’ve checked, Jane Eyre is downloaded on there, just in case your eyes get tired.” I put the phone on her desk and leave so she can rest.