Four long days passed. Gavin lay unconscious from mana depletion. He was in the hospital, hooked up to equipment. His breathing a staccato rhythm.
Jackson and Helena walked towards the coffee counter. Jackson yawned as he approached the counter. "Largest coffee you have, please, black with four shots of espresso," he ordered.
Helena rubbed her eyes and looked at the menu. Her voice was quiet as she ordered, fighting through another yawn, "I'll have the same please."
The barista nodded. She took a long look at the exhausted look on both of their faces before she went to make their orders. Pity was evident on her face.
Jackson' clothes rumpled as he ran his fingers through his short hair trying to untangle the messy ends. He winced as he pulled his fingers through some tangles and pulled out some hair. God I really need a shower, he thought. Jackson let out a sigh as he leaned against the counter.
"How the hell do we tell him when he wakes?" Jackson asked. How did things get this messed up? They were supposed to be safe. Not expecting this.
Helena rubbed her aching temples, her body tired and sore. "Don't ask me. He gave us one mission. Keep his mate safe, and we failed him," she snapped back. Guilt filled her as she knew she wasn't angry at Jackson, but the frustration and heartache were at times unbearable.
Helena could hear the coffee being poured as the barista finished making their drinks. She brought them over to the counter and handed each of them their drink.
Helena noticed a soft electrical buzz as the coffee finished pouring. A few lights around them softly flickered in and out, the difference barely noticeable in the brightly lit hallway. But Helena noticed as she glanced around, a strange sensation of dread filled her heart that she couldn't understand the source. She wasn't sure if this was just his exhaustion speaking to her, or if she was getting this bad feeling from something else.
"How were we supposed to know someone survived the war and followed them here?" Jackson gritted his teeth. "None of us expected her to be taken within minutes of them arriving here," Jackson banged his fist on the counter, startling nearby nurses. They glared at him but stayed quiet as they passed.
"The battle was supposed to be over. We were supposed to be safe at a hospital for crying out loud." He slammed his fist onto the counter a second time.
This time he was drawing looks of irritation and concern from the staff nearby. One of the nurses walked over with a disapproving scowl on her face. "Sir, this is a hospital waiting area. Not your personal rage room."
Jackson had the good gracious to appear embarrassed by his outburst as he nodded sheepishly. "Right, sorry about that," he muttered.
Helena winced as reached up and massaged her sore muscles.
They had been scouring the city nonstop looking for every underworld thug that might lead them in the right direction or offer some kind of clue. Principal Shepard even sent some of his staff with them and they all had been searching relentlessly for anything they could tell Gavin when he woke up.
They wanted a sliver of hope to offer when Gavin finally woke up. Everything he sacrificed himself for was for nothing. Sure, he saved thousands of lives during the battle at the academy, but the self-sacrifice from pushing himself to protect Erza and their unborn child was too much. To make it worse, she went and got abducted before Gavin even gets treated.
Helena shivered at the thought of the powerful monster she'd seen Gavin become that day-for them, for Erza.
The army of the dead that he summoned to protect them all.
Yeah, Gavin would burn this town to the ground when he finds out.
The thought made a shiver run up her spine. Long gone were the fond memories of pleasant times at the academy, studying magic in the library as they got ready for the competition with Daedalus. Now she dreaded the monster that would soon awaken and discover his only reason for living was now gone and missing.
The temperature in the hallway grew a bit warmer as they sipped their cups of coffee. They stayed by the coffee bar, silent as they held onto their cups. Their thoughts a jumbled mess of what to do now.
The lights kept flickering as they continued their discussion as the soft electrical buzzing grew louder.
"We have to keep him grounded when he finds out about Erza. With his power, there won't be many that can stop him if he goes out of control," Jackson took another grateful sip, letting the delicious coffee warm his throat and stomach.
All Jackson wanted was a long, fat nap and an end to all this chaos. He never imagined his life turning out this way. That he would get caught up in this plot of terrorists, gods and death. It was all too surreal.
Helena nodded as she set her cup down on the counter.
"Mission impossible right?" she tried to ask him with a soft chuckle, anything to try and provide a slight ease to their tension.
Jackson nodded. "That's for sure. He's going to be mad with grief and rage. We don't even know if she's still alive or-"
Helena slapped Jackson across the face. Hard. The sound echoed through the nurse's station around them. The nurses and orderlies nearby glanced in their direction again at the conflict.
Her shoulders rocked as she fought back tears, "Don't. Don't say it. Don't even think about it," she said quietly as she weakly beat her fists against Jackson's chest. She refused to accept that possibility. Erza was strong, powerful and stubborn. She wouldn't let some asshole kill her without a fight. Tears flowed down Helena's face as she continued beating on Jackson's chest. There was no anger in her fists. Just fear and heartache over her friend and alpha. Helena tried to communicate through the mental connection they established the morning of the tournament. Anything to get some kind of response that she was alive and well.
Nothing.
No matter how often Helena attempted to communicate with Erza over these past few days, she got no response. Every time silence was the answer. Helena's heart shattered more with each failed attempt to reach her alpha. Before Jackson was able to respond, a powerful wave of energy blasted through the halls of the hospital. It knocked everyone to their knees. Jackson struggled to catch his breath from the sheer weight of the force.
What is going on? Mana is not supposed to be visible let alone this crippling, he thought.
Dark waves of crimson energy ripped through the hallways. Jackson looked in horror as physical manifestations of pure, chaotic mana sliced through the walls. Nurses and staff ducked for cover out of fear as they avoided getting hurt.
The nurses and staff all struggled to their feet, sweat beaded their brows as they fought against the weight of the mana that was surging out of control. The Magi guards were cursing as they too were unable to reach their feet. Waves upon waves of mana were exploding from Gavin's room, crushing them all to the ground like a tidal wave of power. The patients nearby all screamed in frightened alarm as they felt the effects of the energy.
Just what was going on?
Helena cursed as she was forced to drop to her knees. The weight of the mana was nearly impossible to fight against. She felt a deep vibration in her bones as the waves of mana exploded around them, impacting against everything in sight.
She could barely lift her head and as she managed to reach her feet. She noticed dark red waves of mana exploding from Gavin's room. She could see some of the staff, paralyzed by fear as they couldn't even lift their heads to look around. The powerful and chaotic mana energy was slashing at the walls and doors of the hospital, causing indiscriminate damage to the facility.
"Shit" Jackson whispered, fear gripping his heart. They were too late. Gavin was awake, and somehow, he already knew. This was a worst-case scenario for them. Jackson strained his sore, tired body against the weight of the mana that forced his body to the ground. The effort was the most difficult thing he had ever had to do. He struggled to regain his feet; his cup of coffee spilled on the floor behind him.
What on earth could be causing this, Jackson wondered. Gavin's power was nothing like this during the attack on the academy. This is different. It's dark, ominous, and foreboding. Could this be because he has rested and his mana has replenished, and is now unleashing everything all at once? Jackson wondered. Without control or focus his mana could rip this hospital floor to shreds, Jackson realized as he finally managed to push against the force of the mana and regain his footing.
He had to reach Gavin; he had to calm his friend down before he ripped the hospital to shreds. He focused on his mana flow. He felt the familiar burn as his mana flowed through his body. He willed the magic to give him strength, to enhance his physical abilities to fight back against Gavin's overwhelming mana.
"We must get to him before it's too late, before he"- Jackson was interrupted by the last thing he wanted to hear. A baleful howl came from Gavin's room. The sound was haunting. It filled his heart with such a sense of fear and trepidation that Jackson's own heart raced as he listened to it. It wasn't a cry of hunting, or wrath. But of utter pain and anguish.
He struggled to stay on his feet. Sweat glistened on his brow as he used every ounce of energy he had left to push against the anger that was coming off Gavin's mana. He had to calm his friend down. He had to ground him into a much calmer state, if that was even possible. He struggled to place one foot in front of the other. Forcing every ounce of his will power in his own body to make it move. He was barely twenty feet from Gavin's room. He was almost there, so close yet so far.
"Gavin!" Jackson called out in a desperate plea to reach his friend. Even though he was shouting, his voice was barely heard over the maelstrom of power that was filling the hallways due to Gavin's mana. Papers and light materials were flung carelessly as the mana made contact with it. The sound was deafening as the mana continued to explode through the hospital floor. "You have to calm down buddy," he continued as he struggled to move. He leaned against the damaged segments of the wall as he pushed against them, moving down the hallway. He was almost there. He was almost to his friend and alpha. Staff were frozen, silent and fearful as they watched Jackson and Helena struggle to reach Gavin's room. No one else could manage to get to their feet, let alone pushing against this wall of energy to walk towards the source. The barista that made their coffee moments ago starred at them in shock and wonder. Not even the trained Magi could push against this power. So how did these two students manage to struggle to reach the room, she thought.
"Gavin, come back to us!" Helena cried out, fear gripping her heart. She only recently found these people. Only recently found her pack. She couldn't afford to lose them now when they needed her help the most.