10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Winnie

I flinch at the street as Telke runs to the street, grabs the kid, and...

Oh, fuck...

He is on the ground, not moving... He just rolled off the spaceship and...

Is he dead?

My mind goes blank for a second until the kid Telke saved cries. I shiver and pull my mind back to the present. There's no time to waste. I grab my phone and dial for the medics.

The kid is crying. She isn't the youngest, but maybe she is still na?ve enough not to remember to watch her path.

Or... Telke...

The kid is too dumb for her own good and...

Do I go over, or...?

Siren comes and fills the street quickly enough. The medic runs out of their spaceship and grabs Telke onto the stretcher.

I... My feet remain rooted to the ground. I want to follow and see what will happen but, at the same time, do I really want to know?

One of the medic raises his hand. "Anyone saw what happened and want to go with us?"

My legs move on their own and when I realize it, I'm standing right there in front of the medic. Now, he looks at me.

I clear my throat. "I saw it."

"Okay, let's hurry to check him out."

I don't even know what happened or how I managed it, but it feels like when I can breathe again, I'm already in a room with a doctor.

The doctor may be the nicest being ever, but her white doctor's robe screams at me as if she is shouting at how useless I was. It wasn't like I'd stand a chance helping Telke. Everything happened within a blink. Even if I managed to make a move, I'm not sure what I could've done to make things better. I'm not strong enough to stop a spaceship on my own, and I obviously wouldn't be quick enough to save the kid before Telke so he didn't have to risk himself.

The doctor is watching me, but I'm sure I'm not the one needing care. She clears her throat. "So... What happened? Are you fine?"

I'm fine. I'm not injured. Why her question?

She gets up and goes to the side of her office, where a water dispenser sits. It doesn't take long before she comes back with a cup of water. "Here, take a sip."

I do as I'm told.

She says, "Tell me what happened when you're ready."

Oh... Maybe I didn't manage to answer her question that first time around.

I take a sip of water. The cold water smacks me, and it feels like I'm awake by now.

"Telke... There was a kid chasing a ball, then a spaceship came, then Telke... He fell on the floor."

"So, the kid is saved, but Telke is injured."

I nod. I think the medical staff pulled Telke to the examination room, and therefore I'm here with the doctor to tell her what happened.

She sighs as she marks something on the clipboard. "How did he get injured? Can you go into detail?"

"He held the kid in his arms, then... He rolled up the front of the spaceship, then he rolled down and ended up on the ground."

"Did he make a noise? Moved after he was hit?"

I shake my head. "I don't think so. He just fell on the ground and that... was it. The kid got out of his arms and cried. I'm not sure whether she was injured. But the kid was crying for sure, so it can't be that bad."

"We are checking on her too. Don't worry about that."

I'm not worried about the kid, even though maybe I should care a bit when that's a student in the school, but I can't seem to be bothered when Telke could be dead.

I clench a fist as I imagine a dead Telke in my head. I gasp, trying to calm myself, but my heart is still hammering in my chest, and it feels like I may die too.

Why did this even happen? Why can't everyone be safe and call it a day?

The doctor says, "Take your time. His name is Telke...?"

"Telke Stek."

"And he is..."

"A coworker. We work in the school, just across the street from where the accident happened."

"I see." She marks it down, even though there's obviously a way to figure that out without asking me.

She says, "The police will come soon."

"And I'll have to repeat everything?"

She shakes her head. "I'll give them the recording."

Recording? Am I on record right now?

The doctor watches me for another moment before she flips a few papers on the clipboard and shows me a form. "Here, we talked about that when you first arrived."

I blink and try to focus on the sheet of paper. It says that it is a consent form for the recording of this conversation for medical use and for the police to find out what happened. My signature is there, too.

"Oh... I guess I signed it. I'm sorry, I don't remember that."

She gives a wry smile. "I understand. It must be hard to witness what happened. The doctors in the examination room are working on him."

I nod and look away. It isn't like I can get the most updated information by sitting here, but at the same time...

The doctor says, "If you want to, you can leave. The examination and urgent operation on him may take time."

I don't have a ton of reason to stay behind. I should go home and feed the cat too, not to mention I have work tomorrow.

But... Will Telke wake up to find himself alone? Or... is he going to wake up today? Maybe it will take time for him to recover enough. I heard that doctors may keep patients in a coma or under painkiller so they can have more time to heal up.

I ask, "How's he doing? Do you know? Or is it possible to ask for an update by now?"

She stands and picks up the clipboard and a tablet with her. "We can go and check him out."

I stand at once. Maybe I do care about him a bit too much than I should. Or... Is that too much? Just enough?

Maybe I should call the school for him, but seeing the accident happened right in front of the school and will probably make it to the news, maybe the school already knows.

Poor Telke...

We are in the corridor again. Maybe it is quiet in the corridors because it is getting late. I haven't checked the time, and I'm not in the mood to do that.

There are doctors and nurses walking around. Everyone seems to be in a hurry.

My heartbeat races and my palms sweat more and more as we get closer and closer to the examination room Telke is in.

The doctor says, "Telke's family is there."

Oh... They must be upset about that... My stomach hurts worse than when I was called to the stage and talked in front of everyone. All of these... Maybe it really isn't a good idea to move to this city and work in the school. Maybe I'm someone who brings bad luck, and if Telke and I had never met, he'd be fine.

I close my eyes for a second to clear my mind enough but without slamming my head at someone else on the corridor or the wall.

It doesn't make sense to blame me for the accident. I didn't drive the spaceship that ran into Telke. I wasn't the kid who chased the ball. I didn't tell Telke to run and save the kid either. Even though it is bad, it's not my responsibility.

But what if...

The doctor and I turn a corner to see... There are two kot'oll there. They are sitting on a bench in front of an examine room that has a red light above the door. I guess these are Telke's brothers. They are both big, strong males. The bench probably would fit four beings, but those two of them almost take up all the space.

They look at me, and I resist the urge to take a step back.

No way... They can't be mad at me. We don't even know each other. Their faces are cold and steel, giving away nothing.

It is only normal for them to be anxious about Telke's situation, which isn't my fault, and I don't have to be nervous about that.

Not to mention, maybe they are looking at the doctor, not me. Who's going to care about a rando like me anyway?

Both of them nod when we get closer.

The doctor says, "Who are you here for?"

The older one says, "Our brother, Telke. We got phone calls about him, so we're here."

The doctor nods. "I see. Telke is still inside the examination room, which I think you already know." She glances at the door before tapping on her tablet. "Initial check-up shows that he is fighting it. When we have the detailed scans, we'll let you know."

They let out a breath, so do I. The older one asks, "So, he is likely to survive it?"

"That's what the doctors checking him think at this moment. There's a reliable chance that he will be fine, but there may be other complications depending on the severity of the hit and the fall."

So... Telke isn't completely off the hook yet.

The two kot'oll look at each other for a moment before one of them says, "We understand. Do you know how long it will take before we can have a look at him?"

The doctor shakes her head. "I'm not sure. I don't want to give the wrong expectation. Last time we had a similar case, there was another hour left. But every being and every scenario is different."

They sigh. "It's okay. We'll wait."

The doctor nods. "I understand. Let us know if you need anything. I'll leave you for the time being."

So... I'm left staring at Telke's brothers, who are also staring at me. Maybe they thought I work in the hospital even though I don't have the right uniform.

Um... Do I turn around and run? Are they going to be mad at me?

The older one clears his throat. "So... Do you know Telke?"

I nod, but my throat is a bit too tight to squeeze out a word.

The other kot'oll pats the older one's arm. They both take a step back, probably thinking that they are stressing me. I guess they have a point. It is a bit scary to be staring at two walking walls of muscles right in front of me. It doesn't help when their faces are steel-hard, even though that has nothing to do with me.

I nod again. I have to make myself talk so it won't be awkward.

Well... Given the silence that's already lingering, talking is all I can do to make it a bit less awkward. "We work together in the school."

"I see. Thank you for caring about him. I'm Efaze and this is Dren."

"Hi... I'm Winnie." Are they going to ask me what happened? Does that mean I'll have to repeat everything again?

They watch me for another moment before they sit on the bench again. This time, they sit close to each other, almost squeezing together so that there will be room for me.

I put up a smile even when I'm not in the mood to smile, other than having to be polite. "Thank you. I'm not that fat, so I'll be fine."

Efaze gives a wry chuckle. "Just want to make sure you can get comfortable. We've watched the news. Telke has always been like that."

Dren says, "But we're proud of him, regardless."

Efaze sighs. "We do. But he can be... more careful. Anyway..." He stares at the light above the door again, which is still red, still annoying.

He says, "At least the doctor said the chance is in our favor."

Dren says, "Winnie, right? You must be busy. Don't worry too much about Telke. He's a fighter. Thank you for caring about him. I suppose you're the human he mentioned."

Oh... Telke mentioned me? Why?

He continues, "Telke's happy that there is a new being in the school. He is always like that. He talks a bit too much."

Efaze rolls his eyes. "Come on. We're here to check on him, not to talk about him."

Dren nods. "Yes, that's right."

I sigh. "I hope he'll be fine."

Now, all of us fall into silence, with no one wanting to say a thing. Maybe I've said something so dumb that both of them don't know how to respond to.

Fuck... I'm so dumb.