Single post in Shifting Fates

He jumped out of his chair and ran into the hall. Gazing back the way he’d come, his eyes first locked on thick, dark smoke billowing from the wall where the hall clock used to hang. Then he noticed the pair of bodies lying on the floor next to the shattered clock’s remains. Sprinting towards them, Rondrio wondered what had caused the clock to shatter. “Are you alright?” he asked after nearly sliding on his knees next to them. Rondrio immediately recognized the groaning man lying face up as one of the janitors working the halls all week. But the girl partially lying on top of him hadn’t made a sound yet. He pushed back her sprawled black hair and inhaled sharply upon seeing a fresh wound near her left temple. “Hey…” he urged while gently shaking her shoulder. “Come on, wake up.” After a moment, he recognized her as the same Asian girl he’d passed minutes ago. “Help her! She’s bleeding!” he shouted before noticing teachers already approached them. Waking up with a splitting headache was nothing new, but why did this time hurt so much more than before? As she forced her lids apart, bright light barged in and assaulted her sensitive eyes. She flinched and caused a sharp throb in the left side of her head. “You probably shouldn’t try moving your head.” Her eyes slowly adjusting to the light, she blinked rapidly and tried guessing where the unfamiliar voice came from. Her vision cleared enough to make out a plain white ceiling with humming fluorescent lights overhead. Combined with the sterile smell of cleaning chemicals she hated so much, it could only mean she’d landed in a hospital somewhere. Her head throbbed. She wanted to look around the room, but the pain was more than she wanted to handle. “Hurts so bad,” she weakly muttered. “What happened?” “Far as I can tell… you got brained by a renegade clock.” It took a moment to understand his statement. When she hazily recalled shoving the janitor out of the way, her eyes widened. “That guy…” Footsteps slowly approached the bed. “He’s better off than you apparently. Looks like the clock managed to only kiss your head. His took the worst from the floor.” Suddenly, a male’s face slid into view to her right, and he didn’t appear to be a doctor. “Did you push him outta the way?” “You…” she muttered after recognizing him as the boy she’d spoken to at the school. “Why… are you here?” He shrugged. “The name’s Rondrio. Didn’t really have anything else to do. Plus, no one knew who you were. I figured I could sit with you until night, in case you woke up.” “Kaname.” She blinked. “It’s night?” He looked back. “It’s after 9:30.” When he looked at her again, he wore a smirk. “You know that you snore?”