Gifted Connections 4

Kade nodded gravely.

“How long will she stay that way?” Lincoln seemed impressed as he leaned back in his chair.

Kade went to open his mouth to answer as Rachel unfroze and let out a startled cry, spitting out the pencil from her mouth. I could see bits of wood from the pencil clinging to her lips. She had nervously chewed on the pencil thinking it was her nails.

“What the what?” Rachel asked in confusion.

“I’m averaging five minutes right now,” Kade said with confidence. “I can freeze up to three people. If Micah, Remy, and I were to teleport out to the wounded, we could bring them into the clinic with little chances of getting hit. Micah and Remy can carry the people, and I will freeze any threats.”

“That’s a great idea,” Remy said with a broad smile. I knew it was eating him up just as much as it was me, sitting here idly.

“What are we supposed to do?” Jaxson said with a frown. He apparently wanted in on the actual action.

“Help the hospital staff,” Noah suggested.

“Okay,” Jace said with a nod of agreement. “Let’s do this.”

“Time out,” Rachel protested finally. “Did you just freeze me and put a pencil in my mouth?”

Kade tried to cover his smile unsuccessfully. “I froze you, but I did not put the pencil in your mouth.”

Rachel glared at him for a moment before looking at all of us. “Jaxson James,” she growled. “I will get you back for this!”

Jaxson really didn’t have a good poker face.

Jaxson laughed before running out of the room. “You can try,” he called over his shoulder.

Gifted attacks seemed to cover a broad spectrum of injuries. We had a few people that had been hit by ice. These people looked like they were suffering from a severe case of frostbite. Then there were others that had been hit by fire. It was slightly overwhelming dealing with all the patients that were coming in.

They were coming in marked according to the severity of their injuries thanks to Remy and Noah’s ingenious thinking. We had a few patients unable to continue fighting but not critically injured enough to require immediate medical attention.

We had already worked through our critically injured, and now we were dealing with the minor injuries. I was relieved to realize only a trickle of patients were now coming in.

Noah was in a separate clinic I wasn’t even aware of. He was ‘healing’ some of the adversaries’ patients. Will instructed Remy to take them and begin their medical care. He might not like them and even secretly wished their death, but he wasn’t a monster. Also, if they were going to be transferred to our holding cells, he wanted them in good health beforehand.

I lost all track of time as I ran around helping the hospital staff grab bandages, change bedding, transport patients, and anything else I could do. I wished I had my gift of healing, especially for the patients that came in with excruciating pain. Instead, I had to rely on my training in SABC (Self Aid Budd Care) that I had received here.

I was helping Paula hold down a guy as Dr. Wyatt set his broken arm, when both doors swung open, and a group of people came in at once with another small group of injured people.

“It’s over,” Remy informed us as he dropped a barely recognizable person onto the bed beside ours. “Back up has arrived and our relief.”

I sighed in satisfaction. I wasn’t ashamed to admit I needed a break, a shower, and food. I was glad that Will and Paul had decided to keep the healers and medical staff from Knightstown and South Carolina away from the battle and called them in when the fight was over.

“We need Yaris,” I said immediately when I saw the softball-sized welts on one of the injured. I shuddered remembering what I went through and how the poison felt when it had spread through me.

“I got this,” a detached feminine voice stated, stepping forward from the group of people that had just entered.

I tensed up, recognizing Stacey, Noah’s ex-girlfriend. She was still as beautiful as ever with her flawless skin, long red hair, and bright hazel eyes. She looked like she belonged on the cover of magazines or walking the runway with her long legs and beautiful body.

Her beauty only reminded me of my current visual appearance. We had all been busting our tails off. I could feel my damp curls clinging to my forehead and neck, having escaped from my messy bun. I could feel the rivulets of sweat dripping down my back and in my cleavage. In short, I was a hot mess.

“Excuse me, I got this,” Stacey said to one of the Nons that had been helping us all day and who started to check the vitals of the new patient.

I really didn’t want to be quarrelsome or get into a confrontation with her, but she was making it hard. In less than three seconds after running into her again, she was already treating me like I was too young and inexperienced to understand what was going on. She always had a way of acting superior towards me, like the four years she had on me lent her more understanding and knowledge. That and all her schooling, made her believe her intelligence was higher than mine. She was the stupidest smart girl I had ever met…well, one of them.

“You won’t be able to heal him,” I explained to her patiently. “He’s been hit with poison, and you can’t remove it.” I looked over at Kade who looked exhausted. “Please get Yaris for me and ask him to get here ASAP. I have a feeling this patient isn’t the only one poisoned.”

“Okay,” Kade said with a new pep to his step. He ran off without questioning me.