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Hey, guys, sorry I've been away for so long! I've been in vacation in Virginia (Yes, I'm back from the Digital World, permanently, I hope) and haven't had time to write! Anyways, hope you guys enjoy the next addition to Rend's story!

Roll the film!

_ _

Rend's P.O.V.

I squinted as I opened my eyes. The lights--fluorescent, I think--seemed painfully bright...or maybe I've just been out that long. Jeez, that's a scary thought.

There was a digital clock above me with the date and time. It read October 28th, 4:15 P.M. Oh, Jesus. I've been here for a week and a half without waking up? I bet that in that time, at some point, Red had visited. I frowned, then winced, then attempted not to wince again. Almost every motion hurt. Just then, I realized I had some sort of device attached to my head.

A doctor entered the room. "Oh, you're awake. I didn't expect you to be awake by now. You should have been comatose for three more weeks."

Duh, I'm awake. And three more weeks? I thought. I would have jumped, save for the body cast, as a mechanical voice next to the bed said the exact words I had just said.

The doctor must have seen the surprise in my eyes. "As you can probably tell, the device on your head is a mind-reading unit. The device next to your bed reads the input from the mind-reader and changes it into speech."

So all I need to do is think, and you'll hear me? I asked, the device once again speaking.

"Yes, that is correct."

I remembered that Red's trait was to be able to sense hidden objects, and not for the first time, remembered that I had none--or just hadn't found it.

"You are one of the odd ones out, yes. However, sometimes it takes a traumatic experience to awaken them."

I cursed, the voice translating it to speech. I had forgotten that the device will translate all of my thoughts, not just a specific few.

"Actually, you can hide them from the device if you want. All you have to do is imagine blocking your thoughts off from the outside." I tried it. F*** you. The device did not speak. That's pretty cool, I said through the device.

"Yes, it is. Now, I'm going to ask you a few questions, and I would like you to--"

NO! I shouted, and a wind whipped through the room, lifting the doctor off of her feet and slamming her against the wall. Similar winds whipped against me, lifting me off of the bed and carrying me over to the side and held me suspended in the air above the cold tile. "Unless you wish to be in considerable pain," she grunted, "I would suggest that you not fight me."

For a few seconds, I battled. However, when defeat was intimate, I gave up. Fine.

"That's better," she said. "My name is Sheryl. What's yours?"

Rend.

"Your real name."

It is.

"Fine...Rend...what day of the week is it?"

I was attacked on a Monday, so today must be Wednesday.

_ _ "Correct. Third question: Who is your boyfriend?"

First of all, I'm not gay, and second of all, I just realized those are probably skinny jeans, and they're still baggy.

She smiled tightly. A small breeze ruffled the papers next to the bed. "Very funny."

Fine. But I'm serious; I'm not gay.

"Okay. Next question: What street do you live on?"

7694 Rampart Range Road, I replied, not even hesitating to list it.

"Good. That's all for now. I will see you tomorrow."

Nothing more than questions?

"Well, I have a few more, if you have the patience."

_Sure, fire away._That sounded so funny coming from the mechanical voice.

"Okay. Well, here goes: Do you sense anything that you normally wouldn't?"

Other than the smell of hospital, no.

"Hmmm..." Sheryl said thoughtfully, jotting down a note on a notepad. "Okay. Next. Do you feel any underlying feeling or connection to something?"

No. ... Actually, yes. I don't understand it.

"Well, that's understandable." She put another note down. "Okay, last one. Have you done anything out of the ordinary since you've woken up?"

No, I don't think so. Although you did blame that strange wind on me when you held me above the floor.

_ _ "You're right, I did..." She tapped her pencil on her jaw several times in rapid succession. "Okay. I lied. One more. Has anything like what happened earlier occurred at all before the...accident?"

You don't have to call it an accident. I was coherent enough to know I was attacked by a homo-hater idiot. But, no, not that I can remember.

"Hmm. Okay," she said. "We're kinda rare, but every so often, it happens...I will be back tomorrow." She left through the door.

Wait! I called.We're kinda rare? But the door shut before the machine could say anything. A growl rumbled deep in my chest, and winds whipped through the room again, my anger boiling over like a pot left on the stove too long. I closed my eyes and took a few deep breaths, tracking the air flow in and out of my lungs. After a couple of repetitions, I calmed. The winds disappeared. Confused, I attempted to summon them again. Nothing happened, and I wondered if I had summoned them at all.

Time passed. I drifted in and out of sleep, and I was never hungry, because they fed me the nutrients I needed through an IV tube.

I believe it was four days later when Sheryl came back. Her hair was in disarray, and her uniform was wrinkled. "I have to make this quick, because we just had another critically injured patient come in."

All she did was ask me the same questions as previously worded differently. This is the way the rest of my time in the body cast was spent.

Another two weeks passed, and Sheryl came in and said, "You're fully healed. We're going to put you under while we take the casts off, and you should come too just after we finish. Okay?"

She had gotten better at asking me stuff instead of commanding. Okay...One question, though._She paused in her hurrying around and tilted her head. _How will I talk outside of the hospital? Will you give me a portable version of this?

"Actually, yes. Scientists have been working on it for a while. Have you played Vector?" Yes."The mind-reading device is kinda shaped like the ones on those furs. The speaker you can carry in your pocket, but you'll need to remember to take it out when you begin a conversation."

Oh, that's so cool! Talk about being a techno-geek.

She grinned at me. "I know, right?" After gathering a few more items, she said, "Okay, we're pumping the drug through now. If you will count backwards from one hundred, you'll be asleep before you finish."

100...99...98...97...96...95... Oh. Sleep's warm blanked engulfed me in its folds and I became unaware of anything.

What felt like seconds later, I opened my eyes and immediately reached up with my hand to rub my eyes. I laughed through the machine. I can move again! I looked up at Sheryl and said, Thank you.

She nodded once. "Since you can move now, I will let you put on the headset." The device felt like rubber. I put it on and asked, What is it made out of?

She smiled at me. "Plastic surrounded with rubber. It's kinda cool, isn't it?"

Heck yeah! We both laughed. ...Can I go home now?

_ _ Concern filled Sheryl's eyes. "Yes...buy you will still need to be on crutches. Your arms and chest healed fine, but your legs are still...let's just say that they're a little unstable still, so it will be good for you to have some support."

I nodded. Does that mean I can go home?

She smiled and nodded. "Yes, it does. However, I would suggest getting dressed first."

I carefully sat up, pleased that I only felt a brief twinge of pain from my right leg. I accepted the jeans handed to me and slipped them on. My muscular arm and back muscles rippled as I pulled them up, and Sheryl asked, "I know this may sound like I'm trying to form a relationship, so don't take it the wrong way, but how did you become so muscular in your arms and back?"

I glanced up at her after I fixed the belt on the jeans. Swimming. I basically swim for a living. I also Youtube, and I create video games.

"That seems like a lot of things for a senior in high school."

Eh. I manage. I smiled up at her. But it is kind of difficult. I generally program and record on Saturdays and Sundays around my weekend homework. I swim for Valor.

"Oh, they're a pretty good school, aren't they?"

Yeah, I said, accepting the crutches and carefully standing up, using the crutches to support most of my weight. But it's very rigorous, and it's hard to fit in without a special ability.

"Oh, yeah, I've been meaning to talk to you about that. Rend, you're...you're an Elemental. That's why I said 'we're kinda rare'."

I stopped and faced her. You mean to say that those winds were created by me?

"Yes, but like you've probably found out, unless you've been trained, you can only summon the elements when you are strongly feeling an emotion."

Okay, I said, shrugging. I just need to feel something if I want to, say, light a fire?

"Yes, but it has to be a real emotion, unless you've been trained. If you receive the correct training, you can summon them at will."

I shrugged again and started walking down the corridor again. Silence drew our conversation to a close as we approached the front desk. I hope I'll see you again.

"So do I," she said, smiling at me. It suddenly struck me that she couldn't be much older than me.

And by the way,_I said, turning the volume on the speaker way down and holding it up to her ear, _I am gay. I lied.

She laughed. "I'd guessed as much. See you soon." She turned and walked back down the hallway.

I turned to the front desk. The attendant there smiled at me. "Don't worry about signing out, Rend. We're working on that right now. Also, your friend Trevor is outside in his car. I don't think he's left since you got here except to eat."

The volume turned back up on the speaker, I said, Yeah, he does what he wants. Doesn't really listen to anyone else. She laughed. "Goodbye now."

I grinned as well, feeling my right eyebrow not raise with my left. I reached up and felt above it. A jagged, semi-linear scab was slashed diagonally just above it. I assumed that the muscle that pulled and pushed on my eyebrow had been severed and didn't heal back together correctly. Similar cuts and scrapes covered my exposed torso; it looked like there were about ten, mostly on my chest and ribs.

The crutches clacked on the tile floor as I made my way to the doors. An attendant waiting there smiled and opened them for me. Thank you, I said, the speaker still in my hand. "Of course, Mr. Rend."

I almost laughed at that. Just a few weeks ago, I would have been the one calling them sir and miss.

I took a deep breath of the fresh fall air. After being confined to a bed for four weeks made me wish I could drop the crutches and run fifty gassers. As it was, I restrained myself and went over to Trevor's car. He looked like he was sleeping. I glanced at the watch on my wrist--which didn't break, thankfully--and read the time. About 9:15 A.M. I'm not surprised that Trevor is still asleep.

Raising one of the crutches--trusting the other to hold me--I whacked the car a few times. Trevor jolted and rubbed his eyes. I put the crutch back on the ground. He stared at me for a while, then rolled down the window. This is what he said:

"What?"

I laughed through the speaker. Will you unlock the door, or do I have to break the window?

"Rend!" he exclaimed. "...Why're you talking through a speaker?"

I gestured at my throat. Guy crushed my windpipe, can't talk without this thing. Although, I have to admit, this device is pretty cool.

"Only you would think that a device--that lets you converse with others because your vocal cords were crushed, for God's sake!--is cool," he said, laughing.

You have that right! I can't even laugh, except through this thing, I said, clacking around the car to get into the passenger seat.

"Really?" I nodded. "Well, then, I'll have to be sure not to say anything funny," he said, smiling.

_You just did,_the mechanical voice intoned, laughing.

"I guess you're right," he said, pulling out of the parking lot.

Silence reigned the rest of the trip to his house. When we pulled into his driveway, I said, Will you go in first and tell your parents not to contact my parents?

"Sure, brosie."

He left, slamming the door behind him like he usually does. It took me a little longer, because of the crutches, but I managed, and came in a half minute later. Trevor's parents gasped and started peppering me with questions. I held up my hands, like woah, woah, and said, Woah, slow down. I can only think so fast.

That shut them up. "Wait," his dad said slowly. "You can only talk through that thing?" I nodded. "How bad did he hurt you?"

Well, first of all, it might not even be a guy. Second of all, this is just my upper torso and head. You do not want to see my legs.

"I bet we don't," his mom said. "Why so muscular?"

Why so sexual?_I laughed through the speaker, then added, _I'm kidding. I swim for Valor.

"Ah." A dramatic pause came there as she realized that the speaker had laughed. "You can't even laugh?"

I shook my head. No, all communication has to come through this. The doctor said that I was healing incredibly fast, though. I was supposed to be in the hospital for three more weeks.

Then it was just kinda them trying to get info at the attacker. To every question I replied,I'm sorry, but I was lucky--or rather, unlucky--to even be awake during the attack, with how vicious it was. I wasn't very coherent at the time.

Eventually, they let Trevor drive me home, where my parents reacted with much surprise. Dad even went to the extent of saying, "Ohhh, that Red kid has it coming for him."

Dad, Red was in no way responsible for this.

"Yes he was," Dad said, whirling on me. "He's the only logical attacker, if only because you broke up with him. He needs to be--"

DAD! I shouted through the speaker. SHUT UP!... Better. The only reason I say he wasn't is because the attacker timed his attack so it would SEEM like Red attacked me, but in reality, it wasn't.

A pause marked his rant, then he said, "Once again, your logic trumps mine. I'm sorry--"

Dad. No you aren't. You and Mom are far too protective of me for my own good, and I'm sick of it. If you DON'T let up, I won't ever grow as a fur because every time I try to go my own way, you have some sort of rule restricting it! I'M FREAKING TIRED OF IT!

After that, I went upstairs, closing and locking my bedroom door, ignoring their yells at me. I turned on my desktop computer and vented on CS:GO for a bit by owning some bitch noob players, then shut it back down and flopped in bed, turning off the light.

So now there's tension between Rend and his parents as well as him and Red. Comment down below who you think the special 'guest band' Rend has requested permission for at the Halloween Festival, and what you think will happen in the next chappy!

Until next time, guys,

Momentine!