The payback

" Where is he?! " Jamal shouted while hurrying in the hallway of the principal and unique hospital of Stainfall. Lina was running behind him when they found Carla sitting on a bench next to the door of a room.

She, initially, had her face turned to the ground and when she noticed the noises coming from away, she raised and turned her head to look at the couple as they were rushing in her direction.

She stood up and when Jamal came closer he directly pointed to the door " is he there? "

The woman nodded after taking a glance at it.

Lina took a step forward towards her and at her turn, she questioned her, " Is he good? What the hell did happen? "

Carla crossed her arms, " the doctor said that his life is not in danger, in fact, he's not even physically hurt, he said that he has just lost consciousness due to some kind of mental shock, trauma, or just tiredness ".

She saw that the couple looked a little more relieved, however, she also noticed through their eyes that they were still deeply concerned anyway.

" What happened exactly? Explain to us " Lina instinctively pressed Jamal's arm.

" I'm not even sure myself, " Carla scratched the back of her head before starting telling the story, " I was on my way to his apartment looking for Andre as I had some few things I wanted to discuss with him and until there I didn't know they were both living together. After one long hour of looking for the residence, I finally found it, I stopped in front of his door and after knocked many times without any response. I got worried after minutes of silence and finally decided to force my way inside, hopefully for me, the door was not locked so I just opened the door and entered in. I shouted the names of the boys many times but still without any reply, the apartment was strangely calm and silent. I wandered there to know what was going on until I arrived in front of a door slightly opened, I took a peek inside and found Matteo unconscious on the ground lying next to a puddle of vomit and stains of sweat... I didn't think twice and I just rush to carry him here ".

Jamal and Lina lowered their gazes and Carla understood that they were trying to guess what on earth happened to put him in that condition, however, they had a strange reaction as, a few seconds later, in perfect synchronization, they both raised their sights to glance at each other as if they found the same answer at the same time.

" Do you have an idea of what could have happened? " Carla asked them shyly.

They once again glanced at each other as if to discuss what response should they give her, but, Carla could deduce that it was important and she even started to think that they wouldn't tell until Jamal rubbed his neck and replied, " it seemed that we have somehow made him work a bit too hard ".

It was not very a clear answer but Carla decided to satisfy herself with that after she noticed that hint of culpability in their eyes.

She passed her hands behind her head and sighed while looking around before she changed the subject since she didn't want the ambiance to become even more depressing, " that's very awesome when I think you have managed to reopen the medical center ".

It seemed that Lina took the bait as she revealed a large smile. It was one of her most difficult projects she had realized so far since she had decided to revive the city and thus it was one of her proudest accomplishments.

During those last days, she had been working day and night, wherever it was in her office or in her home, to coordinate the reparations of the construction, elaborating new types of medical equipment or fixing the old ones, assuring to supply the appropriate power, enough to take care of all the patients but yet not too much since the city could not afford wasting energy, and she also had to discuss with the newly recruited doctors about what they would require to accomplish a good job.

She was particularly happy since she managed to get all this work done in only very few days.

" Yes thank you. This was one of the most essential infrastructures the city was lacking, " Lina paused and ran her sight around her, taking a look at the people going back and forth in the hallway, " and seeing how busy the place is, I'm glad to have made it a top priority ".

" I also heard that you were recruiting scientists in the field of biology, botany, and so on... that's for what? " Carla questioned still as curious as ever.

" For research purposes, " Lina shrugged, " the domain of botany can contribute to the elaboration of new natural medicines using plants and the biology can teach us new things about how to survive in this world... now, " she suddenly stopped and as she gazed at the young woman, a smirk appeared in her face, " are you interested? "

She slightly startled since she didn't expect her to make such a proposition, she shook her head while agitating her hands in the air, " no no no, I wasn't asking for that purpose... it was just out of curiosity, I'm not qualified at all for such a job, I didn't even graduate yet from high school... "

Lina laughed uncontrollably, " relax relax, I wasn't forcing you to take the job. But your reaction was very cute and funny though, at this rate I may take a liking to you and put you in my list of people to tease daily, next to Natasha and Matteo ".

Carla blushed but without knowing what could she respond after that.

" Talking about that boy named Matteo... " a person interrupted them, they all turned their heads on the side, in the direction of where that voice was coming from and they saw a quite short woman standing in the middle of the entrance of the room where Matteo was supposed to stay. She had half her body inside the room while the other half was the only part three people could see.

" He's finally awake, you may enter to visit him but be careful to not brusque him too much, he's still too weak ".

The nurse held on the door to let them in one by one and once they were all inside she left the room while closing the door behind her.

The young boy was sitting on the bed his back leaning on the wall and was staring outside through the window of his room looking lost, he had a bedsheet covering his lower part while stopping just below his hips. Carla noticed that he was wearing a white robe, the one usually wore at hospitals, and she deduced that they had someone to change his clothes since they were very dirty.

When Jamal walked toward him, he turned his head and the eyes he showed everyone were those of a traumatized kid, he looked at the same time terrified and sad, his eyes were red and a little inflated indicating that he had cried quite a lot.

After he noticed that his hands were shaking a little bit Jamal held them and with a calm voice, he asked him what had happened, " did you see or experience something? "

Matteo opened his dehydrated mouth slowly to express himself, " she was there for me, " he paused while everyone was carefully listening to each of his words, " when I arrived there... she was already waiting for me ".

Carla didn't wait to see Jamal and Lina glancing at each other to understand that what Matteo was about to reveal was that confidential subject from earlier the couple was avoiding sharing with her.

She took a step back before pointing to the door, " maybe I will go wait outside, call me whenever you finish, " but she just had the time to turn before Lina quickly grabbed her wrist and pulled her closer to Matteo's bed.

" What are you saying? Don't you see that it is important, and you want to stay outside? "

" But that's exactly why " Carla looked a bit confused and even tried to justify herself. " I... I thought it's so confidential information that you can't share it with someone like me ".

" You're right except one part, " Jamal replied without taking his sight off Matteo, " you are not just one random person, don't forget you're an important member of the group so, from now on, stop treating yourself like a stranger ".

Carla gasped for a short moment, as he caught her in surprise with such a declaration of trust, before quickly pulling herself together. She nodded and when she bowed her head, as she didn't want them to see her blushing, a delicate smile slowly appeared on her face, though it failed since when raised her head again she saw Lina with a smug on her face, obviously amused by those cute reactions of Carla.

" Sorry for interrupting you, " Jamal then said at the intention of Matteo, but the boy didn't mind it at all, in fact, he surprisingly felt more relaxed than before maybe due to that joyful and familiar atmosphere, not forgetting the sentiment of security Jamal always inspired to the people around him.

Though he was still scared, Matteo could sense himself regaining some of his strength back.

" You can carry on, " Jamal told him.

He nodded and started telling the story and without him even notice his hands stopped trembling.

" I had followed your advice and tried to train my ability, so when I came back home I went straight to my bed and tried to connect with that state of mind from before where I thought I could circulate here and there to observe the people on the other side of the barrier and eventually spy the movements of the enemy but instead I got transported in that sort of dark dimension where I had already told you I got menaced by the mysterious hooded woman ".

Jamal nodded as he remembered that dream Matteo once told him he had made.

Behind him, Lina would time to time whisper at Carla's ear the things she had to know so that she would not be lost or confused during the discussion.

" There, as I told you earlier, she appeared beside me as if she was waiting for me. I got scared and tried to run away but it was impossible to widen the distance between her and me and before I could do anything to escape some kind of invisible cords came to enroll themselves around my wrists and ankles and I found myself tied up in the air in front her. Then... she summoned, in her hands, iron bars and started to... "

Matteo clenched his fists in the shock of remembering that session of torture he just went through, the words couldn't come out from his throat anymore as if there was a sort of lock blocking them.

Lina walked towards the bed to sit just beside him, she then passed her arms around his head and hugged him tightly. That was so sweet and nice but yet so natural that Matteo couldn't even describe that sentiment, a kind of feeling he had been missing all his life, she didn't even need words that warmth and that comfort was enough to put him at ease, he thought that if he had some tears left he would have cried at that moment.

" She stabbed me with those bars, again and again, many times, " he finally found the strength to speak up even though his voice was still a bit broken due to the emotion, " I tried to escape many times hoping that the pain would help me to wake up but... but... I couldn't, she forced me to stay there suffering until her time there was over and was forced to leave ".

Lina patted gently his back to comfort him, " I know it must have been hard but it's okay now, you are safe here with us ".

" You said that 'until her time there was over' what do you mean? " Jamal continued asking while trying to not brusque him too much.

" While she was torturing me I noticed that her attitude was quite strange " Matteo started to explain trying his best to keep a confident tone in front of them, " I have been growing up around many sadistic people since I was very young so I know that when someone is purposely making another person suffer it's to please themselves but she... I won't say that she wasn't taking pleasure doing it but it was like she wasn't simply enjoying herself hurting me, it was as if she was in hurry, that's what I thought and that theory verified when I confronted her directly. The hooded woman acknowledged that her time in that dimension was limited... but she also added that it won't stop her from coming back again and again ".

" We have to do something... I don't know as a sort of trap to stop that person from chasing you again or hurting you the next time she comes at you, " Carla shouted with her usual overflowing energy.

" There will be no next time " Jamal spat straightforwardly, cutting off the enthusiasm she was trying to transmit to everyone.

Everyone turned towards him, a confused but yet surprised look, while at the same time trying to guess why would he be so strict.

Lina even tried to make the first move to interrogate him directly but before she could say a word Jamal carried on.

" ...or so I would have wanted to say, but the situation is not that evident. I can't tell you to run away and stop using your ability since it's seemed that person can summon you whenever she wants through your dreams, " he paused and fixed his sight on Matteo, " It doesn't please me to say this, but it seems that to free yourself you will have to confront her head-on and beat her ".

" But... how? Whenever I think about it she still is the one to have the higher ground, " Matteo spoke out his worries while trying to not be too pessimistic, " just like the perfect control of that dimension, where she could even summon objects to restrain me and to hurt me, against that I- ".

" Before saying that you can't do anything against that, try to think and analyze the information you have, " Lina interrupted him while hugging tighter, " but I shouldn't have to tell you that since you're a smart boy ".

" She is right " Jamal commented, " at this point, we can't help you in your battle since it's in your mind, that's a pity but it seemed that you will have to figure out yourself a way to beat her, " he paused before he added, " I'm sorry. But, though, we can't help you directly Lina can maybe give you some hints to find the solution you are seeking ".

Matteo turned her head towards Lina and in front of his insistent gaze, the woman released him before standing up and walked to go join her lover. " Well, considering the pieces of information you have given us, it indeed may look like that woman has the whole control of that space, looking, closer to how the events went, if that was true why did she have to use invisible cords to restrain you since you couldn't escape anyway? "

" Because that was more practical to torture me... " Matteo responded with a confused tone, wondering what was the point she wanted to make.

" Was it? " she replied instantaneously as if she just read in his mind, putting even more doubts in his mind.

" Well, I guess we have to go now, we have to let you rest a little bit. But, don't worry we will come back later, I indeed said that we can't help you in your battle there, but there is no way we will let go through this ordeal alone, " Jamal declared while standing up.

They said goodbye before the three of them left the room one by one leaving Matteo there already thinking about a strategy to protect himself the next time he would run into that mysterious hooded woman while using with the only vague hints Lina gave him.

" I got it " he finally declared with a smile after working his brain for almost a half-hour.