The Healer and the Surprise Guest

Monday, 2 March 2099

Nurse Caroline ended up aiding Schmidt's left cheek. She put special cream on his open cut and placed a butterfly bandage on top.

"No stitches," the Nurse said. "Just keep the bandage on the rest of the day and come back tomorrow for a checkup."

"Thank you," Schmidt smiled.

Nurse Caroline turned to Bruno and Valinoti with a look of concern. "How did this happen?"

"Our boss punched him in the face," Bruno said plainly.

"Lemme guess...Mavers?" Caroline answered.

"How'd ya know?" Valinoti asked.

"Last year I got three patients coming in saying Mavers hit them," Caroline explained. "He never got in trouble because there was no proof."

Bruno smiled. "Lucky for us, we recorded the entire conversation and punch."

"Amazing!" Caroline clapped. "He'll finally go to the Slammer!"

"Where do we bring the recording?" Valinoti asked.

"The Guard House," Schmidt said, holding an ice pack to his red cheek.

"Let's go!" Bruno said heading to the door.

The doors opened up and Bruno stopped in his tracks, Valinoti almost bumping into his back. Schmidt and Nurse Caroline turned their heads with wide eyes.

Sir Espington stood under the doorway. He wore what looked like the same grey suit as yesterday; his necktie, however, was a different shade of blue. Under Sir Espington's undershirt was a necklace, although Bruno could only see the collar and not whatever hung.

"Sir Espington," Caroline said. "is there anything I could do for you?"

"No, thank you, Miss Earl," the President said. "I'm here for your Head Surgeon."

"I'll phone in Dr. Hodge," the Nurse said. "You're good to go, Schmidt."

The young boy got up still holding his ice pack. Sir Espington was looking around the lobby, two Guard were standing with rifles behind him. Bruno was glad it wasn't Jago and Sayer.

"C'mon, Schmidt," Valinoti said. "Let's go get that Room Change Form."

"What's wrong with your head, if I may ask?" Sir Espington asked abruptly.

Valinoti looked around to see if there were any other patients with head injuries, but, obviously, he was the only one. "Are you talking to me, Mr. President?"

"Please," he said. "Call me Julius."

"Okay?" Valinoti mumbled. He was just as confused as Bruno, Schmidt, and Caroline. "Anyway, I got hurt during the carriage explosion."

"Nurse," Sir Espington pointed to Caroline. "Can you unwrap the bandages?"

"But, Julius, they're not supposed to come off until─"

"Relax," the President grinned. "Just unwrap, please."

Valinoti sat where Schmidt had and Nurse Caroline proceeded to untie the bandages. Nurse Madigan entered from a backroom and gasped.

"Car, what are you doing?"

"Sir Espington said it was okay."

"Yes," the President reassured. "Proceed, Car." He put emphasis on the Nurse's nickname.

Caroline finished unwrapping the bandages and placed them on the table next to where Valinoti was sitting. The stitches were still fresh as was the wound. Valinoti's hair was greasy, just like what Madigan said it would be.

"Why are you doing this, Sir?" Madigan asked the President.

"I want to help this boy," Julius smiled, walking over to Valinoti.

Bruno watched with a look of total interest, Schmidt right by his side. The two Guard weren't even keeping watch; they were too busy seeing what the President was about to do.

"This will hurt for just a sec..."

"Valinoti," Tim said.

"Right," Julius smiled. "This will only hurt for a sec, Valinoti."

Sir Espington pressed his thumb down on Valinoti's head wound. The boy shouted, gripping the cushioning of the seat. Nurse Sam and Nurse Nicole, along with a few other unfamiliar Nurses, bolted out of the backrooms. Patients sitting in nearby seats blocked their ears; one lady exited the Clinic.

A dark-skinned man in scrubs walked out of the backroom. He pulled off his face mask, revealing a greying goatee. The doctor looked around fifty years old, although Bruno could be completely wrong.

"What is going on?" the man shouted. "Nurses, back to your shifts!"

The Nurses─including Madigan, Sam, and Nicole─went back to work, either exiting to another room or going back behind the desks. Caroline stayed by Valinoti's side; her shift was already in the lobby.

"Just another moment!" Sir Espington smiled even though there was nothing happy about what was going on.

Valinoti's scream echoed the Clinic; two more Guard had entered the building thinking something awful was happening. Sir Espington's Guard explained under all the screams. Bruno couldn't bear to hear his roommate and friend cry in agony anymore. It looked as if the President was dinging his thumbnail into Valinoti's head wound.

Bruno stopped thinking when he noticed how Sir Espington's hand started to glow a bright, sky blue color. Valinoti stopped screaming altogether, but his eyes were closed and his entire body was covered in sweat.

Sir Espington let go of the wound and stepped back a few feet. Everyone stared at the President and then back at Valinoti and then back at the President again.

The wound was gone, replaced by a scar.

All of the stitches lay on Valinoti's lap as if they had never been in his head in the first place. Sir Espington was still smiling as were his two Guard.

"How did you do that?" the dark-skinned doctor asked.

"It's my Gift," the President said. "I've been practicing my Healing Gift."

Bruno, as well as Schmidt and Caroline, wiped their eyes. Did this really just happen? How could a human being heal someone?

"T-Thank you, Julius!" Valinoti cheered. "I can shower now!"

Sir Espington walked up to the doctor. "You must be the Head Surgeon, Doctor Henry Hodge."

"Yes," the dark-skinned man said. "I was training our newbies. You needed me for something?"

"Something is wrong with my Assistant, Leta. She said her stomach doesn't feel right. I need you to come with me."

"All right," Dr. Hodge said. "Let's go. Nurse Lauren, come with me."

Sir Espington, the two Guard, Dr. Hodge and the brown-haired Nurse holding a gigantic first aid kit, exited the Clinic. Bruno tried to get Sir Espington's attention, let him know about Mavers and the recording, but the problem with Leta was way too important.

"Can you believe the President of Espington just healed me with his frickin' thumb?" Valinoti shouted as Nurse Madigan walked in.

She immediately went for his head. She checked it with just her eyes and then took out a mini flashlight. "Holy shit...It's completely healed."

"I know, right?" Valinoti cheered. "Julius is a god of some sort and I will be taking a shower before the memorial. C'mon, Bruno, Schmidt!"

Bruno and the guys got up and headed for the door when Madigan called for them.

"Do you think Sir Espington is a human?"

Schmidt started to laugh but instantly stopped when he felt the pain in his cheek. Bruno knew how that question could be stupid and funny, but the President had just healed Valinoti with his thumb.

"I'm tellin' ya, he's the God of Healing!" Valinoti shouted.

"That's impossible," Bruno said but he quickly questioned himself. Apparently, godlike powers were possible.

"He could be an alien or a Varmint," Madigan said.

"Hey, do not call Sir Espington a Varmint," Caroline shouted. "You could get Exiled for that!"

Bruno and Valinoti looked at each other with a look of confusion; Schmidt had left to go to the bathroom a while ago.

"Did you say 'Varmint'?" Bruno asked.

"They're pretty much animals," Caroline said. "But they're much larger and have more skills than regular animals."

"The Pines have lots of Varmints," Madigan added. "I'm surprised you didn't see any during your trek over here."

"Have you seen any?" Valinoti asked.

The Nurses shook their heads.

"Dr. Hodge has seen a Grizzly before and a Red-Tailed, and also a Serpent when he went out to the Pines to aid injured Guard."

"Grizzly? As in the bear?" Bruno asked.

Madigan nodded. "Yeah, but Dr. Hodge said it was twice the size of a normal grizzly bear."

Bruno couldn't believe what he was hearing. He just saw a man heal his best friend and now he found out that there were twenty-foot grizzly bears roaming outside of Espington. The Varmints reminded Bruno of something that happened to him and his father back in Adlington.

They both had been Mining one day, down in the third tier of the Mine. Bruno had been helping his father move unwanted sediment into Mining carts. Bruno's friends, Amaury and Mickey had been further down the Mine, longwall Mining with certain machinery. Bruno was just about to pick up a huge piece of coal when there had been a loud, piercing squeal. A few Miners had darted past Bruno and his friends, running in pure terror.

"C'mon, we need to leave," Bruno's father had said.

Bruno had called for his friends, and, together, they had all ran to the Mine's first tier, the exit and entrance. Right before reaching the surface, Bruno had turned around. He could've sworn he had seen a large, brown thing move down the tier and into more darkness.

. . .

Schmidt finally came out of the bathroom with a soggy ice pack. "It's not cold anymore."

Caroline took the pack and placed it on the table. "Remember, Schmidt, come back tomorrow. We'll see you guys at the memorial."

Bruno and his friends left the Clinic and headed over to Inns Two at a quarter to four. Valinoti opened the doors happily; he was overjoyed after his surprise healing today. Katrina was speaking to a Guard when she noticed the three boys.

"Well if it isn't the cool Factory Workers! Coming back from work early?" she asked with her wider-than-usual smile.

"Hey, Katrina," Bruno said. "We were wondering if Schmidt could room with Anzalone? Schmidt is having troubles with his roommates and would like it if he moved in with us."

"Okay!" Katrina giggled. "Follow me to the front desk. By the way, this is my boyfriend, Diggs! He's a Guard!

"Well, hiya, guys!" Diggs said putting out his hands for a high-five. Schmidt took it immediately with a smile; Bruno and Valinoti pretended as if they hadn't noticed the awkward gesture. The Guard wore his uniform, but his curly hair was the focal point.

Katrina grabbed a small packet from the Desk Attendant and handed it over to Schmidt. "All you gotta do is fill this paperwork out!"

"That simple?" Schmidt smiled.

"Yep!" Katrina smiled. "Just have Anzalone and your roommates sign the papers where they need to!"

"Piece of cake!" Diggs smiled wide.

"I'm gonna shower," Valinoti whispered to Bruno. "Good luck." He disappeared through the elevator.

"Um, Diggs?" Bruno asked.

"Yes, buddy?" the Guard asked with a very enthusiastic tone. "What can I do for ya?"

"Rodney Mavers hurt Schmidt earlier today and I recorded it all from my mobile," Bruno explained. "Can you take a look?"

"I sure can!"

Bruno handed over his mobile to Diggs and Katrina. The Guard clicked the play button and proceeded to listen to the conversation. Schmidt covered his ears, walked to the lounging area and started with his Room Change Form. As the recording went on, Diggs' smile started to disappear─Katrina's, too. Finally, the recording ended after the sound of Mavers punching Schmidt in the face.

"This is...it's terrible," Diggs said with absolutely no smile. "I need to bring this to the Boss Guard."

"No!" Bruno shouted, "You cannot tell Jago and Sayer; they won't do anything!"

"I won't be telling them, buddy," Diggs assured. "There's the Boss Guard who hires all the Guard. His name is Cradock and he doesn't tolerate any of this!"

"What's going to happen?" Bruno asked.

"We've had stories about Mavers hurting Workers but there wasn't any proof," Diggs explained. "Now that we have it, he'll lose his job!"

Schmidt got up and ran to the elevator.

"Logan, wait up!" Bruno shouted, leaving Diggs and Katrina behind with the mobile. He got into the elevator just in time.

"Why did you run away?" Bruno asked.

"Mavers is gonna lose his job and he's gonna hire hitmen to murder me, or, or, O'Neill will beat me up!"

"That's not going to happen, Schmidt!" Bruno laughed. "You're getting paranoid. Just relax! Look, I'll go into R Eight with you when your roommates sign the packet."

Schmidt smiled. "Thank you, Bruno. I actually have new friends now."

Bruno and Schmidt exited the elevator and immediately bumped into Anzalone; he was holding a black big with something inside.

"Oh, hey, Bruno," he said.

"Hey, Anzalone. This is my friend, Schmidt. I was wondering if he could live in Room C with you because his roommates bully him."

"Absolutely," Anzalone smiled. "Do I needa sign anything?"

Bruno was surprised by the quick answer. Schmidt showed his teeth and handed the packet and pen over to Anzalone. The amber-haired boy signed where he needed to sign and handed the papers back to Schmidt.

"Thank you!"

"No problem," Anzalone grinned. "Bruno, I'll catch ya later. I'm going to check out the Fabrics Market."

"Oh, nice," Bruno said. "By the way, where were you this morning? Did you have an early shift for Plumbing or something?"

Anzalone had been holding the elevator during the entire conversation. "Oh, I actually didn't like everything Dixon explained to me about the Plumbing Occupation. I got a job in the Armory and that's where I was this morning. Okay, I gotta go so I don't miss the memorial tonight! Catch ya later!"

The elevator doors closed shut, followed by a prominent ding. Schmidt was already smiling over the signature. Bruno could not believe what he just heard. Anzalone was working at the Armory now? Out of all the Occupations in Espington, he chose the Armory. Bruno wanted to still believe Anzalone was innocent, but this new information crossed the line.

"Let's go to R Eight," Bruno said.

The boys walked down the hall towards the rooms; it was surprisingly silent. Schmidt rolled the packet like a scroll, then unravelled it, then rolled it back up again. Bruno could tell his new friend was beyond nervous; he knocked on the door anyway.

Benson answered almost instantly. The boy wore glasses and had a shaved head. Bruno noticed how chubby the guy was, barely remembered him when they Mined. Benson was light-skinned and also wore a shark tooth necklace.

"What the hell do you want, Bitch Bruno?" the boy said.

"Good one, Benson," Bruno said nonchalantly. "Schmidt is moving in with us so we need you three to sign the paperwork."

"James!" Benson shouted and O'Neill appeared. Bruno never knew that was his first name.

O'Neill still had a bruise on his right cheekbone. When he saw Bruno, his expression went cold. "What the fuck do you want?"

Even though O'Neill was sixteen, he was almost Bruno's height at six feet. The kid was more skinny than muscular, however. His hair was coal black and his skin was as if he bathed in a tanning bed. O'Neill had cut off the sleeves to his Espington apparel.

"Look, you guys obviously don't like Schmidt," Bruno said. "so we got the Room Change Form for you guys to sign."

O'Neill started to laugh and spoke like a baby. "Aw, you don't wanna live with me anymore? Am I too mean and scary?"

"No," Schmidt said. "I just like it better with Bruno and Valinoti. They're my friends."

"Oh, I'm you're friend, aren't I?" someone said in the background.

"Faulkner, you body-slammed me into the wall yesterday," Schmidt said.

The unseen kid didn't answer.

"Just give us the papers," O'Neill said. Schmidt did.

Bruno watched as the boys signed the papers; he saw the kid named Faulkner come into view. He was a dark-skinned boy with a small afro; Bruno barely remembered him from his first encounter with the bullies and as a Miner in Adlington.

"Ya happy, Shit?" O'Neill said. "Since we signed these papers, you gotta stay away from

us or there will be problems. You too, Bruno. Your payback's comin' soon."

"Okay, whatever, thanks for the cooperation." Bruno turned Schmidt around as Benson slammed the door shut.

Schmidt was smiling. "Thanks, Bruno. I'm gonna go give this back to the Desk Attendant and they'll recode my ID Card."

"Awesome, see ya back in your new room!"

And Schmidt skipped down the hallway.

Bruno entered R9 and walked directly to the couch. He crashed on the cushions and let out a long, loud sigh.

"Bruno, that you?" Valinoti called.

"Yeah," he answered. "How's the shower?"

"Amazing! I think my hair is crying!" Valinoti laughed.

Cariddi appeared from Room A; he was carrying a load of laundry. "How was your first day?"

"Okay," Bruno admitted. "We learned the sections of the Factory. Me and Valinoti start in the Furniture Section tomorrow. But, we're getting our Boss fired."

"What? Mavers?" Cariddi gasped.

Bruno explained everything: the abuse at work, the fight behind Inns Two, the recording, and Diggs the Guard.

"He'll definitely lose his job," Cariddi said. "Not sure about jail time."

"What makes you say that?" Bruno asked.

"He's needed in Espington. Very important."

At that point, Lee entered R9. He was in his uniform, but his helmet was strapped to his belt.

"Lee, you're back an hour early?" Cariddi wondered.

"Yeah," Lee said plainly. "A bunch of Guard bombarded the Factory and told all the Workers to clock out. I didn't refuse when I saw Jago and Sayer enter."

"Shit," Bruno mumbled, running to the TV remote. He turned on the television and clicked to Espington News.

A young lady with curled, blonde hair and an older man with a brown toupee appeared on the screen.

"Good afternoon, Residents of Espington," the female reporter said. "I'm Kait Demarest─"

"─I'm Maxwell Binkley─"

"─And we're coming to you live from the Inns One Penthouse with some breaking news..."

Bruno knew what she was going to say and he believed Cariddi had caught on, too. Kait the reporter held pieces of papers as if they were important to her, but, everyone knew the only important device was the word prompter behind the camera.

"...Rodney Mavers has been arrested at four forty-five this afternoon after assaulting one of his Workers. Mavers has been the Boss of the Espington Factory for over ten years now and many residents have seen this coming..."

The camera cut to the outside of the Clinic where Nurse Caroline stood next to another female reporter.

"I've had many patients come into the Clinic saying Mavers had punched or kicked them, but there was never any evidence," Nurse Caroline said. "Luckily, we got recordings from a very special resident, Rich Bruno, who witnessed the entire assault..."

"Dude, why did she say your name?" Cariddi sighed.

"What? Why is that bad?" Bruno asked.

Lee or Cariddi didn't answer because right after Bruno asked the question, there was banging on the door and people yelling.

"Don't answer it!" Lee shouted to Valinoti who had just appeared in a bathrobe.

"Why, what is going on?"

"News reporters," Cariddi said. "They want your story, Bruno."

"Well I'm not giving them one," Bruno retorted. "They know what happened: Mavers hit Schmidt and he's getting in trouble for it. Simple."

The reporters were still banging on the door and asking questions as if Bruno would answer them from the common room. Someone was out there, yelling, trying to get through. Bruno could hear the kid struggling to card into R9.

"Schmidt!" he realized.

Bruno ran and opened the door; Schmidt was being bombarded by the reporters.

"Aren't you the kid that was punched?"

"What did you say to Mavers?"

"Are you related to Bruno?"

"Does this have anything to do with Adlington?"

Bruno pulled Schmidt in, but not before the reporters snapped a few photographs of them

with their large, black cameras. One man tried to block the door with his foot, but changed his mind the second before Bruno slammed it shut.

"They'll be gone by the time the memorial starts," Cariddi assured.

Bruno and the guys continued to listen to Kait and Binkley talk about the breaking news.

"We are told that Rodney Mavers is being held at the Guard House until further investigation," Kait said. "In the meantime, Royce Spearman will be taking Mavers' position..."

"Now, let's go to Rosetta Vang with this week's weather forecast," Binkley concluded.

Lee shut the television off. The room was silent except for the shout and bangs of reporters still outside R9.

"You know I'll be informed eventually to bring you to the Guard House for questioning, right?" Cariddi reminded Bruno.

"What? How do you know?"

"'Cause they know I live with ya," Cariddi explained. "The Boss Guard, I mean."

Bruno couldn't believe this. He didn't think this would be a whole breaking news story. He just wanted Mavers to pay for what he did and let it be over with.

"Wait, what about R Eight?" Schmidt asked.

"What about it?" Lee wondered.

Bruno listened how the reporters stopped banging on their door and started to bang on Room Eight. They asked questions that Bruno couldn't make out.

"Oh, shit," he mumbled.

Lee and Cariddi looked confused─especially when Schmidt ran to Room C and bawled into his pillow.

"What's going on?" Lee asked.

"O'Neill and his buddies were Schmidt's old roommates. He lives with us now because they're bullies." Bruno explained. "They were also the ones that held Schmidt down when Mavers punched him. I guess that was just revealed on the news."

Cariddi's walkie-talkie buzzed. He picked it off his belt and clicked the button on the side of the device. "Guard Three-Four-Seven."

There was a voice speaking through the talkie, but Bruno couldn't hear what the person was saying. He knew the voice was male and the tone was low like a baritone. Cariddi finally hung up.

"I have to arrest them: James O'Neill and Harold Benson," the Guard said.

"What! Why?" Bruno shouted.

"They figured out who was speaking in your recording," he explained. "They need to go to the Guard House."

"Your recording?" Lee repeated and Valinoti explained everything that happened earlier in the day.

Cariddi opened the door, walked through the reporters, and banged on R8's door. "Guard Three-Four-Seven, open up."

It took a few seconds for O'Neill to open the door, but he finally did; Benson was standing beside him.

"I've been given orders by the Boss Guard to place you both under arrest..." Cariddi started as Diggs appeared from down the hall.

"...You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say will be used against you..."

Cariddi handcuffed O'Neill, as Diggs cuffed Benson. The reporters completely forgot about Schmidt and Bruno and followed the Guard down the hall, but not before O'Neill stared Bruno right in the eyes.

Shit, he saw the news, Bruno realized.

Lee shut the door. "Dinner?"

"Here, please," Bruno said.

Lee nodded and walked to the fridge where he pulled out raw chicken breasts. "I'll make the best honey-barbeque chicken you've ever tasted. We'll eat and then head to the memorial, guys. Don't worry about Mavers, it'll all be over soon!"

Bruno knew that wasn't true; Cariddi had just told him they'd be going to the Guard House eventually for interrogation. Schmidt was still crying in his bedroom; Valinoti walked over to comfort him.

Bruno sat on the sofa and sighed aloud.

"Don't worry, dude," Lee said. "Dinner will cheer ya up!"

There was a click in the door and Anzalone appeared with two bags of fabrics. He had a look of concern on his face.

"Um, Bruno?" he mumbled.

"Yes, yes, I know, I know!" Bruno shouted. "You heard about the Mavers thing!"

"No, look," Anzalone said, moving to the side.

As if things weren't bad enough, a familiar girl appeared. She had long, brown hair with beautiful, green eyes, just like Bruno. She wore a baseball cap and sunglasses, both gray in color. The girl had a backpack and it looked as if there was something strapped to her belt.

"Carth?" Bruno gasped.

"Hey, Brother," the girl smiled nervously.