CHAPTER 20 - HOME
Orlando, Florida, Thursday, 5:52 p.m.
George awakened half expecting to still be in the back of the shitty van, with a flat tire making it feel like speedbumps. But, instead, he woke on his back, rather than the grey metal roof. The Omega was met with a white, higher-up ceiling.
Then, the pain all came crashing down on him like a lapping beach wave. "Fuck!" George wheezed. His body still throbbed, nothing changed, besides the continuous pulsating ache in his head. Like an unbearable headache smothered all over his skull.
He managed to lean up onto his elbows to examine where he was. It seemed to be a recurring event, blacking out and waking up somewhere else. Luckily, this time, he was lying down on one of three of his living room couches.
"George!" The Omega recognized Karl's pitch, but the wolf was nowhere near him. The Omega wondered why he was still invisible. Surely the wolf should have gone back to normal by now. However, he was distracted by his surroundings.
The five of them were spaced out between three sofas in the Omega's living room. The couches were laid out in an 'u' shape, with the coffee table sitting in the middle. However, it was barely visible because it was coated in first aid supplies. Most unrecognizable items to George, he was no doctor but he could name a few.
The Omega had been laid down on his back, before he sat up slightly he had his head resting on the arm of the couch. Now, he was taking note of everything around him. Like in front of him to the left, was Dream and Karl's spiritless body on one couch. Which could only mean Sapnap and Quackity were on the sofa behind him.
Then George noticed towels draped across all three sofas, he suppressed his heart speeding up when he realized someone had laid covers across them to prevent blood stains.
It was when the Omega sat up fully and swung his legs off the couch and onto the floor that Dream peered up. The Alpha looked awful. It had to be the lowest George had ever seen him. He felt sorrow for Dream, the Alpha must have come out of his rut during the laboratory, and wake up to be in pain and covered in glass.
"Fuckk…" The Alpha groaned, looking away from the Omega. "The hunt is tomorrow, I don't know if-" Dream continued.
"Wait what? The hunt is tomorrow?" George flicked his ear to acknowledge Sapnap behind him and spoke. "I'll message the principal to postpone it." Dream huffed. The Omega flattened his ears and his tail bristled beside him. Why can't they continue it without the five of them? George did not want to be a part of it. Especially when the whole school knew what he truly was, he didn't even know if he wanted to go back.
"George calm down, stay still so I can check you for any more injuries." Karl sternly told him. Whispering away the Omega's annoyance. Since when was Karl a doctor? He internally thought. But he let the wolf examine him. Although he did not feel Karl's touch.
"That Alpha bite mark looks bad." Karl pointed out. George had almost forgotten it among all the other pain all over his body. It started to dawn on him what shape he was really in the longer he sat. The Omega brought his fingertips to his neck. The mark was swollen and hot against his icy hands.
"Wait, was George marked?" Quackity questioned. The Omega looked over to him, he cheesed when he saw a nasty slice of a cut right down and through the duck's left eye. George then saw Sapnap beside him only just yanking out a shard of glass on his leg. Although the duck did not react, it looked painful.
"By a lion…" Shivered George, it finally came down on him, does this mean he was marked by that lion forever? And that nobody else can mark him?
But next the room sat in silence, it seemed no one dared to speak after the news. So, the only sounds were shuffling and applying the medical objects onto someone. Karl soon started on his arms which had small shards of glass scattered and dug into his skin. The Omega then realized his sweatpants had rips and tears from glass too, but the glass or any residue from it was gone. They must have treated it when he was still out.
After what felt like a stretched-out 10 minutes. The Omega heard the wolf sigh, he was done with cleaning up George's arm. It was fascinating watching the supplies float from the table to him, but he knew it was Karl doing it.
George didn't realize the wolf had disappeared from his side. How was he supposed to keep track of Karl when he was invisible? Though, the next thing he saw was a phone drifting mid-air. Directed right at him, he registered that it was his phone. Karl was handing him his long-lost device.
"Thank you, Karl." The Omega said, taking the phone off him, but did not look at it. Instead, just put it beside him.
"Anyone else needs help?" George heard the wolf's question. By now, everyone had removed anything that could be a great danger and were now just cleaning up minor ones.
"We are all okay Karl." Dream answered on behalf of the group.
"Are you sure? Let me check your back in case there was-" The wolf pestered. George saw out the corner of his eye that Sapnap and Quackity sharing a concerned glance. The Alpha perked an ear and glimpsed at the Omega too.
"Karl, we are all fine, it's only you." Dream reminded Karl, staying as calm as he could. "What do you mean me? I'm…" George guessed the wolf must have realized they were all waiting for him to return his spirit to his body.
"But, wait…" Karl sounded like he was almost in tears. "Karl? Are you okay?" Sapnap called from one of the couches. When George looked over, the panda had next to no injuries, that he was aware of anyway.
"Fuck!" The wolf suddenly burst into tears. The Omega desperately wanted to comfort him like he did to George. But none of them could, the boy was invisible. "I… Fuck! I can't- get back into my body, my time traveling watch, it went- It went into the portal with- with that lion."
George bit back a gasp. He could not believe it. He knew exactly how much that watch meant to Karl. It was his everything, the Omega couldn't picture him without it. The rest of the group was just as astonished as he was.
He never thought Karl could lose something that meant so much to him in the blink of an eye. The Omega suddenly had a thought. It was his fault, wasn't it? He remembered the portal -vividly,-but he did not recall anything else being lost in the time opening, he was just trying to claw as far away from it as possible.
Looking around, everyone was too shocked to speak, so silence only sat in the air. With the occasional sniffle from Karl. George looked at Karl's body, motionless on the couch next to Dream. He wondered how he got into the invisible state in the first place.
George's tail tip bounced on the couch. "How did you even go invisible?" He finally broke the silence. And he cringed when there was no answer for some time.
"All I did was fall asleep…" Karl spoke, though losing his words in thoughts. And to George's dismay, it was silent for a small while before the wolf spoke up again. "I have an idea, could someone bring my body to George's spare room?"
Karl's idea instantly clicked with the Omega. The wolf was going to attempt to fall asleep again to transfer back. Slowly, the group uneasily got up and began sketchily making their way to the spare room.
George didn't realize what a mess his house was. All his belongings were either on the floor or out of place. The Omega just sighed, the police must have tracked down and bombarded his place. He'll have to clean everything up later. He looked at his friends instead.
Most of them were limping, and Dream -who offered to carry Karl's body- was trying his best not to seem weak, but George could tell he was struggling with the wolf in his arms. Usually, the Alpha could hold much more, but it seemed all of them were at their worst, mentally and physically. Quackity had most if not all his weight against Sapnap. This, post-laboratory, was hard to look and think about, so the Omega shook the thought away.
The group made it to the open-door room. Once again, the spare room was just as messy. It didn't have many things in it, just a double bed and a nightstand. But he was disappointed when walking into the room when the lamp on the side cabinet was shattered on the floor.
"Seriously?" George grumbled. But this wasn't about him, it was about Karl. Dream was gently lowering the wolf's body to one side of the messy bed. Once the Alpha knew the body was safe, he limped over to the rest of the group. The Omega watched as the other side caved in, both of the wolf's spirit and body were lying down now. It was a matter of time and hope.
The group all huddled, pressed against the same wall as the door. None of them dared to make a sound as the procedure went into play. The room was cold and dark, the wall across from them was a window. George stared at the rising half-moon, all of his senses were heightened.
Although he was not a part of the process Karl was going through. It still chilled him to the bone knowing he was in the same room. It felt like some kind of magic act, but he realized it was the wolf attempting this, the same boy who kept a time-traveling secret from all of them for who knows how long for.
A part of him felt disappointed that Karl didn't tell him sooner. The Omega only found out because he tripped in one of his portals. He wondered if the wolf was ever going to tell him or the group if George hadn't fallen into one of the openings and had to be retrieved.
The Omega was caught off guard when a stifled gasp came from someone beside him. He quickly glanced over at the bed, the dint in the mattress where his spirit was began lifting. Signaling the ghost had faded.
George could tell out of the corner of his eye that everyone was studying the body, and even the Omega would not bear to take his eyes off his motionless friend. He was so intimidated that at any second something could go south.
He felt Sapnap at his shoulder flinch when Karl -with his spirit now back in his body- arched his back and inhaled loudly. The wolf grasping a pump of air, like he hadn't for years. What worried George was that seemed to be the cue for everyone to rush off the wall and to his aid, by his side.
When the Omega stepped closer more cowardly, Karl's eyes split open, moonlight glimmer shining off the whites. George's was standing at the end of the bed when his heart skipped a beat. Something wasn't right, and he was correct to be concerned.
Just when the group thought Karl returned back to his normal state. The wolf's eyes rolled back and shut again, and his body started violently shaking. Even in the darkness, it was hard to miss. The bed began shaking, and everyone caught on.
"Fuck! Karl! Can you hear me?" Sapnap, who was the closest to him, called out. The wolf did not reply. Instead, the seizure rapidly was gettig worse by the second.
Watching the uncontrollable shaking pushed George to do something. "Move his head away from the headboard!" The Omega yelled over everyone else panicking. When no one moved except for Sapnap, he registered that they were all frozen in shock.
George exhaled a grateful sigh as the panda managed to shuffle the wolf down, away from anything that could cause an injury.
"What now?" The panda was gazing into George's eyes. He felt intimidated that Sapnap was staring at him liek he knew what to do. Wasn't it basic knowledge to remove danger when someone was in such a state.
"Um, just avoid touching him too much, and just be with him until it ends." The Omega blurted. He was surprised at himself with the sudden burst of knowledge.
Sapnap did not have anything to reply with, he just nodded and turned back to Karl. It was something hard to look at, but they all knew they needed to be there.
Soon, a few seconds turned into a minute, then two minutes. By three minutes, George starts getting concerned. Seizures he experienced never lasted this long.
"Dude, this is way too long, someone call 911." The Omega spoke grimly. Quackity, who was leaning on Dream pulled out his phone and put in the digits.
"No don't, everyone knows who we are, if they get here, they will just take you back!" Sapnap directed himself and his words at George. The Omega flicked his ear at Quackity's phone making noises, awaiting for someone on the emergency line to pick up.
"Karl is at risk of death, and I'm sure they wont neglect a dying patient." George reasoned. It looked like the panda had more to say but was cut off by the duck's phone projecting a voice.
"911, what is your emergency?" A lady on the other side questioned immediately.
"Send an ambulance please, my friend has been having a seizure for three minutes" Quackity said surprisingly calmly, but George saw he was close to breaking.
"Can you please give me an address?" The lady spoke again. The duck looked up for assurance to tell the dispatcher. Everyone nodded encouragingly.
"Uh, XXXX town, XXXX street, number 34" Quackity voice rattled but managed to get it out. The lady was silent for an odd amount of time.
But at last she spoke again. "Help is on the way, they will be there in less than five minutes. Could I have the name of you and your friend?"
"Mine is Alex Maldonado, and my friend is Karl Jacobs."
Furious typing was heard on the other end. "Right, now, do you know what caused this seizure?" When the lady asked this question, Quackity instantly peered up at the others in concern.
"No sorry." The duck white lied, looking back down again. None of them wanted to spill Karl's secret, there was no point anyway.
"If there is any hard, sharp or anything that could hurt Karl please remove it immediately." The lady instructed. George felt slightly proud he knew what to do in this situation. At least he could do something at all, unlike the laboratory. He shivered and shook it off instantly.
"We have." Quackity replied. Staring at Karl's continuos shaking body.
"Is Karl conscious or unconscious?" The lady continued the string of questions.
"Unconscious." The duck grumbled. Slowly getting sick of the questions just like how George already was. All of them knew it was for Karl's safety, but it was on and on with the questions.
More typing echoed through the phone. "Alright, stay with me until the peramedics-"
George ignored the rest of the lady words when Karl's seizing stopped. The Omega suddenly felt shame for wasting the lady's time. But the regret vanished when Sapnap stammered, "He's not breathing!"
"If Karl is not breathing, someone needs to start cpr immediately." The lady must have heard the panda's call. And sprung to his side for help.
Sapnap looked too timid to do anything at first. But he pressed onto Karl's chest with two wide hands on eachother. And began to pump down at his heart every second. Even his own heart was beating way out of beat, that Karl desperately needed.
George jumped when he heard the ambulance sirens in the distance. He instantly jumped to action as the red flashing lights approached his house. He fled the room and got to the front door. The emergency vehicle was practically in the driveway. He fiddled with the lock door as soon as he got to it.
The same second he unlatched the door, the paremedics bolted through at once with a stretcher with one person in uniform on each side. He could not identify what animal they were, but he did notice one of them share an awkward glance with him.
Once the paremedics flew past the cold midnight breeze abruptly hit the Omega, making his tail bristle. He managed to manover a doorstop to hold the door in its place. He quickly rushed to the back to the spare room.
Next thing he knew, before he could even enter the room, he saw one of the medical people take over cpr from Sapnap. The panda was staring at Karl, the boy had not taken his eyes off the wolf since they got into the spare room in the first place. Neither him or Sapnap could imagine Karl without them.
George didn't dare to enter an already crowded room. He timidly stood beside the door way and peered inside. Only then to see Karl being lifted onto the stretcher. The Omega could not believe how fast the professionals really were. It felt like they had delt with the situation faster then they drove here.
It felt like George had only been standing there for meer seconds when they wheeled the wolf's body out of the room on the stretcher. He was barely recognisable, one of the medical people were on the transporting bed with Karl still performing cpr on him. While the other permedic is wheeling them back to the vehicle.
Sapnap was hurridly rushing behind them. Like he couldn't bear being more than two feet away from the wolf. He found himself falling not too far off behind the panda.
Though unlike Sapnap, he stopped himself at the door. The Omega deep down knew he could not risk coming with the wolf, his identity was too much of a threat.
His heart swelled in pain as he watched Sapnap put himself in the ambulance with the wolf. By now, Dream and Quackity were at his side. Their faces flashed the red lights their eyes just as sore and tires as the Omega's. The sirens were practically numb to his ears. It was the cold wind bugging him.
All three of them watched the paramedic slam the back doors shut and jog up to the drivers seat. George stared the ambulance down until it disappeared into the cold, night fog. All that was left was the echoing sirens.
The Omega sighed, he looked to the stars. He hoped Karl would be alright along with himself and the rest of his friends. He hoped the stormcloud of trouble finally gave up its rain of terror on him and everyone around him.