“You awake?”
Ksiel grunted. He had a tube in his mouth, going down his throat, sucking out the contents of his stomach. Maybe it was a bad idea to try and kill himself with a bottle of pain killers. Not only had he thrown up, but the dose he’d taken wasn’t enough to put him out of his misery. Someone, he wasn’t sure who, had called the astynom while he was unconscious. Did he have an appointment or something?
“You really did a number on yourself.”
No, Ksiel had been in worse situations than this hospital bed. Like that time they’d all been locked up. Why? Who knew. His memories were fuzzy. Something about their boss being pissed off at them. Broke both Ksiel’s arms because he’d accidentally broken something. Some sort of artifact. Never mind they’d just saved their boss’s life.
“Well, I’m going to stay here for a while. Keep you company.”
Ksiel wanted to be left alone though. He didn’t want to be alive. Over the last year, he’d lost everything. He was at the end of his tether and just wanted to let go. Losing the right to visit his kid was the last straw. Ksiel didn’t care if he was a step-father, if he’d just been adopted. He loved that kid. He wanted to watch them grow up and become a fine Rethan of their own. Someone to learn from Ksiel’s mistakes without feeling any of the pain.
“They’ll be able to take that tube out soon.”
It was supposed to have been quick and painless. Not like this. Not being stuck in a hospital bed, slowly being brought back to life. Would have been easier if Ksiel had access to the same mind-altering drugs that normal Rethans had. If only he was a normal Rethan. Then they would have let him die in peace. Maybe they wouldn’t have denied him the right to see his kid.
“What are you doing here?”
“I came to visit, of course.”
That voice was different. Ayel had wanted to stay by Ksiel’s side. None of them understood what Ksiel really wanted though. He wanted to be left alone. He wanted to sleep. Too much pain though was stopping that. The painkillers had never worked right.
Ksiel had to open his eyes and see who this extra voice was. They sounded tired. Exhausted even. Yet optimistic. He wouldn’t be able to talk to them, but he didn’t want to.
“Should I give you a minute?”
“If you want.”
“I’ll give you a minute.”
Ayel had finally left. Ksiel wondered when he would. None of the other L-Class had bothered with family. Considering how fucked up their former leader was, he could understand why. But they never understood Ksiel. Never.
“Gave us a scare, brother.”
Finally, Ksiel worked out who the voice was. He opened his eyes, the bright, white light nearly forcing them shut again.
“Took me like an hour to get from one side of the hospital to the other.”
It was Veeyel. If anyone around here had as bad a life as Ksiel had, it would have been Veeyel.
“I mean, I don’t really blame you. It’s been hard. I’ve considered suicide so many times. Only attempted it once. Kinda sucks where it got me.”
Ksiel glanced over. Veeyel was sitting in a wheelchair. In his lap was a bag with food in it.
“They wouldn’t tell me you were here at first. Said that it might make me sad and set me back. Zitel popped by and visited, told me what happened, then I had to argue with my medics to get them to let me come here. Bastards.
“But you’re family. I know we’re not really related by blood, but I still consider us all siblings. No other way for it to be, really.
“I know that death seems like the easy way out. And honestly I feel like a hypocrite saying otherwise. After all, I was driven insane, locked in a room for too long and decided to use my head as a battering ram…”
After all these years, how was Veeyel so optimistic? How could he see the light when Ksiel couldn’t?
“I… I don’t really know what to say. I wanted to come here. In case you died. That would have hurt. A lot. But I got to see you. Weirdly, none of you ever visited me until you ended up here. I should thank you for that… Wow, I’m tired…”
Ksiel’s eyes met Veeyel’s. He felt bad now. As if he’d made a massive mistake.
“Please don’t do this again, brother. We all love you. We’re not young, but we’re definitely not old. Despite our broken bodies, we could all do something amazing together….”
Veeyel yawned, his arms outstretched. A shout could be heard. A medic rushed into the room, puffing and panting.
“You’re not supposed to be here!”
“I know. But I wanted to see him.”
“I have to take you back. You need to take your medication.”
Veeyel waved at Ksiel, smiling, as the medic wheeled him away.
“It was good seeing you, brother.”
Ksiel awkwardly waved back, smiling ever so slightly. Veeyel was right after all. They were family.