39. Familiar Comforts

Somewhere in me, I could feel the change in tone. Doubt was smiling as well.

When the Gem awakens to call a Hero, the world is ill prepared...and its fate is placed in the hands of a 17 year old boy, named Wendell. 

Some will say this is nothing but a tale of fiction.
Let them think as they may. 

After all...I can't fix stupid.

Previously: In a curious turn of events, Wendell meets the last Hero of the Gem.

Seriously.

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When you find yourself overwhelmed by circumstances, don’t panic.
The key is to retrace your steps to the last sure moment when you knew your course was correct. It’s ok to take a moment to re-plot your course…and to lick your wounds if need be.

“You remember nothing at all?” Alhannah asked.

I shook my head

“Not a stinkin’ thing,” Dax said.

He’d been up all night, refusing to leave my side, I was told. Apparently he insisted on watching over me. I’m…not sure what to think about that, yet.

“That’s kinda freaky, kid.”

I shrugged, sinking back a bit more in to the bed. The room looked like an old section of a warehouse, not a hospital. It was too big for a recovery room, anyway. There were cobwebs along the ceiling. Stacks of boxes and odd equipment crowded the corners. Plopped in the center, nestled between a couple of conference tables, was a single hospital bed, monitor equipment, and me.

Wendell P. Dipmier.

The boy back from the dead.

…I can’t seem to do anything right.

“Think about how I feel,” I said. “Those are some crazy stories. If all that actually happened, and I can’t remember it?”

“It happened,” Alhannah added. “I mean, I was on this side of the experience, but I heard their voices. I watched your body go into shock.” She reached over and gave my hand a loving squeeze. “I watched your heart stop.”

“I’m fine,” I said, offering her my best smile.

“That’s not what I meant, Hannah,” said Dax.

Alhannah patted my hand. “If it was so scary, maybe it’s a good thing he’s blocked it out, right?”

“Quite right,” said a female gnome, pushing her way in through the doorway. She had a stocky build, had a rather enormous nose and ears, common among gnomes. Her hair was pulled up in a tight single bun, with a pen thrust through the globe to keep it in place. The white lab coat made her skin look darker than I believe it actually was. “If you two are going to stand around whispering like plotting politicians, do it elsewhere. Wendell needs his rest.”

She stared at both of them until they finally shuffled out of the room.

Scooting around the boxes and tables, she set a tray next to my bed. It was then that I noticed Chuck, in the corner, legs up in the recliner, fast asleep.

“I’ll get back in the morning and get this junk out of here. Make it a bit more comfortable for you, alright?” She said.

I smiled. “Thank you, uh…”

“Deloris.”

“Deloris. Right.” The name didn’t sound familiar, but… “And we’ve met before, correct?” The awkwardness of the question made me laugh. “Because you really look familiar to me, but I haven’t met too many gnomes.”