Chapter 14: Hung Over
Time was meaningless to Cody. It could have been hours, or days, or weeks, there was no way to know. He thought he remembered a breeze. {A nice, cool breeze.}
Someone pulled on him, and spoke to him, Cody couldn't respond, he was too tired, too tired to get up. {I'll just have to miss work today.}
He started to doze off again, and he thought he heard arguing and sirens. {Mom must have left the TV on.} He wanted to get up and tell her to turn it down, but decided against it. It was too much effort and he just wanted to sleep.
As consciousness gradually seeped into Cody's mind, he found himself tangled in a web of disorienting sensations. A rhythmic throbbing in his temples danced in tandem with the dull pain that resonated through his skull.
Blinking against the intrusion of light, Cody groaned softly, his eyes squinting as he attempted to make sense of his surroundings. The room, his bedroom, was adorned with flickering shadows that seemed to pulse with the persistent beat of his headache.
With a heavy sigh, Cody gingerly pressed a hand to his forehead, hoping to quell the insistent pounding. The touch only amplified the discomfort and he winced, feeling the coolness of his fingertips against the warmth of his skin. {Do I have a fever?}
With a cautious attempt, Cody pushed himself upright, the bed creaking in protest. The disheveled sheets had tied him up in a cocoon, and he cast a puzzled gaze around the room. It took a moment for events to coalesce in his foggy memory.
As fragments flashed through his mind—Breaches, the clang of swords, and an indistinct blur of monstrous images—Cody's headache seemed to acquire a narrative of its own. {Had that all been a dream?}
The room felt both familiar and alien, a disconcerting blend of comfort and discord. Cody's gaze fell upon a full glass on the bedside table, sitting in the center of a lukewarm puddle of condensation, it had been there a while. He winced, realizing that hydration might be the key to alleviating the relentless ache, and reached for the glass.
As he picked up the class, a piece of paper stuck to the bottom was lifted along with it. He glanced at it, and nearly choked, sputtering and coughing what little water he had managed to sip. Written in a neat, precise scrawl was a note:
Cody -
We have to stop meeting like this. Get some rest, I'm serious this time. I had to report this one back to Miranda. That was the largest recorded Breach in Oregon so far, you are lucky you made a full clear. You're not indestructible, and people have died trying to clear Breaches already, it's only going to get worse. We'll be in touch.
- Mark
P.S. - I left your stuff in the trunk.
{It happened. I have powers, I fought monsters. I survived.}
Cody looked down at his body. He moved his limbs, and flexed his muscles, trying to get a feel for his condition. He felt whole and unbroken, but noticed bandages on his arm hiding a new scar: a long, straight, purplish-line cut all along his left bicep. It looked like a superheated rod had melted away skin and flesh. It was healed now; new, shiny skin was hidden under the bandage.
As he finished dressing himself, he heard a gasp from the other room.
The silhouette of a woman appeared at his door. Cody looked up to see his mother, her face etched with a myriad of emotions.
"Cody, you're awake," she whispered, a tremor in her voice betraying the emotional tumult of the past week. "I've been so worried."
Cody smiled at his mother, an attempt to reassure her. "Hey, Mom. I'm fine."
Her hands went to his shoulders as she stared into his face, as if afraid that he might slip away again. She fussed over him, checking his forehead and asking how he felt with a mix of motherly concern and amateur nurse. Cody just felt relieved with the normality of the situation.
"I can't believe you were hit by a bus," she said, her voice a blend of disbelief and gratitude. "You're lucky to be alive."
Cody winced at that, {Good save, Mark, hit by a bus. What excuse are they going to make up next time? I got hit by a streetcar? Plane crash? Mob violence?}
Even that thought struck Cody funny. {Is there going to be a next time?} Cody realized he could feel a pull, a longing, to go somewhere near. {There's a Breach close…}
Cody's gaze wandered to the bandage and the lingering ache in his head, a tangible reminder of the accident. "Yeah, it was crazy. But I'm okay now. Really."
His mother began to tear up, a testament to the emotional toll the past week had taken on her. She leaned in, pressing a gentle kiss on his forehead. "I was so scared, Cody. I don't know what I would have done if…"
His hand tightened around hers, a silent acknowledgment of her unspoken fears, "I'm here, Mom. I'm okay."
As she continued to fuss over him, offering words of comfort, Cody couldn't help but feel a surge of gratitude for his mom, and how comforting it was to be home again. Despite the physical endurance he had gained from his new powers, the warmth of his mother's presence was a healing balm for him emotionally.
And as his mother continued to move around the room chatting with him, Cody began to formulate a plan in his mind. {I can't have her worried every time I am gone.}
"Are you hungry?" His mother asked suddenly, interrupting her own story. "I almost forgot I was cooking when I heard you moving around." She hurried out of the room, Cody following behind.
The evening sun cast a warm glow into the room as Cody sat across from his mother at the kitchen table. They made small talk as he slowly assembled the words to a convincing lie.
"Mom," Cody began, his gaze meeting hers with a mixture of sincerity and a touch of reluctance. "I'm going to be working out of town for a while, my company just picked up a big job in Seattle, I'm going to be gone a lot for the next few months."
A flicker of concern crossed her face, but she masked it with a nod. "Just take care of yourself, okay? And keep me updated. I'll miss you while you're away."
"I will, Mom. I promise," Cody replied, trying to sound reassuring.
Throughout the evening, Cody continued to share details of the fictional project, all the while concealing the real purpose that would call him away—deadly Breaches that threatened to release monsters out onto an unsuspecting population.
Today was the first time he had had a moment to consider what was happening without being in life-threatening danger. Since that morning in the Henry Building over a week ago, Cody had gone from one extreme danger to the next chasing an endorphin rush, but only now, being home with his mom, did he realize that he needed to get stronger to protect the people around him. The parallels between comic books, manga, and video games felt too blatant to be ignored. And if there's one thing Cody knew about video games: you got better by playing. He needed time to figure this out, time to hone his skills.
If this was a game, Cody was going to win.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone