An Imperfect Beginning (Oriel)

[Kodah Pierce]

Finally finished with all the technical details of Kodah’s arrival, he took off to explore the school. It felt strange to be back in school again, especially a boarding school. The well maintained lawns and carefully mopped floors made Kodah feel out of his element. He shuffled through the halls, avoiding eye contact with any student that passed by. His messy dark hair hung over his eyes, unusually smooth now that he had access to regular showers. He felt like he stood out from the rest of the crowd, his black ripped jacket coated in metal and spikes, his ripped t-shirt, pants with one leg partially cut off, a black bandana hanging out of his back pocket and boots that were barely holding together.

He had a small backpack filled with some things that his mother, Caitlyn, sent him from Jeresy with a small note. He hadn’t seen or talked to his mother for so long, it felt strange to be in contact with her again. He still wasn’t speaking to his step-dad or their new child but his mother was glad Kodah was somewhere safe and off the streets. She had put some money in the bag for Kodah to purchase a new wardrobe (preferably nice clothes not ripped, as stated in her note) but Kodah knew no other style then ripped and jagged.

His boots thudded against the floors as Kodah passed by classrooms, a gymnasium, the cafeteria and an auditorium. Although he felt uncomfortable in his new setting, he didn’t let it show. He was strutting around like he owned the place, trying not to get lost on his way to the co-ed dorms. He had to admit it was a nice school, but it didn’t seem like the type of place Kodah’s could stick around at for too long. He could get use to three meals a day and a hot shower, but the rules and restrictions made it less appealing.

I’ll give it a month, Kodah thought, finally finding the dorms. He dug into his pocket and pulled out a slip of paper with the room number on it. He walked down the hall as he made his way to room 210. He opened the door, relieved he was the only one there. Kodah threw his backpack onto one of the empty beds and walked over to the window that looked out to the courtyard.

A sudden burst of anger ruptured through his body as every instinct he had told Kodah to break the window. The room was too nice, the school was too nice and there wasn’t enough imperfection for him. He clenched his fist but instead of hitting the window, his knuckled softly hit the wall next to the window.

[Deleted]

Two years ago, Oriel's dress would have been very reminiscent of Kodah's. Torn jeans, dirty shirts, and unwashed hair, basically just a street punk. If Oriel were to actually look at himself from two years ago, he'd realize just how much he'd straightened out over that short span of time. Not completely, of course, he was still a mischievous monkey, but there were things that he took care of better than a lot of kids simply because he didn't take them for granted like they did.

Like regular showers. And keeping his room clean. And while he still dressed like a slob, he was a clean slob(whatever that meant).

But seeing this familiar looking kid trudging through the halls in torn clothes, messy hair, and an attitude like he was King Richard really drove that reality home for Oriel.

Had he really changed that much? If he had, Oriel sure didn't notice it. At least not until recently during his last conversation with Xavier.

While Oriel was surprised to see his old friend Kodah marching through Hammel like it was his new gang's territory and honestly felt like rushing the kid with a giant glomping, he held himself back, not really willing to show anyone else that kind of excitement in him. So Oriel followed the street kid all the way to the dorms and made note of which room he was in.

Now the average person would simply knock on his door and say "hello", but no, not Oriel. Oriel instead went outside and started throwing his Junior Mints at what he hoped was Kodah's window. Of course it was his, Oriel could see the kid through it if he squinted hard enough.

He kept throwing them, one by one, hoping he didn't run out before Kodah noticed.

[Kodah Pierce]

Kodah turned away from the window, still resisting the urge to break it. He plopped down on his bed; he should be unpacking but it wasn’t like he really had anything to unpack. He had to get to town sometime before the next day so he had some relatively clean clothes he could wear to classes. The bed was soft and the sheets felt clean but it was too nice. Kodah stood up from the bed, pulled his pocketknife out of his pants and stuck the blade into the mattress. The constant desire for destruction overwhelmed Kodah at times, but he dealt with it the only way he could. Before he could further assault the bed he heard a few knocks on the window.

He curiously stared at the window for a few moments until he heard it again. He walked over to the window inquisitively, noticing a few chocolate smudges on the window. Was that chocolate? Was it mud? No, it had the distinct properties of chocolate, Kodah was sure. He slowly opened the window and looked out to find the source of the flying chocolate. Looking down at the courtyard, Kodah spotted a familiar face armed with a box of junior mints.

“Stop throwing shit at my window!” Kodah shouted jokingly, staring down at Oriel. A goofy smile was plastered across Kodah’s face, it had been a long time since he had spoken to Oriel. He was under the impression Oriel either moved or was in juvenile hall. Most kids ended up in Juvie, and Kodah would have been if he didn’t run as fast as he could. Oriel was a runner too, boy could that kid run; Kodah could barely keep up with him.

“Is this where you’ve been hiding all this time?” Kodah began popping the screen off the window, working at pulling the tabs in the right direction. He wondered if there were room inspections; if there were he would fail miserably and bring all his other roommates down with him. Once he fiddled with the screen enough and got it off, he stuck his head out the window. “Think I’d make the jump?” He joked. He didn’t intend to jump, but if Oriel dared him to do it he might risk it.

[Deleted]

And there it was, that childlike grin that Oriel remembered from so long ago(ok, it wasn't that long). It was a bit of nostalgic and the ecstatic Oriel simply couldn't contain his own beaming smile. He popped one of the Junior Mints into his mouth before throwing another one up at the window, the little bauble smacking the screen in front of Kodah. "Make me, ya little imp!" Oriel tossed his reply right back at the kid.

No, he wasn't much of a kid anymore, Kodah had definitely grown since last he saw him.

"Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair! So that I may climb the golden stair!" Oriel shouted up to the now open window. "Or if you reeeeeally wanna jump, I'll catch you. Just fair warning, I'll probly drop ya." He laughed, enjoying the moment with Kodah as if they'd never had a moment apart. The whole bizarre social-nostalgia of it all was kicking up a cloud of mischievous impulses in Oriel that he hadn't felt in ages. Oriel backed up to get a better view at the building. His little runaway, mad-monkey mind had already plotted a route up the side of the building to the window.

"Catch!" Oriel chucked the box of Junior Mints up to Kodah.

With a wicked grin pasted on his face, Oriel flipped his head back and forth to make sure there weren't any teachers or RAs around before running straight at the brick wall full-speed. In the streets of New York, he had to do this kind of thing a lot in order to get away from a barrage of irate hoodlums(and the cops). The usual target was the bottom of the fire-escape, but this time was to the small ledge that marked the separation between the first and second floors. He kicked his foot to hold on the awning above one of the first story windows, then pushed off to scoot himself over far enough to swing his other leg up to the sill of his target window. Oriel scooted closer with the tips of his fingers then reached out with a hand towards Kodah. "Hand!" he directed the younger boy with a smile. How many times had they done this exact kind of stunt before? Too many to count.

[Kodah Pierce]

Oriel was just as crazy as Kodah was, although he most likely had a more sensible attitude than Kodah. He caught the junior mints and took the last few from the box and then threw the empty package on the floor. Despite the fact that Oriel was scaling the side of the building, something about him seemed more orderly than he could remember. Perhaps it was the clean clothes, his clean hair or maybe it was the effects of being at Hammel for two years. Kodah hopped he’d never straightened out; he’d hate to let his new environment change him.

As Oriel climbed up the side of the building, he remembered the many times they had done this exact move while outrunning either cops or other kids. Oriel was twice the runner that Kodah ever was but Kodah was a fighter. Street fights use to be one of Kodah’s favorite parts about living in New York. Kodah was addicted to adrenaline and he’d get it anyway he could, whether it was stealing, fighting or performing a dangerous dare. The runs that Oriel and Kodah use to do were always fun, they always had the danger of getting caught. He wondered if Oriel ever got caught, he doubted it.

When he called for his hand, Kodah casually leaned against the window. “I don’t know, I don’t want to get caught helping a criminal like you,” his said mockingly. He let Oriel wait in suspense for a few moments before Kodah grabbed his hands and pulled him into his room. He realized that he had only been in his room for less than ten minutes and it was already as trashed as his empty corner could be. With the knife sticking up from the mattress, his sheets were already disheveled and an empty candy box littered the floor. He walked over the bed and pulled the knife out of the mattress and examined Oriel closely.

“How old are you now, like thirty something?” If Kodah remembered correctly, Oriel was only a year older than him. Kodah wished there was some sort of power that could stop him from aging; he never wanted to get older. He’d hate to become part of the rat race, constantly working, paying bills and having to worry about things that didn’t truly matter. “You’re one of the last people I expected to find here.”

[Deleted]

To be honest, Oriel hadn't done something as crazy as scaling a wall for a long time. Even when he first arrived at Hammel, he hadn't done such things, likely out of fear of overstepping his welcome on the pristine campus full of children whom most all had backgrounds appropriate for something as elegant as a private boarding school. A place that Oriel never dreamed, and still didn't think, he'd ever be rightly deserving of. A place with things so clean and sacred, he wondered if he was even worthy to touch them.

"Shut….the fuck up and gimme…your hand, you ass-fart!" They were old partners in crime, part of the same crowd, and hung out frequently with each other. Their strengths and weaknesses tended to complement each others, with Kodah being the fighter, and Oriel the escape artist when they needed a fast break. Usually it was Oriel leading the way then launching the shorter Kodah over the fence or up the side of an apartment building so he could become Oriel's lifeline in scaling the structure. This was…exactly like that, only with less people on his heels.

Oriel clasped his hand around Kodah's forearm when Kodah extended it to him, and with another awkward swing, Oriel used the leverage to pull himself into the window and tumble onto the floor of Kodah's bedroom. Oriel quickly straightened himself while Kodah retracted the knife from the bed. "The hell'd that bed ever do to you?" It was a question which was only met with another, to which Oriel had no choice but to laugh and retaliate. "Oh, you think you're smart, huh? C'mere!" And he approached Kodah quickly, ignoring the knife Kodah was holding(really why should he worry?), and noogied the kid's messy dark hair under his fist. Then he went at it with both hands. "What the hell? Who gave you permission to grow, you little imp?" Last he'd seen Kodah, he was a good foot shorter, or at least it seemed so. The kid grew a lot in only two years.

He laughed, profusely pleased with this turn of events, from actually meeting up again with someone he knew(and not just vaguely, like with Xavier, though that guy was alright too). "Shit…..Believe it, cuz," he pat himself on the chest with both hands, "here I am!" Oriel felt the same too, this was the last place he'd thought to see any of his fellow street kids again. Especially not Kodah. "What you been up to, man?" Oriel was all smiles for the first time in a long time.

[Kodah Pierce]

“Yeah, I like to think so-“Kodah began to say as Oriel grabbed him. “Get off me!” Kodah struggled against the noogie but it happened anyways. He was most likely stronger than Oriel but he had the element of swift surprise. Kodah shut the knife and shoved it into his pocket, he never went anywhere without his trusty knife, not since that night in Harlem. “Hey, you’re only older than me by a year you twat.” Kodah responded, slightly annoyed by Oriel’s age. He still couldn’t believe how much he had changed, but he wanted to keep the emotional moments down to a minimum.

Kodah joined Oriel in on his laughter, although a hint of pain was hidden in his playful expression. Part of him didn’t want to be at Hammel but he was trying to make the best of his situation. If Kodah had believed in fate, he would have pinned their reunion on that but it was merely a coincidence as far as he was concerned. It was almost as strange to see Oriel in a clean(ish) room as it was to see Kodah there. Oriel seemed more at home than Kodah did, however. It was fitting, seeing as he had been there longer.

“Uh, you know the usual stuff.” He shrugged. He wondered if he should tell him about the night in Harlem. He could recall it almost perfectly; the crisp evening air, the smell of rain cascading from the trees. It was one of the few nights he was walking alone. He vowed to never walk alone after the ordeal. If not for Jared, an older kid in his gang, he might have died that night. He had been jumped, and violently too. He still sported a healing knife wound on the left side of his neck and a few larger bruises on his stomach. “I was mostly just hanging out with Nina and Jacob, do you remember them? Nina had the blue hair and Jacob had the crazy dreads.”

Kodah had been glued to Jacob and Nina’s sides the last few years. When Oriel showed up Kodah ran with him for a bit but after Oriel left for Hammel Kodah returned to his friends. Jacob, Nina and Kodah’s relationship had always been very dependent of each other and he was wondering how they were doing without him. The codependency the three shared was unhealthy and Kodah found himself missing his friends terribly and they always seemed to be on his mind.

[Deleted]

"Maaake me!" He shot back like a two-year-old brat. After a few seconds, Oriel released the other boy with a playful shove and flashed his trademark crooked smile. "Which means, if I'm, like, thirty-something, then were both a bunch of old-farts," Oriel retaliated with a classic, not-so-classy snort. This was awesome, he felt like a kid again, well, he still was a kid, but like the kid he used to be that ran through the streets until his lungs felt like they were going to burst. You know....alive.

Oriel had almost forgotten what that felt like. The dull atmosphere here at Hammel seems to have smothered those feelings over the past two years.

"The usual stuff" apparently wasn't all that vague, Oriel could well imagine what it meant. Getting into trouble left and right, no doubt. Unfortunately, Oriel didn't know about the incident that Kodah had when his power manifested. Nor about the night he'd been jumped. Oriel rolled his eyes into his memory, trying to pin a recognition on the two kids Kodah described. "Yeah...Yeah! I remember those guys, you guys were damn near inseparable." It initially had taken a lot of coaxing just to get Kodah to hang out with Oriel, just the two of them, when he showed up in New York. Like a little brother, he was, or at least Oriel always treated him that way. He was...one of the few people from the crowd that Oriel actually missed. Then again, Oriel missed all of them to some extent. Their company was leagues more enjoyable than the pretentious pricks he saw here.

[Kodah Pierce]

Perhaps Kodah would tell Oriel about the attack but he’d wait for a more serious occasion. He didn’t want to ruin their reunion with more pain. He was sure Oriel went through just as much turmoil as Kodah did. Living as a runaway was hard and while the freedom was rewarding, the nights were cold and long. Most of the joy Kodah found was in the people; there were lots of shady characters but the friends made all the hardships barely noticeable. When he was with his crowd he felt like nothing could touch him, like he was invincible.

He could imagine what his friends were doing at that moment. They were probably lazily waking up, a few lighting cigarettes as they rolled out of their beds. Nina and Jacob’s relationship worried him; now that Kodah was out of the picture would they get together? Out of all the people Nina could get with, he hoped she hadn’t chosen Jacob. He could feel a hesitant envy rising in him, Jacob and Kodah had shared everything except for girls. Nina and Kodah were always the popular couple amongst the crew, even if the two constantly slept around with other people.

“But what about you?” Kodah asked, shifting the attention to Oriel. “You must have it made, living in this cushy mansion and everything.” Did Oriel still miss the streets? Kodah wondered how weird Oriel’s adjustment must have been. Perhaps Kodah’s would be easier, seeing as he had his friend to help him get through everything . Kodah had always looked up to Oriel but he would never admit it; Kodah was a diehard punk and didn’t associate himself with ‘emotional feelings’.

[Deleted]

His spirits were higher and brighter than the sun was at this point. Being with Kodah, seeing the familiar, friendly, trustworthy face of a comrade, was like waking from a foggy dream. His life of the past two years, what in the world had he been doing with it? Every moment seems to blur into the next, each image out-of-focus and lacking the vivid colors that his street life was always so easily imbued with.

But what kind of sense did it make for Oriel to miss that old life when he was living with such an undeserving privileged one right now?

"Well," Oriel rolled his eyes and fixed his postured, puffing out his chest and pulling his shoulders back like he was some posh-speaking millionaire. "There are many things one must learrrrn in order to be accepted into such a high class institution." To accompany his jocular presentation, Oriel twisted his face and lips into abnormal positions to emphasize the poorly rounded vowels of his faux-british accent. He managed to keep that face for a full three seconds before breaking down into hilarity.

"Seriously, though, it's not all bad. I mean, it beats looking for a safe place to sleep all the time and always wondering where you're next meal's coming from." His brow darkened as he once again slipped into the memories of them trying to feed themselves in the middle of winter, using an old metal trash-can like a flaming barbecue. Oriel had often stolen food from his foster home's kitchen for such things, flipping the bird at the irate adults as he ran and pointing out that the money they received from the state was for his food, not new seat covers for the convertable. They would all dig in once Oriel had fried the shit up. It was unhealthy, and burnt as fuck, but it tasted like home to him.

[Kodah Pierce]

Kodah rolled his eyes and tossed a pillow at Oriel's fake accent. "Like you would know," Kodah teased. Oriel always seemed to be the cleanliest out of the crew but Kodah believed he'd always be a street kid at heart. As far as Kodah was concerned, polished wood floors and manicured lawns meant nothing. It was a setting that he believed he'd never get used to. Even at his house in Jersey he never felt like he belonged there. His mind wandered back to the time he ran away with Jacob and remembered the new found liberty he had felt; it was as if nothing could stop him. Kodah, whether he chose to admit it or not, throughly believed he was invincible. If Kodah was on a roll, there was nothing that could stop him. He'd take any risk he could, danger was truly the spice of life.

"Well that's no fun, "Kodah said. "I liked that part." His tone was sarcastic but there was a hint of sincerity in his voice. Didn't Oriel enjoy the nights around the make shift bonfire? He must have, Kodah did. A hot meal three times a day was nice but nothing beat the deep friend grime of New York. Kodah appeared malnourished but his baggy shirts and pants usually hid his skinny arms and bony chest. He never thought about his weight, he was mostly concerned with the patches on his pants and the studs on his jacket.

"Seems too good to be true, if you ask me." Kodah shook his head. He pulled the knife out of his pocket and absentmindedly played with the blade, an old habit of his. This habit would often scare anyone who didn't know him; he had gotten a lot of frightened looks while riding the subway. More memories flooded his mind as he remembered all of his adventures in the subway. It was a dangerous place to mess around in but that made it all the more fun. Kodah use to go down to the subway a lot, until Nina almost got hit by an oncoming subway car. After that, the crew never ventured down to the tracks again.

[Deleted]

"Hey, I might." He sneered at the no-longer-little boy. "They could've gone all Eliza Doolittle on me the two years I've been here. Turned me into a Loverly Lady." That last bit was done in a feminine cockney accent, and Oriel flipped his hand as if there was a handkerchief in it and 'wrapped' it around his head, posing like a "proper lady" and singing the song, though he didn't really know the words, "Something something fa me to eat, something something and lots ahf 'eat. Oh wu---n'it be lovery?" He walked around as he sang, shaking his money maker like a princess. Oriel looked over his shoulder and grinned at his old buddy.

Oriel didn't care for the amenities, but in reality, he felt guilty for using them. He felt guilty for not using them. He felt burdensome just by being here, eating the food and getting the education, however terrible he was at it. Hell, he felt guilty for not being better at schooling.

All that guilt made him....generally less troublesome the past couple years.

"Well, I did too, man, but.....you know..." Oriel started out that sentence as cheery and lighthearted as usual, but then he trailed off and his face became more sullen, despite his smile. He looked at the gash in Kodah's bed. Kodah's brand new bed, unslept in, new sheets, new spread, and Kodah wasted all that by tearing a hole in it and mussing the sheets. Though honestly, Oriel had felt like doing the same thing went he arrived, but he didn't want to waste it, it was too nice.

He sighed out a "yeah" with even less enthusiasm than before. Oriel shrugged up and gave Kodah a friendly sideways hug while he played with his knife and ruffled the kid's hair again. "God, I missed you..." Now he was getting sentimental, that wasn't like Oriel. Not at all. "How is everyone?" He didn't know what happened to everyone else after he left. There wasn't any way for him to keep in contact with them, he couldn't leave, he couldn't be here, he couldn't stand this place, it was like a fucking cage! Oriel released his friend and started pacing around the room. "I hate this place! Not really, I mean....I dunno....It's nice and all. I just.... I feel really out of place." He looked at Kodah with a wavering smile full of all his mixed feeling over everything. "I'm really glad you're here, Kodah."

[Kodah Pierce]

"What's with all the hugging?" Kodah asked as Oriel pulled him into another hug. His excitement matched Oriel's but he wouldn't allow his expression to betray him, he had to play it cool. The tone of Oriel's voice seemed to change, it was a lot more downtrodden than before . "Hey!" Kodah spat, appearing annoyed at all the hair ruffling and hugging. Truthfully he enjoyed all the attention but he wouldn't admit to it. Kodah was like a kid brother to Oriel and it was nice to have someone looking out for him, even if that someone had been gone for two years.

"Fine, I guess." Kodah lied. As far as he knew, things weren't well with Nina and Jacob. The rest of the crew was probably doing fine but his two best friends were still suffering from Kodah's manifestation. Last he knew, Jacob was in the hospital with Nina glued to his side. The image made Kodah cringe, it wasn't a vision he wanted to see. Jacob would probably have that burn on his face for the rest of his life, serving as a constant reminder of his and Kodah's parting. Dr. Campbell had mentioned that Jacob would be ok, but he wasn't given much information beyond that.

"God I missed you," Oriel said, their meeting becoming more emotional than what Kodah wanted. He awkwardly sat next to Oriel, wanting to say that he missed him too but he couldn't bring himself to do it. He wanted to turn away and shut off all of his emotions, talk about something else but he didn't know how to change the subject. The brief moment of emotional weakness caught Kodah off guard. When Oriel jumped off the bed Kodah flinched, still jumpy from the night in Harlem. He didn't know what Oriel was talking about, just a moment ago he had been telling him how adequate Hammel was.

"You're glad I'm here? What for, so we're both stuck in the cage?" Kodah gave Oriel a playful punch on the arm, trying to lighten the mood. "Stop being so emotional, girls don't find that shit attractive." Another joke; he couldn't stand the emotional tension.

[Deleted]

Well, you know, the more that Kodah squirmed against the hugging and hair ruffling, the more that Oriel wanted to coddle him. So of course he kept doing it and would probably keep doing it until Kodah hit him. "Dammit, why'd you hafta grow up? You used to be the perfect "fit-in-my-arms" huggable size. Time is so cruel." His voice was a mixture of jest and actual woe. He was trying not to let his emotions overwhelm him, but it was hard when he'd been separated from anyone who actually mattered to him for so long.

That must've been the reason why he blew up. Emotional overload in the wake of being catatonic for longer than he would ever be comfortable with.

This so was not like Oriel. He was much more used to just covering up those insecurities with offensive jokes and nonsensical heckles at people who didn't appreciate it. And now his outburst just left an awkwardness in the air that he wasn't sure what to do with. But leave it to Kodah to keep his cool when Oriel couldn't. For that, he was thankful. And he grinned wide when Kodah took the initiative to move them forward. "Naw, so I can stick you in my own little terrarium. Keep you as a pet so I can poke at you whenever I want, how's that sound?" He snickered and patronized the boy with a pat on the head. "I'll take goooood care of you."

"Ow, what the fuck man," he retorted, pretending that the punch was stronger than it actually was. "And for your information, girls can't get enough of this manly man-ness!" Oriel strutted and puffed out his chest, flexing his "gigantic muscles". Yeah, that felt much better.

"So...." Another thing out of character for Oriel, but this was Kodah, so he couldn't help but be interested. "What the fuck happened to you that landed you in this joint?" Basically, asking what his power was. "I mean, you were the last person I expected to show up here."

[Kodah Pierce]

He rolled his eyes, when was Kodah ever 'huggable size"? He squirmed against Oriel's physical affections, slightly embarrassed. "Get off of me, ya weirdo." Despite his attempts at escape, Oriel continued. "Yeah, yeah yeah. Whatever." He understood what Oriel was saying but he pretended it didn't matter to him. Perhaps Oriel knew that despite his nonchalant attitude he really did miss him but Kodah couldn't be sure. It didn't look as if time had eroded their relationship, he had always treated Kodah like a little brother and Oriel had picked up right where he left off. "Yeah sure, I doubt you could even handle a pet fish.

"Jeez, it's like you haven't see another person in years." Kodah laughed. "Psh, yeah right. If I was a girl I wouldn't go near you with a ten foot pole." He snorted and stood up, "You call that muscle? These are muscles, plus I've got battle scars. Chicks can't get enough of that shit." Most of the scars and muscle he had were from the fights he had gotten into in New York. It was a sport to him and he was one of the best players. He could perfectly remember the last fight; the cold, wet air, the blood pounding in his ears as he landed the final punch, winning the fight.

"Well look at you," he said sarcastically. "Asking all the hard hitting questions." He wanted to avoid the topic but he took a seat back down on the bed. Oriel would have to find out eventually and he might as well tell him everything before he heard it from someone else. "Since your so goddamn nosey, I guess I'll tell ya." He took a deep breath and leaned back on the bed, pulling out his knife again.

"Well it was just one of those mornings after a crazy night, ya know? We had partied at Rotini's and had passed out at the empty lot at Seventh, you remember that dump, right? Well, while everyone was sleeping off their hang overs I got up to go smoke and next thing I know I hit the floor. I thought I was ODing or something but then fire just starts shooting out of my mouth. Scariest shit to wake up to, I'll tell ya. Everyone ditched the lot and I hid out for a few days until Dr. Campbell found me." He left out the parts about Jacob and Nina getting burned, that was one detail that Oriel didn't need to know. "Weird to think that a street rat like me could end up here, if its bad enough I'll take off. You know how I am."