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43. She woke up.
Coraline stepped for a day more. The bullet had grazed her thigh bone, nearly shattering it, so her recovery period was going to
be long. She was to stay in the hospital for at least a week.
Coraline’s parents called me immediately to deliver the news of their daughter awakening, and at that point, I was in class.
With everything that was happening, the summer semester was ending, which meant there was a set of examinations coming
up. The campus was, therefore, abuzz with activity, with lecturers working to finish all the study material for the semester and
students functioning solely on coffee and sugar in order to cram whatever they could in order to sit for the exams and get some
decent grades. King’s College was a very competitive university, and with everyone attending being the best brains in the
country, students had to go above and beyond to get on par with the syllabus.
Fortunately, my class was ending when they gave me the call. I, of course, could not take it without risking the wrath of the
lecturer so I waited until the class was over. By then, the Grangers had already. tested me with the good news, but I took a call
anyway, purely to hear Mrs. Granger sob in relief because I could not believe the text.
“She’s a bit jumpy, and loud noises along with sudden movements are likely to scare her according to the doctors,” Mrs. Granger
tells me as soon as intercepts her at the hospital lobby after racing back to the Clandestine city, “so we’re being really cautious
around her.”
“Does she remember what happened? I’ve heard that sometimes victims forget the incident of their trauma.” I say, stepping into
the elevator with her.
her, Jace? Who hurt my little girl this badly?”
“I don’t know, Ms. Granger,” I sigh, “but you can’t imagine the number of times I’ve asked myself the question.”
I did not discuss the conversation Gerald and I had with the detectives back in the police station under the detectives’
instructions. Gerald informed me that the detectives had gotten the warrant they were waiting for and had taken the security
footage in to go through them. The detectives visited Zelt Tech again to get some statements from the employees about
Coraline. They also visited her university, her teacher, and her other friends. They were following every lead they could find.
“The police are stretched thin,” Gerald had told me, “And they really can’t prioritize this case over the others because there are
people who were actually killed. So, with the circumstances at hand, they’re doing their best, albeit slowly. It’s not likely that our
own case will be solved soon.”
“Well, Gerald, what are we supposed to do until then? How are we supposed to keep our own people safe?” I’d asked, “I really
don’t want to see you come to pick me up yet another day only to hear about somebody else getting shot. Jesus, Gerald, these
are innocent people with families and loved ones. They can’t lose their lives!”
“Right now, we can only make sure that their safety would be ensured while they are at work. But after working hours, there is
nothing we can do. It’s their responsibility to ensure their safety after that.”
Even if I was loathed to admit it, I knew Gerald was right.
Coraline sits on her bed when I enter her hospital room, looking worse to wear. There are dark bags under her eyes, contrasting
frighteningly against her skin that had become pale and oddly translucent as if she had lost a lot of blood. Her blond hair was
dishwater colored rather than its normal golden hay hue, and her wide eyes looked dull, and maybe even frightened. She
of the area of injury. She would be bedridden for some time.
As soon as I see her, I could not help the sigh of pure relief that escapes me, and her eyes meet mine.
“Jace.” She utters my name in greeting. The instant relief on her face upon seeing me is exhilarating, and for some reason, my
heart flutters at her expression.
“Coraline,” I breathe, and crossed over to her bed, “Oh, you have no idea how good it is to see you awake. It’s been too long...I
am so sorry about what happened.”
“Jace,” without letting me talk, Coraline encircles her fingers around my wrists and brings me toward her. She seems so small
like this, I realize, and so delicate. It’s disconcerting, and totally at odds with the woman she usually is, “it’s not your fault, what
happened. You’re not to be blamed. I’m just so glad to see that none of their bullets caught you.”
I can’t help it anymore. I move closer to Coraline, fully into her personal space, and bury her in a bear hug.
Coraline enthusiastically returns my embrace.
“I thought you would die,” I whisper, “there was so much blood.”
“Mom and dad told me everything,” she replies, and moves back to look into my eyes, “and I mean everything, including what
you did with the nurse Thank you so much for sorting that one out, Jace. You’re ....you’re a really good friend.”
I shake my head, “anyone would’ve done it, Coraline It was only right.”
She shoots me a mysterious, “I don’t think just ‘anyone will, but thank you just the same.”
Then her eyes harden, “I know the police are already on the case. Do they know who it was?”
I gulp at that, wondering how much I should tell her. Considering how she was the one who got shot, I think she has every right
to the information I have at hand.
“The graffiti on the wall where you got shot was a quote from Shakespeare’s Othello,” I confess, “drawn. only a day before. The
quote is related to revenge. They heavily suspect one person.”
Coraline’s eyes widen.
“Oh.”
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