The Night Shift

He had received the paper that morning. Logan was excited to finally have a day where he could get some sleep, something he hadn't done the night before. Most people hadn't, Halloween being a thing of the past now, most students muddling through the day miserably and half out-of-it. Man, he really needed some sleep. He hadn't rested in what seemed to be months.

It was not going to be that day, of course. The paper ruined it. In Sharpie at the bottom of the schedule, black ink spelled out his and the others' fate. The night shift. The usual night nurse had a wedding to go to, according to the note attached on a pink post-it, her daughter's wedding. Something she couldn't miss. Logan let out a groan, knowing he couldn't stay there long enough to complain about it, knowing he had a class to get to. He took the paper and put it on Ethan's desk. Perhaps he'd want to read it.

~~

Logan returned after dinner, later than usual, but knowing the night was still young. This was the worst. No one ever got hurt this late anyway; the precaution was ridiculous. The lights were already on, as they always seemed to be, the beds empty. What a big waste of time. It was obvious that the boy was peeved, coming in and plopping behind his desk with an oomph. It was vacant, then, but it wouldn't be for long. He expected Ethan to come soon, or Kayla.

Ethan. He didn't talk to him much. It seemed that a lot of their schedules conflicted, often leading them to tag out. But the shift called for both of them. As infirmary rules stated, after all, you needed a paid adult on the premises, or two students.

Ethan had been hanging back in his chair for the past hour now, having nothing better to do with his time than clock in early. Even if nothing was happening, it was still a good chance to check up on all their supply stores and get some quick studying in. In that moment though, he was staring down at a slick sheet of paper that someone had left on his desk, involving something about a wedding and a daughter or something along those lines. He simply sighed, tossing the sheet back on his desk and choosing to forget it.

Being in the infirmary hardly ever bothered him. It was quiet much of the time, and when something actually happened, his gift would be put to good use, as well as allowing him some practice. It was a win-win-win, but tonight he knew he'd have to be spending the evening with another student. For the past few months, it was almost always Kayla he was stuck with. Although, to be fair, she had went from creating mild bouts of chaos to constantly passing out on random cots. While it bugged him she never did her share, he couldn't find himself willing to complain.

With nothing much else to do, he headed off to one of the backgrounds to pick out a book, something - anything that would pass the time. When he'd returned, there was someone in the desk opposite of his, leaning back and looking rather bored. "Evening," the Winter greeted formally. Logan, another volunteer, whom he had heard shared the same gift, among-st a few other things. Surprisingly, he didn't know him all that well still. "You don't look very excited to be here..."

"A whole night of sitting around?" He mused this with a whimsical sarcasm, putting his cheek in his hand. "Who wouldn't be?" He glanced down at the papers on his desk, leaning back with a stretch. These papers that had already been filled out, papers he didn't need to look at, but he was passing time, making it seem like he was preoccupied. This would be a long night. He decided to lead the conversation with a: "How was your Halloween?"

Bare feet slapped against the ground of the hallway, the sound resonated through the empty corridor. Heavy breathing followed, the student obviously out of shape after running from the dorms. In the dim light, one could see bandages along her arm, the partially unwound covering flowed in the wind. The gauze along the arm was stained red, a wound re-opened.

The girl’s blue hair was down, and she wore a mid-calf length nightgown. Blue eyes seemed to hold panic. She hadn’t meant to open the wound again, but she didn’t know where the nurse’s office was, and didn’t want to cause any annoyance. So when it came time to change her dressings, she made the mistake of taking them off too eagerly. Now she was looking for the infirmary, and was only unhelpfully guided to the building with a point of some student’s finger.

Pausing for breath, Rebecca glanced down at her arm, feeling the blood run down her arm and drip off her elbow. Heart pounding, the girl returned to her run, eyes glancing at each marking on the door as she passed by. Janitor’s closet, Infirmary, hallway to another part of the building…

Wait.

Spinning on her heels, she returned to the door, and pushed it open in a rush. ”H-help I accidently-!” She cut off her sentence with a yelp as her arm, as she was bringing it though, smacked the door frame. Fighting back tears of pain, the girl held up her bleeding arm, unable to find the words to convey what happened to her.

Ethan, funnily enough, wasn't the most adept to sarcasm. Taking the other boy's question far too seriously, he pushed up his glasses, seemingly in thought. "If you're tired, you would have good reason to try to get out of working, but in my case, I don't mind much at all." He spoke in the earnestmost tone, giving Logan a small, oblivious and kind smile.
And as for his Halloween... "Fine, I suppose, though I honestly didn't do much than cover for you." Even Evelyn had hound done thing fun to do outside work or their dorm, or at least, he thought so. Even he saw the sadness in that.

One moment, they were in helpless small'talk, and the next a bleeding girl showed up in the doorway. "I'll grab gauss and thread." No time to waste, he thought, leaving the room at once for supplies.

Logan recognized the girl. He looked over at the sleeping form of Chi, his bunny, its cage on his desk. She saved him, and he blinked with recognition at her before shaking out of it and walking over. He lightly guided her to a bed. "Sit down, you'll be fine," he cooed, "He will be back soon." How did it get like this? Her arm was pretty grotesque, the skin burned, and he wondered if this was new or old. He didn't ask, though, the girl seeming alarmed enough. His mouth kept open, and he decided to take initiative.

"All right, hold still," he told her, gingerly touching the skin of her arm. He looked into her eyes to judge any pain, and his fingers began a bright green glow, a serene and calming luster, his hands warm and soothing like a hot patch. Slowly the bleeding stopped, some of the remaining blood drying instantly around it.

Through her panic and pain, Rebecca vaguely managed to recognize the boy from when she first arrived. She didn't know that he worked in the infirmary. Well, they didn't talk too much on the way to the office, so it wasn't like she missed anything. Lips pressed together, the blue haired girl let herself be guided to a bed. The blood continued to drip down her arm, staining her pajamas a dark red.

Blue eyes gave Logan a worried look as his hand went to her arm. Naturally, she flinched away from the touch, squeaking as he made contact with her wound. His touch stung for a quick moment, before a healing aura covered his fingers. It no longer hurt...? Amazed, the girl watched the wound heal intently, just enough to get the bleeding to stop. Even that she was thankful for.

Was this his power? The ability to heal others? What he could do with that power... Her thoughts wondered as Rebecca continued to stare down at her arm. What could she do if she had that kind of power? Rebecca didn't have to wonder too much about that. She knew exactly what she would do.