Jack awoke feeling much more refreshed than before. Dark gold sunlight glimmered through the open windows. The room was empty – Holly was gone. Probably back to her hospital room to recover.
Sitting up and stretching his stiff arms over his head, Jack glanced at the monitors hooked to his wrists. Come on, he thought. I’ve got to go. There’s so much to do...
Hermes, Invierno, Holly... come to think of it, Stonne Sector. Jack closed his eyes and tried to think of the last of his wars while keeping away shrieking ghosts. Stonne... they had never liked the Ice People, they had no army, and they were rich. For Jack a thousand years ago, they had been the perfect target, the perfect place to watch those silly mortals die.
Now... now. Jack clenched his eyes shut. “Fool,” he said past gritted teeth.
The door swung open. Jack straightened quickly and brushed at his eyes. An older nurse came to his bedside. “All the scanners and sensors indicate that you’re ready to leave,” she said stiffly, unhooking him from the monitors. “The sooner the better, Frost.”
Jack froze and opened his mouth, but the woman was already striding back to the door, leaving it wide open in her wake.
“Argh!” Jack banged his head back against the wall, barely even trying to restrain the anger against himself. “You fool!”
The blanket over him crackled and solidified into stiff, icy folds. The glassy ice zipped down the bed, over the floors, up the walls, over the equipment. Water seeped into the electrical wires, and sparks spit out over Jack’s bed; the numbers on readout panels flickered and died.
An orderly glanced into the room, eyes wide as they landed on Jack.
Jack savagely kicked at his blanket. It kept its form, flew off the bed, and clattered to the ground. It broke in half, making the sound of ripping paper.
“Failure!” Jack shouted, sitting bolt upright and swinging his legs over the edge of the bed. The orderly rushed in, hands raised, but Jack shot him a narrow-eyed glare. “Don’t even try to keep me here. I’ve gotten out of much, much worse.”
The orderly pressed back against the icy wall.
Jack pushed up to his feet, nearly fell back down, caught his balance. It was hard to stand after almost two days in bed. Sucking in a deep breath, he turned to the orderly and forced his voice to hold steady. “Where are my clothes?”
The young guy darted to a shelf and pulled out the shirt Holly had gotten, along with the old Tartarus Prison pants. He tossed them to Jack, keeping his distance. Jack caught them, yanked them on, then glanced around the room.
“Sorry for any water damage,” he said, limping to the door and out into the hall.
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