Induction, Chapter Ten

Chapter Ten: Acronyms

Back in the first room, the one with the adjustable chairs, Nelly has me sit in one. I only hesitate a moment before taking a seat. I glance at Elizabeth, who’s sitting in the other chair as Jacqulyn works on her hand.

“All right, we’ll start with you, Sav.” Nelly takes the wrapper off some fresh bandages.

Who’s Sav?

Then Elizabeth starts recounting the day’s events, starting with them finding the beast as it pounced for me. It hits me then: Sahara had called her Savanna, screamed at her, calling her a traitor.

Not for the first time in so many hours, I find myself questioning what I’ve gotten myself into.

“Ah, that explains why you look so familiar,” Nelly interjects, bringing my attention back to the present. She’s careful as she checks the burn mark on my neck, concern creasing her brow. “Victor talks about you a lot.”

Cool. A whole room of people who know me, but I don’t know them. I’d almost rather face the beast. The gash on my arm throbs.

Okay, maybe not.

“I’m sorry for the loss of your brother,” Nelly adds, tone soft and full of compassion.

I nod, avoiding eye contact. I still don’t know what to say to that. For as many times as the words have been said since Aaron’s death, I should have a response, right?

“Um, what is the OSE?” Changing the subject is always a good way to go. Plus, it would be nice to know what kind of crap mess I’ve gotten myself into.

“The OSE,” Nelly pauses, securing a bandage on my neck. “Is the Okada School of Excellence.”

That’s not a fancy boarding school name at all, nope. All sarcasm intended.

Then it dawns on me. Okada. The name of Vic’s school. This is Vic’s school. My mind starts to swim, and I move on to another question, as if it’ll keep me afloat. “And what’s an EON?”

The woman pulls back, wiping her hands down with a disinfectant wipe. “Eiko Okada Ninja or Ninjas.”

“And you guys fight monsters,” I say.

“Monsters, demons, things that go bump in the night.”

What else did Sahara say? “And a brain, what’s that?”

“Ah.” Nelly chuckles but casts me a wary look. Perhaps she’s wondering how I know that term. “That’s part of our science division.”

I raise my eyebrows and huff out a breath. “With another ABC name, I imagine.”

That gets a laugh from everyone in the room. Even from Elizabeth, who’s been grimacing since I entered the room.

“It’s true.” Jacqulyn chuckles, nodding. “We do love our acronyms.”

There’s a knock on the door, interrupting any further information. Which I am a little grateful for. I want to know what’s going on, but the ibuprofen hasn’t kicked in yet, and my head will likely explode. They’ll explain more later, right? I don’t know what modern ninjas do. Or what ancient ninjas did. Not really. Paid assassins, aren’t they? So, unless I have a price on my head, I’m safe, right?

You’re overthinking it, I tell myself, and yet, that thought doesn’t settle the unease.

“You can come in, Devon,” Nelly calls to the door, then returns her attention to me as she starts to collect discarded bandage wrappers. “We’ll discuss this subject in depth, I promise.”

She winks at me and continues her cleanup. Devon enters the room and sits on the stool that Jacqulyn had been occupying, next to Elizabeth. His dark curls glisten wet under the lights. He wears regular clothes, T-shirt and sweatpants, looking more like the guy I know from band posters.

He takes Elizabeth’s uninjured hand in both of his. They share a long look before she shakes her head and closes her eyes. She leans her head back, tears streaming down her face. Devon presses his lips to her hand, murmuring words I can’t hear.

I turn away, focusing on my own hands as I try to wrap my head around this whole thing. Ninjas. Acronyms. Monsters. Demons. A shudder runs through me at that last thought: Things that go bump in the night. I’m taken back to my research on the Strange and Unusual Sightings forum—maybe, just maybe, those folks on the forum aren’t crazy.

None of these are comforting thoughts.

Another knock at the door and in comes the muscular, broad man who’d walked Elizabeth from the helicopter. Bustling around him is a stout woman with graying black hair, heading straight for Elizabeth. Her tongue clicks as she looks at the girl’s bloodied and torn hand.

“Going to need an X-ray,” she says, a slight Spanish lilt to her tone.

“Dr. Castillo, I’d like you to give Mika a quick look-over as well,” Jacqulyn says, gesturing to me and mentioning the wound on my neck and the gashes from the beast on my arm. She says something in Spanish, but since I almost failed Spanish last year, I’m at a loss.

The doctor’s attention turns to me, and she raises a thin eyebrow. “You faced down el gato and lived?” A kind smile plays on her lips. “Impressive.”

“I guess,” I mutter.

She says something else in Spanish, making Jacqulyn chuckle. The man, who continues to stand in the doorway, is assessing me. His expression betrays nothing, causing me to squirm in my seat.

“I’m sure you’d like an explanation for all this,” he says finally, gesturing to nothing in particular with his tanned arms. Forearms solid with muscle and coated with dark hair.

I nod, remaining silent, a million questions coursing through my mind, jockeying to be the first.

“After,” Dr. Castillo says, looking between me and the man in the doorway. “The Q and A can wait until after I check her over.”