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“I’m sorry, dude, but based on what I see here, there is nothing left to withdraw,” the blond guy answered, handing him back the card.
Shock suddenly struck the Harbinger’s face, his entire body becoming rigid, and I half stepped out of the hallway on impulse.
“I’m sorry, what?!” he asked loud enough to bring everyone’s attention to him. “What do you mean there’s nothing left?”
Frowning in concern at his reaction, the guy looked back to the weird screen before him. “Let me check again, just in case.” A clicking sound rose in the air while he checked, but I didn’t understand how he could, all he did was look at the screen. “I mean. I don’t know what to say. I’m just a nurse so there isn’t much I can do with records, but it shows the account in your name has been emptied. The last four units of blood were retrieved a few weeks ago.”
Blood? What does he need blood for?Intrigue grew in my chest as I stepped closer.
“That’s impossible,” the Harbinger anxiously argued. “I was the one who retrieved them last time, and no one told me that was the last of it! Why wouldn’t they tell me?!” His hand slammed against the table, but it wasn’t fury driving his actions. No. What I saw in his eyes was desperation and dread.
“Listen, I’m going to have to ask you to calm down or I’ll have to call security.”
The Harbinger of Justice rubbed both hands over his face, as though trying to repress his anxiety. “Sorry, but you don’t understand,” he pleaded. “I have a rare disease and those transfusions are the only thing keeping me standing. I need one weekly; you can’t tell me there is no more blood! My father stored it here every month for me, so when he wasn’t around anymore I could still get them. Check again.”
Both understanding and concern deeply captured the nurse’s expression, just as they did my heart. The Harbinger was sick? How? That shouldn’t even be possible. My eyes widened as something else he’d said rang in my head. His father? No. That didn’t make any sense.
“I wish I could give you a different answer,” the guy added after rechecking for him. “I’m not sure why the other nurse didn’t make you aware of this when you last came, and I’m truly sorry about that, but there’s no more blood stored here. There is nothing I can do…”
Strength visibly left the Harbinger’s body with the news, and he just stood there, glancing at the nurse as though all was lost. When his hands fell to his sides, I saw something I hadn’t expected…
A broken man.
My heart squeezed harshly at the sight.
Taking the insulated cooler, he began to fold it again, but suddenly stopped. “What about getting someone else’s blood. Can I buy some? How does it work?”
“Um, sure you could buy some. But we would need a note from your doctor regarding your need for transfusions, and each unit would be approximately $310.”
“That much?” the Harbinger asked, shocked, his dread growing.
“It’s lifesaving blood, man.”
“I know…”
The nurse turned to the screen again. “Let me see what type of blood you need, and I’ll let you know if we have it.”
“I have a rare type, I think. That’s why I can only receive my father’s.”
As he spoke, I wasn’t sure if it was fear or anxiety, perhaps both, but I noticed his arms and back were slightly shaking.
“Holy shit! You can say that again,” the nurse hissed, his eyes widening. “Now I understand. Your father stored his blood for you because it’s the rarest type there is, dude. You haveGolden Blood.”
“Golden Blood?” the Harbinger asked at the same time I whispered the words.
The admiration disappeared from the nurse’s expression, sadness replacing it. “Only about forty people in the entire world have it, and barely nine of them are donors. None of them are here in the United States, so it’s nearly impossible to acquire. I’m truly sorry.”
And just like that, the weight of the world crushed the man I had heard so many legends about through the years.
Without another word, he turned around, leaving the place. I rushed after him, seeing him toss the folding cooler in the garbage, and walk to the bus stop once more. I stopped following him before he crossed the road, the despair that captured his being was so fierce that I felt it in my core. I just figured he deserved some time alone.
Golden Blood…The term resounded in my ears and the nurse’s words replayed in my mind.“Only about forty people in the entire world have it…”
He was referring to my blood, that ofmyrace, and I was fairly certain those forty individuals had come to his world escaping Raithian’s wrath.
From where I remained, I saw the Harbinger of Justice step onto the long bus a few moments later—probably on his way back to his dungeon of worship. Sighing, I reached for the shimmering bag he had thrown away and pulled it out, taking it with me.
* * *
