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“Oh, Michael. Oh, Michael!” Camula’s voice filled Michael’s dreams as well as her moans.
Michael suddenly jolted awake. His skin was sticky and his clothes damp with sweat. He sat up quickly and looked around to figure out where he was. Thankfully he was in the Rainbow Wardens HQ. Specifically his room in the barracks. How did I get here?
He thought for a moment about what he remembered from last night. He was sure he was at work but then everything went blank. Something told him he clocked out and came back to HQ but the memories themselves weren’t there. Then there was the dream. The reason he woke up so frightened. Camula.
He felt wrong for the thoughts that it brought. Why Camula? He shivered at the idea and with that, hopped out of bed. The barracks were pretty nice for a repurposed underground bunker. Everyone had a queen sized bed, a desk, a closet, plenty of storage, and enough space to add their own personal touch.
Michael’s decor was mostly in the form of old photos and posters of his favorite bands on the wall. Rage Against the Mechanism, Dead Washingtons, Red Flag. He also had a guitar, an amp, and some pedals. They weren’t his but it fit in his room a lot easier than a drum kit.
Michael walked over to the closet and grabbed some clothes for the day. He was still in yesterday's, which was strange, but so was last night so he didn't think about it too hard. Before he shut the door he stopped to look at a photo he had taped to the inside. It was of him and his old band. He thought back to when he, Rook, and Sam would practice in the garage.
Then his Prismachanger beeped and he looked down at his wrist but it wasn’t there. He turned around and spotted it on the desk. He always slept with his Prismachanger on. Something about last night really messed with his head and still is. The bracelet’s crystal was lit up and the light formed a holographic GUI similar to a phone’s home menu. He took a look and noticed he had three missed messages from this morning.
“Wake up hot shot!” - Rook
“MICHAEL! Now’s not the time to be late after your argument with Ari.” - Rook
“WAKE. THE. FUCK. UP.” - Rook
Shit. He finished up grabbing his things for the morning and rushed to the showers. The Warden’s had communal showers. There was some privacy but not much. The showers were built into the back wall with shorter walls in between each one. They also had curtains, but with the low walls you would be able to see everyone else showering and a lot more if you were tall enough or just peeked over.
When Michael finally made it to the end of the hall, he ran into Ari and Rook leaving the showers. Meaning he was definitely gonna be late if he didn’t hurry. He thought Ari would be mad at him but he just kept walking by without a word. Somehow that worried Michael even more. On the other hand, Rook did not walk by. Rook was pissed.
“Where were you last night?” Rook stopped in the doorway to the showers as if she was guarding the entrance.
“What do you mean? I was working the night shift?” Michael seemed confused. He was working the night shift last night wasn’t he? Rook was there.
“That’s what I thought too but when I came out of the movie, Rebecca stopped me and said you vanished.” Rebecca was the manager of the theater and Michael was on thin ice with her. Rook stared daggers at Michael.
“I… I don’t know! I was there! I swear. I don’t know what else to say. She never said anything to me about it.” Michael thought back to last night. Rook was there and then, everything else was gone. Still, something in his head told him he was there.
“Then why didn’t you answer when I called you? Plus I left you like 5 messages last night.” Rook shook her head.
“I only got the ones from this morning.” He raised his wrist and took a look at his Prismachanger.
“Not on your Prismachanger. Your phone.” Rook finally eased away from the doorway of the showers and stepped around Michael. Michael reached into his pockets but didn’t find it.
My phone? Where the hell is my phone? He turned around before Rook could walk off and said, “I’ll call Rebecca. Sorry, I don't know what happened.”
Rook stopped. “I got you that job Michael. Don’t fuck it up. Please.” Then she walked away.
Fuck. What is happening? Michael was distraught. As he finally walked into the showers he kept thinking about everything that happened last night, or what he could remember. Nothing pieced together though and now he was missing his phone too. Then he heard one of the showers still running. He couldn’t see anyone in it. He sat his clothes down on a bench and walked over to turn it off.
As he opened the curtain he saw Casey facing away from him, washing his blonde hair. Casey was the pink ranger and the shortest of the Warden’s at 5 '4". He was also the healer, but all Michael was thinking about for that split moment was how beautiful Casey’s body was. Casey was a femboy and he started HRT a little over a year ago. Michael was very attracted to Casey but he tried not to notice how much fuller Casey’s ass got after taking E. Although, at that moment it was a little more difficult.
After a second or two of realizing what he was doing, he quickly closed the curtain and said, “Sorry!”
Casey had no clue Michael was there but he did after that. “MICHAEL!” Casey screamed as he turned around to see him closing his eyes and walking back over to the bench.
“I didn’t mean to! I thought someone left the shower on. I’m having a really bad morning,” Michael explained.
“Ow ow ow.” Casey started to wince.
“Are you okay?” Michael asked over concerned.
“I got soap in my eye.” Casey spoke in a tone to ease his worry.
“I thought you and Blue were the first one’s up usually?” Now that Michael had relaxed once more, he took the moment to get undressed.
“I was uh… looking for you,” Casey said with a softness. “Rook told me you disappeared last night so I wanted to make sure you were okay.”
“Did you find me?” Michael said both with cockiness and fear.
“Yeah I found you in your room. I tried to wake you up but you were pretty knocked out. What happened?” Casey wasn’t sure if he should ask but he always worried about the others. Especially Michael.
“Honestly? I don’t know,” Michael answered. He didn’t know what but it was always easy to open up to Casey. He assumed it was the charm of a healer. “I remember being at work last night. I talked to Rook when she went in to see Copaganda 3, but after that it’s all blank. Like, I know I was there but I can’t actually remember it.”
“That’s some pretty serious memory loss.” Casey turned off the water. “Can you hand me a towel?”
“Yeah of course.” Michael grabbed one off the shelf and went over to the shower. “Rook was pretty pissed huh?” He handed the towel over the curtain while keeping his gaze far from Casey. Casey smiled at that but he couldn’t tell.
“I know Rook’s tone can be pretty heavy handed sometimes, so can yours, but she’s just worried about you. We all are.” Casey pulled back the curtain and came out of the shower with the towel wrapped around his body from chest to thighs. Michael stood there in his underwear. Casey took a glance at Michael’s muscles before looking him in the eyes. Michael looked down at him and saw his face turn from a cute smile to a fright. “Are you okay?”
“Huh? Yeah I think so. Why?” Michael chuckled at first.
“You’re eyes. They look more red than usual.” Casey put a hand on Michael’s cheek and used his thumb to pull the skin down to get a better look. Michael instinctively placed his hand over Casey’s but let him continue.
“I didn’t get very good sleep last night.” Michael takes a moment to look into Casey’s eyes too. They were blue.
“That doesn’t change the color of your iris Michael. Aren’t they normally amber?” Casey asked.
“You know the color of my eyes?” Michael smirked. Casey blushed. Suddenly they realized the position they were in. If anyone else saw them standing around half naked looking into each other’s eyes they’d get the wrong idea. It was the wrong idea, wasn’t it? Casey tried removing his hand from Michael’s cheek but then Michael held it firm against him.
“Michael?” Casey began to fluster. Michael could feel himself getting hard and he knew with how close they were, Casey might be able to feel it too. He wanted to kiss him so badly. Michael continued to stare into Casey’s eyes. Then his vision began to blur and everything became a shade of purple. Soon he could see glowing red lines going through Casey’s skin that he traced with his eyes and all of them lead to his heart. His grip on Casey’s hand got tighter. The heart was like a beautiful beating red apple and he so desperately wanted a bite. Then the beating started getting faster and faster as Casey’s arousal turned to fear and then to anger.
*SLAP!*
Casey smacked Michael in the face with his other hand. Michael was suddenly back to reality. “Just because I’m a guy doesn’t mean you get to stare at my tits!” Casey exclaimed and then left. As he walked away he glanced back at Michael. He knew Michael wouldn’t act that way normally and with his disappearance and memory loss, something was definitely up.
Michael didn’t know what to do. He just stood there in shock of his own actions. What just happened? Did I…?
“Casey!” He turned around to try and apologize. To try and make sense of what was happening to him but Casey was already gone. Michael’s mind began to race. The absent memories, Rook being told he was missing, what happened with Casey. Michael finally knew the dream was real. It had to have been. He still needed to prove it to himself though.
My phone! Michael quickly got dressed in some fresh clothes. He didn’t have time for a shower. Rook sat alone in the cafeteria as she watched Michael run past to the elevator.
“Michael! Where are you going? This morning’s briefing is in 10 minutes.” Rook gets out of her seat and tries to catch up with Michael.
He stops for a moment only to respond, “Uh, Rebecca called me. I told her I’d help her open to make up for last night.”
As Michael turns around, Rook notices his hair is still greasy. “Ew. Did you even shower?”
“She needs my help. I gotta go.” Michael gets to the elevator and repeatedly taps the call button.
“I’ll cover for you with Ari. You know he doesn’t like putting work over the Warden’s.”
“Yeah well we can’t all be happy staying in a bunker 24/7 like he does.” The elevator doors finally open and Michael steps inside, turning back to look at Rook. “Somebody's gotta pay the bills.” Michael smirked and Rook chuckled. Then the doors closed.
Michael walked through the mall with purpose and speed. He didn’t remember where the boiler room was but he knew it had to be there somewhere. Then he saw it. Just like last night except the handle on the door was already broken. He waited till it seemed like no one was paying attention and slipped inside. As he walked down the stairs he began remembering her taunts.
“Oh, Michael.” He heard in his head. The whole night flashed in his mind. The chase, the hypnotism, the bite, even the sex. How? How could I have done that? How did I let her get the best of me? Suddenly he was in the middle of the boiler room, right where it happened and there was his phone. He picked it up to check. It had 5% battery left and all of Rook’s and Rebecca’s messages from last night. It also had another. A voice recording left my Camula.
“Michael, my sweet Green Warden. I’m glad you found your phone. That means you remember. I’m sure the morning was hard on you. It always is your first day. Do not worry. Things will get easier as you embrace it, which you must for us to succeed. You might feel conflicted about our night together. I promise you, I have only the best intentions for you and your friends. You see, I need your help. I want to kill Irina.” Michael's eyes widened at what he was hearing.
“She is a vile witch and I am forced into her servitude but I want the same thing you do. I want Irina’s evil reign to end and I want you to help get the Warden's on my side. This is why I've given you my vampiric gift. I want you strong. Don't be scared. I've used the witches magic to protect you from the sun like she does me, and I know it might spoil you but I've given you another gift as well. Look behind you.” Michael turned around and beside the doorway was a small black wooden box.
Michael walked over to it and picked it up. The recording continued, “Have you found it? Take a peek, my sweet. It will aid you on your quest.” Michael found a latch in the front and unhooked it. The lid opened up on its own and inside he saw a red egg. Although it did not have a shell. It was made of a thick bumpy skin and along the top was slit like lips.
“I've taken it upon myself to name him. You'll find it written on the inside of the lid. Do not say it till you need to. He will offer you assistance if you need some… extra hands.” Michael looked at the inside of the lid. Garthalax . Then closed the box and latched it.
“Michael,” Camula’s voice halted for a moment. “I'm counting on you.” Then the recording ceased. Michael took another look at his phone. He was still surprised that it was all real. That he really made a deal with Camula and became her spawn, but something about her voice soothed him.
Then when he unlocked his phone he saw the wallpaper of Sam, his old band mate. The reason he became a Warden. The reason he hated Irina so much. The same reason he'll work for Camula. To kill the witch once and for all. Ari will never lead the Warden's to win if he keeps holding back, Michael thought. If no one else was going to make the tough call then he would have to. He would have to take over the Warden's for Camula.