My Wife Rules The World

The headache was still there but had dulled to something manageable by the time the door opened.

A nurse came in, looked at him, and said "finally, You woke up" with the particular relief of someone who had checked on a patient too many times.

"You've been out for five hours," she said, moving to check his vitals. "A short blow to the back of the neck. No serious injuries, just the concussion from the impact. You're lucky." She noted something on her tablet. "Your friend has been waiting outside. Since you're awake I'll send him in."

She left.

Leon sat up carefully and looked at the room. White walls, standard medical center furniture, afternoon light through a narrow window. His neck ached when he turned his head.

The door opened again and Nick came in. He looked like he hadn't sat down in hours.

"Are you alright?"

"I'm fine." Leon's voice came out rough. "I'm—"

Then it came back all at once.

He grabbed Nick's sleeve. "Noah. What happened with Noah. I lost consciousness — what happened after—"

Nick looked down.

Leon's grip tightened. "Nick. What happened."

Nick pulled the chair from beside the bed and sat down. He didn't look up immediately.

"After we brought you out," he started, "Leah sent me with you to the medical center. She went to contact the Main Branch of the Crest family directly." He paused. "Austin Crest — the heir, B1 — is a first year here at the academy. His rank gives him authority to appeal directly to the Council. Leah was going to request he appeal on Noah's behalf." Another pause. "But before she could reach him—"

"But what." Leon's voice had gone tight. "What happened."

Nick reached into his pocket and took out his phone. He looked at the screen for a moment, then turned it toward Leon.

It was a student forum notification. An article.

Leon read it.

Incident Report — Arbitration Building, Central Administrative Zone

Approximately four hours ago a structural incident occurred at the Arbitration Hall building. Investigators have determined that a pipe leak in the Central Heating System in the building's basement allowed a significant accumulation of methane gas, which subsequently ignited from an electrical spark in the vicinity. The resulting blast caused severe structural damage to the building.

Seven members of the building staff sustained serious injuries. Several students who were in the immediate vicinity outside the building at the time of the incident sustained minor injuries.

Two fatalities have been confirmed: D4 student Noah Clove and C4 student Tristen Riven. The families of both students have been contacted. The family of student Krai Novak, who passed away the previous day, has also been contacted.

Academy administration offers its condolences. A full structural safety review of all administrative buildings will be conducted.

Leon read it twice.

"No." He pushed the phone back toward Nick. "No. That's not — that can't be right. That's not what happened. How can it just—"

"I know," Nick said quietly.

"The news is wrong. It has to be wrong." Leon was shaking his head. "Something like that doesn't just happen like that. He was in there, he was alive, they were — this isn't what happened—"

"Leah went to the scene herself," Nick said. He wasn't looking at Leon. "The building is gone. Since after She's been trying to get permission to see — to identify the causalities "

Leon got out of the bed.

"Leon—"

He was already moving. His legs weren't fully steady and the headache flared when he stood but he went through the door anyway. Nick came after him, calling his name, following him out of the medical center and into the open air.

Leon ran.

He crossed the courtyard, turned toward the central block, ran the length of the main path with Nick behind him telling him to slow down, that he needed to—

Leon’s foot caught something uneven in the path and he went down hard on both palms.

Nick reached him and got an arm around him and pulled him up. Leon let himself be steadied. His hands were scraped. He didn't look at them.

They covered the rest of the distance with Nick's arm around his shoulders, Leon's legs working but not entirely reliable.

When they came around the final corner Leon stopped walking.

The sealed perimeter tape stretched across the path in both directions. Behind it, where the arbitration building had stood that morning, there was rubble. Broken concrete, twisted interior structure, dust still faintly visible in the air above the debris.

Leon's legs went.

He went down onto his knees on the path outside the tape and looked at what was left of the building.

"No," he said. Just that word. Then again, barely a sound. "How."

Tears welled in his eyes and began to fall.

He just knelt there on the ground and looked at the rubble and couldn't put together a single complete thought.