35: The Storm Continues

Elrohir wasted no time. Even as he was checking for a pulse, he was pulling out his cell phone and in seconds he was speaking to his brother.

"It’s Alex. He’s here and he’s suffering from hypothermia and possibly frostbite... Don’t ask. I’m with Glorfindel. We’re in the foyer. Meet me in the men’s bathroom nearest to the cafeteria and have someone find blankets. Lots of them. We’re on our way."

With that, he closed down the phone and lifted the Man in his arms and set off with Glorfindel tailing behind, speaking into his own phone.

"He’s here at the Academy, John... No, I have no idea how he managed to leave the clinic in full view of everyone. I don’t even know how he made it back here in this storm... Roy and Dan are taking care of him... Yes, I think you can cancel the code silver for patient elopement." He chuckled at whatever Lawrence said to him. "I’ll call you in the morning with an update. Good night." He shut down his phone. "How is he?" he asked Elrohir.

"He’s barely breathing. He may not make it."

"I sincerely hope he does, if only so I can have the extreme pleasure of killing him myself."

Elrohir gave him a grin of understanding. As they neared the cafeteria they saw Elladan and Amroth running towards them. Elladan’s expression was shuttered, his emotions under control, fully in healer-mode, listening to his brother rattle off medical information. Amroth’s expression was one of concern and worry and Glorfindel realized that the former king of Laurinand genuinely cared for the young Man, perhaps even thought of him as a son, much as Elrond had done with Estel. He had a sudden insight into the Elf’s life, the isolation and loneliness he must have felt, believing he was the last of his kind, forced to live a life not of his choosing, but making the best of it. And then, one Artemus Gordon Meriwether comes into his life, a connection is somehow made and perhaps for the first time in millennia Amroth allows himself to care... to love. Looking on, seeing Amroth hover over his former protégé like any worried father, Glorfindel felt nothing but heartfelt compassion for his fellow Elf and for the child who hovered between life and death. Without thinking about it, he gathered Amroth in his arms and hugged him fiercely as Roy and Dan continued toward the bathroom.

"He’s going to be all right," he said softly in Amroth’s ear. "Let Roy and Dan do their job. We’ll need blankets."

"Della’s gathering them," Amroth answered, his eyes watching the Twins as they entered the bathroom. Glorfindel hugged him again and Amroth turned his attention to the former balrog slayer. "How did he get here?"

"The Belain only know," Glorfindel replied with a deep sigh. "I spoke with Dr. Lawrence. Somehow Alex was able to sneak out of the clinic in full view of everyone. If he were an Elf, I could almost understand it, but he’s a Mortal."

Amroth flashed him a grin. "He’s a Mortal who’s been trained in espionage, in getting in and getting out of tight spots. No one noticed him because he didn’t wish for them to. He knows how to blend in. And don’t forget, I trained him."

Glorfindel started to comment but Nimrodel’s arrival interrupted his thoughts. She was carrying several blankets. Amroth took them from her, giving her a kiss and then headed for the bathroom, leaving Glorfindel with his wife.

"How is he?" Nimrodel asked Glorfindel.

"We don’t know. Roy says he’s hypothermic and there’s possible frostbite. We’ll just have to hope and pray that they will be able to get his body temperature up."

"It’s Amroth I’m worried about," the elleth said with an anxious look.

"Oh?"

"He looks on Alex as the son he never had," she replied. "I think he cares for him more than he let’s on."

Glorfindel nodded. "I came to the same conclusion myself. I’m sure everything will be all right. Alex is one stubborn Mortal and I have the feeling Lord Námo isn’t going to be pleased to see him cluttering up his doorstep again so soon." He gave her a wicked smile and she giggled.

Amroth came out just then and joined them. "They’ve managed to bring his body temperature up but now he seems to be burning with fever. Roy thinks he was suffering from it when he made his... er... escape. It’s possible that he wasn’t thinking straight when he left, that the fever affected his judgment. Anyway, Roy says we need to bring the fever down as quickly as possible."

"I’ll go find Misty," Nimrodel said. "We have a tea of sallow bark and yellow gentian root that should help."

Amroth nodded. "We need more blankets, or better, a sleeping bag so we can contain him."

"I’ll see what I can find," Nimrodel said, giving her husband a kiss on the cheek, and left.

Glorfindel hugged Amroth again. "It’s going to be all right, Amroth. Alex is in the best of hands. The sons of Elrond were well taught in the healing arts by their father."

"He looked so pale and... I felt so... helpless," Amroth said mournfully.

"I can’t tell you the number of times I felt the same way when the Twins would be injured and all I could do was to stand by and watch while Elrond or one of the other healers worked to save their lives."

"How did he ever make it back here in this storm?" Amroth wondered. "The last readings I saw said it was minus seven with a wind-chill of about minus thirty and falling. He wasn’t even properly dressed. It’s a wonder he’s not suffering from extreme frostbite. He could easily have lost fingers and toes."

"I have no answers for you, mellon nîn," Glorfindel said. "We can only thank the Belain that he did not suffer more than he has."

Just then, Elrohir came out of the bathroom, holding the door open for his twin as Elladan carried a still unconscious Alex in his arms. He was wrapped in several blankets and only his head was uncovered.

"Della’s making some tea for the fever," Amroth said without preamble as they made their way down the corridor to the cafeteria. "She’s hunting up an extra sleeping bag as well."

"Good," Elrohir said. "The sooner we get this fever down, the better."

They entered the cafeteria, weaving their way between the sleeping forms of the students and went into the kitchen. "Let’s clear this counter," Roy said, pointing to a long table that was situated in the middle of the room and used for preparing dishes. Glorfindel joined him in clearing the table of kitchen supplies. Mithrellas, who was already there making the tea, came over and washed the surface down with hot soapy water, then dried it before they placed the young Man on it. Amroth, meanwhile, had gone back into the cafeteria and returned with a pillow for Alex’s head. Nimrodel entered behind him with an armload of blankets. Derek and Jud were with her. Jud held out a sleeping bag to Glorfindel.

"This is Alex’s. I was borrowing it."

"Is he going to be all right?" Derek asked almost at the same time.

"We’re doing our best to help him," Roy answered, taking the sleeping bag from Jud. "Now I suggest you two leave. Alex doesn’t need an audience and we are still working on him."

Both Mortals were reluctant to leave, but Nimrodel took them by the arms and gently led them out, assuring them that all would be well. Glorfindel and Amroth stood out of the way while the Twins were busy getting Alex into the sleeping bag. Mithrellas came over with a mug of the tea and a spoon and, propping Alex up, they managed to get the tea down him, one spoonful at a time.

"The kitchen staff will be here in a few hours," Glorfindel said. "They’re not going to be very happy to see him lying there."

"That can’t be helped," Elladan said, even as he was zipping up the sleeping bag and adjusting the pillow to make the still unconscious Man more comfortable. "We need this workspace. If we can get the fever down, then we will consider moving him in with the other sick students."

"Which reminds me," Glorfindel said. "It’s about time for you to check on them again, isn’t it?"

"Yes, but Alex is our main concern," Elrohir answered, running a hand gently through the Man’s hair. "This fever is troubling. Most of those down with the virus are suffering a low-grade fever, but Alex is truly burning up. Without a thermometer I don’t know exactly what it is, but my guess is that it’s about forty degrees."

"A hundred and four?" Glorfindel exclaimed, converting automatically from Celsius to Fahrenheit.

"Maybe even a hundred and five," Elrohir replied with a nod, "and that’s dangerously high. If we don’t get this fever down even a few degrees, he could very easily die."

"If worse comes to worst, we may have to pack him in snow," Elladan added, "but that’s a last resort method. Sometimes, that kind of therapy causes more problems than it solves."

"How long before that tea takes hold?"

"Another hour at least and we’ll give him another dose before that," Elrohir answered.

"Fine. I’ll ask Ron and Holly to look in on the students and I’ll see about finding a mattress for Alex so he’s not sleeping on a cold floor."

"We’ll let you know if there’s any change, good or bad," Elrohir said and Glorfindel went out to the cafeteria and found the other Elves standing around, waiting for news. He motioned for them to join him in the hallway so they wouldn’t be disturbing the sleeping students. "We convinced Derek and Jud to sleep," Vorondur said without preamble as they moved away from the door. Glorfindel nodded his thanks, filling them in on what he knew, asking Vorondur and Ercassë to check on the sick students.

As the two headed for the lounges, Barahir said to Glorfindel, "A mattress will be no problem. I’ll go find one." At Glorfindel’s nod he also left.

"I suggest everyone get some rest while you can. I’ll...."

The lights flickered. All the Elves stopped to stare at the ceiling. The lights came back on almost at once but then went out again and stayed out.

"What now?" Glorfindel muttered, sounding very frustrated.

"Generator must have frozen or something," Cennanion said calmly. "Can’t be fuel as we have plenty. I’ll go check." At Glorfindel’s nod he went, and Gilvegil joined him, the two walking confidently in the almost total darkness.

"Anyone know what the outside temperature is?" Serindë asked.

"Amroth said it was minus seven with a wind-chill of minus thirty," Glorfindel answered.

"It’s colder than that, actually," Daeron said. "I was just checking the weather reports online. Fairbanks is registering a wind-chill of minus thirty-five. We’re further north and right in the heart of the storm and the wind has picked up. We’re getting winds as high as twenty-five miles an hour. The temperature has dropped to almost minus twenty, making the wind-chill almost minus fifty and I think it’s going to get colder still."

"That’s far too dangerous even for us," Alphwen said worriedly.

"Let’s hope Conan and Gil can get the generators back up," Daeron said. "Luckily, the kitchen has gas stoves, so we can at least provide hot meals, if nothing else, but there’s not going to be any hot water for showers and I don’t like the idea of the Mortals not being able to wash. That will just help spread the sickness further."

"One thing at a time," Glorfindel said. "Let’s go back. I want to see how Alex is doing. The students will be fine inside their sleeping bags for now."

They returned to the cafeteria and while Glorfindel and Daeron made their way into the kitchen area, the others took up stations around the cafeteria to keep an eye on the students. The kitchen was as dark as the rest of the building save that Amroth and Mithrellas were holding flashlights while Elladan and Elrohir were attempting to get more tea down Alex. Elrohir, spooning the tea, looked around at their entrance.

"We need those generators back up as soon as possible," he said.

"Gil and Conan are looking into it right now," Glorfindel said. "How’s Alex?"

"Getting better," Elladan answered. "His temperature has gone down enough that we’re no longer worried about it, but we need to keep it down. I really don’t like that he’s been unconscious for this long. He should have at least come to at some point, but he hasn’t."

"Is he in healing sleep?" Glorfindel asked.

"Not by us," Elrohir assured him. "Some Mortals do seem to have the ability to place themselves in a meditative state that is almost like a healing sleep. Those Tibetan monks with whom we spent a couple of centuries had that ability even before we showed up, if you recall."

"I know Alex has had some training in yoga and meditation," Amroth said. "It wasn’t something I taught him. He told me he took it up a couple of years after my disappearance. Perhaps he’s put some of that knowledge to work here."

"We’ll have to ask him when he wakes up."

As Elrohir was spooning the last of the tea into Alex, Cennanion and Gilvegil came in wrapped in blankets, their hair dripping with melting snow and ice. "We may have a problem," Cennanion said without preamble. "The motor didn’t just freeze on one of the generators, the belt snapped."

"What about the other one?" Glorfindel asked, fearing the worst.

"Motor’s frozen on that one, too," Gilvegil answered. "Everything else seems to be all right, but we’re not going to be able to get either of them up again. It’s just too cold."

"Has it ever gotten this cold so early?" Serindë asked.

"It is unusual to get this kind of weather this early," Daeron said, "at least from what I’ve been able to learn, but the weather patterns all over the world have been changing and have become very unpredictable, or more unpredictable than usual."

"What about the rest of the college and Wiseman?" Nimrodell asked. "Could everyone be experiencing frozen generators?"

"I can go call the Sheriff’s department to find out," Daeron suggested.

Glorfindel nodded and Daeron left. "Did you notice if any other buildings had power?" he asked Cennanion and Gilvegil.

Both ellyn shook their heads. "We can go and check."

"No, it’s far too dangerous to go out even for us. Daeron says the wind-chill factor is nearly at minus fifty."

Gilvegil let out a surprised whistle.

"Couldn’t the Belain have picked a better spot for us to prepare for the Last Battle?" Cennanion asked with a shake of his head.

Glorfindel gave them a faint smile. "That’s right. Santa’s relocated his whole operation to Mexico, and taken his elves with him."

There were chuckles from them all. "Or even better, Tahiti," quipped Elladan and the laughter that followed was more genuine.

The laughter stilled as Alex let out a moan and they all gathered around him. Amroth stood by his head and brushed a hand through the Man’s hair, calling his name softly. Alex moaned again, his eyes fluttering open. Mithrellas and Gilvegil held the flashlights in a way to offer illumination without blinding him.

"Wh-where...."

"You’re safe, son," Amroth said gently, never ceasing his ministration. "You’re at the Academy."

Alex nodded, closing his eyes and for a moment they thought he’d fallen asleep again but then he opened them and started struggling out of the sleeping bag. Three pairs of hands held him down. "No, Alex. You’re too sick to move," Elrohir said sternly. "Now, lie down. You’re not going anywhere."

"Derek... I have to see Derek," Alex said.

"Derek is fast asleep in the next room," Glorfindel told him. "You can see him later in the morning. Right now, we want you to go back to sleep."

"No, no. I need to see Derek," Alex protested, still struggling against them. "Please, I need to see him."

"He’s obviously upset about something concerning Derek," Amroth said to Glorfindel, speaking Sindarin.

"If we carry him to where Derek is so he can see that he’s safe, do you think he’ll calm down?" Glorfindel asked the Twins.

With a nod, Elladan moved to lift the Man up. "We’ll take you to Derek, Alex. Stay calm," he said in English and the Man settled into the Elf’s arms without further protest. "Bring a flashlight," Elladan ordered and he set off with everyone else following. They met Serindë standing just outside and with a quiet command from Elladan, she led them unerringly to where Derek was huddled in his sleeping bag with Jud on the other side wrapped in several blankets. There was enough space between sleepers for Elladan to kneel in front of Derek, placing Alex gently on the floor so he could see his roommate’s face.

"You see," Elladan whispered in Alex’s ear. "Derek is safe and sound asleep and that’s what you should be doing."

"Safe," Alex echoed. "He’s safe."

"Yes, child," Elladan said gently. "He’s safe, and so are you. Now, we have a nice mattress for you to sleep on in one of the lounges."

"No, I want to sleep here. Please, let me stay here." There was a note of desperate pleading that was so unlike the young Man they knew that most of them hearing it put it down to his illness. Amroth knelt next to Elladan. "We’ll let you stay here, but only if you promise to go to sleep."

"Promise," Alex sighed and almost as he said it he was slipping away into unconsciousness again. Elladan laid him down all the way and someone went and got the pillow from the kitchen and brought it back. Amroth indicated that he would keep watch on Alex for the duration of the night and everyone else left to resume their own watches with the Twins checking again on the sick students. Glorfindel wandered down to Daeron’s office where he found the loremaster still on the phone speaking to someone. He looked up as Glorfindel gave a perfunctory knock on the open door and gestured for him to enter.

"....that’s right, Paul. Both generators are out," Daeron was saying. "We have most of the students in the cafeteria but we’ve separated the sick ones and placed them in the lounges on either side of the cafeteria. We insulated those rooms as best we could, but already we can feel the cold and the children will be suffering even more."

He paused to listen, his eyes dark and seeing nothing, or perhaps seeing something other than his own office.

"Short of blow-torching the one generator to warm it up, I doubt we can get it started again, and, last I looked, there aren’t any blowtorches here. Lots of hair dryers, but that’s about it."

Another pause, this time longer. "Yes, I agree. Don’t worry. We’ll think of something. We’re Elves after all. We’re experts on survival." He gave Glorfindel a grin and a wink. "You take care of yourself, Paul. I’ll call you later in the morning. Love to Janet and the kids."

He closed down his cell phone. "That was Paul Pettingill," he said unnecessarily. "Half the generators in Wiseman are out. Most homes have fireplaces so there’s at least one room in the house that’s warm. I called Nicole’s house. Zach answered. He was up tending to Adam, who seems to be the sickest. He assured me that they were fine. The Michaelsons came over with their children earlier and they’re all there together. Nicole has a wood-burning stove so they’re good for hot meals and such. I couldn’t get a hold of Richard. Sheriff’s department is shut down apparently. All I got was a recorded message with a cell phone number."

"Alex woke up briefly," Glorfindel said as he took a seat in one of the chairs fronting Daeron’s desk. "He was very upset about Derek, wanting to see him, wanting to make sure he was safe."

"Fever does strange things to the mind," Daeron said. "Not that either you or I have had the experience, but I think we’ve both seen the effects of a high fever on Mortals. It’s similar to when they’re drunk. They stop thinking straight and even hallucinate. We know Alex’s been worried about leaving Derek alone for any length of time, fearing that Farrell would somehow use Derek to get to Alex."

Glorfindel nodded. "I was thinking the same thing. The fact that he keeps insisting that Derek is in danger tells me that he may be experiencing some type of foretelling. His bloodline, however diluted it may be, is prone to it."

Daeron nodded, then changed the subject. "With temperatures as cold as they are, it’s doubtful that Grace and the rest of the kitchen staff will make it in today."

"We’ll have to do the cooking instead," Glorfindel said. "As a contingency plan, we may have to move everyone over to the student center. They have fireplaces there."

"All four hundred of them?" Daeron exclaimed. "How can we do that? Even for us it’s too cold to venture out for long. Those children will never survive the move."

"I’m thinking of recruiting some Maiar to help us," Glorfindel said.

"And will they help? I doubt even these circumstances would warrant it. If they help us, why not everyone else in Wiseman or everyone living in Alaska?"

"I don’t think the Belain will suffer us all to die of hypothermia," Glorfindel protested. "That would completely defeat the purpose of the Academy."

"I know," Daeron said, "and don’t think I disagree with you, because I don’t, but I think it would set a dangerous precedent if we call on their help now for this. At the moment, we’re all safe and sound and alive, even if we’re cold, but we have the means to cook hot meals and this storm won’t last forever. Once the temperatures rise again, we’ll be able to get at least the one generator going." He stood up. "It’s nearly five. Why don’t we go and see what we can prepare for breakfast for everyone."

Glorfindel nodded as he rose and together they left the loremaster’s office and returned to the cafeteria where, in spite of the storm, there was now enough light as the sun climbed the skies somewhere behind the clouds so even the Mortals would be able to see to get around. Daeron took over the kitchen with the aid of the ellith, while Glorfindel and the other ellyn continued watching over the students.

Half an hour later, the first of the students rousing from their slumbers were greeted with the smell of bacon frying.