Ticking Time

By:

Me

I own nothing, but sure would like to own Atticus Mitchell. Just saying.

Chapter One

Ethan paced back and forth in the waiting room of the hospital as he anxiously waited to hear some news on Benny's condition. The ER staff had forced him away from his unconscious boyfriend and now the teen was beside himself with worry.

"Ethan!" a familiar voice called out to the Seer.

Turning, Ethan saw Benny's grandmother hurrying into the waiting room. The teen rushed over with a feeling of relief. Ms. Weir would be able to help Benny.

"What happened to my grandson?" the Earth Priestess demanded, "Where is Benny?"

"He collapsed in school," Ethan began to explain, "I…I wasn't there since we weren't in the same class for that period. He didn't look good to me this morning, but Benny said he had just stayed up late. I should have known that something was up. I should have…"

"Stop, Ethan," Ms. Weir soothed, "None of us knew Benny was sick. He needs you to stay strong for him so take a deep breath while I go ask the nurses where he is."

The Seer composed himself as Benny's grandmother went to speak to the information desk. Ethan sucked in a deep breath to calm his nerves. Benny just had to be okay. Ethan couldn't lose his lover so soon, he just couldn't. The teen looked up hopefully when Ms. Weir walked back into the room.

"Benny is in the intensive care unit," Ms. Weir reported with her voice tinged in hysteria, "The doctors think that my grandbaby has been poisoned by some unknown substance."

"Poisoned? With what?" Ethan gasped in fear for his lover, "Is he going to be alright?"

"I won't know until I can get to Benny and figure out what is poisoning him," Ms. Weir stated, "Come with me to see him now that they have him settled in a room."

Ethan followed Benny's grandmother into the ICU and the two were soon sterilized and dressed in scrubs as they hurried to see their loved one. The Seer was horrified to see his boyfriend hooked up to so many machines once he entered Benny's room. A tube ran down the taller teen's throat even though an oxygen mask still covered his lower face and his skin looked ashen. A heart monitor beeped slowly in the corner and the hiss of the oxygen machine filled the air.

"Benny. Oh God, Benny," Ethan moaned as he gently gripped one of his boyfriend's hands before he turned to a frozen Ms. Weir, "What's wrong with him? Tell me what's wrong with Benny."

Ms. Weir broke out of her frozen state and immediately rushed to her grandchild's side. The Earth Priestess closed her eyes and began to chant softly as a soft glow flowed over Benny's body. Ethan waited tersely as Ms. Weir raised her hand and allowed it to slowly float from one end of Benny to the other. Finally, Ms. Weir opened her eyes with a look of devastation on her face. The older woman quickly whispered a new spell and the lines of pain in Benny's face smoothed out.
"I missed it," Ms. Weir said to herself as she held Benny's other hand and leaned down to whisper down to her grandson, "I am so sorry, Sweetheart. Grandma is so sorry."

"Missed what?" Ethan demanded as the panic rose up within him, "What's wrong?"

"Benny is intolerant to the Daughter of Echidna's venom," Ms. Weir explained as she tenderly reached out to brush hair off of the Spell Master's forehead, "He is basically having an allergic reaction. The venom is the unknown substance that is poisoning Benny. When I took the block off of my grandchild I should have flushed out his system, but most people just need a couple of days for the venom to leave their systems on its own and I just assumed. Benny's body could not fight the venom and now his organs are beginning to shut down."

"Flush out his system now," Ethan squeaked out in a panic, "Get that venom out of Benny. Do it!"

"I can't," Ms. Weir whispered as her voice cracked, "It's too late to flush out his system and I don't have any gregnok root left. Gregnok root is a very strong healing plant and would be able to reverse the effects of the venom. I could leave to find some from up in the mountains, but if I leave Benny he will die. I need to keep casting the slowing spell on him to slow down the spread of the venom."

"I'll get it!" Ethan gasped out, "Tell me how to find the root."

"Ethan that root is very rare and…" Ms. Weir began before pausing and looking sternly at the teen in front of her who was her grandson's only hope, "You find the root with a vampire's nose."

"What?" Ethan asked in confusion.

"Gregnok root smells like licorice to a vampire," Ms. Weir continued, "Go get your friends and head to Whitechapel Mountain. There is a valley near the old Patterson Bridge. If there is any gregnok root left for this season it will be there."

"I'll go now," Ethan decided firmly.

"Ethan, you have less than 24 hours," Ms. Weir informed the teen anxiously as she turned her attention back to her fragile grandson, "I can only slow down the venom for a short time. Please hurry."

"Can I have a moment alone with Benny?" Ethan asked to which Ms. Weir nodded and left the small room so that the Seer could have some privacy, "Benny? Baby, can you hear me? I'm going to get some medicine that will make you better. You just hang on for me, okay?"

Ethan's eyes filled with tears as he held his boyfriend's hand against his heart. Benny remained unresponsive, but Ethan had hope that the Spell Master could hear him. The Seer leaned over to tenderly kiss his lover on the forehead and began to worry even more when he felt that Benny was beginning to run a very high fever.

"I'll be back very soon, Baby," Ethan continued as he wiped hastily at his tears and squeezed his boyfriend's hand, "Stay strong for me, Benny. I love you more than anything in the world. I'll be right back."

Ethan had to practically tear himself away from his lover's side and hugged Ms. Weir as she passed him to stay beside her grandson.

"Get that root," the Earth Priestess begged, "Help me help my grandson."

Ethan nodded and hurried out to the waiting room where he knew his friends would be waiting. Sure enough, there sat Rory, Sarah, and Erica looking stressed and worried. The three jumped up when they saw Ethan enter the room.

"What is going on?" Sarah asked as she shot over to the Seer, "We heard that Benny was rushed to the hospital."

"Benny is really sick," Ethan explained, "Did you drive here in your car?"

"Yes. Why?" Sarah inquired in confusion.

"We have to go to Whitechapel Mountain now," the Seer insisted, "Let's go."

"What? You're leaving Benny alone?" Erica snapped in anger to cover her anxiety, "What gives?"

"Benny is being poisoned by the left over venom from the Daughter of Echidna that is in his system," Ethan tensely stated as he headed towards the parking lot with his friends following, "His grandmother did not realize that she needed to flush his system when she took the block off of his powers since most people do not have any side effects from the venom. If we don't find a special root then Benny is going to die."

"How can we help?" Rory asked in all seriousness for once as the group climbed into Sarah's car.

"We need to go to a valley near the Patterson Bridge," Ethan explained as Sarah pulled out of the driveway and headed towards the interstate, "Gregnok root can only be found by a vampire since your nose can sniff out its location."

"How will we know, Ethan?" Sarah questioned, "I've never even heard of this root before."

"Ms. Weir said that the root would smell like licorice to you," the teen stated as he rocked nervously in his seat, "Can't you go any faster, Sarah?

"I sure can," Sarah answered as she pulled off onto a side road, "I know a short cut."

Ethan continued to nervously fidget in his seat as the group drove in tense silence. All the Seer could think about was the image of Benny lying so limply in his hospital bed connected to all of those machines. His breath began to catch in his throat at the thought of losing the love of his life. A hand on his shoulder shook him from his thoughts.

"Calm down, Dude," Rory soothed, "We will find that root. Benny is going to be okay."

"But what if we don't," Ethan whispered as he breathed in painfully, "What if I lose him? I can't live without my Benny. I just can't."

"We will find that greg-snot root," Erica insisted before frowning when the group tittered at her slip up which lightened the mood, "What?"

"That is 'gregnok' root, Erica,"' Ethan corrected gently.

"Whatever," Erica drawled before turning serious again, "Why couldn't Benny's grandmother come and find the root herself? That would speed everything up."

"Ms. Weir is busy casting a slowing spell on Benny," Ethan said as he focused on the road, "She is slowing the spread of the venom, but we have less than a day to find the root and get it back to treat Benny. Put the pedal to the metal, Sarah."

The four friends braced themselves as Sarah stomped on the gas. Whitechapel Mountain was two hours away and they were making good time until they saw flashing emergency lights from up the road. Sarah had to slow down as she came up on something unexpected.

"No, no, no, no, no," Ethan grated out as he saw police directing drivers to turn around, "What gives?"

"This doesn't look good," Erica contributed.

"What is going on, Officer?" Sarah inquired after she unrolled her window, "We have an emergency and really need to get to Whitechapel Mountain.

"Rockslide," the policeman briskly stated, "Roads closed. I'm sorry, but you cannot get there at the moment."

"Is there any other way to get to the mountain?" Ethan begged as he suddenly leaned across Sarah's lap.

"Nope. All roads are blocked. Keep it moving," the officer ordered.

"Oh, God. Benny!" Ethan wailed as Sarah turned the car around, "No! We've got to get to that mountain."

"We will," Sarah declared as she turned down a dirt road and parked her car in a clearing, "Let's go."

Ethan eyes widened, but he quickly climbed out of the car in confusion. There was no way they were going to be able to hike to Whitechapel Mountain and make it back to save Benny's life. What were his friends thinking?

"How…" Ethan began before letting out a startled shout as he found himself airborne, "Rory! What are you doing?"

"Taking you to that valley," Rory shouted over the wind, "Just hold on."

The Seer looked down in terror at how high he was and held on to Rory's arms in a death grip. He numbly realized that Erica and Sarah were also flying nearby and decided that closing his eyes was a much better idea. The group flew for about twenty or thirty minutes in silence and Ethan's teeth began to chatter at the cold.

"I'm going to be sick," Ethan cried as his stomach churned, "Are we almost there?"

Ethan's answer was a sudden shifting of velocity as the three vampires shot down and landed beside Patterson Bridge. The Seer's legs felt wobbly, but he still managed to get far enough away from the three vampires to loose what little food he had in his stomach.

"Gross," Erica muttered from afar.

"Give me a break, Erica," Ethan heard Sarah spat, "I head you yakked the first time you flew that fast."

"I did not," Erica denied before growing silent when the Seer turned around to lock a burning glare on her.

"Shut up! Benny's life is at stake here. Save your little argument for later," Ethan snapped as he walked in determination towards the valley, "Use your noses. Do you smell anything?"

The three vampires looked at one another in awe. Ethan had always been protective of his family and friends, but the three had never seen him be so intense before. They hurried to catch up to the Seer and then stopped in surprise.

"Oh, no," Ethan breathed as he stared.

The valley was huge! How in the world would they be able to find gregnok root in time to save Benny? Sarah placed a hand on Ethan's shoulder and gave it a squeeze.

"We are vampires," the brunette reminded him as Erica and Rory nodded their heads, "We can cover this valley in no time."

Ethan smiled in relief at his friends before jumping in surprise when his cell phone began to ring. The Seer snatched his phone up when he saw that the number was Benny's.

"Hello?" Ethan answered with hope in his voice.

"Ethan, it's Ms. Weir," the elderly woman's voice floated through the line, "Ethan, Benny's heart stopped."

"What?! Oh, God," Ethan whispered as his throat closed up and he dropped to his knees, "Benny died?!"

The three vampires staggered back in horror at the Seer's words. Benny was dead? He couldn't be dead!

"No, Ethan," Ms. Weir continued, "The doctors were able to resuscitate my grandbaby, but his body is under too much strain and he is running a terribly high temperature. If you don't find that root in the next two hours then Benny's going to…Ethan, my Benny-Bear is going to die!"

"We will find it," the Seer growled as he stood back up and the three vampires turned hopeful eyes on the teen, "Is your spell not helping Benny at all?"

"My spell is the only thing keeping him alive at the moment," the Earth Priestess insisted, "Please hurry, Ethan!"

"We'll come as soon as we find the gregnok root," Ethan agreed before saying goodbye and turning to his friends, "Benny is still alive, but the venom stopped his heart for a short time. Find that root! We have less than two hours before Benny…"

The Seer's voice cracked at the very thought of his lover passing away. Erica stepped up and unexpectedly hugged the grieving teen.

"Let's go," the blonde vampiress declared, "Let's find that greg-snot root."

"Gregnok," Ethan, Sarah, and Rory corrected.

"Whatever!"

To be continued: