THE MOMENT
Pain was the first thing Devon registered. His head ached worse than any of his hangovers from his college days. He was afraid to open his eyes. He could see light behind his closed lids, and he knew bright light would only make him hurt more. He slowly became aware of the rest of his body as the pounding continued. He felt his back supported and his fingertips touched stiff, coarse sheets.
"Oh, you're awake," someone said. They must have seen his fingers moving. "You're safe, in a hospital." She sounded like a young girl with a sincere, friendly voice. He turned his head, slowly, toward the voice; but, he did not open his eyes yet.
"What happened...?" he groaned. His throat burned at every word. The last thing he remembered was driving to work.
"Car accident," the girl replied. "They're okay. You're okay; but, your noggin took a wallop. It'll be sore for a bit. And, you're going to notice some big changes. I am a little bit concerned that you haven't opened your eyes yet. Can you?" The question made him doubt for a moment, but he nodded.
"Yeah. Too bright...," he said.
"Oh, let me dim the lights." He heard light footsteps, then the light behind his lids disappeared. Devon peeked one eye open. The room was much darker; it was nighttime now. He looked around at the room and he was relieved to find he was actually in a hospital. He turned to thank the stranger; but, he froze in terror without saying a word. His eyes opened wider as a young, violet-haired girl took a step closer to his bed.
She looked like a normal girl; but, there was a giant golden web behind her. It moved with her as if it was attached. And, hundreds of different spiders were crawling on the web. He spotted black widows, tarantulas, and plenty of other spiders he'd never seen before in different colors. He tried to scream. His throat gave out. He only managed to release a faint, raspy whine and the girl tilted her head at him. Then, she giggled. She raised her hands to show she meant no harm and took a step back.
"I'm sorry, you're probably scared right now. You've never seen an aura before, have you?"
"Aura..?" Devon asked. Despite what he saw, he didn't feel like he was in any danger. At least, not at that moment. She nodded.
"My name's Violet; but, you can call me Vivi," she said. "I mentioned some changes earlier. One of them is you can see Auras now. But, you can turn it off." she said.
"Huh?" As soon as she told him that, Devon decided he did not want to be staring at that many spiders. They disappeared along with the golden web.
"There you go," she nodded at him.
"How... did you know?" he asked. The more he talked, the stronger his voice got.
"Stars glow in your eyes when you use it," she said. He imagined stars in his eyes and wanted to see the web again. It appeared, then he dismissed the sight.
"Wow, you learn fast," she said. Her eyes weren't glowing but she seemed to know what she was talking about.
"Do you know what I see..?" he asked. Vivi nodded. "You're covered in spiders...," he used the statement as a question. She nodded again.
"The doctor will explain it better than I could," she said. "But, I'm something called a Unique Soul, and so are you. There are 69 different types of Unique Souls. I'm number 33, La Arana. The spider. If you see anyone else with a webbed aura of spiders, they are too."
Devon tried to process the information; but, a sudden knock at the door interrupted any questions he was forming. The door opened and a green-haired man in a white lab coat walked in. Devon's curiosity made him want to see the doctor's aura. Instead of a spider web, he had a golden, ethereal Earth spinning behind him.
"I got it, Vivi," he said. "I can squeeze in a quick talk." Vivi nodded at him, then waved at Devon and left the room. The doctor approached Devon with an outstretched hand.
"Hello, Devon. I'm Doc Mundo," Devon accepted the firm handshake. "Let's chat about why that accident might be the best thing that's happened to you so far."