Caleb immediately became serious again. His smile died, and he moved his body off Tracey. Grabbing him, he pulled him to a sitting position and hugged him. "You're all right now, Tracey. Makenna is here. Help has arrived."
Tracey still didn't move.
Caleb soon heard Makenna call out, "Caleb!" and turned his head. His eyes widened when he saw her new transformation.
"Makenna!" he gasped, laying Tracey down again. "Look at you! You—!"
"Not now," Makenna sternly spoke, kneeling before Tracey. "We've got to get Tracey out of here."
Officer Camden, Jordan, and Hobbs appeared in the doorway of the changing room, and their eyes landed on Caleb and Tracey.
Officer Jordan smacked her hands over her mouth when she saw Tracey.
"We've found you!" Officer Camden said. He, Hobbs, and Jordan hurried into the room and rushed toward the fairies and their avian friends.
"Officers, please," Makenna begged, taking Tracey's hand. "He's dying."
Officer Hobbs was the first to reach them, and he picked up Tracey in the sheet. "He's freezing!" he observed, bringing his palm to Tracey's forehead.
Caleb scooped up his two shirts and tucked them under his arm.
Gina landed on his head, and she, Caleb, Makenna, and Raeven focused on the officers, who had crowded around Tracey.
"Are you okay?" they asked him, but Tracey didn't respond.
Officer Camden soon took his radio off his belt. Stepping away from the crowd, he spoke into it. "Officer Camden calling. Get me an ambulance here. We've found the two boys, but the older one, the other fairy, isn't responding. It's his broken wings. I don't know what else to say, ma'am. I need an ambulance."
"He can't go to a human hospital, though!" Caleb observed. "He's a fairy!"
"Makenna," spoke Officer Jordan. She held her hands behind her back and glanced at Makenna. "Are there such things as fairy hospitals?"
Makenna nodded. "Yes, ma'am. The closest fairy hospital is on Coutarine Island, which is off Seabrook Island's North Beach. What's your plan?"
"Why don't we try this?" asked Officer Jordan. "I know EMS never hangs up on an emergency call. Why don't we have them drive Tracey to North Beach, and then you can fly him the rest of the way to the fairy hospital? That will give him some medical assistance on the way."
Makenna thought for a moment. "Hey," she said, cracking a feeble smile. "That's actually not a bad idea, Officer Jordan."
"Whoa," spoke Caleb. "How come I never thought of that? That'd be perfect!"
"Why don't we try that?" Makenna questioned. "Tracey needs medical assistance. This may be the only way we're truly going to save him."
"So, it's settled, then?" Officer Camden inquired.
The others bobbed their heads.
Camden again spoke into his radio. "We've come up with a plan. Contact EMS and inform them of this as well. We could have them drive the boy to Seabrook Island—at least give him some medical assistance—and then his friend, Makenna, can take him to a fairy hospital from there. I know this sounds totally unrealistic, but it's the truth! I need an ambulance!"
"Don't worry, Officer Camden," spoke a female voice from the radio's other line. "I'm getting your message dispatched to the paramedics. We're well aware of what's going on at Johns Island High School. This mission is going to be top secret through. We will never share with the world that it involved real fairies. I don't want to put them at risk of being thrown into a laboratory. All right, EMS just answered. They said that they have no problem with coming and getting that boy. They're on their way now. Stay on the line with me, though. Keep me updated on the boy's condition. So, the problem is broken wings?"
"Yes," said Officer Camden, gesturing for everybody to begin leaving the changing room. "Makenna Delling, his friend, says that broken wings are the worst thing that can happen to a fairy. They're killing him, and they're killing him very fast, too."
"Is he conscious?" the dispatcher asked next.
Officer Camden examined Tracey. "No." He touched Tracey's hand. "His skin is as cold as ice. He's not moving at all."
"Okay," the dispatcher calmly spoke. "I'm going to tell the paramedics to hurry. Don't shut off your radio, sir."
"I'm not," said Officer Camden. By that point in the conversation, he, Hobbs, Jordan, Makenna, Raeven, Gina, and Caleb had gotten down from the stage and hurried toward the auditorium's exit.
Makenna flew beside jogging Caleb. They glanced at Tracey and then at Officer Camden.
After a bit, Caleb said, "He's doing quite well, despite this being his first time calling for help for a fairy."
"Not every human is a bully to Tracey, Caleb," Makenna explained. "I don't know if he understands that yet. After everything Peter did to him, I don't blame him for not trusting humans, but he needs to realize that not all humans are bad. Life lessons from Makenna Delling. I'm going to tell him right now." Still flying forward, she closed her eyes and reached for her temples. Makenna focused her powers and said to Tracey, "Tracey, this is Makenna Delling."
From out of nowhere, Makenna found herself floating in Tracey's mind. Now that she was a Crystal Metamorphic Fairy, her telepathic powers had grown. She was now able to visit another person's mind or that of a fairy.
Makenna was shocked by what she found in Tracey's mind—fear bugs, little bugs that roamed a fairy's mind whenever they were fearful. She also saw loneliness.
An image of Tracey appeared before Makenna, and he yelled, "Mom! Dad! I'll wait for you forever!" at two blurry figures before him. "Until you return, I will train extra hard on Merlin's Island."
The image shifted and next showed Tracey sitting on a rock on the beach, staring gloomily at the ocean. "Where are you, Mom and Dad?" he inquired.
Gina sat with him and rested on his knee.
Rubbing her, Tracey sadly voiced, "Makenna was right about me, Gina. I'm nothing but a burden. I don't deserve to have friends. Every time I try to make one, they always pitch me underground. Nobody cares about me."
Makenna, sobbing, couldn't help herself and yelled, "No! That's not true, Tracey! Don't think that! I care about you! Not everybody in this world is a bully! I know you no longer trust me and the world of humans, but I promise I will save you!"
Tracey's silhouette didn't answer. It started to fade.
Makenna continued to yell at him. "Tracey, please! You can't die! I need you! You're the only boy I know who will never hurt me. Please! Please understand that not everybody in this world is a bully. These people outside your mind in the real world are only helping you. They're not trying to hurt you. Tracey, please trust me one last time."
She next found sadness in Tracey's mind.
The fading image of him appeared before her, looking like he was about to cry.
Before long, Tracey spoke to Makenna. He, too, was communicating with her through telepathy, even as he was unconscious. However, his voice was filled with melancholy. "I'm sorry, Makenna, but I don't belong here. I don't want to be a burden anymore. I'm doing what I think is best for me."
Something jerked behind Makenna and pulled her away from her friend. "Tracey!" she said, reaching for him. However, she failed to catch up with him.
Makenna began to spin, and then she plopped onto her front, back in the real world, now out of Tracey's mind. Makenna shook her head and looked up.
Caleb's face had appeared before her. "Are you all right, Makenna? You went into a trance."
Officer Camden, Jordan, and Hobbs were rushing down the hallway, further away.
At the sight of her brother, Makenna blurted, "Caleb! We've got to save Tracey!" and stood. "I went into Tracey's mind and saw everything. Caleb, he's severely depressed and is letting himself die."
"What?" Caleb said, appalled. "No! We can't let him do that!"
"We've got to hurry," Makenna ordered. "While we're waiting for the ambulance to come get him and on the way to the hospital, I'm going to try to give him back his confidence and stop him."
"Merlin's apprentice can't die!" Raeven cried out. "He's Merlin's apprentice! He's one of the most gifted fairies in the world."
"He doesn't know that, though." Tears streamed down Makenna's cheeks. "This is all my fault. I was the one who never came to comfort him when he was sad. I was too immobilized by Peter Nelson." She sobbed harder. "And look where my mistakes led us. I honestly don't believe I should've gotten this new transformation. Thanks to me, Tracey's dying."
"Not all hope is lost," said Caleb. He kneeled and grasped Makenna's shoulder. "We can still save him, Makenna. We will save him. I promise." He pulled Makenna into a tight hug and let her have her cry.
Makenna appreciated it. She needed a hug.
Once she and Caleb let go, they hurried after the cops and Tracey, and Makenna prepared for her most significant test of all.
Tracey mattered, and she would prove that.