At His Bedside

“I don’t know why this is an issue,” a young White man said. “Everyone should be treated the same. Everyone IS treated the same. For racial minorities to say otherwise just isn’t true. We’re past an age of prejudice.”

“Actually,” a Black young man spoke up. “That couldn’t be farther from the truth. A measure of racial justice can be partially determined by the proportion of people who are incarcerated. There are simply more Black people in jail than White people.”

“Maybe Black people are more likely to be criminals,” the White man replied.

“Or maybe Black people are more often charged and convicted of the same crime and tend to get longer sentences,” the Black man cocked an eyebrow.

“Can you show the proof?” the White man said.

“How about you do that? A special assignment. Rather than asking him to do the work for you, you can look it up and report back to us.” Their professor interjected.

“That isn’t fair…” the White student began.

“Neither is your attitude. He’s right. Maybe you should reconsider bringing such views into a sociology class,” she said before resuming her lecture.

Campbell had watched the entire exchange with a strong curiosity. As class went on, he kept looking back to the young Black man, intrigued about his perspective. After class was over, Campbell approached him.

“I never considered that perspective before,” he began.

“A lot of White people don’t. That’s privilege for you, you know?” the young man replied.

“To be honest, not really,” Campbell shrugged.

“I know,” the young man lauged.

“You do?”

“More than a hat rack,” the young man pointed to his head. “What’s your name stranger?”

“You don’t pay attention in class do you…” Campbell responded. “I’m Campbell.”

“Nice to meet a fellow smart-ass. My name is Aaron,” the young man replied. “Do you like coffee? I haven’t had my fix today.” They walked to the campus coffee shop and continued their conversation.

Campbell held Aaron’s hand, reflecting on their time together. How they met, their adventures, and especially the most recent events in their lives. There wasn’t a day that he didn’t wish he could protect Aaron from the people trying to hurt him. Shame, guilt, fear – these revolved around his head as his love laid still.

He looked up to see nurses tending to Arie, Miche, and Blink. They all seemed confused as to what was affecting his friends, but Campbell noticed the nurses were seemingly fine with the sudden appearance of him and his friends.

“What…?” Campbell tilted his head.

“I’m taking care of that,” a lightly gruff but familiar voice said to him. Campbell turned to face a startlingly recognizable form. He quickly looked to Aaron, who’s hand he was grasping, and a slightly older version of him.

“Aaron?” he asked lightly. Hearing his name brought tears to the man’s eyes.

“It’s been so long since I heard that from you,” the older Aaron responded.

“What do you mean—How—Am I dead?” Campbell asked.

“No. Not dead. Just away,” the older Aaron turned his head, scared his emotions would overtake him.

“So we stay together?” Campbell stood up to face him.

“In some ways, yes,” the older Aaron responded. He could feel the joy radiating from Campbell at the reality of their future together, which created a mix of happiness and regret within him.

“So… What do I call you?” Campbell sat back down, scratching his head.

“Captain is fine,” the older Aaron smiled. “He already knows anyway, and it’ll cause less confusion.”

“That feels weird… But okay… Captain,” Campbell extended a hand. The Captain shook it, feeling a strange sensation at the physical touch. “Why are you here?”

“I’m not so sure myself,” Captain sat on the other side of Aaron’s bed. “I felt compelled to come. A friend brought me.”

“Blink?”

“Exactly.”

“So he’s a good guy?”

“Blink is kind of his own man, but he always has the right intentions. Trust that things are hard on him, too,” Captain placed a hand on Campbell’s shoulder.

“He didn’t have to see his friends hurt,” Campbell looked down, fighting back tears.

“He did. Always has, always will. He’s not quite like Aaron and I,” Captain crossed his hands in his lap.

“What does that mean?” Campbell squinted his eyes.

“It’s not something I completely understand. Every time he tries to explain it I get lost. I do know, though, that he’s not the only one.”

“Who else is there?” Campbell asked.

The Captain’s eyes suddenly flashed blue. “I think the reason I’m here. No wonder Blink didn’t fight me on this; he knew it’d happen, too.”

“What are you talking—“ Campbell began as the roof crashed over them. A man surrounded in magenta energy, much like James’, had torn the roof off of the hospital. He stood suspended in air, firm and hard-faced.

“Is that James?!” Campbell asked.

“No…” the Captain began to glow. “It’s his father.” He threw up psychic barriers around everyone in the hospital, preparing for an attack. The man’s face grew furious and the energy swirled around him creating a maelstrom. He extended an arm to Aaron, eliciting shock from the Captain and Campbell, and fired an immense blast of psychic energy.

“No!” Campbell yelled, almost as a demand. He firmly placed his arms over Aaron. As the blast reached them, a blinding flash of light enveloped the room. When he could see again, Campbell found himself unharmed. The Captain only smiled.

Campbell looked down to see Aaron awake, wide-eyed.

“Is that what it was?” he asked. Campbell was thrown by his question.

“That’s exactly it,” the Captain told him. “But before you go into shock, we have a problem to handle.” Aaron pushed himself up, fighting the pain.

“I’m ready,” he began to glow like the Captain, his future self. He had never felt more powerful, even after fighting James.

“Campbell, we’ll need you, too,” the Captain said.

“What can I do?” Campbell asked, still astounded at what he’d done.

“What you’ve always done and wanted to do: Protect us,” the Captain said with tears in his eyes.