Chapter 112 Ava: Waking Up
Darkness.
Light.
So cold.
It burns.
My lungs ache.
Something's holding me down.
There are whispers. Prayers, I think.
Chaos reigns in this hazy world. Something beeps incessantly.
I'm sweating. My hands are too warm.
… up.
What's that?
… Ava, you…
Who's that?
… can you hear me?
I struggle to reach the voice that calls me, but something sucks me away again.
Frustration simmers, but I'm too tired to fight it.
Ava, you have to wake up.
There it is again.
I know you can hear me, because I can finally hear you.
Hear me? Hear me what? Am I talking?
Yes.
No, I don't think I'm talking. I'm too tired. My body is crushed beneath the earth. Fire ate every last bit of me. I drowned. The air was sucked away.
You're alive. You're asleep in the hospital. You're just fine. You just need to wake up.
No, no.
No, no, no.
Waking is pain.
I remember the pain.
be no pain, Ava. Just wake up. Come
No way.
here, in this hazy
come back. This is
I feel pain, but it doesn't kill me. It
won't die, Ava.
Alive.
Alive means death—
sorry
* * *
They feel like sandpaper scraping against my lids. Everything is blurry, shapes indistinct. White. Harsh
Ava.
comforting. Grounding. I try to speak but my throat is parched, voice a ragged whisper.
head resting on my hand. I turn my head
Relief colors
swallow dryly, my tongue heavy and thick. "What happened?" The words scrape
Rest now. She nuzzles into my arm. I want to protest but exhaustion
my name,
* * *
returns gradually. The steady beep of a heart monitor. The chemical scent of disinfectant. Starched sheets rough against my skin. An IV pinches the back of
force them open. The ceiling swims into focus—white tiles, fluorescent lights. A hospital. Selene
relief washes
me questions, one talking over the other.
out?" I rasp, my throat raw from
Selene whines softly.
Lucas asks, way too
feeling?" Lisa pipes up, from my other
like a punch to the gut. I struggle to sit up, my muscles weak and uncooperative. Selene helps, bracing her body against mine, and both
entire process that leaves me
I take stock. My limbs feel stiff, atrophied. A needle pinches my hand, connected to an IV pole with a few bags hanging off it.
around my waist. My hair is lank and greasy
waver, dizzy.
to piece together how I ended up here. Training
hole
"What happened to me?"
flows between us, a feeling of comfort, and the urge to press
know for sure. Vanessa thinks your wolf is trying to emerge. Do you feel any
idea fills me with trepidation. I flick a glance toward my wolf, disguised as a husky for a reason she has yet to explain, and her ears
not. She's way too big
sensing my unease.
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