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.
no pain, Ava. Just wake up. Come
No way.
in
back. This is
serenity of darkness. I feel pain, but it doesn't kill me. It
won't die, Ava.
Alive.
Alive means death—
feeling sorry for yourself. You never died. Wake.
* * *
feel like sandpaper scraping against my lids. Everything is blurry, shapes
Ava.
honey in my mind, comforting. Grounding. I try
my hand. I turn my head slowly, painfully. She's
Relief colors
tongue heavy and thick. "What
my arm. I want to protest but exhaustion drags me
my name, but I'm
* * *
heart monitor. The chemical scent of disinfectant. Starched sheets rough against my skin. An IV pinches
focus—white tiles, fluorescent lights. A hospital. Selene is curled up
Her relief washes
are here. They're asking me questions, one talking over the other. It's painful
long was I out?" I rasp, my throat raw
weeks, Selene whines softly. We were so
okay?" Lucas asks,
Lisa pipes up, from my other
and uncooperative. Selene helps, bracing her body against mine, and both Lisa and Lucas rest their hands on my back to lead me up
entire process that leaves
an IV pole with a few bags hanging off it. One of the bags looks like milk, and that one's connected to yet another IV line in the elbow of my other
hospital gown, blankets pooled around my waist. My hair
Selene cautions as I waver, dizzy. You've been through a
of the century. I cast my mind back, trying to piece together how I ended up here. Training with Jericho and Lisa. Collapsing on the couch. Then...
yawning black hole in my
"What happened to me?"
Warmth flows between us, a feeling of comfort, and the urge
wolf
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 flick as she licks my face, settling into my lap as though she's a lap
way too big for
my
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