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.
Ava. Just wake up. Come
No way.
here, in this hazy
This
darkness. I feel pain, but it doesn't kill me. It isn't enough to kill
die,
Alive.
Alive means death—
up. Stop feeling sorry for yourself. You never died. Wake.
* * *
open. They feel like sandpaper scraping against my
Ava.
mind, comforting. Grounding. I try to speak but my throat
weight of her head resting on my hand. I turn
Relief colors
tongue heavy and thick.
arm. I want to protest but exhaustion drags
name, but I'm
* * *
returns gradually. The steady beep of a heart monitor. The chemical scent of disinfectant.
force them open. The ceiling swims into focus—white tiles, fluorescent lights. A hospital. Selene is curled
Her relief
They're asking me questions, one talking over the other. It's
long was I out?" I
weeks, Selene whines softly. We
you okay?" Lucas asks, way too close
feeling?" Lisa pipes up,
to sit up, my muscles weak and uncooperative. Selene helps, bracing her body against mine, and both Lisa and Lucas rest their hands on my back to
entire process that
atrophied. A needle pinches my hand, connected to an IV pole with a few bags hanging off
hospital gown, blankets pooled around my waist. My hair
Selene cautions as I waver, dizzy. You've
piece together how I ended up here. Training with Jericho and
black hole
"What happened to me?"
hesitant and gentle against my skin. Warmth flows between us, a feeling of comfort, and the urge to press my cheek into
thinks your wolf is trying to emerge.
surrounding my heritage, the 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
not. She's way too big for
Selene soothes, sensing my unease. This is
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