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 back
No way.
peaceful here, in this hazy
to come back. This is not where you should
of darkness. I feel pain, but it
won't die, Ava. You're
Alive.
Alive means death—
sorry for yourself. You never died.
* * *
crack open. They feel like sandpaper scraping against
Ava.
comforting. Grounding. I try to
wet nose presses into my palm. The slight weight of her head resting on my hand. I turn my head slowly, painfully. She's there, silver fur shining, blue eyes bright with intelligence
Relief colors her
tongue heavy and thick. "What happened?" The words scrape
arm. I want to protest but exhaustion drags me under
my name, but I'm
* * *
beep of a heart monitor. The chemical scent of disinfectant. Starched sheets rough against my skin. An IV pinches the back of
them open. The ceiling swims into focus—white tiles, fluorescent lights. A hospital. Selene is curled up beside me, a
Her relief washes
Lisa are here. They're asking me questions, one
was I out?" I rasp,
whines softly. We were
okay?" Lucas asks, way too
pipes
up, my muscles weak and uncooperative. Selene helps,
entire process
limbs feel stiff, atrophied. A needle pinches my hand, connected to an IV pole with a few bags hanging off it. One of
gown, blankets pooled around my waist. My
cautions as I waver,
mind back, trying to piece together how I ended up here. Training with Jericho and Lisa. Collapsing on the
black hole in
"What happened to me?"
skin. Warmth flows between us, a feeling of comfort, and the urge
your wolf is trying to emerge. Do
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
She's way too big for
soothes, sensing my unease. This
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