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 back
No way.
peaceful here, in this
have to come back. This is not
But I'm here, in this serenity of darkness. I feel pain, but it doesn't kill me. It isn't enough to
die, Ava.
Alive.
Alive means death—
that's enough. Wake up. Stop feeling sorry
* * *
feel like sandpaper scraping against
Ava.
voice is warm honey in my mind, comforting. Grounding. I try to speak but
palm. The slight weight of her head resting on my hand. I turn my head
awake. Relief colors
swallow dryly, my tongue heavy and
nuzzles into my arm. I want to
name,
* * *
chemical scent of disinfectant. Starched sheets rough against my skin. An IV pinches the back of my
I force them open. The ceiling swims into focus—white tiles, fluorescent lights. A hospital. Selene is curled
Her relief washes over
me questions, one talking over the other. It's
long was I out?" I rasp, my throat raw from
weeks, Selene whines softly. We
you okay?" Lucas asks, way too close
you feeling?" Lisa pipes up, from my other
sit up, my muscles weak and uncooperative. Selene helps, bracing her body against mine, and both Lisa and Lucas
entire process that
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. One of the bags looks like milk,
around my waist. My
as I waver, dizzy. You've been through
how I ended up here. Training with Jericho and Lisa. Collapsing on the couch. Then...
black hole in my
"What happened to me?"
gentle against my skin. Warmth flows between us, a feeling of comfort, and the urge to press my cheek
know for sure. Vanessa thinks your wolf
flick a glance toward my wolf, disguised
She's way too
sensing my unease. This is natural
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