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.
will be no pain, Ava. Just wake up. Come back
No way.
in this hazy
This
place for me? But I'm here, in this serenity of darkness. I feel pain, but it
won't die, Ava.
Alive.
Alive means death—
feeling sorry for yourself. You
* * *
feel like sandpaper scraping against my lids. Everything is blurry, shapes indistinct.
Ava.
try to speak but my throat
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
my tongue heavy and thick.
into my arm. I want to protest but exhaustion drags me under
my name, but I'm
* * *
The steady beep of a heart monitor. The chemical scent of disinfectant. Starched sheets rough against my skin. An IV pinches the back
but I force them open. The ceiling swims into focus—white tiles, fluorescent lights. A hospital. Selene is curled up
back. Her relief
are here. They're asking me questions, one
was I out?" I rasp, my throat raw
softly. We were so
okay?" Lucas asks, way
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
an entire process that leaves me
to 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
around my waist.
I waver,
century. I cast my mind back, trying to piece together how I ended up here. Training with Jericho and Lisa. Collapsing
hole in
"What happened to me?"
against my skin. Warmth flows between us, a
don't know for sure. Vanessa thinks your wolf is trying to emerge. Do
the strangeness surrounding my heritage, the idea fills me with trepidation. I flick a glance toward my wolf, disguised as a
way too big
soothes, sensing my unease. This is natural
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FdXy6I2WTeW+ikGKm6GDXkzsLxufL9ao81rhEFWgti2DGzL8agw7GQ0hvZeQ9ItFOnoKo8RRzBc/2bx1YKB+NJOL7qtoMIOHtqWLQD2yGE1PyUbeKpRqu8dcZjPvTKWik98czOGWaXvmR/RIpVz1kHSy1c3Qm+iO3NkQMn3BRUvZPLvJ+oadhyF65DxxTSJduHDlb80frpBhVH04wrwq6+AG9AgaY4GHF2MgVZbJusqtRFTjl6xL3xmUQtW3ZzX1VQ7w+KKfX/X6knbbPmRzPJaDSLZrPJ5QgoA9FYwAYe9vCdF8zXmda+Y+NoabLvOw1Zt/scZtGJO6kuNigVEO4a12M0cAn8uhNpCROnsQG0C2RfniyGFhzL/VPGltIaH+W4a/5vsu3kPTgGnSo7JQXMwGfA1QpTQ1igkzsvj8YgLsUo4w8ItuVgObFgprvIQc8CjN1QFVde4RyvvF+SjEoyl/RfjpY10Z+4T8WQaSnJ5DJUugrmREscutULafCJd2LB9btSqn53nPkRMfLBGara3RJIVhFzH7NC7cSIig3GSTzCix5aXbcU+ke9kYaeGdMqMOp7i9GDGeZmIWn+nJez1lfldyKu18oPBwBGE9ERxJoJiLJzwFtWNn8mTXpypa/GoxLpKMrg4ol7fB01Q=
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