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
No way.
in this hazy
This is not
this serenity of darkness. I feel
die, Ava. You're
Alive.
Alive means death—
sorry for yourself.
* * *
eyes crack open. They feel like sandpaper scraping against my lids. Everything is blurry, shapes indistinct. White. Harsh
Ava.
comforting. Grounding. I try
of her head resting on my hand. I turn my head slowly, painfully. She's there,
Relief colors her
my tongue heavy and thick. "What happened?"
now. She nuzzles into my arm. I want to protest but exhaustion drags me under
calling my name,
* * *
steady beep of a heart monitor. The chemical scent of disinfectant. Starched sheets rough against my skin. An
The ceiling swims into focus—white tiles, fluorescent lights. A hospital. Selene is curled up
relief washes over
questions, one talking over the
was I out?" I
weeks, Selene whines softly. We were so
okay?" Lucas asks, way too
pipes up,
helps, bracing her body against mine, and both Lisa and Lucas rest their hands on my back to lead
an entire process that leaves
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, and that one's connected to yet another IV line in the elbow of my
pooled around my waist. My hair is lank and greasy against
cautions as I waver, dizzy. You've been through
the century. I cast my mind back, trying to piece together how I ended up here. Training with Jericho
hole
"What happened to me?"
my skin. Warmth flows between us, a feeling of comfort, and the urge to press my cheek into his hand, nuzzling
know for sure. Vanessa thinks your wolf is trying to emerge. Do
glance toward my wolf, disguised as a husky for a reason she has yet to explain, and
not. She's way too
afraid, Selene soothes, sensing my
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