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.
pain, Ava. Just wake
No way.
here, in this
come back. This is
me? But I'm here, in this serenity of darkness. I feel pain,
die, Ava.
Alive.
Alive means death—
Stop feeling sorry
* * *
They feel like sandpaper scraping against my lids. Everything is blurry,
Ava.
honey in my mind, comforting. Grounding. I try to speak but my
my palm. The slight weight of her head resting on my hand. I turn my head slowly, painfully. She's there, silver fur
awake. Relief colors
heavy and thick. "What happened?"
arm. I want to protest but
name,
* * *
steady beep of a heart monitor. The chemical scent of disinfectant. Starched sheets rough against my skin. An IV pinches the
eyelids are heavy but I force them open. The ceiling swims into focus—white tiles, fluorescent lights. A hospital. Selene is curled up beside me,
Her relief
and Lisa are here. They're asking me questions, one
out?" I rasp, my throat raw
Selene whines softly. We were so
asks, way too close
Lisa pipes up, from my other
like a punch to the gut. I struggle to sit up, my muscles weak and uncooperative. Selene helps, bracing her body against mine,
process that leaves
with a few bags hanging off it. One of the
pooled around my waist. My
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
black hole
"What happened to me?"
reaches for my face, his fingers hesitant and gentle against my skin. Warmth flows between us, a feeling of comfort, and the urge to press my
sure. Vanessa thinks your wolf is trying to emerge. Do you feel any
the idea fills me with trepidation. I flick a glance toward my wolf, disguised as a
way too big for
Selene soothes, sensing my
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