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.
1. up.
What’s that?
… Ava, you…
Who’s that?
can you hear me?
I struggle to reach the voice that calls me,
but
15:30
1:10
112 Ava: Waking Up
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.
the
no pain, Ava. Just wake
1. me.
No way.
15:30
2:10
112 Ava:
in
have to come back. This is not
should be.
feel pain, but
won’t die, Ava. You’re alive.
Alive.
Alive means death-
sorry for yourself. You never
***
sandpaper scraping against my lids. Everything is blurry, shapes indistinct. White. Harsh lights.
Ava.
Her voice is warm honey in my
my throat is parched, voice a ragged
presses into my palm. The slight weight
15:00
3/10
Ava Waking
painfully. She’s there, silver fur shining, blue eyes bright with
Relief colors her tone.
thick. “What happened?” The
now. She nuzzles into my arm. I want to protest but exhaustion drags me under again.
name, but I’m already gone.
***
gradually. The steady beep of a heart monitor. The chemical scent of
skin. An IV
focus–white tiles, fluorescent lights.
Her relief washes
one talking over the
16:30
W10
Waking Up
I out?” I rasp, my throat raw
disuse.
Selene whines softly. We
worried.
asks, way too close to
Lisa pipes up,
the gut. I
her body against mine, and both Lisa and Lucas rest their hands on my back to lead
entire process that leaves me exhausted.
take stock. My
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
blankets pooled around my waist. My hair
cautions as I waver,
15:30
5410
Ava Waking Up
through a lot.
I cast my mind back, trying to piece together how I ended up here. Training with Jericho and Lisa. Collapsing
happened to
fingers hesitant and 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 is trying to emerge. Do you feel
To be whole. But now, with all the strangeness surrounding my heritage, the idea fills me with trepidation. I flick a glance toward my wolf, disguised as a husky for a reason she
way too
soothes, sensing my unease. This is natural for you
15:31
6/10
Ava Waking Up
tongue. Nothing about my life has been natural. Is Vanessa right? Are you going to be a
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CZjn9uT9A/Dms1jJlL0V/qHwLxWbJ9f/71bqFQG8t3iQSS7wdxx+GUYtxJmWpsJBdXYWo89R0Rcu2bdoJfRiLpne7ao6NMCfsL7LRnHnDBsKxkKIT+sxo40PdDx98jP/yk2iAeWbPTqgAO0Hvg77izOvm93dgOjWnewDPjaPZQqeEO/S653fCYGEpW54Hi9uiTi1JvwRs91pQyl1mvJy5PFKkXdId5+lFmN3E7bGosr/S0Gsl9lE2EbtaJypOhu7agj44bLMC/vwwDDGJGViedWbQL5lIcRM5IQjeeNZfaJvWZdnllPed/x1FhMPyv4VJp1zsf982UJE13reV1cSpYKcxl4IloscrtWEdGhVF1yoEfm0wn04/xQEkbYqJSE5/MWj6LUo2ESYzzWC/tA7EMhdLkJfumwf7lo16dj6IQb+BsF66dFzEkKAFVk/oIhb8DXP00RHc6EV0f6J/TmRrXQjFa+FSQkM5cehGFbf8w==
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