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 up. Come back to
1. me.
No way.
15:30
2:10
Ava: Waking Up
peaceful here, in this hazy place.
have to come back.
should be.
serenity of darkness. I feel pain, but it doesn’t kill me. It isn’t enough to kill me.
die, Ava. You’re alive.
Alive.
Alive means death-
Wake up. Stop feeling sorry for yourself. You never died. Wake. Up!
***
like sandpaper scraping against my
Ava.
Her voice is warm
try to speak but my throat is
nose presses into my palm. The slight weight of
15:00
3/10
Ava Waking
slowly, painfully. She’s there, silver fur shining, blue
Relief colors her
tongue heavy and thick.
I want to protest
calling my name, but I’m already gone.
***
of a heart monitor. The
sheets rough against my skin. An IV
tiles, fluorescent lights. A
back. Her relief washes
asking me questions, one
16:30
W10
Ava Waking
long was I out?” I rasp, my throat raw from
disuse.
whines softly.
worried.
okay?” Lucas asks, way too
Lisa pipes up, from my other
a punch to the gut. I struggle to sit up, my muscles weak
Selene helps, bracing her body against mine, and both Lisa and Lucas rest their
entire process that leaves me
upright, I take stock. My
an IV pole with a few bags hanging off it. One of the bags looks like milk, and
waist.
I waver,
15:30
5410
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 on the couch. Then… nothing. A yawning black hole
to
hesitant and gentle against my skin. Warmth flows between us, a feeling of comfort, and the
sure. Vanessa thinks your wolf is trying
idea fills me with trepidation. I flick a glance toward my wolf, disguised as a husky for a reason she has yet to explain, and her ears flick as
not. She’s way too big for that.
soothes, sensing my unease. This is
15:31
6/10
Ava Waking
my life has been natural. Is Vanessa right? Are you
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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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