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
will be no pain, Ava. Just
1. me.
No way.
15:30
2:10
112 Ava:
peaceful here, in this
have to come back. This is not where you
should be.
I’m here, in this serenity of darkness. I feel pain, but it
won’t die, Ava. You’re alive.
Alive.
Alive means death-
sorry for yourself. You
***
eyes crack open. They feel like sandpaper scraping against my
Ava.
voice is warm
to speak but my throat is parched, voice a ragged whisper. “Selene?”
wet nose presses into my palm.
15:00
3/10
Ava Waking
She’s there, silver
colors her
and thick. “What
arm. I want to protest but exhaustion drags
name, but I’m already
***
of a heart monitor. The chemical
skin. An IV pinches the back of my
open. The ceiling swims into focus–white tiles, fluorescent lights. A hospital. Selene
relief washes over me.
are here. They’re asking me questions, one talking over
16:30
W10
Waking
long was I out?” I rasp, my throat raw from
disuse.
Selene whines softly. We were
worried.
asks, way too close to
are you feeling?” Lisa pipes
me like a punch to the gut. I struggle to sit up, my
her body against mine, and both Lisa and Lucas rest their hands on my back to lead me up until I’m
entire process that leaves me
upright, I take stock. My limbs
pole with a few bags hanging off it. One of the bags looks like milk, and that
hospital gown, blankets pooled around my waist. My hair is lank and greasy
I waver, dizzy. You’ve been
15:30
5410
Ava Waking Up
through a lot.
century. I cast my mind back, trying to piece together how I ended up here. Training with Jericho and Lisa. Collapsing on the couch.
to me?”
flows between us, a feeling of comfort, and the urge to
sure. Vanessa thinks your wolf is trying to
heritage, the 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 she licks my face, settling into my lap as though she’s a lap dog.
She’s way too big for
my unease. This is natural for
15:31
6/10
Ava Waking
The word tastes like ashes on my tongue. Nothing about my life has been natural. Is Vanessa right?
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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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