Obsidian Hearts: I

Thirty One: To Kill A Mockingbird

— Sable Rae

The loud voices of everyone boomed in my ears.

Bright lights swirled overhead, one after another, repeatedly flickering on and off. Blocking the lights is a pale faced woman standing over me, her blue eyes bright— she's speaking to me but I couldn't focus on just her.

I feel hands, multiple of them. Touching me.

I blinked back tears, pain searing through my body, my chest feeling heavy. Soon my mother is over me, she's screaming at the lady.

They escort her away.

My dad is here. Why's he here?

Soon I feel my body shift to the right and I'm in an even brighter room. I make out doctors— three of them. They pick me up, laying me on a bed before placing something over my face. The lady from before with the bright blue eyes showed me her fingers.

Five of them, then four, then three, then two, then on—

((()))

Opening my eyes, the first thing I'm met with is the ceiling. The beeping of a machine goes haywire and I feel something in my throat that's keeping me from breathing.

Violently I start to choke, trying to cough up whatever it is. The door bursts open and someone comes to me— a woman. "Ms. Rae, I need you to calm down!"

She pushes against my chest trying to keep me still, another person coming to help her. They turn off the machine, their hands working quick to get what I've figured out is a tube. The woman pulls it from my throat, moving slower than I'd like. When it's out fully, my coughing becomes worse and my throat dries to the point it hurts.

"Here you go. Drink this." She tells me, offering me a cup of water which I quickly take.

I take huge gulps until it's empty and I'm no longer choking. They give me a second cup and I finish that one off too. "You were thirsty. Would you like another one?"

I go to speak but my voice comes out hoarse so I just shake my head no.

She smiles at me but I don't have the energy to do the same. Looking around the room I notice I'm in a hospital. If the gown didn't already give it away then the smell would. Hospitals always have this distinctive smell.

I'm more tense than ever, trying to piece together the events that lead me here. The longer it took for me trying to remember the more agitated I became. The woman must have noticed because she touched my leg, but I jumped forgetting she was even there. "Sable, are you alright?"

I just look at her, not being able to speak at the moment. She looks at me sympathetically. "It's okay, you don't have to talk. I'm Dr. Saito, you've been in my care ever since being admitted." She grabs her stethoscope around her neck, placing it against my chest to hear my heart. "This is Cypress Pointe Surgical Hospital, and today is Friday."

Friday? It was just Sunday.

"Look this way, follow my finger." She says, moving left to right, two times each. "Good, you did great. Now lean forward for me."