Hexus

>11< Dangle

[7:48PM, February 14, UTC +08:00]

Cold.

That was the first sensation Agnes could recognize. Her senses spread and she gradually became aware of her body. Frigid wind blew around her, flapping cloth around her thighs. She tried to remember where she was and what had happened in the immediate past. Her memories flashed to being in Augie’s room, right before they ran downstairs and they heard someone scream and-

Her eyes flew open and met a different shade of darkness. Pain throbbed in her arms. There was pressure on her side and she realized she was being held horizontally. She shifted her gaze around, trying to understand her surroundings. Lights glowed from beneath her field of vision and she looked down. It took a few seconds to recognize what she was looking at.

She screamed.

She was so high above the ground that buildings looked like little squares. The lights of the city lit up the sky, drowning out the stars. She began to struggle and the pressure around her midsection increased.

“Shh…Agnes. Agnes, stop screaming, it’s okay.”

She screamed a bit more before she realized that the voice was familiar. It came from somewhere above, and she struggled to look around. Her body was maneuvered and she found herself being hugged by the thick arms of an auburn-haired woman who smelled of lavender.

“It’s okay,” she repeated. “Everything’s alright now.”
“Aunt Maggie?” she pulled back from the embrace and looked at her Aunt’s faint smile. It was hard to make out her features in the darkness but the voice was pretty distinct, as was the lavender scent of her shampoo. She’d used the same brand for as long as Agnes had known her.

“Yes, it’s me.”

Agnes relaxed a bit. They were flying above the city, riding on something invisible. She was wearing only her cotton pyjamas, which did very little to protect her from the cold. She was also a little scared of heights. She pushed herself closer to her aunt, for both safety and warmth. Aunt Maggie laughed a bit and held her firm.

“Aunt Maggie? What happened? Where’s Augustus?”
“You should rest; you’ve had quite a night.”

Quite a night… Agnes ruminated on the words and tried to understand what she was talking about. Her eyes widened as the next wave of memories hit her.

“Austin! Austin was hurt by that…I don’t know what it was but we have to go back. We have to make sure he’s okay.”
“He’s fine,” she said calmly, ignoring her frantic tone. “Why don’t you try to get some rest?”
“But…”
“Rest,” she said. Agnes saw her hand come towards her face and a light breeze blew into her eyes. She tried to remain awake, but it was no use. Her eyes drifted closed and the world was forgotten.

>----------<

Softness.

Agnes felt around and recognized that she was lying on a very comfortable mattress. Her body always seemed to wake up before her brain. She guessed it followed what Austin said about her: that she moved before thinking. She opened her eyes and met strange surroundings. She was in a very well-furnished room with clean white walls, a white floor rug and a king-size bed with white coverings. The amount of white was almost blinding, broken only by the dark browns and blacks of wood and metal from the furniture and expensive-looking lighting. It was obvious; she wasn’t in Aunt Maggie’s house. This was probably a hotel room, judging from the way everything looked so clean and tidy.