Resentment

Part 19

I ripped back into consciousness screaming. I jerked around frantically, not knowing where I was.

"Jade! Jade it's ok. You're safe." The familiar voice told me.

Safe? How could I be safe when the knives were cutting me? I blinked, focusing on his face. "Jamie?" Oh. "It was just a dream." I muttered.

The dream had been horrendously vivid. I had been certain that I'd hallucinated the entire rescue and I was still in that place.

Very gently he pulled me into his chest, stroking my hair. "Shhh, it wasn't real. You're safe now."

"Jade?" Beatrice's slightly panicked voice called from outside the tent.

"I'm ok," I called back, "Sorry it was a false alarm, I was just dreaming."

"Ok, I'll see you later." I heard the relief in her voice as she moved away.

I sighed and looked at Jamie apologetically, "I'm sorry."

"Don't worry; you've been through a lot." He replied. "Are you... hungry?"

"Yes." I realised. The now familiar empty feeling was returning. "Could you bring me that cooler under the table?"

He complied, setting it on the bed next to me. There were three bags left, I went through all of them, trying not to be self-conscious but also unable to stop once I had started. The human blood, cold as it was, was still heaven compared to the very limited animal blood they had given me in the facility. Especially after... it was painful to think of that time of starvation. The limited thoughts I'd been capable of had been very ugly.

I sighed and slumped back. I felt a little better already. My movements were less stiff and painful.

Jamie climbed back into bed looking tired. He took my hand, not looking disturbed at all by my activities.

"Are you ok?" I asked, wanting to know how he was doing with all of the recent events.

He nodded, "I got you back and we're free, of course I'm ok."

"I don't think it's over yet." I warned.

"It doesn't matter." He shrugged, "This is enough for now." He yawned.

"You're tired?" I asked him.

"I haven't slept much recently." He reminded me. I realised that I was tired too. My body wanted me to sleep so it could continue with its restoration in peace.

We both settled down and fell into unconsciousness easily. I knew my sister and other friends were around somewhere, keeping an eye on everything so that we were safe.

*

When I finally awoke I knew I had been asleep for a long time. Dim mid-morning light filtered through the material of the tent, faintly illuminating the room. Jamie was beside me, breathing softly. His eyes were still closed.

I stretched and was pleased to find that I felt much better. The pain has subsided to a manageable level, allowing me to move more easily. Quietly I slipped out of the bed and went to examine myself in the mirror. To my relief, my eyes had returned to normal. I still looked pretty terrible, but not in a way that I looked as though I should have died many days prior.

Most of the larger injures were still there, but some of the minor ones were disappearing. There were lots of signs of healing, things were sealing and scabbing over. I lifted my shirt to examine my ribs which had been covered in nasty bruises where they had been broken by the Doctor. The skin was turning shades of green and purple now, meaning the bruises were coming out. The bones felt like they were almost healed.