I'm not broken (RoyalChaos)

Chapter 26 - The deep blue sea

"Oh my god, is he okay?", he panted and came to a stop next to me. I wanted to see him, but my vision kept cutting out again.

"He will be", my rescuer answered him, "He's worn out, needs to hydrate and needs to calm down. My collegue already called for an ambulance, we'll get him to the hospital and he'll be able to recover there. He swallowed a lot of salt water, that causes dehydration, nausea, general weakness and even delirium. But don't worry, he'll be back on his feet in no time".

I was sick of hospitals, I didn't want to go there. I could make out a water bottle being held in my direction and I quickly grabbed it and gulped down the cooling liquid. I nearly drank out the whole bottle and let it fall down next to me as my body finally gave in under my weight and I dropped down. I could hear sirens coming closer and Ze's panicky voice. I could see his outline as he bent over me and grabbed my hands. I was so tired and felt so weak. My vision cut out again, this time completely.

---

Beep.

Where was I? What was that noise?

Beep.

I tried to move my head but a bolt of pain shot through my body as I did so. I let out a faint groan and tried opening my eyes.

Beep.

It was so bright, I had to close my eyes again. Another try. White light, what was going on? A shadow hushed over my face and I instinctively threw my arms over my face to protect it from any possible danger, but my arms felt so weak that I had trouble keeping them up.

Beep.

"Reflexes are working, he's awake", a voice echoed through my head.

What? Where was I and who was speaking to me?

Beep.

"I think we can turn this off for now", the voice continued and the beeping stopped, "I'll leave you two alone, don't hesitate to call for me if anything happens. And just a little warning, he might still be a bit delusional".

"Thank you", a second voice echoed, I knew this voice, "Hey, Anthy, can you hear me?"

I opened my eyes again and could make out a dark figure next to me. I stretched out an arm to the figure and touched it. The figure grabbed my arm and I gasped.

"Don't take me with you!", I cried out, "I have to go back to Ze!"

"I'm here, Anthony, it's okay", the familiar voice chuckled.

"Ze?", I asked and blinked, trying to get the figure to stop being so dark and blurry, "Did you drown as well?"

"Nobody drowned, Anthy, you're at the hospital", Ze explained.

"I'm not dead?", I gasped in confusion.

Another chuckle. "No, you're alive and well".

I shook my head and blinked again, this time my eyes worked properly and I could see Ze in his true form. He watched me as I glanced at my surroundings, I was really at the hospital, lying in a white bed with a white hospital gown and some needle attached to my arm. But I thought I had died, how could I be alive? Ze held onto my stretched out hand and gently stroked it.

"If I'm not dead, what happened?", I asked him and he frowned.

"You swam out too far and couldn't get back to the shore so I called for the lifeguard", he told me, "He saved you, you threw up and passed out. They brought you here, attached that needle to your arm to hydrate you and let you rest. I was so worried you'd drown, Anthony, it was so painful to watch and not be able to do anything to help you".