Can't Control

Chapter 23: Denouement

Samara's POV

I opened my eyes, but it took a while for them to adjust and focus properly. Well, eye, since I couldn't see out of one of them at all anymore. I slowly traced my fingers up to my right eye and felt a thick gauze pad in place. It didn't hurt when I pressed into it lightly with my fingers. In fact, it didn't feel like anything. I figured there was no going back from here; my eye was probably gone at this point.

I was in a room I didn't recognize. It was white and sterile-looking, like a hospital room. There was a large window to my left, and it was dark outside. Pitch-black, actually, and I could see the stars in the sky as I peered out. This room had a lovely, unobstructed view of the mountains in the distance. It was an interesting contrast seeing something so beautiful after being involved in something so gruesome.

As I started to move, pushing myself up with my arms, I realized how much pain my body was in. My lower left side pulsed with pain and so did my right shoulder as I situated myself into a seated position. That's when I noticed Trudgen and Kylo in the room in front of me. Trudgen was passed out on a small, cushioned bench, and Kylo was seated in a large recliner, asleep with his head resting on one of his hands that was propped up on an armrest.

I cleared my throat, as I could feel my voice was going to be a bit raspy when I spoke. Kylo shot up suddenly with a gasp and looked over at me. "Schatz, you're awake." He sounded relieved and nudged Trudgen with his foot to wake him up.

"Where are we?" I asked in a small voice.

Trudgen made small movements as he started to stir. Once he saw that I was awake, they both walked over to the right side of the small bed.

"We're in Ap'lek's building," Kylo said softly with a smile, and he placed one of his hands gently on my leg. "A couple floors below his is where we keep our small care center."

"Like a hospital?"

He nodded. "It's our own private floor, and we have our own on-call doctor who comes when we need him." He paused, painfully, like the next words he was going to say would hurt me. "He stitched you up yesterday."

"I take it they're paid well?" I asked with a grin, trying to lighten the mood. The tension in the air was tight.

Kylo chuckled a little. "Of course."

I paused and sighed, unsure if I was ready to hear the rest. "What happened?"

"What do you remember?" Trudgen asked.

I thought for a moment. I wasn't entirely sure what I remembered exactly, because it felt like some of it didn't make sense if I said it aloud. "I remember being in a big mansion with some ginger guy named Armitage. I remember a lot of tears and shouting. Pain. Then you came into the room. And gun fire. A lot of gun fire. And then I felt weightless, almost, kind of like that feeling you get on an elevator when it moves too fast. But that's pretty much it."

Kylo looked at the clock on the other side of the room. "You've been unconscious for nearly 24 hours. But our doctor was able to bandage you up and remove the bullets from your hip and shoulder and stitch you up just fine. And... uhh..." He made a small gesture to his face.

"Remove my eye?" I asked softly, nearly a whisper. They both nodded solemnly.

"Do you remember what happened to your eye?" Trudgen asked, placing a hand on mine.

I took a deep breath, trying to relax. "Yeah," I whispered, my voice cracking slightly. My body was shaking, and I wasn't sure if it was from my body trying to recover or my anxiety from the situation. "I wish I didn't."