A Spellbound Promise

Chapter 23

Darkness. That was all I could see. It cradled me as I waited patiently for something to happen. It has been a couple of hours at the very least. There was no way to tell time here, time was both infinite and non-existent. The light shines brightly in the distance. It hadn't moved an inch toward me, but it didn't move away either. It hovered and glowed. It looked peaceful and warm, comforting. I ignored its calls. If it wanted me, it would come to me. I watched it like a movie, imagining it was the sun in every fond memory. I would run in circles as I had nothing better to do. I counted to a thousand more times than I can count on one hand. Math may come in handy in eternal darkness. I played with my fingers and toes, and my hair too. I stared into nothingness. I am neither cold nor warm. I'm not tired or energized. I wouldn't say I was hungry, but I wasn't full either. Everything is in the middle and stuck there. No matter what I did, nothing changed. Life in the darkness is the definition of dull.

I looked up at the darkness above, laying down waiting for something, anything to happen. I had no idea what was happening outside of the abyss. Had the others given up? Could they be taking me back to the base? What about the kidnappers? I assume they had erased their memories. Whatever they did, I trust them. They made the call they made for a reason. I will continue to hold onto our last few moments together. Their faces are a beacon, my way back home.

The light in the distance vanished into thin air. The dark abyss was becoming brighter and brighter. I began to feel things again. My heartbeat was slow, gradually becoming faster. I could feel my arm moving across my ice-cold skin. I could see things again. The abyss transformed into objects, things I could actually touch. I looked around at my blurry surroundings, watching things become clearer and clearer. A white tiled ceiling was above me. I was lying down on something I recognized. Bushes of blurry colors sat around me. A faint beep became clearer as I slowly started to move. Something was stuck to me. Whatever it was, the feeling was unbearable. I searched for what was stuck to me, moving my hands up and down my body. The beeping grew quicker as I searched for what was sticking to me. I couldn't find it, I couldn't get it off. I was uncomfortable, it was driving me mad. I ran my hand over a bump in my shirt and pulled on it. A small pad was on the other end of a wire. I started to find more and more as my vision became clearer. A few counters and a table sat across the room, two white coats hung beside them. Bottles and syringes were scattered across the counters. As I pulled the last pad off, the beeping sound fell to one long beep. Pain enveloped me. The sound echoed in my head. I wanted to stop it, stop the pain, stop the noise. I tried to force myself to get up, but my legs were as stiff as logs. Two large doors swung open, slamming into the wall. Five blurry figures rushed through the doors like a herd of elephants, stopping as they reached the end of my bed.

"Off! Off! Turn it off!" I yelled in pain.

One of the blurry figures pulled a cord from the wall as I lowered my hands.

"I am so glad you're okay!" said Dallas as she embraced me, I hugged her back. "I missed you so much, we all did!"

I looked around at the others, tears in their eyes. I didn't understand what all the commotion was about. Something wasn't right. I felt the back of my head. There was no longer a gash. Instead, a scar was covered in growing hair. I felt my side, expecting to wince as I touched the open gash. My clothes were new and clean. My hair was pulled back.

"I don't understand. Why is everything so... okay? It has only been a few hours, right?" I looked around as everyone passed looks. "Right?"

"It has been two months," Dallas said as she took a seat at the end of my bed.

"No," I said laughing, drawing out the vowel. "You're just messing with me. It has only been a few days at most." Their faces told another story. I really was gone for two months. "You aren't joking." A single tear rolled down my cheek.