Recluse

Chapter 27

(So, today I'm going through previous chapters of this story and editing them for grammar/spelling mistakes. So you may get multiple notifications saying that I've "updated Recluse" but really, this is the only update you'll be getting today

This chapter goes back in time a little bit and shows Niall's point of view from the moment he wakes up in the hospital :) Hope you like it)

Niall's POV:

At first, I'm not aware that I'm actually awake.

Then I realize something.

How am I thinking and controlling the content of my thoughts if I'm not awake?

I must be awake.

But where the hell am I?

Maybe I'm in heaven. Maybe Jeffrey got his wish. Maybe I died.

But if I was dead, you'd think death would be more exciting than this. All I see is blackness.

Blackness... My eyes are closed?

I try to open them, but I'm too weak. Fuck, why am I so weak?

Oh yeah. Jeffrey...

I try to suppress the horrid memories, but they overwhelm me like a tsunami flooding a defenseless village on a coastline. He tied me to a table and chopped me up as if I was a fish he caught for dinner. I shudder at the memories.

I try to move my hands. I freeze in sheer disgust when I remember something.

In total, I now only have 5 fingers.

On my left hand, only my ring finger, middle finger, and thumb remain. On my right hand, only my index finger and middle finger remain.

I regain control of my remaining fingers before I can even open my eyes. I wiggle them around, feeling my surroundings.

I'm on a bed. But where?

Is Jeff still alive? Has he tied me to this bed to torture me some more when I awake?

That thought is what keeps my eyes from opening. And I'm not exactly thrilled to see what he has done to me.

Baby steps, Horan. I go from wiggling my fingers to wiggling my toes. It takes me a minute to realize I only have one foot...

I feel like I'm going to fucking throw up.

I need to know if Jeffrey is alive or not. More importantly, I need to know if Madison is alive or not.

Madison.

The second her name pops into my thoughts, my eyes are open. Fluorescent artificial lights instantly blind me and I groan. I throw my hands over my eyes to shield them, but I'm suddenly repulsed by my lack of fingers. I defeatedly allow my hands to drop back onto the hospital bed.

"Wow... Good morning, kid. Congrats, you're alive." A male nurse greets me, grinning madly.

I attempt to sit up, but to no avail. My body is so weak...