The Descendants Series Vol. 1

Chapter 16

Chapter 16

I was back to reality, but I felt really stiff, like I hadn’t been able to move for a really long time, which was exactly the case.  I heard loud noises, shouting, but I couldn’t open my eyes to see what was going on.  I couldn’t even open my mouth to ask.

I tried to swallow, but something was blocking me.  I started gagging until they pulled something – probably the breathing tub – out so I could breathe on my own again.  I started coughing, which made my body ache.

“How did this happen?  There wasn’t even a pulse.”

“It doesn’t matter now!  Get the IV back in.  And take the tube out!”

I felt a prick in my arm and an oxygen mask being put on my face after the breathing tube was pulled out.  I still wasn’t able to speak or look around.

“Reagan, can you hear me?”

The voice came from right beside my head.  I knew who it was, I just couldn’t answer her.  I felt another prick in my arm and I was instantly sleepy.  I fought against the heavy fog that threatened to cover my already hazy brain so I could get some sense of what was going on.

“What are you doing?  She was waking up!” 

It was Remy.  I just knew it was.  And there were tears in her voice.

“We need to sedate her just in case her injuries were worst than we thought.”

“What injuries?  She looks perfectly fine to me!  And you didn’t know what was happening to her before!”

“We don’t know if anything has happened to her brain, especially since there was so little activity before.  Since she didn’t have oxygen for a few minutes, there could be more.  It’s even more dangerous because we didn’t know her condition before, just like you said.”

“But is this really necessary?”  That was my dad asking.

“She needs to come around so we can see if she’s okay.”  That was Remy again.

“We need to access her in a different way, one that we can control.”

I couldn’t make out any more words.  The fog that had slowly spread through my brain had covered everything, leaving me in darkness once again.

My head was finally clear.  I didn’t know how long it had been, but I didn’t care.  I could finally lift my no longer heavy eyelids.  It was bright, too bright for me to keep my eyes open for a length of time.  I had to let my eyes adjust before I could take a good look around the room.

Of course there were monitors everywhere beside me.  But instead of showing a flat line on one of them, it showed a heartbeat that was steady and strong.  There were flowers and ‘Get Well Soon’ balloons everywhere around the room.  And in a chair across the room, Remy was sitting, staring out the window.  She was definitely looking better.  Her hair was washed and she had on clean clothes, which I was pretty sure she was thankful for. 

“Remy,” I said in a hoarse voice I hardly recognized.  How long had it been since I talked?

She sat there, still staring out the window.  Maybe she didn’t hear me or maybe she had heard my voice so many times in her head that she thought this was just like then.  I cleared my throat and tried again in what hopefully was a louder voice.

“Remy,” I said.

Her head swung around in my direction.  Her eyes grew wide in astonishment.  She got up from her chair and walked slowly toward me, her eyes locked on mine.  She stopped at the edge of my bed.