Phobia

[Chapter 7]

Aichmophobia- Fear of needles or pointed objects

“She shouldn’t be awake for another hour or so.” I heard a voice say. It was deep, so it had to be a guy. He didn’t sound upset or angry or anything related to any kind of strong emotion. He just sounded like he was informing someone.

“She needs to wake up now,” the second voice definitely sounded angry. I didn’t have the nerve to open my eyes in case I drew attention to myself, so I assessed the situation.

I was lying on a bed. At least, I thought it was a bed. The room was cold, even though I was underneath a blanket or two. But how did I get here? Images flashed through my mind quickly, answering the question I had barely thought. The two guys in black had smashed the windows of Jack’s truck and – then what? I couldn’t remember anything after that. Although, the pounding in the back of my head suggested I was probably out cold from hitting it against the dashboard. Who were the guys in black? Were they who the two voices belonged to? Where was Jack? Where was I? I realized asking myself these questions were a waste of time. I soon decided I knew less than I was comfortable with, and I wondered if I showed the two men that I was awake, would they help me?

Probably not, especially if their first impression was kidnapping me, I hastily thought.

However, if I pretended to sleep for the rest of my life, I’d get nowhere.

Ankylophobia- Fear of immobility of a joint

I slowly opened my eyes, but immediately squinted due to the harsh lighting. Was this some kind of hospital? I moved my hand to cover my eyes. Only my hand didn’t move. I was restrained to the bed. Just like my other hand and legs were. There was also an IV sticking out of my arm, sending a bolt of alarm through my body. I was reacting to my fear of needles. They were lucky I wasn’t awake when they had first put it in because I would have put up a fight.

“With how hard she hit her head, she could be out for a long time, Zak,” the neutral voice spoke again. It sounded like he had said this many times before and the second voice – Zak – was being a nuisance.

“Yeah, but she’d been in and out of consciousness for two days. I think it’s time she wakes up,” Zak didn’t sound pissed off anymore, just tired.

I slowly opened my eyes again. The room was white. Very classic. I was still in my clothes from the date, and I said a silent prayer of thanks. These guys stripping me and putting me in different clothing would have seriously caused some damage to the already high level of anxiety pulsing through me.

“She’ll wake up,” the softer voice said. He had his back to me. He was tall with sandy blond hair and wide shoulders, but his demeanor didn’t scream ‘Run away! I’m capable of kidnapping and murdering you!’ No, it more or less screamed ‘I’m a doctor.’ I still wasn’t comforted by the idea of this new revelation, though. I deemed him innocent. Not responsible for my kidnapping. Although, not completely innocent if he was helping Zak and his partner.  “After all, her mind is her worst enemy now.”

I shuddered, not knowing what he meant by that. And Zak saw.

“You’re awake!” His voice didn’t hold any of the anger or even exhaustion in it earlier. No, he sounded… relieved? Happy? Hopeful?

The “doctor” turned around and I immediately recognized him, but I didn’t know why. I quickly looked through my memory for his face, but I couldn’t find a specific day where I had met him. He noticed I was studying him, and averted his gaze. What was so familiar about him? He was older than me, but still young. Later twenties, maybe. His face was smooth, no hard edges. His eyes were a amber color, the reddish brown complimenting his tanned skin.  It seemed like he was someone who smiled easily, but in this situation, his face looked somber and sad. Zak interrupted my observing when he quickly moved to the bed. I tensed.