Dark Fall

Chapter 24 - Injured

Light. There is light. Where am I? What happened to me? I should know this.

The gentle and regular beeps that reached Terra's ears had a soothing quality to them. She took a deeper breath, hoping that would help her remember. It hurt.

Oww! My ribs! And my head too. I must still be alive. The heaven that Pastor Joseph described would not feel like this. Pastor Joseph. Necros. Will. He saved me!

With a gasp, Terra forced her eyes open, but the light blazed much too brightly, and she closed them again. But on second opening, details came to her through the blurring. A man stood beside her.

Will!

He picked up her hand, holding it in both of his. "Hi." His touch and smile warmed deep parts of her.

She smiled back. "Hi yourself."

"How are you feeling?"

Terra groaned. "Roughed up."

"You were." Will dropped his smile and narrowed his eyes. "What made you try to take on Necros and his goons by yourself?"

Will's chastisement took Terra by surprise, and she dropped her jaw as if a little girl caught with her hand in the cookie jar. "I... I did not intend to fight them. I just wanted to draw them away from the hospital, away from Freehold. They had Liz... Liz! Is she okay?"

Terra bolted up from the bed, then grimaced from the pain and dizziness. Will supported her upper body and lowered her back down. "Easy, Terra. Yes, Liz is fine. She should be here soon." He bowed his head. "I'm sorry. What you did was very brave. But..." he paused, letting his voice drop away. "We almost lost you."

"Will, you saved me."

The warm smile returned. "A life worth saving."

Worth. Joseph also said I was worthy. Am I really?

Terra pushed those thoughts aside. There were so many questions she wished to ask, but her mouth was so parched. She reached for a nearby cup and water pitcher, but it laid just out of reach. Will waved her off and poured a cup. As he handed it to her, fingers touched, sending a warm tingle up Terra's arm and straight to her heart. For an extended moment, eyes held eyes.

"Thanks." Terra shook away the feeling and took a long drink, soothing her throat, then asked the question that burned most in her mind. "How did you kill Necros so easily? He was one of the most powerful Talents in the world."

Will looked away. "Let's talk later when you are feeling better."

He is evading me again.

Terra gazed at the wires and tubes connected to her body — an IV connected to her arm, oxygen supply under her nose, and standard medical monitoring cables. Other tubes that ran under the bedsheets — a chest tube, and probably a catheter.

A knock on the door interrupted Terra's medical treatment assessment. Liz rushed over with a huge smile to give Terra a gentle hug.

Ginny stopped at the doorway and folded her arms, drawing her eyebrows down. "Well, look who woke up. It's about time."

Terra tilted her head. "How long have I been out?"

Liz answered, "Over two and a half days."

Terra's jaw dropped and eyes widened. "What? That long?"

Sitting on the bed beside her patient, Liz responded. "Terra, you were in a bad way when Will brought you in. Multiple broken ribs with a punctured lung, epidural hematoma and likely a concussion, a nasty laceration to your thigh, and so many contusions and scrapes. We put in a chest tube to re-expand the lung. The hematoma seemed to be stable, so we didn't operate on it, since you may be better able to treat it yourself, anyway. We still need to assess the extent of any concussion. How is your pain level?"

"Definitely hurts, my chest and head."

"We can give you something for that."

"Okay." Terra wrinkled her forehead as she examined her surroundings — more a bedroom than a medical facility. "This is not the hospital. Where am I?"

Ginny motioned about the room. "My house. You were at the hospital for a day, then we set up a treatment room here in my spare bedroom. Seeing as how you and Will took out the Dynasty's Chief Enforcer and his entourage, it didn't seem wise to remain at the hospital very long. They will figure out something is wrong soon enough and send someone to investigate."

Liz cast a knowing wink. "It would seem that some unknown hooded man brought in a severely injured woman and then left with her a day later, despite our pleas that she should remain in the hospital. Somebody saw them heading east out of town."

Will cut in. "This should interconnect with the hooded man legend and make it that much harder for them to investigate."

Terra lifted her eyes to his. "Then I gather you are this mysterious Hooded Man."

"Well, partly." Will shrugged. "Many of the stories are false or exaggerated. The legend took on a life of its own."

"Did any of Necros' team survive?"

Liz answered, "Yes, a woman. She is still in the hospital with chest trauma, but she is also suffering from severe psychosis. I don't think she will be of much help to a Dynasty investigation."

"Psychosis?" Terra turned to Will, and he nodded while pointing to himself. She let it drop.

Terra addressed everyone. "I do not know how long it will take for them to find out Necros is dead, but once they do, this town will swarm with Dynasty officials. Their investigators are not very bright and they get bogged down with bureaucracy, but they make up for it with sheer numbers."

Ginny nodded. "I have some people watching for them. In the meantime, Terra, you need to focus on rest and healing." She pointed at Will and narrowed her gaze. "And Will, you need to give her some space so she can. We don't need any bed leeches around here."

Before a protest escaped his lips, Ginny grabbed Will's arm and pulled him out the door.

Liz stood and grasped Terra's hand. Moisture formed in her eyes. "Terra, if you had not... I don't know what they would have done to me. You risked your life for me and nearly died for it. You could have turned the other way and no one would have blamed you. I owe my life to you."

Terra put her other hand on Liz's arm. "No Liz. Necros was after me. He did those terrible things to get to me and would have done much worse. So you see, I was the cause of it all." Terra continued before an objection passed Liz's lips. "I know, it is not my fault, but I was a cause. It is best for everyone that you do not know why."

"Terra, do not put this on your head. You have done wonderful things for me and this community under impossible situations. Your actions reveal a brave, compassionate heart. Do you remember Joseph's sermon on the fruit of the spirit? Maybe the spirit is working through you." Liz winked. "Oh, you should know that Will was at your side the whole time. It was only now that Ginny could pry him away. Get some rest and I'll have some food sent so you can regain your strength."

As Terra's eyes tracked Liz walking away, a realization came to her.

These people. This town. It has become my home. But the Dynasty will keep coming for me and the Uprising will not easily let me go. And Will. If it becomes known that he is the Hooded Man, they will come for him, too. Ginny was right. I will have some difficult decisions to make. This is far from over.