When All is Lost

Chapter 11

Blindly, I kept on going, unable to see, hear, or think beyond the loud gasping sounds I was making. I didn't even know where I was going. It was like I was in some kind of dream, detached from everything happening around me.

I was halfway through the parking lot before I realized I was outside. I had no recollection of how I got there. I just knew I'd fallen to my knees and was having a hard time getting up.

Something grabbed me. It might have been shaking me, but I couldn't tell. Everything was blurry.

"I got you."

I tried to match the voice to a face but, before I could, I succumbed to the urge to rest, letting the world go dark around me.

---

Pain.

I gasped awake, feeling overwhelming pain radiating from my chest. It was agonizing.

"Shh, I'm almost done." The voice was calm and soothing, such a stark contrast to what they were putting me through.

I could feel the tears leaking out of my eyes, but I didn't have the strength to open them. I was trapped in my own body by my weakness, unable to fight the person off. The pain came and went in sharp pulls that left me sweating.

One particularly hard tug to my chest made me cry out. The person was torturing me and I couldn't fathom why. I couldn't even find my lips to tell them to stop.

A warm hand dabbed the tears off of my cheeks. "Just a little more. I promise."

The pain got worse again. I wanted to scream and thrash, but could only endure. My breathing sounded like panting to my own ears. It was too much. Evidently, my body thought so too because it finally granted me the bliss of oblivion.

---

The next time I woke up, it was with a pounding headache. I raised a throbbing hand to my eyes to block out the blinding light that shone through my eyelids. Slowly, I opened my eyes, blinking a few times as they adjusted.

I was laying on a large bed in an unfamiliar room. The room was decorated in shades of grey and blue, making its furniture look clean despite the dust I could see dancing in the sunlight. I tried to sit up, but darkness crept at the edge of my vision when I was greeted abruptly by stinging pain.

Trying not to panic, I made myself just focus on assessing my body. I had pants on, so that was good.

But no shirt.

I had to work hard to not start hyperventilating. I was still wearing my bra. Its straps had been pushed down my shoulder to make way for the giant bandage wrapping that went from my right shoulder to my left armpit. The cut under it was aching something fierce. I hurriedly pulled the blanket higher to cover my chest.

My hands throbbed with use, making me realize that they were also tightly wrapped and done so with obvious care. I tried to think about what had happened, but it was all jumbled up inside my head. I made another move to sit up, breaking out in a cold sweat from the strain.

"Don't do that," Ian's tired voice came from the doorway. He stood in it with his arms crossed, his gaze unrelenting.

"What-" I crossed my arms across my body, my voice coming out gravelly and hardly above a whisper. I licked my dry, cracked lips and tried again. "What happened?"

Ian stood up straight, giving me a chance to really look him over. I let out a small breath of relief when I realized he looked no worse for the wear.

"You nearly died," he said, unblinking.