Chained - Jenlisa

Capable Job

"Oh," she says, noticing that I'm staring at the side of her face. She moves the longer portion of her hair and reveals a rectangular bald spot by her temple. There's a stitched up wound there, looking raw and ugly. "They wanted to do more to me," she says, covering the area with her hair again, "but I wouldn't let them. I had to make sure you were okay first."

That girl has a lucky streak, I swear. She would get hurt somewhere that no one can see. "The prisoner?" I ask.

Lisa's face goes dark. "Alive, just like you wanted." Which she obviously doesn't like. But then her face falls and she touches my bed softly, by my hand. "I'm sorry I let him hurt you," she says. The absolute hurt in her voice is heart-breaking.

I wiggle my hand towards her, but stop before I can touch her. "It's not your fault."

"It is. I should have known. I did what I could but..." Her gaze falls on my broken leg. "I'm sorry. I was too slow, too late. I should have realized sooner."

Her sad, wet eyes makes my heart hurt for her. She's so sensitive and caring. There's no way I could be mad at her, even if this were her fault. "You did great, okay? You stopped the prisoner from escaping and saved my life. If it weren't for you I would still be out there instead of getting treated here."

Wiping her eyes, Lisa sniffs. "I'll do better next time."

I think that's the best I'll get out of her so I smile and nod. We still have a lot to work on when it comes to her self image.

"Finally awake, I see," a voice says, and then Sandara walks into the room. She adjusts her glasses and approaches my bedside, opposite Lisa. "I bet you'd be out for at least another two hours."

"I didn't peg you as a gambler," I jab. "What are you doing here?"

"Lisa called me when the accident happened. I decided to stay to make sure you woke up okay."

"I appreciate that. How has the General taken all this?"

Sandara shakes her head and chuckles dryly. "He couldn't believe what happened. He expected this to happen with Jisoo and I- which, rude- but thought you'd do this easily."

I glance at Lisa as she scoots a chair closer to my bedside then sits on it, her gaze on Sandara, suspicious.

"There was only a minor setback," I say, returning my focus to Sandara.

"Minor?" Sandara chuckles. "I wonder what you'll look like when there's a major setback."

"Funny," I mumble. Then, "When can I get out of here?"

"Today, if you agree to take the serum."

Ah, yes, the serum. It's an advanced healer, essentially. One injection can set cells regenerating at an advanced rate and have large wounds or broken bones healed within a matter of days, and cuts and bruises even sooner.

"I'll take it," I agree. Obviously. I don't want to be in this state any longer than I have to.

"Great. I'll go get the doctor."

I nod as Sandara leaves, and I'm left alone with Lisa. She's quiet in her seat, pressed as close to my bed as possible without being on the bed itself, but at least her expression has turned neutral. I really don't know how I'm going to handle her over the course of the next few days. I'll be an invalid. My words can do a lot, but they may not be enough if things get wild. I won't be able to chase after her if she leaves the house, that's for sure.

Sandara comes back into the room with the on-duty doctor and I push aside the Lisa problem for the moment. The doctor greets me and checks my vitals before revealing a syringe filled with yellow tinted liquid. He gives me the speech about what it'll do and makes sure he has my consent to use it on me. When that's all said and done I offer up my arm and the doctor finds a vein. A growl from Lisa has everyone pausing, though, and the needle never touches my skin.