The sun seemed to pierce through Mara's eyelids, her hand coming up to cover her eyes instinctively as she let out a tired groan.
Mara took in a deep breath, attempting to swallow, the dryness in her throat making it difficult. Her limbs were tired, yet weirdly not as sore as she expected them to be. The events unfurled came flashing back, and in a second Mara's breath hitched, her eyes shooting open. She instantly regretted it, the bright rays of the sun beaming down on her mercilessly enough to temporarily blind her. Her hand came back to shield from the light as she looked around, fear in her eyes as they shifted from wall to wall and object to object.
The girl crawled back as best she could, her legs tangling themselves around the blanket that currently covered her bottom half. Mara winced when feeling a slight sting on her left arm. Upon looking down, she froze in place when noticing a needle—an IV—pierced through the inside of her elbow, connected to a long and thin tube. Upon following the tube, Mara's eyes were met with an IV bag in which a clear fluid sloshed around, prompted to by Mara's hectic movement.
Mara's heart was erratic, adrenaline once again pumping through her veins and her brain telling her to run, to leave before anyone came. However, now that she sat up against the bed frame, the weakness in her limbs heavily weighed her back down. Mara took a look around, realizing that she was indeed unaccompanied within the warm yellow walls of a quaint room. A window sat on the other extreme, the blinds opened and revealing the rays of sunlight that suddenly weren't so bright anymore. A harmless lavender pot sat on the ledge of the window, bright purple flowers basking in the sun with leaves a healthy green, almost stretching towards the sun happily. The faint smell of lavender was pleasant, aiding in relaxing Mara's stiff muscles.
Mara looked to her sides, the bedside tables accessorized with medical equipment Mara knew nothing about. A couple feet beside her sat another bed, clean yet slightly unkept as if someone had previously lain in it. An abstract painting hung on the wall across from her, warm colors splashing against the canvas and offering consolation. Then finally, at the farthest corner of the room were Mara's belongings, her bag propped up against the wall on the floor. Her belongings were all present, as far as she could see. This eased her a bit more. However, as comfortable as she felt in the room, Mara couldn't help the nervous tension in her body. Turning to look at the door, not knowing who would walk through it was anxiety inducing.
Mara listened as faint, muffled voices could be heard nearby. They didn't sound familiar, nor did she expect them to.
I'm still alive and that's the weird part.
Mara expected to wake up in the afterlife after the events unfolded the night prior. She expected to see her dead self mounted to a wall along with every other victim the cult-like group had captured. What she didn't expect was to be alive, covered by a blanket in a comfortable bed with an IV needle sticking out of her arm.
I'm not in a cave either.
Mara glanced at her wrists, noticing that they still appeared thin, however her skin had returned to its healthier complexion . She was still too afraid to look in the mirror in fear of what her face would look like. Mara brought the blanket up passed her hips, using it to shield her entire body except for her head.
Just then, the door knob twisted and creaked, startling the girl and causing her eyes to widen drastically. The door whined as it opened, a tall figure entering the room and making his presence known. Mara stared with fearful eyes, watching as the male, a tall, black-haired man donning a calm expression and casual clothes strolled in. He nonchalantly came to Mara's bedside, which caused the girl to flinch back. This seemed to startle the male as he jumped in shock, letting out a loud gasp with eyes just as wide as Mara's. He blinked rapidly at her, finally noticing that the girl was awake and staring directly at him. The male seemed to be at a loss for words, his mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water before he finally stuttered out,
"Oh God, you...you scared the shit out of me," he breathed out. He pushed aside a strand of his dark hair from his face, seeming to calm down and his once raised shoulders relaxing as well. Mara remained speechless, hiding herself behind the blanket only for her eyes to peek from above. He made note of this and took a step back, raising his hands to appease her. He softly frowned and then placed a hand on his chest.
"I'm not here to hurt you, I promise," he reassured, words softly spoken as if being too loud would cause the girl to shrink back under the blanket. She was still on edge, gripping the blanket tightly as if it would protect her from imminent danger.
Mara felt a drastically different aura from the male before her. His eyes were a dark brown but his gaze held no ill intentions—from what she could see—nor did he come off as extremely invasive. He attempted to give the girl space, something Mara realized and appreciated. The male was quite tall and yet he didn't loom over her oppressively. Until that moment, he didn't portray himself as a menace, but the girl retained paranoia in her jittery limbs and foggy memory.
"This morning you were still unconscious so I was just coming in to check how you were doing," he softly stated, lowering his hands and offering a gentle smile paired with glowing rosy cheeks. Mara deeply sighed at the gesture. He remained in place, motioning to her as he continued, "But now you're awake, and we're really glad you are."
We?
Oh no, is he one of them too?
Oh God.
His friendly expression faltered and his brows furrowed, "We found you just outside our walls, and it looked like you were being chased by some pretty bad people."
Mara felt her heart drop with relief, her body instantly losing its stiffness as she fell backwards towards the bed with a sigh. It explained the change in setting and the ease that Mara felt when introduced to someone new. She couldn't quite fathom what she had been saved from, nor that she had been saved altogether. She'd been at the brink of death as those savages attempted to corner her into submission. She was in shambles and easy to take advantage of.
Mara shivered when recalling the numbness that nearly drove her to end her own life. If that gun had been loaded, she wouldn't have been laying comfortably in a warm bed.
I'm trying to decide if that's a good thing.
"You were also severely malnourished, and that's probably why you were in a coma for a week," he spoke sympathetically, worried eyes staring at Mara.
The girl froze, sitting back up out of shock, croaking voice gasping out, "A week?"
The male seemed relieved to hear her talk as he sighed, his smile returning.
"Yes, a week. I thought you wouldn't wake up at all, you seemed so peaceful sleeping," the male wondered, distracted momentarily by his own thoughts before suddenly speaking again.
"We'll, is it okay if I...come close and check a few things? I'll be as quick as possibly so you don't feel uncomfortable," he reassured, testing her comfort as he inspected her. Mara paused to think for a second, feeling no sense of urgency or dread when he stared at her, waiting patiently for an answer. He seemed to be a very patient person.
Mara nodded slowly, removing the blanket from herself as the male approached slowly. He waited for Mara to settle into herself, watching as she sat back against the wall and gave him the go ahead with a glance of her eyes. He approached and with gentle, surprisingly soft hands, he lifted her arm and positioned it in order for her palm to face the ceiling. His slender fingers checked the placement of the IV in her arm, and Mara anxiously looked away when noticing the needle protrude out of her skin. She wasn't scared of needles, but they made her a bit nervous.
There was a silence that followed, to which Mara asked, "What's your name?"
So much for names being irrelevant.
"Jin," he smiled, "My name is Jin."
"Jim, nice to meet you," Mara mumbled, attempting a small smile but lacking the energy to maintain it. Instead it morphed into a tight lipped twitch.
"With an 'n', sweetheart," Jin chuckled. He seemed to have appreciated her poor attempt at a smile.
Mara blushed, "oh."
He slowly brought a thermometer up to mouth-level, looking up at her expectantly, "Say 'ah'."
She waited patiently in another quick silence as Jin proceeded to check the saline bag beside her. His brows were pulled in focus and she occasionally glanced at him, watching what he was up to with curiosity. The thermometer suddenly beeped, and Mara opened her mouth for Jin to take it from her mouth. He did so carefully, taking a look at the readings and smiling triumphantly.
"You've been doing very good this morning. Seems like your body was preparing to wake you up today," Jin praised, appearing to be very pleased by her steady recovery. Mara mirrored his expression, a warm feeling spreading in her heart.
"Am I safe?"
Mara doesn't quite know why she whispered, but her agitated self refused to speak too loudly. Jin's cheerful expression dimmed, and Mara could sense the concern. She couldn't grasp the thought of being in good company, away from danger and being watched over—taken care of. It felt like a dream, and Mara pondered if she was truly alive or somehow in heaven—if that was even a thing.
Jin nodded, frown prominent on his face. Mara felt guilty for upsetting him.
"Yes. You're safe with us. They won't hurt you," he reassured. Mara nodded slowly, seeing her vision grow blurry. She blinked the tears away before smiling up at Jin.
"Okay good. I just...didn't think I'd be alive right now," Mara whispered, "I've been so tired. I lost my friend a while back, and I've never felt as lonely as I did after he died." There was something so dependable about Jin, and Mara couldn't quite put her finger on it. She watched as he sympathetically nodded, tight-lipped as he zoned out in thought for a second.
Jimin, I wish you would have just listened. That way you would be here with me.
"Being out there alone is not easy. And I'm sorry about your friend. I've been there too. It's hard to cope, especially when the world is more fucked up than it was before," Jin recounted, and he seemed to understand every single word from her mouth.
"Those people are monsters," Mara rushed out in a hushed voice, hurriedly covering herself back up with blanket, comforted by being entirely wrapped in the soft material. Jin watched quietly, eyeing Mara's nervous behavior as he replied.
"I don't know too much about them, but they've been a problem for us for a long while," he sighed, "They don't come too close to our walls, though. We have the means to wipe them out, but we don't really see the need to cause more problems."
"There's just some evil that you have to get rid of," Mara gravely spoke, gaining Jin's attention as he blinked in surprise.
Mara slightly frowned, "Earlier you said 'us.' Who is 'us'?" She curiously asked. The sudden change of topic appeared to throw Jin off as he struggled to reply.
"Oh um...yeah. Yes. I belong to a group," he nodded, "Maybe when you feel better we can talk to them and you can introduce yourself," he then seemed to hesitate, "But just don't-" Jin stopped completely, Mara waiting expectantly for him to continue. Guilt flashed across his eyes as he momentarily paused, thinking hard about what he was about to say.
"Yes?"
Jin shook his head, waving his hand dismissively with a smile, "We can worry about that later," his smile faltered, "When...When you feel better."
"Oh...okay," Mara whispered.
Worried, Mara tucked herself under the blanket, feeling safe, but also hungry and thirsty. At the mere thought, her stomach rumbled audibly. Mara cowered further into the bed, scrunching her eyes in embarrassment. Jin chuckling lightly.
"Right, thanks for reminding me," he quipped, raising his index finger pointedly in the air, "I've got soup cooking for you. I was going to ask if you were hungry but I think I have my answer already," Jin playfully winked, earning a smile from Mara. The girl bore bashful red cheeks, and this seemed to make Jin relax.
Soup? Mara thought, no way!
He walked backwards towards the door as he said, "I'll be back in a bit. If you feel really groggy and want to take a nap, that's completely okay. It's normal to still be tired after waking up from a coma. I'll make sure to wake you up, so don't worry too much about waking up on time. I can always reheat the soup," he reassured, giving her a thumbs up and a gentle smile.
Mara returned the smile and lifted her hands to give thumbs up, "Okay. Thank you. So much," she genuinely spoke. Jin silently accepted her gratitude with a nod, briefly closing his eyes as he did so before turning towards the door.
"I'll be back."
After having mentioned sleep, Mara did feel a creeping drowsiness that weighed down on her lids. She laid back comfortably, taking the time to look out the window. It was then that Mara noticed the walls a distance away from where she currently was. Only having been in this room, it was hard to gauge how large the building she laid in was. She could only guess a tiny home from the decor, but her guess was not confident.
Mara marveled at how close she had been to other people while wandering the forest completely alone, and feeling so, as well. She'd feared wandering too far into the forest which lead to her completely missing an entire group of people.
Mara watched the bright blue sky and the trees that peeked over the wall, as curious of what was over the wall as she was when first running into it. Thinking back to that helpless moment made her heart painfully drop. Though she was inside the safety of the walls, Mara still had to be careful with who she was inside the walls with. Despite meeting a very kind stranger, there were still others. She had to be wary, she had to be alert. She couldn't let her guard down just because they were nice.
Gotta...Gotta stay awake, Mara thought to herself. Her eyelids, however, betrayed her as they bore heavily over her eyes. Mara attempted to blink away the haze, the wave of lethargy that washed over her body.
I'll stay awake with my eyes closed, Mara told herself.
The girl couldn't hold back from letting her eyes shut, her mind drifting into the unknown darkness in which dreams felt tangible yet chaotic.
Mara woke up in the middle of a dream, vision blurry and still dazed, wishing for more sleep. However, the ache in her back from having laid on it for far too long prompted her to roll over to her side. The girl did so extremely slowly, getting comfortable on the bed. The blanket over her and the duvet underneath cozily absorbed her body, her skin reveling upon laying on the cold side of the bed. The pillow was about as airy as a cloud, her head finding it hard to lift from something so plushy.
Mara noticed that the bed that had been previously vacant, was now inhabited. There was a silhouette just across from her, their backs towards her as they sat facing the window at the far back. She could make out the dark hair that glistened with the rays of a setting sun. Mara followed their line of vision, also watching the sky begin to darken. Their shoulders moved up and down slowly, their breathing relaxed. Mara doesn't remember what clothes Jin was wearing but she lazily assumed it to be him.
She didn't quite know how much longer she'd closed her eyes for sleep, but it beckoned her for some more.
Too sleepy to really ask any questions, and not really paying too much regard, Mara simply let her eyes close again. Her body melted into the bed, tranquillity spreading throughout her entire body.
Mara awoke again, this time by a light shake of her shoulders. Her eyes creaked open, a softly smiling Jin taking up her vision as he stared down at her.
"Time to get up and eat," he coaxed, "I brought soup."
Mara took some time to register her surroundings, eyes passing over every detail she'd earlier noticed, her eyes then going to the window. Mara was surprised when noticing that the curtains had been pulled over the window, completely blocking out any view of the outside world. Within a room that should have been plunged into darkness sat a lit candle, one that dimly lit the room but created a soft, bearable light. It was oddly soothing.
"You slept the day away, missy. Time to regain some of your energy," Jin teased, "Gotta keep ya awake longer than thirty minutes."
Mara's stomach growled, and she sniffed the air that had been permeated by a rich smelling broth. The girl sat up eagerly, which caused the male to chuckle.
Mara could almost cry tears of joy.
"I'm only giving you broth today. I don't know how weak your stomach is but I do know you haven't eaten much...," he paused, "it's okay if you don't want to say why. I know it's scarce out there." He didn't direct his sympathetic stare at Mara, instead aiming it at the soup. He quickly covered his concern with a smile, setting the soup on the nightstand before bending over to take something from under the bed. He pulled out a small wooden board, extending out its short legs and placing them on either side of Mara.
A small table.
He then placed the bowl inside of a corresponding dent, where it was sturdily held in place.
"Alright, I'm not sure if you have enough energy to feed yourself," he muttered, seemingly to himself.
Mara raised her arm, feeling a slight weakness at every movement but masking it with a tight lipped smile. She picked up the spoon, feeling his eyes watch her every move. Mara took the spoon and guided the broth to her mouth. The spoon shook in her hand, the broth spilling over onto her clothes before she could put most of it into her mouth. Mara was incapable of feeding herself, and this elicited frustration as she set the spoon down, not looking him in the eyes.
"I got it, no worries," Jin brightly reassured, gesturing to the bed with a more soft spoken question, "May I?"
Mara nodded timidly, Jin moving to sit at the edge of the bed beside her. Mara was embarrassed, and her cheeks turned red. She felt so powerless and pathetic at the fact that she was too weak to feed herself. However, Jin seemed to hold no contempt for what he would do next, not even a slight hint of annoyance shone in his brown eyes. Jin had been nothing but kind and generous, which lead to him quickly gaining her trust. A bittersweet thought crossed her mind as she remembered having to gain Jimin's trust those several months ago. Having been hurt and lost, the boy could only really rely on her. Despite having nowhere to turn to, he had ended up in good hands. Mara now found herself in the same position, now having to really on Jin and hoping that she was in good hands.
I really miss that guy and his brattiness.
"Don't beat yourself up about it. We've all been there," he reassured, staring into her eyes and speaking just above a whisper yet sternly so that Mara could believe him. Jin carefully fed her, tongue slightly poking out in focus as he did so.
Mara could only nod.
It was awkward at first, having someone spoon feed her, but she got passed the feeling when the first taste of steaming broth hit her tongue. She hadn't tasted anything that good in a very long while, and her deprived tongue was over the moon at being fed actual food.
"Good?" He asked, amusement in his voice paired with a small smirk. The girl wasn't being mocked in any way—she realized—but instead he was innocently teasing her.
Mara sighed contentedly, "Very."
Mara couldn't decide if either Jin had no mean bone in his entire body or if he had won her over simply by treating her like many others had failed to treat her—
humanely.
Her instinct optimistically settled on both.
——
Hey there you guys!!
We have now introduced a new character into our book!!! 0.0
Let me know what your fave part has been so far!!! I'd love to hear what you guys think as well!!
<3
wethenaive