Apnea

Unwelcome

As she floated through the blackness, her thoughts came sluggish and slow. Who... was.... that? Time had no meaning in this place, but she didn't care. Although she could still think, there were no voices telling her of her past mistakes. No emotions, no pain. It was the closest thing to bliss she had ever felt. She wanted to stay. But something was dragging her up ever so slowly. She realized resisting made it worse, so she allowed herself to come too. When she did, the pain had significantly lessened. Her emotions and thoughts were still sluggish and slow, giving her a moment's reprieve from them. 

Old training made her do a mental check of her entire body, which she wishes she didn't. 

As far as she could tell, her head was fine but still muddy. Moving down, her throat was rough and scratchy, desperately wanting to cough. Holding it in, she started on her chest. That's where most of the pain was coming from, and every time she breathed, her lungs screamed at her. The brief image of that man flashed in her head when she realized the hole in her chest had been sealed, although it didn't feel like stitches were used. The area around the hole felt hot, as though a match was burning from the inside. Checking the rest of her body, she realized she was hooked up to an IV of some kind, dripping cool liquid into her veins. Both of her legs seemed to be intact and useable, except for some muscle pain. During this time, her brain had cleared, and although she could feel and think again, she was too focused on her current situation to let any past memories force themselves in.

Before opening her eyes, she listened to her surroundings. A quiet beeping sound was coming from her left, but besides that, all she could hear was her own breathing. Something thumped above her, causing her to open her eyes before she wanted to. 

The room wasn't bright, but it wasn't dark either. Squinting, she tried to let her eyes adjust. Once they did, she saw the light source was a singular hanging bulb. As she opened her eyes further, she realized she was in a room that had concrete walls, floor and ceiling. The flood seemed to have a dingy rug thrown over it, going from beside the bed to a door. A solid metal door.

She tried to move, tried to get up, to do something! She didn't know where she was, but she sure as hell didn't feel safe. As she struggled to fight through the pain and sit up, the beeping picked up.

A heart monitor? Why didn't I notice that before? The thumping above her stopped, then it seemed as if someone was running before the sound faded. Not even a second had passed before the metal door swung open and the same blue eyes bore into her.

Managing to sit up after biting her lip through the pain, the girl took stock of the man in front of her. He was tall, a little taller than her if she had to guess. His skin looked like it had been stapled at some places to hold the burnt pieces together. He was wearing a long vest that had short sleeves and a white shirt. Black pants and black boots that stopped mid-calve. His face was slightly disturbing, with his jaw being burnt along with under his eyes.

Fucking insomniacs. She almost scoffed at that thought, but it died as she looked into his eyes. Such an electric blue, unlike her own dark blue ones.

"So, the little girls awake. About time."