[ the first book in the drops of sunshine series ]
For some, being a hero means saving a life. For others, it means making your mark on the world. For AJ Hood, it means being sarcastic and fighting monsters while illegally skipping out on your cult...
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~ ☼ ~
I woke up with a head-pounding jolt.
I was in some type of makeshift hospital, lying in a surprisingly comfortable cot, my head propped up on a stack of feather pillows. Immediately, my mind went to the worst possibility - I was dead, and this was heaven. So I lifted my arms, curled and uncurled my fingers, and felt my pulse - all showing that I was very much alive and kicking.
Okay, maybe not kicking. My head hurt a little too much for any martial arts. That being said, I was stable enough to wonder where in the world I was.
There were a few other people in the place - whatever it was. A girl wearing a hijab was getting her ankle wrapped by a boy my age across the aisle from me, and a few cots down from her an indiscernible lump of a person was sleeping under what had to be a million covers.
Who were they? And if I wasn't in heaven, where was I? Kidnapped? What was I doing here, anyway?
Then, I remembered everything. My strange dream. And before that... me burning my hand, finding a sword, attacking some mutant monster, and blacking out in front of the entrance to a summer camp. Maybe that's where I was.
Surely it was just a normal summer camp, and this was its first aid tent, and everything I'd seen yesterday was just some dehydration-induced fever dream.
But what kind of summer camp found an unconscious girl and didn't take her to the police?
Before I could think about it more, the boy-medic-guy across from me turned. When he saw me, his eyes lit up and he immediately came to my side.
"You're awake," he said, almost breathlessly. He ran a hand through his hair, a short golden brown. "I thought you'd never wake up!"
My lips parted. How long had I been out? And why did this stranger care?
"Where am I?" I asked, my voice raspy.
Instead of giving me an answer, the boy pursed his lips and looked around, seemingly worried.
"Where am I?" I repeated, trying to be firmer this time. But my dry mouth failed me, and I ended up coughing - once, twice, thrice.
"Woah, easy does it." He went over to a bedside table and started shuffling through the items on top. "You're coming out of a concussion. You need to stay calm."
"A concussion?!" I exclaimed, which only made my head ache more. "How long have I been out?"
