𝐭𝐡𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 & 𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 ϟ 𝐩𝐚𝐮𝐥 𝐥𝐚𝐡𝐨𝐭𝐞

chapter two

bad company

when Tama awoke, she felt, different. She couldn't describe it exactly but she just knew she didn't feel the same. Sure, she still felt the stinging pain in her face from being hit so many times. The back of her head and entire face throbbed as she came to but,

"Tama? Tama!"

Her mother cried tears of joy, hugging her daughter as soon as she saw her heart rate pick up for the first time since her arrival hours ago. Tama's eyes fluttered open but shut again, groaning at the harsh overhead lights.

"Can you turn the lights off, please?" Her throat was dry and, it hurt to talk. A lot. She cleared her throat and her mother instantly reached for the water next to her bed, helping her up.

"How do you feel?" Mitena asked gently, holding her daughter up with one hand while she held the plastic cup to her lips while she drank.

Tama coughed, moving the cup away from her mouth before she frowned. "What happened?"

Her hand lifted from under the thin blanket that was lazily thrown over her, gingerly touching her head. She winced upon contact with her still bruised scalp and her mother reached forward, moving her hand away. Just then, the doctor entered, Chief Swan coming in right behind him with a pen and a note pad in his hands.

"Hey kid," he said, a tight lipped smile adorning his face as he looked over the teen he had known since her birth. Seeing her in such a vulnerable position made his blood boil and he gripped his pen tighter. "How you feelin'?"

"Like I got electroshock therapy or something," she admitted, finally finding the strength to lift herself up properly, politely declining her mother's help.

"What do you remember?" The doctor, who she knew as Dr. Cullen, said, at the same time as Chief Swan. They shared an awkward glance before they both returned their gazes to Tama.

The teenager was quiet for a moment, frowning as she struggled to think, racking her brain trying to remember how she landed in the hospital. "I just remember taking out the trash...it was raining. Then I just saw a flash of light and nothing. That's all I can remember."

Dr. Cullen offered her a comforting smile, ignoring the disgusted stare that was being sent to him by Mitena. "It's okay, that's common after the body has suffered immense trauma. You were struck by lightning, right in the heart. It's a miracle that you're alive, Tama."

Chief Swan cleared his throat awkwardly, causing Mitena to glance down at the floor as she frowned deeply, blaming herself. "We also found uh...someone else. A man; Thomas Wells. He was pretty close to where we found you and judging by the scene and the other bruises on your body it's safe to say..."

Tama touched her face, suddenly remembering being struck in the face repeatedly by said man, shivering at the memory. She looked at her mother, who whispered apologies to her daughter over and over, going on about how she should've pressed charges beforehand or how she should've heard her knocking from the shower. "What's going to happen to him?"

The three adults exchanged looks, wondering who was going to be the one to tell her. She was looking directly at Chief Swan though and he sighed. "He died, Tama. He was struck as well but, he wasn't lucky like you."

She nodded, removing her hand from her cheek, not looking at anything in particular as her mind drifted off. "What about the others?" She asked, earning shocked looks from her mother and Chief Swan.

"Others?" he repeated questioningly, stepping forward so that he was standing at the foot of her bed. He offered a quick glance to Mitena and looked away just as fast. "We only found the one, at the scene."