Blackguard

Chapter 7 Safe, but not clear

Wow, so I didn't expect to take so long getting up the next chapter. I know this story wasn't as popular as Dark Files, that's why I focused on getting those chapters done first instead of this one. But, here I am now with chapter 7. I was going to wait until I got chapter 8 done before I posted this one, but I couldn't wait and wanted to post it lol. So, hopefully, I'll have another chapter done soon (but no promises.) Enjoy!

"...Nivans."

The feminine voice roused Piers from his dead sleep, sending an electric pulse through the side of his face and down his arm. He groaned.

"...Nivans?" She called again, but he couldn't pinpoint where.

His eyes snapped open. Wincing as the white light blinded him he tried to figure out where he was. Shaking off the sleepy haze, the blurry form of a black-haired woman lingered over his face. "...Catherine?" His mouth felt like a sandbox, and no amount of swallowing helped alleviate it.

"....Nivans?" The voice said again.

The ringing and beeping grew louder and steadier. The smell of antiseptic wafted under his nose, jolting him like smelling salts—

—The sudden movement sent an electric pulse of pain down his face and shoulder. With a hiss, he plopped back down on the warm pillow, wincing, but even that hurt.

A twist of panic gripped him as he realized half his vision was blocked out. Reaching up, Piers probed the bandages.

"Don't touch your dressings, lieutenant." The gentle voice chastised him, and a hand reached over and yanked his hand down.

Through his panic, he nearly forgot what had woken him up. Twisting his head, he ignored the pain it brought and focused on the mystery woman beside him. Confusion splashed over him like a bucket of icy water. "Catherine?"

The woman's blue eyes shifted from her clipboard and onto him.

Not Catherine, he thought.

"Good morning, lieutenant. I'm your morning nurse, Mara. How are you feeling?" Her voice was soft and calm, and the longer he looked at her, the more differences he noticed between her and Catherine. It was at that moment he took in her scrubs and name tag and the hospital room.

"Confused," he said without thought.

A smile touched Mara's lips as she gave a slight nod and returned to her clipboard. "That's to be expected after what happened. How's the pain?"

Working his mouth, it took a few tries before his words slipped past his cracked lips. "My....shoulder and face hurt. W-Where am I?"

"You've been admitted to the intensive care unit at the North American B.S.A.A hospital three days ago. You sustained minor burns to the side of your face, shoulder and arm, and tore a ligament and broke your leg."

His eyes flickered from the cast wrapped around his leg and up to the bandages on his arm. He probed the bandages on his face again, feeling the dampness poking through.

"Your eye will be fine," she said and started injecting something into his IV, and almost immediately, the pain subsided. "No permanent trauma was sustained. You'll be able to get those bandages off in about a week or so."

Slowly, things started to piece back together: China, the attack, the underground lab—

"Where's captain Redfield and the woman—Catherine?" He wanted water badly, but he wanted to know what happened even more.