Entombed in His Desire

Chapter 15

(I do not own the images to these stories.)

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It was nightfall as she ran towards the cliffs, the full moon's rays had shone a path for her in the darkness. Her warm tears were streaming down her face. As she kept on running, she could hear him calling out to her. "Mer Ek!"

But it was no use, for he was not going to change her mind. She loved him and wanted to be with him; and only him. However she knew that their love could never be. For he was not the only one who desired her.  As she came to the edge of the cliff, she looked down. There was nothing but sand and jagged rocks below. Her heart began to pound at the thought of the painful death that awaited her.  A death that she was about to bring upon herself.

So she just stood there, frozen; wondering if she was even capable of taking her own life in such a horrific way. But if she couldn't be with her beloved Bassel, if she had to be with—

"Mer Ek!" she heard his voice call out to her. "Please don't do this, I am not worth it!"

She turned around and saw him running towards her from the shadows. Her heart skipped a beat, as more than anything she longed to run into his arms; to be held by him forever. But she knew he wasn't coming for her. He was coming to take her to the one who had already claimed her. Saddened by the very thought of it, she cried back to him.

"No! If I cannot be with you, then I shall be with no one else!  I thought you loved me!"

"I do love you!" he exclaimed, as he kept running towards her. "Even enough to let you go!" 

And that was all she needed to hear. That was what finally gave her the strength to leap to her death. She closed her eyes as she felt the wind of the cold desert night embrace her. As she was now ready to let death itself embrace her as well. She then cried out to him one last time. "Then letting me go is the fate that you yourself have chosen for me!  Goodbye, Bassel!"

And with that she leaned forward, and let gravity take her towards the ground below. As she was falling, she heard him call to her one last time. "Mer Ek! No!"

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Amanda awoke with a gasp as she shot up in bed.  She was in a cold sweat as her heart was pounding, her body was shaking, and she was heavily breathing. The dream had seemed so real; she actually believed that she was falling to her death.

It was at that moment when she looked at her surroundings. She wasn't in her room; she was in a hospital. What the hell was going on?  How did she even get here?  Amanda immediately threw off the covers, as she wanted to get out of bed and try to find out what was happening. But as she did, she realized that she had a catheter inside of her.

Why was she having to urinate into a bag?  She hadn't been hurt that bad in the accident. Amanda decided her best bet was to push the button that would call for the nurse. Upon doing so, she wondered how long it was going to take. She remembered visiting Carla in the hospital a few years ago, after Carla had an appendectomy. It seemed that whenever Carla tried to get a nurse, it could take a good ten to fifteen minutes.

But no sooner had that thought entered Amanda's mind, when one came running in. The woman's eyes were wide, as she seemed to be panting. For some reason the nurse was acting all excited, as she breathlessly answered Amanda's call.

"Oh thank God you're awake!"  She then turned around and called out to someone in the hallway. "Inform the doctor that Miss Addington is awake!  And notify her family at once!"

The nurse then turned her attention back towards Amanda. "Are you alright, dear?  How are you feeling?"

Everything was happening so fast, that Amanda wasn't sure how to even answer her; or even what to say. She was barely able to come up with the simplest response.

"I-I'm fine. What's happening?  How long have I been here?  Where are my parents? I have to call them and let them know that I have been in an accident."

"They already know sweetheart." The nurse replied. "We're notifying them right now that you are finally awake. They don't live far from here, they should be along shortly. And your uncle is already here, he just went down to the cafeteria to get some coffee."

That doesn't make any since. I've just been in an accident, and my parents aren't even here?  The only member of my family at the hospital right now, is my Uncle Rob?

"Oh thank God!" a man exclaimed. Amanda looked up and saw her Uncle Rob standing in the doorway. His eyes were wide, as they began to well up with tears.

Puzzled by the entire situation, Amanda immediately tried to get some answers. "Uncle Rob? What's happening?  How did I get here?"

"You were in an accident sweetheart." Her uncle replied.

"I know that." She told him. "But the other driver was drunk. After he slammed his car into me, I think he was going to kill me.  If that panther hadn't mauled him to death."

Her uncle just furrowed his eyebrow, as he appeared to look at her in confusion. "Sweetie?  What are you talking about? And how did you even know that the other driver was drunk?"

"I could tell that he was drunk by the way he was acting." She answered. "He threatened me and told me to get out of the car, and when I didn't; he smashed my window with a rock."

"Amanda, the man was killed on impact." Her uncle informed her. "His blood alcohol level was 3.0. I'm surprised he was even able to drive. He already had two previous DUI's and a suspended license. So I just want to reassure you that neither his death, nor the accident was your fault. That being said, even if he hadn't been killed on impact, I doubt he would have been able to walk from his car over to you; let alone pick up a rock and smash your window. Plus I saw your car after the accident. The front was severely damaged, but your driver's side window was intact.  I think you were dreaming. You got a concussion when your airbag improperly deployed."

"No." Amanda insisted, as she cried out in frustration. "I wasn't dreaming, and the man did want to try and kill me. He was mauled by a panther. I saw it! I swear!  I couldn't have had a concussion from the airbag, because it didn't deploy!  What the hell is even going on? I was just in an accident today!  I have a catheter shoved up inside of me, and my parents aren't even here!"

"Sweetheart, they were here the entire time the first couple of nights that you were hospitalized." He told her.

Amanda froze upon hearing that. Just how long had she been unconscious? Right before she asked, she heard the sound of someone knocking. Amanda, as well as everyone else looked towards the door. A man in a white coat, with a stethoscope around his neck soon entered the room. He was what Amanda could only assume was the attending physician.

As he walked over to Amanda, he looked at her and smiled. "I'm glad to see that you are finally awake. We were afraid that it was touch and go there for a while. Your vitals for the most part have been steady, we were just waiting for you to finally wake up."

Not sure that she could take any more surprises, Amanda broke down and cried. "I am so confused.  Please doctor, just tell me what happened; tell me what's going on."

"You had a concussion brought on by the accident." He informed her. "You were unconscious when the police found you, and you have been in a coma ever since."

Amanda's heart stopped, as she felt her jaw completely drop to the floor. Did he just say that she had been in a coma? Even though she wasn't sure she even wanted to know. Amanda knew that she needed answers. She then closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

"How long was I in a coma?" She asked. Slowly she opened her eyes and looked up at the doctor. He looked at her, as if to be studying her. His arms were crossed, as he held his clipboard to his chest.

His answer came much quicker than it had actually seemed.

"You have been here in the hospital for the past two weeks.

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