The War Satellite

Chapter Seven

Miles

I woke up to people talking around me. I groaned in pain and the voices stopped but soon resumed. I couldn't open my eyes and my back hurt with a pain I had never experienced before. But it wasn't just my back, it was my whole body. Everything ached, a warmth fought it back valiantly. I groaned again and moved slightly. Pain shot through my body, so immense I could barely think.

I stopped moving and focused on breathing. A sharp pain erupted every time my chest rose in a shaky breath. I laid there for a couple of minutes before it became numb and I was able to listen in on the conversation. I recognized Clara's voice,

"-I don't need rest! I can help. More than anyone else and you know that. I can't just leave him!" She said fiercely, I internally smiled and continued listening when I heard another voice join in. I remembered vaguely that it was Jane's voice.

"Emma, we understand, we know how much pain he is in but we can't let you heal him this much. When you lost your memories you lost the stamina you had. You have to regain that endurance and you can't overexert yourself. Now go rest, or I won't let you heal him at all." Jane said almost as fiercely as Clara.

I felt a hand leave my chest and a warmth left me leaving only pain, I groaned and opened my eyes.

I looked up to see Clara and Jane over my bed. Clara instantly reached her hand down to heal me but Jane held it back.

Jane shook her head and a tear rolled down Clara's cheek. I looked closer at her face and saw her brow was lined with sweat and she had bags under her eyes. She smiled shakily and I wanted to reassure her but I couldn't speak or even smile.

The pain was so intense that I couldn't do anything but pray for a release. My eyes drooped and I fell back into the blackness. I welcomed it, anything to make the pain stop.

Before I entered the black interior of unconsciousness I heard a wracking sob fill the room.

Then everything went dark.

When I woke again the pain had lessened and I was able to open my eyes immediately. Clara was sitting on the bedside next to me, her eyes closed and her breathing even. Her hands were resting upon my chest and it seemed like she was asleep except that she kept biting her lip. Her face looked better than it did but I could see it was still red and blotchy.

"Clara, take a break," I said, surprised when my voice came out raspy and unclear. I coughed violently and heaved forward. I was forced backward and water came down my throat quickly. I swallowed and I blinked my eyes quickly trying to clear the tears the pain of coughing had caused me.

I saw Clara beside me and she reached forward and dabbed my eyes with a cloth. Her touch was ginger and kind. I stared at her unable to speak again or even pull my face into a smile. I would've given anything right now to have the strength to tell her thank you and smile. Anything to let her know how much I cared. My eyes drooped again and I was welcomed into the comforting blackness.

When I woke up my neck was craned in an uncomfortable position. A blanket was draped over my shoulder and my hand was resting out of the blanket. I opened my eyes and raised my neck into a more comfortable position. I was surprised to find that I could do it on my own with little pain. I lifted my hand inside the blanket and felt my chest checking for broken ribs. I winced and took my hand away.

To my left where my hand was hanging down, I saw Clara asleep in a chair. Her hand was resting in mine. I couldn't help but smile as I squeezed her hand. In her other hand she held a slip of paper with words scrawled on it. I was tempted to take it out and read it, but I stopped myself.

There wasn't anyone else in the room. I shifted into another position and realized I was in my own room. They must not have a hospital area. I pushed back my blankets and swung my legs over the bed.