Lost and Alone

CHAPTER 8

I heard beeping. Faintly at first but growing louder every second. It sounded like a hospital meter. I looked around. Everything had a hazy look to it, as though the room was filled with fog. Suddenly I felt pain. I stifled a scream. It jolted me awake. I saw my mother asleep on the couch. My father had his head in his hands.
"What's...what's wrong dad," I asked. My voice was dry and my neck throbbed.
"You're awake. Thank goodness. You had me worried for a while."
"What happened? I feel like I ran into a truck."
"Shh. You need more sleep."
"I am fine really."
"Ah, you're awake now Miss McLaughlin," a nurse said as she walked in, "about time to. You've been asleep for twenty-four hours."
"What!"
"Yes. You received some nasty scratches too. They start at your collarbone area and go all the way down to your elbow. They were about a half a centimeter deep too." She said pointing to my bandages.
That was why the bandage was wrapped around my arm. I moved it and stifled another scream, but this time tears came. It is amazing how much it hurts when you are fully awake.
"How long will I need this bandage?" I asked.
"Well, you are actually healing up really fast. You will always have scars, but you will only have to wear the bandage for another twenty-four hours. I know it isn't my business, but what did you do? I have seen some pretty nasty scratches, but this, this is the worst I've seen in a long while. Last time I saw cuts like those, gosh, it was when the evil one, Sabetha, was at large."
"Who?"
"Sabetha. She loves animals. That's her form of torture. She turns people into animals and attacks them. Its actually a cruel way to live. Her favorite animals to turn into though are coyotes and hawks..."
Suddenly I wasn't listening. A coyote! I got saved by a hawk from a coyote. No it couldn't be. "Do you know what the coyote usually looks like?"
"Yes. It has a regal look about it. It has gray, almost silver fur. The eyes are pure black." The nurse shivered.
"How do you know all this?" I asked accusingly.
"How? How I know this," she lifted up her sleeve, "because I got the same scratches you did dearie." She grinned evilly.
"Dad, get me out of here!" No answer. "Dad!" I turned around. The hospital wall was gone. Instead the dark wall of a dungeon was there. Oh no. I realized where I was. I had been here in a dream.
"I am so sorry to do this to you, my dear. I wouldn't have if your cuts hadn't healed so fast. Only a person of elvish heritage can heal that fast."
I unwrapped my bandage. Oh my I thought. Instead of crusted blood and cuts, I had three perfectly parallel scars.