Gone Too Far (SamandColby)

Chapter 14: Awake

Colby was discharged as soon as someone from his surgical team came in and checked on him.  He was told that he needed to stay off of his ankle for 4-6 weeks, and that they would follow up with him in four weeks to see how it had healed.  He was instructed that he could just do what pain allowed him in his wrist.

Unfortunately, It didn't change much for them.  It just put all three of them in the waiting room, waiting to hear when they could go see Sam.

It was terrifyingly nerve wracking.

Colby shifted in the wheelchair, staring at his ankle.  His thoughts were racing, worrying about Sam.  Sam was alive, they knew that.  But he might not be... okay.  Like who knew what the blood loss had done to him.  Or all that time he'd been practically dead on the floor.

And of course, they had no idea how badly the demon had fucked him up.  If there was even a Sam left after the demon had finished with him or the exorcism had.

"Family of Mr. Golbach?"

Colby's heart jumped up into his throat when he heard the question. He glanced at the girls, seeing similar trepidation in their faces.  Fuck...

They all got up to go and see Sam.

OOO

Waking up this time wasn't like the muffled claw to consciousness he'd experienced before.  There was a distinct moment when his breath slammed into his lungs, and he was suddenly aware that he was awake.

He was awake.

He was awake and...

Fuck, his chest fucking hurt.

He flailed a hand to get at it.  He felt bandages under his fingertips.  Bandages and tape and...

And then it redownloaded.  The demon, the possession, hurting Colby and trying to kill himself...

He pulled his hand into his line of vision.  His hand moved as he willed it, and he couldn't stop the emotion that welled in his throbbing chest when he could move his hand freely.  He searched in his mind, digging for where the demon had been but...

There was nothing.  Nothing that felt anything like the demon.  It was gone.  He was alone in his own head, he was...

Fuck... it was gone.  He was free.  He was fucking free!  And he'd survived.  Had the exorcism worked?  Had killing himself banished the demon?  Had...

And then movement in his peripheral caught his attention.

He glanced over to it, noting the background of the hospital room as a sort of subconscious information.  There was something standing by the window, something that looked as whispy as a light curtain, something that shifted back and forth in front of the glass.

It was almost human looking...

"Samuel?" And his state was broken by someone asking his name.  He jerked his head to the source of the voice, finding a female nurse looking at him.  "You awake, sweetie?"

"I... what?"

He stumbled through the post op checks, glancing between the nurse and the object in the window.  She caught the direction of his gaze after she'd paused to chart, and asked him, "What're you looking at over there?"

Sam looked at it again.  "There's something in the window over there.  What is that?"

She glanced over to where he was looking.  "What do you mean?"

"The white thing?" He pointed, careful not to dislodge the IV in his hand.

She looked a little confused, but tried to mask it.  "There's probably spider webs.  The cleaning crew doesn't get up here very often."