Genius Species

Chapter 9

With a sudden, violent start, Jane was thrust back awake. It was as if her soul, having wandered in the wilderness of her nightmares, was yanked abruptly back into the confines of her physical form. A gasp tore from her lips, the first breath of her new reality tasting sharp and sterile.

She found herself in a room crammed with intense brightness that seemed to pierce her soul, making her squint. The room was a direct contrast to the dark hole of her dreams, as blinding as the sun after a long, moonless night.

The air was thick with a unique scent that was comforting and disturbing. It smelled of a nursing home, a mingling of antiseptic cleanliness, faded flowers, and the underlying, inescapable note of age and frailty.

Intertwined with this was the abundant odor of hand sanitizer, its robust and alcohol-based aroma a grim reminder of her current predicament.

As Jane attempted to lift her head, a dull throb echoed through her skull, each pulse a painful reminder of her recent ordeal. Her muscles protested, heavy and sluggish as if bound by unseen weights. The soft rustle of movement reached her ears, followed by a voice, gentle yet firm.

"Ma'am, I need you to stay down," the voice implored, a soothing balm on her frayed nerves. The woman's tone was professional yet laced with an underlying concern. "Please, tell me your name," she added.

Jane's mind swam with confusion, the woman's words swirling in the fog of her consciousness. Yet within the disarray, one thing was clear. She was no longer alone, lost in the sea of her nightmares. She was back in the waking world, a reality that was just as daunting yet held the promise of help, of healing.

"Where am I?" Jane's voice was barely a whisper, the words slipping past her lips as her eyes fluttered open.

The figure before her, a police officer named Yolanda, observed her curiously. Her dark eyebrow cocked upward, a silent question mark punctuating the air between them. As she replied, a smirk played on her lips, her voice laced with a hint of dry humor.

"Well, sweetheart, I was hoping you could shed some light on that mystery. You're the one who decided to take an unprepared nap in this hospital bed." Yolanda's badge glistened under the harsh hospital lights as she introduced herself. "I'm Officer Yolanda, your guardian angel for this little adventure of yours."

A groan slipped from Jane's lips as she attempted to sit up, her body protesting the movement. Yolanda's hand was gentle but firm on her shoulder, pushing her back onto the crisp hospital sheets. "Hold on there, Jane Doe. You've had quite a ride. Can you remember anything that might help us piece together this puzzle?"

Jane shook her head, a smirk creasing her features as a jolt of pain seared through her shoulder. "No, nothing. I remember going for a run, and then... I woke up here."

Yolanda's nod was thoughtful, her pen dancing across a clipboard as she recorded Jane's words. "Well, we'll need to take your full statement once you're up for it. But just so you know, it's generally not good practice to be discovered on the pavement outside the hospital nursing a dislocated shoulder."

Jane's eyes rolled heavenward in exasperation. "I- wait, what?" Jane sat there in confusion as she was trying to piece together everything that had happened up to this point. "I don't recall lying on any pavement. And believe me, Officer, dislocating my shoulder wasn't high on my bucket list."

Yolanda's smirk was back, her amusement evident. "Well, aren't you a snappy little thing? I like that. But we'll have to dig deeper into this, Jane Doe. So, for now, rest up and let the medical experts do their work."

As Yolanda turned to leave, Jane couldn't suppress the question that bubbled up. "Wait, Yolanda. What's your theory? What do you think happened to me?"

Yolanda's grin was a flash of white in the sterile room. "Oh, sweetheart. I'm a cop, not a psychic. But if you're looking for wild guesses, I'd say it's either extraterrestrial intervention or one hell of a night gone wrong." Her wink was the last thing Jane saw before Yolanda exited the room, leaving behind a wake of unanswered questions and a whirlwind of possibilities to consider.