The rise of the White Widow

"I hate you!"

Alex's pov

As I slowly come to consciousness, my mind feels foggy and my body heavy. I try to speak, but my voice comes out croaky and weak. Confused and disoriented, I look around the room, trying to piece together what's happened. That's when I notice a woman standing nearby, her expression concerned as she speaks to me.

"What happened?" I manage to ask, my voice barely audible.

"Don't you remember, hon?" she responds with a gentle tone.

I shake my head, feeling a sense of panic rising within me. Why can't I remember? What's going on?

As I struggle to make sense of my situation, a doctor suddenly rushes into the room, his face looking shocked and concerned. In a flurry of activity, he begins checking my vitals and asking me questions.

"You...you were brain dead," he stammers, his words hitting me like a ton of bricks.

My heart races as I try to process what he's saying. Brain dead? How is that even possible? I feel a surge of fear and confusion wash over me, and I struggle to keep my emotions in check.

"I was what?" I manage to blurt out, my mind reeling with the implications of the doctor's words.

Later that night

Abruptly, I jolt awake, screaming from a nightmare involving my parents. Tears stream down my face as I take in my surroundings and recall that I am in a hospital of some kind.

The doctor rushes into the room, his face etched with concern as he tries to calm me down. "It's okay, it's okay, you're safe," he says soothingly, placing a hand on my shoulder.

But I can't stop screaming. The nightmare has left me feeling disoriented and terrified, and I'm overwhelmed with a sense of urgency to find someone named Nat.

"I want Nat!" I scream, my voice growing hoarse as I struggle to catch my breath.

The doctor looks puzzled, but he quickly realizes that I'm in distress and he needs to act fast. He calls for a nurse, who hurries into the room and begins administering medication to help me calm down.

As the drug takes effect, I start to feel drowsy and my mind begins to clear. The memories flood back to me in vivid detail, and I remember who Nat is - my best friend, the person who's been by my side through thick and thin.

Tears stream down my face as I realise how much I've missed her, and I long to see her again. "Please, can someone find Nat for me?" I plead, my voice barely above a whisper.

The doctor nods sympathetically.

After what feels like an eternity, but is really only about five minutes, Nat bursts into the room, her eyes scanning frantically for me. At the sight of me, she rushes forward, arms outstretched, as if to scoop me up into a warm and comforting embrace. But I flinch involuntarily, my body still tense with fear from the nightmare.

I look up at Nat, my eyes searching her face for any sign of danger. Instead, I see tears glistening in her eyes, reflecting the overhead lights. Slowly, I begin to relax, realising that she is not going to hurt me. After a few moments, I tentatively open my arms, and Nat rushes in to embrace me, holding me close as I collapse into her arms.

I cry uncontrollably into Nat's shoulder, finally letting down the walls that Dreykov had spent years building up inside me since the day I was born. It feels like a lifetime of pain, fear, and trauma is coming to the surface all at once, overwhelming me completely.

My body shakes with sobs, and I can feel Nat's arms tighten around me, offering a sense of security and safety that I had never known before. Despite my initial reluctance to let her in, I now find myself clinging to her as if she is the only thing keeping me from drowning in a sea of emotions.