Those In The Forest

Part 82: Reagan

Pain. So much fucking pain. My body is on fire. I feel like I might actually combust.

          I can't open my eyes; they're swollen shut, but I can feel my body moving on its own. My bones were resetting themselves, but not in their normal position.

          Light murmuring came from behind the door. It was them. Listening in on me.

          I don't understand.

          I died. I felt my heart stop, my body shut down, my last breath. None of this should be possible unless I were in hell. The pain pulsing through my body is furthering the idea that I may actually be suffering in hell.

          "They are close. She needs to hurry up so we can move her," the woman whispered. She sounded so close to me like she was right in my ear, but I couldn't feel anyone around me.

          My ankle snapped in place. "AAAHHHHHH!!!" I screamed into the empty room. What the fuck is happening? This isn't normal.

          My spine snapped in like it was concaving. Every snap of my bones had me screaming for my life.

          I tried. I tried so hard to scream through the bond. To scream for my mates, but I was too weak. Nothing moved through the bond, only out my mouth.

          "She has to survive the shift first. We don't know for sure that she will." Alan's voice was sinister and close.

        Shift?

          I couldn't question that for long. Every bone in my body felt like it was trying to escape from my skin like I was trying to escape from my very own body.

          It hurt so fucking back. I fought it, or at least tried. Every time I moved on my own accord, another bone popped out of place, causing me to scream at the ceiling.

          Slowly, every so fucking slowly, my eyes opened. I was met with the same dimly lit room; glancing down at my hands, I saw my fingers curled in an unnatural position.

          "AHHHHHH!!" My scream turned into an unfamiliar noise to me. Almost like a... growl?

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Bryce walked into the room after me. She sat next to me on the bed.

          "Out of curiosity, you five have washed the sheets, right?" she said, looking over the bed.

          I let out a tiny laugh, wiping the tears from my face. "Yes," I croaked. You and your clothes are safe.

           She was trying to cheer me up, and I was grateful for that.

          She reached out, taking my hand in hers. "How bad did it hurt?" she asked carefully.

           I pulled my bottom lip between my teeth, trying to keep from crying. "I didn't know what was happening to me. I think that's what made it hurt worse. Confusion with pain mixed in was not a good combination." I said quietly.

          "Did you really... kill someone?" Bryce asked tensely. Not scared or anything, more just worried.

          I didn't want her to see me as a monster, as someone never to be trusted again. If I really did lose my mates, she would be all I had left. I didn't want her scared of me.

          I turned to her. "Would you hate me if I said I did?" I asked, scared of her answer.

          She squeezed my hand. "All of this has been a lot to take in. I'm still processing a lot of it, but Reagan, I would never hate you. I believe that if you did that, it was for a reason."