The Berserker

Chapter 32

I couldn't sit still.

Nathaniel was in surgery, Blake was hooked up to so many things I wanted to rip them off, yet I couldn't, and I was stuck on the side, helpless.

The room spun, stretching and compressing in a kaleidoscope of colours. A dull pressure on my skull continued to throb, but I ignored the headache. I needed to be here with Blake. Something touched my shoulder. I slapped it away, seeing scrub blue and white on top.

A doctor.

"Just stay there. And don't touch me." I stared at Blake, the room coming into focus momentarily. "Please."

"Are you okay, Ms. Collins?"

Everything was a blur, like a pre-blackout.

Collins. Why - ? Right. I'm supposed to be dead.

"I hate hospitals." I swallowed. "What happened to him?"

"He should wake up soon. It appears he was given general anaesthesia, so no lasting effects. There may be delirium when your son wakes up, but we'll monitor him closely."

Sweet relief. Blake should be alright. "Good. Is there any other trauma?"

"We'll do scans to confirm. If we knew how he got like this -"

"What type of scans?" I demanded, my glare resting on him. I will dismember him if they so much as touch Blake more than necessary.

"X... X-rays. Potentially an MRI."

"Are those done without injecting anything in the body?"

"Yes..."

"Okay." Inhale. Exhale. "I'm watching you take all those scans. Nothing goes inside his body except the IV fluid."

"Yes, Ms. Collins."

The doctor left, and I could breathe normally again. Sort of. Hours passed, an X-ray scan was done, and the others were scheduled for later since no injuries presented itself. Blake woke up in that time period and started crying. I held him, hopefully calming him until he cried himself to sleep. The doctor assured me it was a natural sleep, and suggested I took a break. I shot him down without a second thought. They weren't going to separate us.

I was numb. Not from sitting too long but just me. Time seemed irrelevant, and sleep was fitful. Fear kept me awake, watching, waiting for when someone would walk in and try to hurt Blake. It tore at me that I had no way of being able to protect Nathaniel at the same time.

"Ms. Collins?" My head snapped up, eyes straining against the light from the corridor. A doctor. What was the name? I couldn't remember. "My name is Dr. Rivers. I'm a psychiatrist -"

"Get out!" I shouted, immediately on my feet. Those people messed with my head. I wasn't letting them do the same to Blake. "Out! Now," I growled, advancing.

She stumbled backwards, and I squinted at white light as I followed her out, only stopping at the entrance.

"Don't come back," I warned, then paused as nausea hit me. Everyone swayed back and forth, like they were paper flapping in the wind. I tried to shake it off, clear my head, but nothing was working. Dr. Rivers appeared beside me, and I snarled, smacking her away. "Don't touch me. I won't let you -"

The world rotated, and I noted absently that something wet was under my face. Limbs were heavier than iron, unresponsive to my insistent demands to move. Shadows hovered over me, blocking out the light. No not shadows, I realised as unconsciousness dragged me under.

I can't leave Blake ... I can't ...

I had to tell them, but my tongue wouldn't move to form the threat. Death had come for me, remarkably colder than anything I ever experienced. Images fluttered across my vision, sweet and peaceful I forgot all about the ice in my veins.