Inhabited

Chapter 2

Voices are garbled in my ears. There's a dull throbbing in the back of my head and the rest of my body is tingling, probably a way to keep me from feeling the pain. As I lay here, letting my mind spin, trying to connect the pieces, the noises around me being to sharpen.

There's screaming, shouting, fear laced words that shriek through the words. A whirring sound is somewhere nearby. It sounds dangerous. I can't tell if it's in my head though. It could be. Maybe it is.

I feel paralyzed. My body doesn't want to move. Though I'm sure moving isn't a good idea.

"Fawn!" The shriek hits my ears as the first solid sound.

My back arches slightly as I draw in a sharp gasp of breath and release it, my lungs rattling at the effort. My fingers curling, digging into dirt. Dirt? Why is there dirt beneath me?

"Fawn!" Maisie's voice is clearer now, her voice cracking as she tries to locate me.

We're two years apart in birth. As the only girls, we grew up sharing a room. We fought, we screamed in each other's faces. But there's just something about spending years with the same person in the same room that tightens your bond with them.

Three older brothers and two younger. Five boys also helped in strengthening our bond. We had to rise above them, to not let them bully us just because we were the girls.

Ryder is thirteen. The infamous age to really start his journey in life. I was six when he was born. I was nine when Ayden was born. They're the babies of the family and very well know it.

They stayed home. They have a different father then Maisie and I do and we have a different one then the older three do. Seven kids, two fathers to deal with. No wonder mom says we're her little clan.

"Fawn!" Maisie's voice sounds desperate now.

I try to open my lips, but as they part, a warm gush of liquid spouts out. I sputter, heaving out garbled breaths of air. My body shakes and as my eyes open, green, blue, and brown spin above me. My nails scratch at the ground, digging into the dirt. Why is there dirt?

Feet pound on the ground, scrape across it. Shouting ensues, screaming grating at my ear. A baby shrieks somewhere nearby. Not like before though. This time, it's full of pain, confusion, not being able to understand.

Then it hits.

Everything at once. It slashes at me like a knife and shoots through my body in quick succession. It wipes out the tingling sensation and blows out the fog drifting through my mind.

The pain ricochets, hitting everywhere.

I sputter again, this time knowing that it's blood leaving my lips. My back sears the worse, burning intensely. A cry leaves my lips and I blink furiously, waiting for the image to clear up above me. The trees snap into place, with bits of sky peeking through the branches and leaves.

"Fawn!" Nate's voice enters my ears this time.

I still can't answer. I'm prisoner in my own head right now.

Rushing footsteps skid to a stop.

"Nate!" Seth's voice this time. "I found her."

I want to turn my head, to look, but my neck feels so stiff.

Something thuds next to me and then fingers press against my cheeks. Pain shoots through my face and I tug my head out of the grip, blinking again as a wave of dizziness curls over me.

"Fawn?" Seth's voice breaths, shaky in worry. "You're alive. Thank god, you're alive."

I blink again and cut my eyes to him. He's hovering me, a blurred image with the sun peeking through the patches of leaves above.

Scuffling footsteps tells me the arrival of someone else and their drop to the ground says they're at my side... somewhere. I can't look though. I can't move my head. I close my eyes, letting out another ragged breath of air, coughing.

"That's not good." Seth's voice cracks. "Nate—"

"I know, I know." Nate says quickly, his voice tight. "I need to find the source though."

It isn't coughing up blood he's talking about. I have enough sense to know that.

"Sully." I breathe out, finally forcing my lips to move.

"Don't talk, Fawn." Nate orders gently. "But he's helping, he's fine. I promise." The last two words are spoken warmly, not in confusion.

Does he know? I honestly wouldn't put it past Nate to know more then he lets on. He always knows more then he should. Which is probably why he's good at his job.

"I'm going to turn you over, Fawn, okay? I need to see the damage."

My eyes flicker open and I shift them to the opposite side of Seth, just taking in the shape of my oldest brother. He avoids my gaze and dips his head. I feel the pressure of his hands on my side and let out an unwarranted cry, heaving in sharp gusts of air.

The air itself tastes so sweet. So untainted. In the city, it's a mixture of food lying at the bottom. Gasoline and chemical fumes hang heavily on top of that. Then there's the scents of all the people hustling and bustling everywhere. Body odor, caked in perfume, alcohol, coffee, any and all of it.

Here, none of that exists. It's sweet, tangy, and bitter all at once. I've never tasted anything like it. I don't know how I'm supposed to feel about it.

The pressure on my back is alleviated, but I have a feeling it's temporary. Just for a moment, but it's better then nothing. My body sags and I feel the trickle of exhaustion seep over me. I want to go to sleep.

"Nate," Seth says tightly.

I feel the peel of my shirt from my back and the brush of his fingers over my skin make me shiver. The pressure returns as I'm lain back down and a whimper escapes my lips. Fingers press against my temples and my eyes open again. Nate is bent over me, searching my face.

"Don't go to sleep." He warns softly, his breath bristling over me, momentarily taking away the sweet scent of the air. "Do you understand me?"

"Mmm." I agree, too exhausted to form words.

"Is she okay?" Maisie's voice breaks through.

Nate's head draws up and bobs in my warped vision. "She was hit in the back and she might have a concussion."

"She's going to live though?" Sullivan's voice makes my heart race wildly.

My body jolts and my mouth fills instantly. I spit, desperate to clear my airway, but my lungs tighten. My heart beats in my ears, trying hard to pump oxygen that doesn't seem to want to come. My body writhes and I heave air, every intake shooting flares of pain through my chest.

"Turn her on her side!" Nate demands.

Again, the pain lessens in my back. My body jerks and I spit out, taking in the sight of the red spewing as it splatters in front of me on the ground. I'm grappling for air, my vision pixelating as I feel the pull downward. Shouting ensues, panic in their voices. We're missing Grayson. Where's Grayson?

I blink, trying to keep a grip, but I can feel the pull down. I shift my gaze, catching familiar brown eyes. Sullivan stares at me with an expression I've never seen etched across his face before. Fear.