Falling Between the Notes

(UPDATED) Chapter 2- Recovery

Was it trauma that was making me laugh so much? My body was still shaking. I had one friend on each side to support me, but the dizziness had set in again, and I was starting to feel weary. I continued to laugh, wiping the streaks of tears from my flushed cheeks.
"We need to get her to the hospital." I heard Natalie's voice faintly, half-awake. I peered downward to notice that Louie was walking beside us, growling at anything that moved. I hadn't ever been more thankful for that dog than I was tonight.
    "Hannah, what in tarnation happened to you?" Dessirae queried, which for some reason felt hilarious to me.
    "I...uh...I met the person in the photo." I mumbled lethargically, glancing down at the scratches and cuts. My sense of comfort flickered, while the realization of what happened finally began to set in. "Oh my God, I met the person in the photo!" I shrieked, putting my hand on my neck and running my fingers across the teeth marks and indented skin. When I held my hand in front of my face I saw that my fingers were smeared with my own blood. Natalie and Dessirae attempted to calm me from each aside, though I was still trying to comprehend why I was alive.
    "It was a kid." I started, unsure of how to explain. "But- it wasn't." I trailed off, sighing. "I-I don't know what it was..." I groaned, wondering how ridiculous I sounded.
    "A kid? W-why'd they attack you?" Natalie inquired, looking at the amount of injuries that I held.
    "I...Don't know." I breathed, remembering the behavior of the malign child. "She said she needed me." I articulated, glancing around as we walked, wary that she might still be close. I couldn't shake off the feeling that something didn't feel right.
    "I think it's clear she didn't mean alive." Dessirae spoke under her breath, while I nodded like mad.
    "That deer, I'm sure of it...She's the one that..." I thought aloud, trying to pick up the pace to the best of my ability. Each step from that point was demanding in my state of fatigue. It was an exhausting effort even to breathe, let alone walk and speak. I could feel my mind slipping in and out of consciousness in an isolate relaxation, and my body was not far behind.

Natalie and Dessirae flinched upon realizing that their friend had gone limp and still without any warning. Natalie checked for a heartbeat quickly, sighing in relief when she found a faint one.
"She's passed out!" She turned to Dessirae, her eyes widened and perplexed. Dessirae seemed to hold the same expression of panic.
"Hang in there you waffle!" She shouted shakily, assisting Natalie in lifting their friend and hurrying back to the cabin.

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A still figure stood in silence, her eyes transfixed upon the three as they grew farther and farther away. She appeared entranced by them, despite the soft tears that had begun to amalgamate and cascade down the sides of her face. The aching came again, while she began to wipe her face clean of the remaining blood and consume it hungrily.

She sniffed the air, turning to the three teens and giving them a once over before looking back at her own surroundings. There was something about those three that she could not place, holding her back from attacking. It was as if something was familiar about their faces, or the names she heard them calling each other. She crept back into the undergrowth, forcing her gaze away from them.

Treading through the foliage, it was obvious that the pain had begun to escalate at an alarming rate, as it left the girl to pause every couple steps and grimace. No sooner she found walking too strenuous, and found it critical she find a place to rest. Sitting against the trunk of a lofty pine, she resumed holding herself and attempting to ignore the agony.

Distracted by the discomfort, she did not notice the footsteps of someone approaching her. The advancing figure roved through the wood silently, maintaining a formal posture despite the scowl on his face. Mumbling to himself in irritation, he paused his step upon hearing the somber child's whine. Pushing a few branches out of his way, the male reached the clearing where the girl sat cradling herself.