City of Fire

Chapter Fifteen

"Ilona"

Someone was shouting her name...

She felt something cold underneath her and her back was sore, as was her head. She groaned, forcing her eyes to open and looked up at a white ceiling. Then a face appeared before her eyes. Tidus towered over her, his face covered with concern and the smell of burnt hair filled her nostrils. She grimaced, trying to sit up but her head was swimming.

"Ilona, Ilona are you alright? What happened?" He asked and his voice was too loud. It made her skull vibrate and she pressed her hand to her temple.

"Shut up," she mumbled and he blinked and Ilona managed to sit up. She shook her head, another groan escaping her lips and glanced at Tidus. He was on the floor with her, his legs spread and she realized that her back was against his thigh. His arms were around her, supporting her and she blinked when she saw the holes in his clothes and that the aroma of burnt hair was coming from him.

"What are you doing?" She asked while looking at his face. It was slightly bruised and his bottom lip was split. "What happened?" Her voice was foggy, as if her ears weren't working. Ilona looked back towards the window, trying to remember what had happened before she'd hit the floor but it was empty.

Like a giant black space inside her memory...

"I came in here and you were like this," he looked at the shattered window. "Did Zane do this? Did that jerk—"

"No, he didn't." Ilona dimly wondered why everyone always blamed Zane but she slipped out of Tidus's arms. She felt her stomach twisting but she stood, little sensations flooding her brain.

Smoke...

Flashing light...

They seemed to be little parts attached to a memory, and it was a memory that her subconscious didn't want her remembering. She tipped and Tidus was beside her, steadying her.

"What's wrong? Something's wrong, you look like your gonna puke." Tidus observed and Ilona glared at him.

"That's because I am," she replied weakly and just barely managed to get to the trashcan before her stomach came up her throat. She heard Tidus groan but felt his fingers along her neck as he grasped her hair to keep it out of her face.

How nice...

The thought popped into her head as she heaved up her insides but finally she was done. Her whole body was shivering and shaking and she collapsed onto the ground, bile filling her mouth. Tidus smoothed the rest of her hair out of her face.

"Here, I'll get you some water." Tidus whispered and crossed over to the nurse's wash station. He grabbed a paper cup and filled it with water. He also wetted a towel and came back over to her. He knelt down in front of her and Ilona felt her stomach tighten once more but she ignored it.

"Drink some," his voice was surprisingly soft and Ilona took the paper cup from him. She swirled the cool water around in her mouth and spit it into the trashcan. Her throat was raw and her head was pounding. Tidus seemed to sense this and placed the towel on her forehead. She gave a soft sigh of appreciation and took another sip of water. It helped get rid of the taste of bile and she wanted to curl up on the bed and go to sleep but the look on Tidus's face was keeping her from doing so. He kept looking around, his eyes showing his worry and she frowned.

"What's the matter?" She asked and he snapped his head back around to look at her.

"Nothing, we should just get you home." He stood and offered her his hand. She eyed it before reaching out and taking it. He pulled her to her feet and she tottered as her stomach jumped around. He steadied her but before Ilona could ask what he planned on doing he was dragging her from the nurse's office.