Soul of the Phoenix

Part II, Chapter I - Reality

Jacob

            The forceful jerk started at my navel. It was not, in any way, a pleasant feeling. The white noise was as persistent as ever, resonating in both my ears. I was surrounded by nothingness again- white everywhere; it was disconcerting.

            Jake? Alex’s voice. I closed my eyes, listening for the sound of her voice again. I could tell that she was worried.

            Jacob... Was she... crying? But Alex doesn’t cry, I told myself. She’s tougher than most girls. But the sound of Alex’s voice wasn’t the sound of a strong person, reassured that everything was going to be just fine. It was shaking and cracked, with hiccups coming every so often.

            Just wake up already! I couldn’t see anything, and the change in Alex’s voice made me frantic. Everything was black now, and I regretted complaining about the space being white before. The darkness was much more threatening, much more foreboding.

            “I want to wake up!” I shouted to the void. A weight had begun pressing down on my shoulders, and my nostrils felt as if ear plugs had been stuck in each one of them. “I want to wake up!” I shouted again, struggling against the darkness, the weight, the suffocation- everything.

            If you want to wake up, then open your eyes. It was the same deep, reassuring voice I had heard when I was in Katherine’s room, except now, it seemed to be smirking at me.

            “I’m trying!” I said angrily. “Can’t you help me? Who are you anyway?”

            Now, now Jacob, you of all people you should know how valuable as a virtue patience is. Your body is still exhausted, and your mind was on a different plane of existence. You must wait. All will be well.

            As soon as I heard those words, light began filling my vision again. Shapes and colors swam into my view, and took their time in settling into their positions. There were faces hovering over me, and I had to blink more than thrice to get my eyes to focus. Even if I was able to distinguish them, their features were still quite blurry.

            “Jacob!” Alex’s face sharpened in focus, and I could see that her eyes were red and puffy. I must have opened my mouth to say something, but because nothing came out, Alex shouted for help immediately. She was wide-eyed and grinning like a madwoman, that I couldn’t help myself from smiling.

            A young woman in a yellow dress came promptly to my side and began checking my vitals. Strangely enough, I didn’t notice any beeping machines, or fluid bags, or wires going in and out of me. I was just lying down in a simple bed, in a simple room.

            Alex must have sensed my confusion because the next thing she said was- “They tend to their sick and wounded differently, here. I can’t really explain it myself, but there were a lot of robed men standing around your bed when we brought you in, and they didn’t leave you until after a whole day had passed. They didn’t eat or drink. They just sat here with you.”

            Maybe it was because I was still slightly confused, or maybe it was because it was so unusual to see Alex in such a state, that what I said next surprised us both.

            “You were crying?” I asked her, my voice hoarse and strange to my ears.

            Alex’s eyes widened. I was about to tell her it was okay, when her eyes narrowed dangerously. “That’s what you’re going to say?”

            I blinked. Oh no.

            In a flash Alex had turned back into her hot-headed self. “Well?! So what if I did cry? What do you think of me? A rock? I’m not a martyr like you, Morgan! So yes, I did cry, but so what?”

            “No... Al, that wasn’t what I was...” I stuttered, groping for words to explain.

            She didn’t hear me anyway. She went on, her voice getting louder by the second.

            “For your information, I cried because you’re a valuable asset to this team, and to this mission. Without you, there wouldn’t be a chance of us succeeding! War would plague this world, and then ours.” She was out of breath when she stopped, her face flushed, and her eyes were drilling themselves into mine.

            “Alex, I wasn’t mocking you.” I told her simply, watching as the irritation she felt slid from her face. “I just wanted to know.”

            Taking in a deep breath, she said, “That’s the other thing that gets you into trouble. You and your oh-so-persistent curiosity.”

            I smiled at her, happy that she wasn’t mad at me anymore, and that she wasn’t hurt in any way. I was going to reach for the glass of water on my bedside table, when I couldn’t move my hand. Pushing myself up into a sitting position, I looked down at my hand. Alex, who had noticed my effort, looked down at my hand, too.

            It took a minute for me to register what I was seeing, but it took longer for Alex to realize what we were both looking at. I decided to be the one to break the ice.

             “Umm... Al, your hand...”

            Alex blinked and stared, and then she quickly stood up, muttering under her breath about having to get Jared and Tatiana. She was out of the room before I had the chance to call her back.

            I raised the hand Alex had been holding onto tightly.

            “As soon as the healers left you, Sir, she never left your side. She’s a stubborn, sweet one, isn’t she?” quipped the young woman in the yellow dress. She had witnessed everything, and when she bent to fold the blankets neatly back over my body, she smiled.

            “She never left?” I asked, letting the information sink in.

            “No, Sir. She refused everyone who told her to leave your room. She took all of her meals here, and she’s been sleeping here too, for the last few nights.”

            Bewildered, I asked her how long I had been asleep.

            “Three days and two nights, Sir. You must be very hungry, yes?” Her lilting accent picked up when she realized that she couldn’t just stand there, talking to me. I was under charge, and I was starving. “I beg your pardon, Sir. I’ll go get your food now.” She scurried out of the room, shaking her head, chastising herself.

            But it didn’t matter to me that the food was going to be served late. My body seemed to forget that it was painfully hungry. I opened and closed my right hand, smiling, then leaned back in bed. For the first time since arriving here, I actually felt reassured that we would be able to get through this. I was glad that I had woken up.