Helpless [Book 2]

1 || Sensitive

➟ jack
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Beep. Beep. Beep.

The noise brought me to the light. I felt everything before I could see. My legs and arms were bare and tucked tightly into soft blankets. I wore a scratchy material that tied around my back. Something stuck up nose and made me sneeze. My eyes jolted awake, scanning the seen before me. I was in a hospital room. It was small and filled with loads of medical machines and equipment. To the left of me was an open door leading off into a bathroom. Behind that another door stayed shut. A hospital? Why would I be... oh. Oh.

I felt (and heard) my heart skip a beat and speed up. Draos. He was back. Back! Alive and ready to destroy us! My eyes gaze out the open window. Everything looked surprisingly normal. Cars honked their horns outside, a jet flew by at normal speed. Pedestrians walked casually like nothing ever happen. They don't know, I observed, finally pulling the covers off my body. Below me, skinny legs stared back at me. I had been used to them, but now they were skin and bones. How long has I been asleep? I studied my arms and saw that they, too were horrible looking. I swung my legs over the edge of the bed. My lungs felt weak and I thanked the oxygen for keeping me going.

I gripped the IV pole with my weak hand. I took a deep breath and pulled the oxygen from my nose. My breathing stabilized after a minute. Then I lowered my feet to the ground. The hard wood floor was cold and prickled my skin. I stood up, almost falling, but catching myself on the pole. The IV bag swung and my head almost hit the monitor. I gathered my strength and eased my way around the bed to the door opened to the bathroom. Inside I walked over to a mirror hanging above a small sink.

The reflection staring back at me made the line skip again. No way, I thought. The girl had swollen cheeks and sunken eyes. Her head no longer had long red hair and instead it was buzzed and black, with a large scar implanted a few inches above her forehead. Her eyes sparkled as they weld with tears.

I heard the door from outside the bathroom click. Voices entered the room at different times. I tensed up and squeezed the IV pole tightly. From outside the room a saw a blonde haired boy call my name and rush to the bedside. "Kyle..." my small voice rasped. I cleared my throat and stepped the entrance of the room. "Kyle..."

He turned a saw me, his face lighting up with joy. "Jack! Oh my god!" He pulled me into his arms and squeezed me so tight I thought my bones would break. I coughed weakly and he let me go. "S-Sorry...I didn't mean—"

"It's okay," I breathed, gripping the pole again. "Where are the others? What happened?" I began spilling out questions as I walked back to my warm bed. I sat down and saw Tommy and Zane standing by the doorway. All three of the boys sat down with me on the bed and all wore sullen expressions.

"The night that Draos came back, we were all hit pretty bad. You and Sam most of all. You were barely alive by the time they rushed us here. Everyone went unconscious after the explosion except for Kyle and Ly," Tommy jerked his thumb towards him. Kyle nodded slowly seeming to recall bad memories. "Hazzy woke up after about four months after. Zane came three weeks after that, then Tommy right around the one year mark—"

"One year?" I yelled, my voice cracking, still getting used to working. No wonder...

"Thirteen months," Zane said softly, "so far."

I wiped tears from my eyes, unable to believe it. Kyle wrapped a strong arm around me, pulling me in close. "Wh-Where's Draos? Nia? Sam?" The three exchanged more sad looks and I began to get frustrated. "Tell me everything."

Tommy ran a hand down his face. "Sam is still under and Nia... she was — we think she was... taken."

"By Draos?" I said frantically. "She was taken by him? As in held prisoner?"

"That's what we think," Kyle explained. "No one found a her... or a body so Piers suggested she was taken."

"Oh my god," I said, burying my face into my hands. Tears spilled out of my eyes and I could tell the others were on the brink as well. A hand rubbed up and down my back trying to comfort me.

"Do you want to see the others?" Kyle asked after awhile.

"Maybe she should get some sleep. We're overwhelming her as it is," Zane replied.

I sat up and wiped my eyes. "No, no," I said flatly. "I'm okay. I'm fine. I want to see the others." I stood up, still gripping the IV pole.

"Shouldn't we get a doctor? When Tommy woke he almost died." Zane looked concerned and worried.

"No, I'm fine," I said again. I gripped the IV pole tighter. "Perfectly... fine..."

Suddenly, I heard screaming. I looked around slowly, now feeling drowsy. I blinked slowly, and when I opened my eyes again I found myself laying on a floor. Fire surrounded me and smoke was everywhere. "Jack?" A voice screamed. Kyle bent down to my side and touched my forehead. "Oh my god. Oh my god." His head turned to look off in the distance. "Ly! Jack's hurt!"

"We're all hurt!" Her voice screamed back.

"Ly! Please, her head..." Kyle's face was covered in tears and soot. A cut on his cheek trickled with a stream of blood. "There's so much blood... Oh my god. Why did we come here..." He wiped tears from his eyes. I tried moving, but my arm shook in pain.

My eyes were droopy. "Hey, hey, hey," he touched my face and rubbed his thumb along my cheek. "Don't move." His head looked up and away from me.

"Kyle! It's Sam, he's really... I need... Please help!" It was Ly again. Her voice was panicked and strained just like it had been when we were captured a few hours before.

Kyle turned back to me and kissed my forehead. "I'll be back, don't go dying on me, okay, Jack? Jack, okay? Jack! Jack..."

"Jack!" My mind swiped back to reality. I was back to sitting on the bed. Kyle was facing me, his hands cupping my face. Behind him were Tommy and Zane. "Jack, are you alright?"

"I... I saw the explosion... There was so much blood..." My voice was a whisper and seeming to speak on its own. I felt warm tears drip down my eyes. My head spun in every direction. Tommy's eyes furrowed as the words barely left my mouth. It was like he knew something I didn't.

"That's it," Zane said nervously, "I'm getting a doctor."