Horizons

Sparks

The smell of the place you were in penetrated your whole body and mind before you were even completely awake. Opening your eyes, you only confirmed that you were indeed lying in a hospital. Oh brother.

Your eyes automatically started roaming about on the ceiling, your mind at once going blank as you started counting the tiles up there. Your mind was still a bit fuzzy though, so you got stuck at the two-number digits a few times and had to recount them all to get it right.

Once you did, though, you let your eyes wander downwards. You were thankful for the fact that the room was free of pictures and posters hanging on the walls, that left you with one thing less to stress about while you were supposed to get better.

Next up, you turned your head left and right, noticing the many 'Get well' cards standing around you. Since when had you known so many people in the first place? Who actually liked you enough to spend money on you? Well, people did often forget such things when something bad happens.

'Oh, poor child, all alone by that age and getting into trouble like that!' You almost started feeling nauseated at the thought. Let's just hope they didn't like you enough to visit. You'd promptly throw yourself Atlas's way if that actually happened.

At the thought of Atlas, you remembered what had happened the evening before in a flash - wait, had it actually been yesterday? For how long had you been out in the first place? What had happened anyway? You remembered calling Dante, and then Dante arriving, but after that, your mind went blank.

In your sudden wave of panic, you forced yourself up into a sitting position, ignoring the screaming and protesting of your body and just gritting your teeth together, as though that might summon more willpower.

No longer in control of the whole situation, you mind went reeling. You couldn't think straight, and in your stupor you ripped off the IV and other strings attached to your body. Finally, you swung your legs over the edge of the bed.

By now, you were already breathing heavily and the pain that your wounds were causing actually blinded you a little. Because of that, you didn't realise you had pushed yourself off the bed until your feet met the cold floor - luckily not on the edge of a tile, or else everything would have been much worse. You only realised your mistake when your legs gave out, and with a whelp you crashed onto the ground.

As you lay there, groaning and begging for a swift, painless death, the door was thrown open and in James came rushing. A nurse came in right behind him as well.

"Boss!" he called, kneeling down next to you.

When he and the nurse, who was trying to calm you down with soft words, tried to help you back onto the bed, you refused to work with them. Your mind went into an overdrive at the sudden close proximity of a complete stranger. You didn't even let a close friend like James get near you most of the time, imagine your reaction when the two of them were practically hugging you all of a sudden!

"Shit, not right now, boss! We have to get you off the floor!" But you could no longer respond. Or breathe properly for that matter.

"She's suffocating," the nurse noted as she kept her distance from you. It hadn't taken her long to realise that you disliked contact with other people quite a bit.

James, on the other hand, just tried again, making all things even worse.

"Man, can't you take a hint?" a new voice came from outside, its owner turning out to belong to Dante. He came rushing in with a doctor by his side and he frowned at James.

While Dante busied himself with pulling James away from you, your mind figuratively clung to the man. That's right, this guy was work. A suspect, now a witness. He had saved you, come when you had called him. But, why had you called him?