Cruel Awakenings

7.Lifeless sleep

The first thing I felt as my body drifted back into consciousness was the burning sensation in my throat. A raging fire only worsens with a burning dryness and heat. The more I paid attention to it, the more I could feel my sore body tense against my silky sheets. Pain and comfort all in one. Despite the thirst threatening my need for rest, I snuggled more into my bed. Pulling the comforter, I had over my body to conserve my warmth. It was freaking freezing. I shivered just at the thought before inhaling deeply, followed by a long yawn.

  l made an effort to sit up using my elbows to hold myself up. Jesus fuck...  the room spun all at once, reminding me that any strength I had would be short-lived. My arms gave out with a shake, and I resumed my place on the mattress. My eyes did their best to wander throughout the room. Nope. Not mine. Wherever the hell I was, it was a rather fancy room—all furniture and decor with red-and-gold colored everything. The bedding atop me was thick and velvety soft. The blankets kept me warm in the freezing temperatures. The pillows are plush and extremely welcoming. I almost longed to shut my eyes quickly and return to sleep. Especially with how dehydrated I felt. Groggy. I knew I shouldn't give into slumber, but I was safe for now and only had so much energy to disperse. My eyes were beginning to burn, and the tingling I felt all over resumed.

I coughed lightly, hoping to clear the dryness in my throat, but it resulted in a coughing fit that forced my eyes shut in pain. The comfy comforter begged my body to relax into its pillows and velvet softness. I just laid there. Not much else I could do at the moment. I was alive and breathing, and that's all that mattered now. After a good while, I could slightly hear a faint hum floating in and out. My head started to pound in pain from me, forcing it to work against my body's pleas. When it felt almost unbearable, I relaxed and stopped fighting the residual effects of the injection. The extreme vampire hearing didn't appear to work as well either, but better than my vision and muscles for sure. Only from what I could guess, it wasn't humming but more like whispers that I couldn't steadily make out. The sounds overwhelmed me as I lulled into the floating darkness of my mind. Whatever adrenaline ran out about as fast as it came.

  I wanted nothing more than to move my body, but the numbness was felt, with soreness following right behind it from the neck down—a drunken soreness. With my eyes shut, the memory of being drugged by that man...replayed in my head as my eyes were too heavy to force open much more. His face was easy to forget too.

Suddenly, someone guided chill, wet liquid into my mouth.  It was sweet and savory all at the same time. Though at the same time alluring and metallic. I once more attempted to open my eyes, but an instant later, everything grew dizzy and swayed again. I blinked rapidly with a scowl. Whatever I ingested brought enough moisture for the coughing and burns to vanish significantly. Burning and cooling its way down...

"Th-"

The fuck. I wanted to say that, dammit. Probably best, I didn't. I didn't even realize someone was near me.

Just great. What a time to lose my damn voice!

"Shh... don't speak. Rest up some more." A woman's voice ordered steadily. I wasn't one to listen. Rule breaker was instead a character trait of mine at this point. Especially under such circumstances, but I found myself in such a state having a hard time resisting sleep orders. The woman's voice was endearing and relaxing, and very calming. A warm, delicate finger lightly pressed to my lips, coercing them shut but lingering a moment on my face. Her hands touched, leaving warmth everywhere they went. Even if I could move away, I didn't feel much of a reason to. I found myself lulled into rest once more by her voice. I couldn't hear her speaking anymore, but what I could fade into sweet echoes. I mumbled something incoherent to even myself but felt sleep tugging me into its depths much more rapidly than before. Its darkness devoured me once again like a slow fog in the night. It was covering almost everything in its misty thick layer.