Dana was swimming in the thrashing sea of the abstract abyss. She was merely a floating thought, drifting through the void with jumbled jubilation. There was no more strenuous labor. No more mind-numbing discoveries of those who deceived her.
Faint whispers found their way into the chasm, echoing softly as if it was meant to be barely heard.
She's close.
How much longer?
Any minute now. She should be waking up shortly.
Dana resurfaced from the dark depths of her mind, her surroundings swaying crookedly.
"How are you?" The low baritone voice of Pharaoh Bonnie Bassler murmured next to her. Dana groaned as her head throbbed from sudden change in surroundings. She was laying down in a hospital bed placed in an otherwise empty hospital room. She looked down to see that her clothes had changed-- she was now in a drafty hospital gown. Dana tried not to notice the large bump located at her abdomen.
"My head feels as though it's about to split in half," Dana replied curtly. Just as the last syllable escaped her lips, a morose Mr. Marren shuffled into the room, slouching in the nearest seat. Well, not quite slouching-- Mr. Marren had impeccable posture. His shoulders were slightly slumped in defeat. Dana couldn't help but break into a small smile when she noticed a small scratch on his cheek.
"You're lucky my cheekbones are insured," Mr. Marren huffed. "They are almost worth the same amount of money as Hewford."
"Who's Hewford? And where's Sierra?" Dana inquired, irked.
"Sierra and Christina are both waiting outside. Would you like for me to call them over?" Pharaoh Bassler said, making his way towards the door as I nodded.
"Dana! Are you feeling well?" Christina asked as she and Sierra entered the room. Dana narrowed her eyes at them, taking note of their friendly proximity towards each other. She felt a sharp stab of pain in her head, most likely from her straining her eyes to see what she was hoping was a trick of the eye.
"What happened?" Dana grumbled towards her best friend and her captor. Sierra and Christina both gave her confused looks, as if they too were oblivious to what was obviously going on.
"Well, we rushed to the hospital as soon as you passed out in the car. You've only been asleep for a few hours," Christina stated simply. Dana made sure to throw her best glare towards the hair follicle-filled fiend.
"That's not what I meant, you inconsiderate imbecile," Dana growled, thus rewarding herself with another sharp pain in the back of her head. She grimaced in pain. "You two seem very buddy buddy, considering the circumstances Christina put us under."
"In the end, she's always going to be our best friend," Sierra replied, shifting from foot to foot. "We're always going to be tightly woven, regardless of the terrible situations we're put under. We're a group. We're a unit. We're a..."
"Clan," Christina finished for her, bobbing her head in agreement.
"I still don't trust her. And you shouldn't be so quick to forgive, Sierra. Christina may seem cool and collected on the outside, but on the inside she's roiling with inner turmoil and lashing out on any unsuspecting passerby's. And that will always be us, Sierra, as long as we tell ourselves that we can stick together with no problems," Dana tried reasoning with her friend, but Sierra just crossed her arms and shook her head, her long, dark hair falling slightly in front of her face.
Dana suddenly noticed the raising of voices from the other side. She shot up from her bed as she heard a loud thump reverberating around the room, the sudden noise rattling her relaxed position. Mr. Marren jumped up from his morose stupor and yanked the door open, his eyes resting on the scene displayed outside of the room.
"What the... Hewford?" Mr. Marren croaked, all color leaving his forlorn face. Dana crawled out of her bed, ignoring the throbbing pain emanating through her skull. Clutching the end of her hospital dress so her backside was not victim to the sterile air, she joined Christina and Sierra to their venture towards the source of the ruckus.
"Son of a bad person, get this darn snake off me! It's choking me almost as much as the overbearing American government!" Pharaoh Bonnie Bassler irritably demanded, squirming on the floor. Dana's eyes widened as she noticed a large python draped across the pharaoh's body, coiling back from the distressing stares of several eyes. Before Mr. Marren could come to assist him, Pharaoh Bassler quickly tossed the sizable snake off his body, grimacing as it hysterically hissed at him.
"Hewford!" Mr. Marren screeched, running to aid the rattled snake. As he attempted to gently touch it's head, the petrified python sank it's teeth into his flesh, earning a sudden intake of breath from Mr. Marren. Mr. Marren's eyes watered with betrayal, thus fogging his glasses.
Mr. Marren cried out as the pharaoh shot up to his feet and pulled the snake from it's clutch on the english teacher, throwing it down across the hall. After skidding for a few seconds, the snake slid itself away from the frenzied scene.
"Why did you throw Hewford?" Mr. Marren hoarsely asked as the snake slid out of their view.
"Because it was attacking you," Pharaoh Bassler simply replied, puffing his chest in pride. "I was trying to remove it from the hospital facility as to not scare Dana into hurting her... child. How are you feeling, by the way?" Pharaoh Bassler cocked his head towards a flustered Dana.
"My head hurts, but my abdomen is no longer in pain," Dana answered, squirming under the group's worried looks.
"If you're well enough, I'd like to take you all out to dinner with me to see someone I'd like you to meet." Pharaoh Bassler crossed his arms over his chest, waiting for the group's consensus.
"I'm your captive, so do with me what you will," Dana bitterly responded. After Sierra and Christina agreed to come, the group turned to look at a distracted Mr. Marren.
"Hewford seems to be long gone, so I suppose I'll join you," Mr. Marren sullenly said.
"Wonderful!" Pharoah Bonnie Bassler exclaimed, rubbing his hands together in excitement.
"Where will we be going?" Christina questioned. Dana expertly raised her eyebrow. Shouldn't Christina know about all of the pharoah's plans?
"We'll be meeting somebody very close to me," Pharaoh Bonnie Bassler replied mysteriously. A flash of what Dana assumed to be panic washed over his features, but was quickly replaced with his usual hollow expression.
As the group made their way towards the front entrance of the building, Dana stopped abruptly, clutching her head in pain. The headaches were getting worse, most likely from the lack of food in her system. Only Christina noticed her sudden halt, lagging behind the group to check up on her captive.
"What's happening?" Christina asked worriedly.
"Headaches," Dana gritted her teeth until the pain finally subsided.
"You'll be okay?" Christina's eyes searched Dana's face. Dana couldn't help but feel her dislike towards her captor soften slightly. She gave her a small smile and nodded. Pharoah Bassler, noticing their absence, called back to them.
"I'm on my way," They both called towards the pharaoh as they ran over to the rest of the group. They both traded giggles until Dana's stomach growled, erupting them into laughter.
"Say, Christina?"
"Mhmemes?" Christina retorted, her voice still shaking from laughter.
"I really hope they have ramen," Dana sighed, closing her eyes with hope, her current situation silently drifting away as she shared this moment binding her once-broken friendship with her captor.
