Hope (Based on Call of Duty Ghosts) (Final Book of the Faith Trilogy)

Chapter 35- A Journey Never Forgotten

The first sound I heard in my ears was the beeping of a slow, yet steady heartbeat. It pounded throughout the room, echoing off of the walls. The heartbeat knew what was going on, but the person it was inside of didn't at all. 

I found the strength to blink open my eyes. They were sore to the dim lighting of the hospital room and I quickly blinked them shut to get rid of the aching pain on my left temple. 

A breathing tube was stuck in my nostrils, making it awkward to try turn my head. I realized a pulse monitor was clipped onto my left pointer and a sharp IV needle was jammed in my right arm right at the inside of my elbow. I was dressed in a hospital dress and when I attempted to push back the covers, pain erupted on my upper left side. 

I felt to where a large, strong bandage was strapped onto my side. My mind tried to recall the memories that had brought me here, yet there were none. My heart told me to get up and take a look around- the light outside was bright, after all. 

My muscles strained as I carefully flipped my legs over the edge of the bed. Screaming with agony, my upper side clenched by using its muscles. My bare feet gripped the floor and sent a chill up my spine. 

I raised a hand, staring directly at my palm. There was something missing, a type of muscle that had once been in my hand yet wasn't now. I felt the same way about my core- something had gone missing. 

Carefully taking the IV out of myself, I soon detached the pulse monitor from my finger. My arms traveled upwards to take out my breathing tube. Free to grip the edge of the bed, my hands pushed me up. 

"Okay, you got this," my voice was hoarse as I stumbled to stand straight. 

Standing suddenly made a lot of my pain disappear. It gave me a new sense of strength that I didn't know was still there. 

My insides tingled with delight as I slowly reached the door. Everything felt so numb and weak compared to the last time I'd been awake. What had happened to me? 

The bright light faded as I opened the door, showing off a long hallway. A couple of nurses were at the end of it, yet didn't pay attention to me as I unsteadily walked the other way. 

I soon came to a simple lobby, just a woman at the desk typing furiously away on a computer. My instincts told me to sneak around her and I did just that. I kept to the wall behind her, eyeing the door the entire time. 

The lady still didn't see me as I weakly shoved open the door. 

Cool, breezy air hit my face, leaving me to sigh out in relief. I was still alive, as in on Earth. Whatever had happened must have been a dream to knock me out in the hospital. 

"Hailey?" 

I froze when I looked off to my left. There were six figures, some standing some sitting. Six pairs of eyes were staring at me with wide gazes. I could only meet one pair of blue ones. 

"K-Keegan." 

The man began running to me and I started to limp towards him, my side throbbing. As he reached me, I kept my arms low to prevent tearing anything. Keegan slowly and carefully wrapped his arms around my entire frame. 

"Hailey," he had been sobbing, his cheeks wet and soaking into my hair. "Oh my God, you're alive. I'm so sorry." 

His lips met mine as a gentle ocean wave. I squeezed his sides, wanting every piece of him to be touching me as he left a warmth deep within my core. I could feel my body shiver with an unknown delight as Keegan slipped my wedding ring I'd given him during the fight back onto my finger.