Alpha Initiative

14 - Happy Place

"Here, lay her across the bed with her legs away from the door," Logan instructs as I'm brought once again into the Captain's cabin. I'm starting to hate the sight of the ceiling in here, having spent way too many hours starting up at it, usually whilst hurt.

I feel Keeley's arms tighten around me slightly before I'm laid down on the bed as instructed, the bed much cooler on my skin compared to the excessive amount of heat Keeley produces. I shiver and sit up to search for a blanket to cover up with, when an aching pain radiates in my nether regions, making me gasp and freeze in a half-upright position. "What-" My voice catches in my throat as a lump prevents me from asking the question that's suddenly far more important than the bloody scene out on the deck. What happened to me?

I look first to Logan, who just gives me a look of sympathy, then to Keeley, who looks away from my gaze, a tick forming in his clenched jaw. "Please lie back down, Alex. I have to examine you for injuries," Logan says in a low voice that's supposed to be reassuring, but just has me tensing further. "Please," he repeats. I clench my jaw tight as I give in and lie back down. Logan's cool fingers hold my right arm and gently turns it in different directions, presumably checking for injuries, then he does the same to my left arm, freezing with my inner arm exposed. "It doesn't look like this needs any stitches. Your shift's healing abilities seem to be in normal working order once again." I turn my head to see a long thin pink line running along my inner bicep from just under my armpit to the crease of my elbow.

Memories of struggling in freezing cold water, unable to tell which way is up, flood my mind. I remember one of the safety pins coming undone and slicing into my arm, the blood warming me in a twisted version of a warm embrace. I shift uncomfortably from the memories, a frown marring my face as I watch Logan carefully remove the broken safety pin from my bandaging; it looks like the safety part of the pin, the little metal holder that covers the sharp pin point broke somehow and that's how I got the scar on my arm. Luckily the pin isn't made of silver, so the scar will heal completely soon. My pale skin hides most of the scars I've received from silver over the years, the scars appearing as thin white lines that have a hint of a silver glint to them.

A sigh draws my attention to Keeley, who is staring at me with a relieved expression on his face. "So that's how the bandages got bloodstained. I thought that bastard tortured her or something, like what he did wasn't bad enough," Keeley says quietly, almost like he's talking to himself and didn't intend for us to hear him. This time when he notices me looking at him, he doesn't look away, his eyes staring into mine with a whole mix of emotions swirling in them.

"What do you remember about the fall, Alex?" Logan's voice drags my attention back to him and away from Keeley's intense stare.

I scrunch my eyebrows as I try to recall everything that happened. It feels like trying to remember a dream after waking up, everything's kind of all mixed up and out of order. "I remember the water being freezing cold. My blood felt so warm swirling around me," I say. Logan moves on to examine my exposed stomach, pushing slightly against my ribs. Keeley's hands were much warmer.

"Do you remember how you fell off the ship?" Logan asks.

A headache is starting to form in my temples, and I reach up to try and rub away some of the pain. "I was racing Paden and Dima. I nearly won the race, but something stopped me," I answer. "No, wait, not something, but someone," I correct. When I try to remember who caused me to take an impromptu swim in the ocean, the throbbing in my temples turns to stabbing pain, making me hiss.

"What's wrong? Alex?" Logan asks, worry filling his voice. "Where is it hurting?"

"My...head. Fuck," I groan and roll over onto my side. The headache is starting to make me feel nauseous; I try breathing in through my nose and out through my mouth in an attempt to quell some of the pain, but another sharp stab has me groaning loudly and curling into a fetal position.