Haunted

Chapter Thirty-Three

It's like I surface water.

My eyes pop open just as I take a deep breath, feeling my throat burn as air rushes into my lungs. There's heavy weights on my shoulders, as if someone is pressing down on them, but I can't see --- everything is too blurry.

I loll my head, clenching my hands, feeling something rough and itchy against my fingertips. My head is roaring, my ears keep ringing --- fuck, all I hear is beeping! It's erratic now, almost the same rhythm as my heart as it slams itself into my chest over and over.

Fuck, that hurts too!

I wish it would stop that!

Where even am I? What's going on? Why can't I move!?

There's that loud clamoring of voices, and I scowl, twisting my body, trying to escape the bright light in my eyes. I can't see anything but spots, I don't like that, stop it! 

Why can't I move more?

The pressure on my shoulders increases, and it hurts, I'm being pressed down into something uncomfortable. A mattress, a bed, a --- a hospital bed. I've spent enough time in one to know it when I feel it. 

So I'm in a hospital, fucking great.

Why am I here?

I squeeze my eyes shut, trying to focus again, but it's hard. Spots of different colors dance across my vision, all I see is weird shapes moving around in the room. I don't exactly have perfect vision, but it's never been this bad before!

Someone keeps telling me to calm down, that everything is fine, but it's not! I can hear their voice, but I don't recognize it, I don't know who it is, I don't ---.

"Amelia! Amelia, it's alright! You're safe, you're fine!"

I --- I know that --- is he ---?

My eyes open again, searching for the owner of the voice, hearing something screech against the tiled floors. The room is starting to come into focus, I can see someone in green scrubs beside me, their gloved fingers holding me down, a flash of a white coat --- the weird painted walls, a TV mounted near the ceiling that's definitely older than I am.

And Kole.

I see Kole.

I blink a couple times as he reaches me, a long scratch running down the side of his face, his sunglasses shoved back into his hair. I stare at him, suddenly remembering his face, his voice --- he's a demon, demons exist, they live in people, people who are bad, people --- shit, my head hurts!

I turn away from him, squeezing my eyes shut as my head begins to pound, pain blossoming inside my temple. I feel someone brush my hair out of my face, and that deep voice is soothing, it helps my nerves, but it doesn't make that erratic beeping stop!

I cut my eye in the direction of the machine, seeing lines running across it, spiking wildly in green waves. I'm having a hard time breathing again, my chest hurts, like there's a weight on it, and there's a wetness in my eyes I don't understand.

What am I doing here?

Where is he?

Who are these people?

"Amelia," Kole's voice is calm, his fingers lighting brushing through my hair again; I like that, it's nice, it helps. "It's okay. You're in a hospital. There was an accident."

An accident.

Another accident?

What happened?

Why is he so bruised?