Sunset on Neverland

Chapter 10

Beep. Beep. Beep.

The dream was back again. The bright light gleaming through my eyelids. It was extremely strong.

Distant and muffled murmurs filled my ears again, and there was a scorching pain on my side. It was where Hook had held me.

I waited to slip back into consciousness, my thoughts and emotions all mixed up. But it wasn't happening. I felt woozy and horrible. And I started to panic. Why am I not waking up from this dream? Why can't I get myself back into Hook's bed or Hook's arms. He'd wake me up, I know he would.

My heartbeat quickened pace as I panicked. The beeps in the distance quickened aswell. The muffled speaking also became more alarmed, and louder.

I furrowed my brows together, struggling to open my eyes to the bright light. The voices were closer now, and I could feel bodies present next to me.

Hook! Hook!

I called him, but my mouth would not open, nor would a voice come out.

The beeping escalated. My arms and feet were strapped against the bed I figured I was now laying on.

Hook! Hook!

The voices became louder. One seemed to be barking orders at the others. The beeping continued to quicken.

Hook!

"HOOK!" My raspy voice yelled.

"Clear!"

It was all black again.

In my sleep, I took a deep breath. By doing this, I managed to wake myself up. I was expecting to wake up to the sunlight that usually gleams into the Captains Quarters from the small window. But I didn't open my eyes to that. I opened them to that bright, pale, white, light.

My head ached, and so did the sore on my side. I started breathing heavily.

"Hook! HOOK!" The beeping commenced.

A woman ran into the white room. She wore a white jacket over a brown dress. Her heels clicked as she paced herself near my bed.

"Zoe, Zoe hun, calm down." Her voice was somewhat soothing but I was still panicking.

"Where am I? Who are you? How do you know my name?" My voice was raspy and felt unused.

"Zoe you need to calm down." She placed her soft hand on my arm.

I looked at her face. She had black hair that was held in a ponytail, with strands that came out to frame her pale face. Her brown eyes were warm.

My breath was slowly getting back to normal. I broke my gaze away from the woman to take a look at my surroundings. There was at least five monitors around me, a window to my right, and the room was bland. I looked down to see myself laying on a bed, sheets covered me, and I wore a thin gown. I shifted my gaze over to wear the woman's hand was. Tubes ran up both of my arms.

I took a deep breath and then I felt tubes in my nose. I gasped.

"Zoe, honey," I looked back at the woman speaking.

"My name is Doctor Hale. And you're in-"

I recognized it now.

"A hospital." I finished Dr.Hale's sentence.

"I, uh, yes." She responded. "You've been in here for seven months."

I chuckled nervously. "No I haven't, I was in Neverland."

Her expression changed from a comforting one to a concerned one. "Sorry dear, did you say 'Neverland'?"

I bit back a "yes". I thought of what I had just said and how ridiculous it sounded, remembering how baffled I was when I first met Peter and the rest of them.

"No, sorry, my head is pounding..." I mumbled.

"You've been in a comma for so long, it's completely normal. I'll get you some painkillers." Dr.Hale left swiftly and closed the door behind her.

I looked down and sat in deep thought. I knew Neverland was fake. But it felt so real. That means that everything Peter and I did, every person I met, everything Hook and I went through... Was fake?

I started to cry. Tears streamed down my face onto the thin sheets that covered me. Everything I've ever known was a lie.

Dr.Hale came back in with pills and water. She saw my sobbing and pulled a chair upto the side of my bed and put the pills and glass down on a side table.

"Everything is going to be okay honey." She reassured.

"No, y-you don't understand" I said between hiccups and sobs.

She caressed my arm soothingly until I had no more tears to cry.

"Do you have any questions, hun?" Dr.Hale asked to break the silence.

"What happens to people when they're in a coma?" I answered a long time after she asked.

"Well, some people just say it's like an off switch. They're consciousness just shuts off, and it'll come back on if... If they wake up."

Shivers were sent throughout my body at that last part.

She continued,"They can even suffer from traumatic brain damage and permanent paralysis. But you're lucky enough to have escaped that."

I shifted uncomfortably in my bed.

"Other people claim to dream."

"I dreamed." I whispered sadly.

A few moments later she broke the silence again.

"Anything else?" She asked.

"Why am I here?" I croaked.

She stiffened and took a deep breath. "You were hit by a car. You hit your head really hard and one of the car parts was lodged into your waist. You had to have multiple surgeries so that we could repair everything."

I lightly touched the pain on my side. Stitches lined my waist. I remembered.

"Do you know who did this? What about my friends? My family?"

"That's for another day. You need to rest, hon, I'll be back tomorrow."

Pure exhaustion over took me even though I've been asleep for seven months.