Last To Know (The Wanted)

Chapter Six

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I didn't know why I ran. But I didn't stop.

I kept running as far and fast as my feet would take me. My lungs gasped for air, but I pushed deeper into the woods behind the palace.

About ten minutes into the run I came to a river. I stopped and sat down in the grass. I couldn't stop the tears from running down my cheeks. I wanted to be back in London. I wanted to sit in my old stinky apartment with Chance in my lap while I was watching Netflix.

I wanted to read in the park as the sun beat down on my face. I wanted to go to work and deal with annoying customers that change their minds at the last minute. I wanted to sit on the smelly bus surrounded by strangers.

I wanted to walk through town with Chance past the London Eye and feel relaxed.

I just wanted things to go back how they were.

~

"Maisie. Please wake up, Maisie..." I felt someone shake me. Lazily, my eyes opened. I was freezing. I shivered violently. "Come on, Maisie. I'm taking you back to the palace." It was Siva. He picked me up with ease and I huddled into him. His body was warm and I was freezing. My eyes opened to see it was nighttime. My stomach growled and I shivered from the coldness of the night.

I shook as the wind hit my face like a sheet of ice. I could tell Siva was running at an extremely fast pace but I was too weak to care or freak out. I couldn't feel my toes or fingers.

"I know you're cold, Maisie. Just hang in there. We're almost there. It took me hours to find you." Siva told me.

I felt bad I sent Siva on a wild goose chase after me. But why hadn't Tom spent hours searching for me? For some reason I felt a little upset by that.

A burst of warm air hit me as the doors of the palace opened.

"I found her!" Siva yelled. I was too tired to do anything. I barely heard the buzz of voices around me as I slipped into unconsciousness.

~

When my eyes opened, they felt heavy. My eyelids just didn't want to open. I forced them open and looked around. I was in a room I didn't recognize. There was a counter with some bottles of medicines and pills and I saw one of those heart thingies and so I concluded it was some kind of infirmary.

"Hello?" I called out. My voice cracked and my throat felt dry.

"Maisie?" I saw a chair on the other side of the room turn and Siva got up from it. "How do you feel?"

"Hungry." I replied. He chuckled.

"Expected. You've been out cold for quite some time. Almost thirty hours. And you were out in the cold for a good five or six hours." He explained to me. Memories of yesterday flooded back.

"Oh... where're Tom?" I asked.

"Right there." Siva replied, pointing to the ground. "Wouldn't leave your side and eventually past out on the floor from exhaustion. He was worried sick. It drained all his energy."

"I'm so sorry." I whispered.

"What happened? Tom wouldn't tell me why you ran off." Siva asked.

"I... we... we almost kissed... I don't really know. I just got scared and ran. I didn't know what I was doing. I feel so bad now!" I groaned.

"It's alright, darling. Don't stress yourself. You fell asleep on the wet ground right next to a river. The temperature wasn't over fifteen. And all you were wearing was a t-shirt and shorts from gymnastics. You got some pretty bad hypothermia. Tom has been beating himself up about it since yesterday." He explained.

"Hypothermia?" I asked in shock.

"From the cold weather. Don't worry, though. We got you to warmth as soon as we could. You should be fine. Maybe a chest cold, but your toes and fingers aren't frost bitten."

"Oh, good." I sighed. I remembered the awful feeling of not feeling my feet or hands.

"Maisie? You're awake!" I suddenly heard. Tom jumped up from his position on the floor and attacked me in a bone-crushing hug. "I am so so so so so so so so so so so so-"

"Sorry. I know. I'm sorry for running. I didn't mean to... I was just scared." I told him.

"Scared? Of me?"

"No, no. I was just... I don't know. Scared of what was happening. I can't really explain it." I sighed.

"Your body temperature was so low I was afraid I would lose you or have to turn you." Tom confessed, burying his face in his hands. "I began hyperventilating."

"Well, I'm alive and not a vampire." I smiled. "Wait, Siva, I remember you being really warm. You said you were outside for hours. Why weren't you cold?" I asked.

"Vampires can control their body temperatures. Well, not exact temperature, but I can measure the amount of body heat I am giving off." Siva explained. I nodded.

"That's why we live in such a rainy, cloudy, cool, and humid area." Tom added. I nodded again as I took in all this information.

"Are you tired?" Siva asked me. I nodded again.

"Get some sleep then, love." Tom told me softly.

"Uh, can I go to our room?" I asked. It felt weird saying our room.

"Sure. I'll carry you." Tom offered, easily lifting me up off of the bed.

"Call me if you need anything, yeah?" Siva asked as we exited the room. I looked at Tom confused.

"Siva studies in the medical field." Tom explained. "Our empire only has two good doctors, one to the west and one to the east. Siva wants to be a doctor since both of them are close to retiring."

"Oh." I thought. With everything I was learning, it didn't seem like this world was different from the other one all too much.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

What did you think?

Please Vote & Comment!

Thanks for reading (:

x