Captor

1. When

"Annie..."

The voice stirred me from my dreams of home. I fought to hold onto anything left of the image of myself sitting next to my mother on the porch of our childhood home, listening to her soft hums as the sun set. I grasped desperately onto the echoes of her voice for the sake of my own sanity.

"Annie," Luke's voice echoed over me. I opened my tear filled eyes to look up at him. He reached out and took my hand, helping me from the frozen floor of the headquarters. I couldn't bring myself to form any words worth expressing. Instead, I turned toward the window and peered silently into her room, my fingers grazing the glass separating me from my sister.

"Annie, you need to sleep," Luke spoke softly. I shook my head.

"I was sleeping," I said matter of factly.

"In your own quarters," he quickly added, "She's doing just fine. You need to trust that we can take good care of her until she's strong enough to do it for herself. Please, Annie. Sleep."

Only a few of Luke's words filtered through my ears. I kept my eyes locked on Ashley's fragile body spread out across the table. She was in a deep sleep, unable to be stirred by anything around her. I watched her chest rising and falling with each breath, the only indication of her existence.

"When?" I whispered, referring to Ashley's gradual regaining of life.

"Soon," Luke responded. I felt Luke's hand brush over my own before taking hold of it. Without saying another word, I turned away from the window and followed Luke down the hallway of the headquarters.