The First

19.1

A/N: So I have an excuse for this late update! It was Labor Day, and I was gone camping with absolutely NO service. That is why I didn't update ;) But anyways, I hope you all had a great Labor Day weekend! Now, on to the chapter!

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02 - 17 - 2089

My mind swims in a haze of drugs, empty and void. I'm floating in the endless darkness, silently screaming for someone to save me. Nothing responds to my commands. I'm trapped here, while Cade is out there in the real world. 

I want to go back.

-

I'm still in the darkness, and I wonder if I'm dead. Part of me is relieved that I don't have to fight anymore, that I can finally have peace. But Cade isn't dead, and I can't bear to leave him. My mind refuses to accept that this is the end. That Doctor Acosta is going to perform the surgery and I won't recover. 

I want to go back. 

-

There'a flicker in the darkness. Like the quick flash of a light, or the blink of an eye. Maybe my body hasn't given up after all. A bit of hope trickles into my empty mind, a spark in the darkness. My mind reaches towards it, stretching and pulling for something, anything, to pull me out of this hole. 

I want to go back.

-

I'm fighting. I'm reaching, reaching, reaching for a handhold. But I keep slipping. One step forward, two hundred back. I can't understand what is stopping me. Can't figure out what is keeping me under. 

There. Another flash in the perpetual night. I cry out, scream, thrash, anything to make my body move towards it. 

The flash brightens. Someone is pulling at the web of darkness covering me, helping to pull me back. I can't stop, can't let those efforts be in vain. I'm moving towards the light now, and I can't stop. My body is sluggish, unmovable, unmanageable. 

A hand reaches out for me, strong and confident. I stretch out my arm, straining to touch it. To touch life. But something is holding me back. I look down, seeing a tether around my ankle. Dark, inky webs hold me back from the hand. I reach down and pry it away, letting the tether fly back to the darkness. 

Then I rise again and grab the hand.

-

"...Gis!"

Pain splits my sides as my eyes shoot open. My lungs fill up with breath for the first time in who knows how long. Deep, wondrous breath. I shoot up, my head swimming and my vision blurred. Someone grabs my arm, and then I hear a voice. 

"Gis, you're okay. I'm right here." Cade's voice is so welcome I let out a sob at the sound of it. I blink past the tear pouring down my face to see his dark hair and kind eyes right next to me. I shake my head, opening my mouth to speak. 

But nothing comes out. 

"Shh, breathe. Just breathe," Cade encourages me as he supports my swaying form. "Take a moment to breathe."

"We don't have a moment!" Another voice, also familiar, but I can't quite place it. 

Cade's grip on my arm tightens ever so slightly, even as I sway towards him. Everything's so blurry, and my stomach feels like it's going to explode. I try to press a hand against my eyes, but miss. 

"We only have a minute before they realize where we are. One minute before we're trapped." The strange voice is clearer now, coming from across the room.