Bo and the Beast (Book #1) (Completed)

50. Please No

Dew-laden grass bent under Bo's boots as she walked toward the gate for the rose garden. A cool breeze skimmed across her face, buffeting her shirt and catching her hair. She smiled as she pulled open the gate and walked through. Her fingers traced the petals of the flowers, delighting in the velvet softness. She plucked a rose and drew it slowly across her cheek, not remembering when she'd ever felt something as gentle and soft. She brought it to a stop over her lips, wanting to smell the bloom. Yet, when she tried to breathe in she found that her lungs simply wouldn't work. She frowned, suddenly struggling for air.

Her hands tightened around the rose, the thorns pricking through her skin, but no matter how hard she tried she couldn't find its scent. She devolved into hacking fits of coughs, though for some reason she couldn't hear herself.

The rose dropped to the ground, forgotten, as she stumbled backward, clutching at her throat. Breathe! she screamed in her head.

As she staggered back through the gate, she had the sudden feeling that she wasn't alone. Somehow, she knew it was Adam. He was standing right behind her, just out of view. He'd know what was wrong with her. She spun on her heel, his name on her lips...

Nothing was behind her. Nothing but a vast orange cloud of dust and grit. She screamed, this time audible. She couldn't be back in the dust! Green, blue, fresh air and Adam! That's what her heart ached for. But the dust cloud billowed toward her, cutting the light from the world.

--

Bo woke in a cold sweat, gasping for breath. Her eyes immediately swiveled toward the source of a hot and harsh wind, seeing a glimpse of the camp beyond the open tent flap. Dust swirled around her, choking her, and she raised one heavy arm to filter her nose and mouth. Her lungs protested the tainted air, but she was helpless to stop the dust storm from leaking into the tent. Her legs wouldn't move and she felt as heavy as an airship.

A second later someone walked through the tent flap and pulled it closed, shutting the dust out and clearing the air. Bo didn't have the energy to turn her head and see who it was, so she stared at the ceiling instead.

She felt disgusting. Her skin prickled with sweat and grime, and she felt oddly sticky. After a moment of rest, she trailed her hand across her stomach, coming to a rest on a thick swath of fabric. She tilted her head down to see a new shirt, unbuttoned up to her top ribs, revealing a bandage stained through with blood and something yellow and pale. She grimaced at the sight, flopping her head back and closing her eyes. Now that she remembered the gunshot wound, the pain returned with it. Even her legs burned.

It was behind her close eyelids that she saw a flash of a face. Blue, sad... Adam. Her eyes snapped back open, her heart pumping so hard that she felt it against her ribs.

Panic coursed through her veins, giving her strength where she shouldn't have had any. She pushed herself to her elbows, her legs flopping over the edge, though they still wouldn't take her weight. She growled in frustration, snatching at anything that she might be able to pull herself along with. A bowl filled with pink-tinged water upset as she grabbed the flimsy table it sat on, and it clattered to the floor with the other items it sat next to. Water splashed over Bo's feet, though she felt little more than a vague haze of cold against the side of her right foot. She cursed anyway, her arms shaking with the effort of holding herself upright.

"Bo, what are you doing?"

Felicia's bark. Bo groaned, trying one last time to get some momentum going before...

Her sister grabbed her arm and hauled her backward, toward the bed. Bo hissed another curse. Felicia ignored her, shoving her chest until Bo consented to lay down. Sharp pains racked through her middle, but Bo bit back the cries of pain while Felicia frowned at her.