I cracked open my sore eyes with great difficulty. The ache in my calf worse than ever, the slightest movement sent pain shooting through the entire body. I couldn't move even if I wanted to. The pain was blinding.
I tried to regain my five senses; the ringing in my ears had reduced to a full throb, moving hurt too much, my throat was parched and I could see that I was lying in the backseat of a Range Rover. The leather seats weren't exactly comfortable but felt heavenly compared to the pain in my right leg.
Sitting upright made me feel like I had lead in my veins but I managed it and finally -after a lot of pep talk - gazed down at the damage. It was heavily bandaged which was obviously carelessly done. A red spot was already beginning to form where the wound probably was, the bandage wasn't going to hold much longer. Plus, there was a risk of infection.
I tested moving it, but that turned to be a bad move. Pain flooded my very being and I suddenly felt that there wasn't enough oxygen. I'm sure I would've cried like a little baby if I hadn't slipped into darkness once again.
***
Next time I came to, there were more people. None I could recognise. Also, the Rover was moving over a bumpy and broken road; judging by the frequent bumps.
"-information that was dangerous. Could be used against us, there was no choice but to burn it," that sounded a lot like Xavier...
"Besides, Shuu's got it backed up in his computer so unless that gets stolen we don't have much to worry about" yep, definitely him.
What's this about dangerous information though?
The guy who Xavier was talking to had noticed me waking up and gestured to let Xavier know. If I was capable of feeling anything besides pure agony, that emotion would definitely be anger. He'd let me get shot! Shouldn't he have protected me or something?!
"Hey," Yeah, nice start you arrogant piece of (A/N no cursing😂) "How do you feel?"
He was riding shotgun and had to twist his head backwards to get a good look at me.
"How do you think I feel?" I shot back at him weakly. Injured or not injured, there was no way I'd give in to him in verbal banter. I may have a hole in my calf but hey, I'm still the Queen here.
"I feel like this is a trick question somehow..." he mused, and then broke into a sheepish grin that looked almost childish.
Something happened in that instant. No, I did not fall in love with that jerk after realising that he had a heart of gold, he was still an egotistic jerk no matter what. Rather, what had happened was that the world around me burned in bright flames. Honestly, what is it with fire around me? Am I that hot? Am I? Because if that's the case then chill out universe.
On a serious note, everything really did abruptly burst into flames. The heavy duty Rover would've tumbled over with the impact of the explosion. The attacker had obviously missed his target.
Xavier and his companion were quick to take action, they got out and for a moment I thought they had left me to die in the Rover but they didn't.
Xavier grasped me around the waist and put me over his shoulder,he was surprisingly strong, and then the three of us made our escape. They ran. Oh, the pain. Disappearing inside the rugged landscape. Please pass out, take away the agony. An exchange of bullets between the two parties. Ouch. More running. Finally, I was granted my wish, I passed out which dissolved all my troubles, but the world outside the abyss was in melancholy.
***
This time I was awoken by the pure sunlight streaming through the curtains. I had no sense of time, who knew how much time had passed? A day? Two?
My vision was hazy, there were red spots dancing around which made it harder to focus on my surroundings. Something was wrong. Something was terribly, horribly wrong. This time, not just the calf but there was something weird about my entire internal system. Infection. The single word entered my foggy brain, I could vaguely remember what I had learnt about infections last semester. In summary, they were nasty, probably better off avoided.
Fear coursed through my body, suddenly the light felt unbearable, the atmosphere thickened and my lungs had to work harder to pull in the required oxygen. Out of nowhere a needle pricked my arm near the veins and at once dizziness overcame me. I returned to the land of nothingness but this time I took the weird feeling and pain with me.
***
It was probably around midnight when I finally woke up for the umpteenth time and instantly I noticed that something was different. Not in a bad way, rather in a good way. My leg didn't hurt like it was being run over by a bulldozer and I felt euphoric, ecstatic for some reason I knew nothing of. Maybe it was the knowledge that I would be alright? Maybe I was drugged?
Uhh...definitely the latter.
I was stretching out, testing my limbs when someone entered the room I was in and fumbled around for the switchboard. The person finally found it and within the blink of an eye fluorescent light illuminated the room. The room looked like...well, a room. Nothing suspicious about it. The person on the other hand, male, had a terrifying resemblance to a snake. And I don't trust snakes.
"Ms Trace, please follow me." Whoa okay, no introduction or greeting, we were getting right down to business. Great.
He walked out, expecting me to follow. I weighed my options carefully until I realised I didn't even have any options. I had to do what he said. I swear, if Xavier was behind this then man, was he going to regret it.
I followed, my earlier ecstasy evaporating right in front of my eyes and a million questions invaded my brain at once. Where was I? How'd I get here? How long since I got shot? Where was Xavier? Or Shawn? Who exactly was this creepy dude and where was he taking me?
As if he read my mind he said curtly "your questions will soon be answered"
That's it. No explanation, no hint. I was annoyed and made no effort to hide it. This dude could think what he wanted, I didn't care.
We approached a door, white as if it was just painted, and a bodyguard handed Mr. Creepy Snake a handcuff. I would've reacted had I not been so utterly confused. He handcuffed me and I indignantly glared at him. Moving right now would not be smart, I was outnumbered two to one. Plus they probably had weapons.
"Go inside." Again with the exhausting cold attitude. I broke my glare and stepped inside when the bodyguard opened the door for me.
The door closed behind me, barely making a sound. Even if it did, I would not have noticed it for ahead of me sat a black clad man behind a desk, with dark skin presumably in his 40's who had several gunmen around him. Ready to shoot at a moments notice.
"Welcome, Azure Trace. We have been waiting for you."
————
First off, I'm so sorry for not updating (not that most of you care but anyways) and I'll try to be more....punctual.
Please let me know what you think, silent reading works fine for the readers but it's hORRIBLE FOR ME. So please, type a comment, save the whales, don't scroll through dank memes all night because trust me you will regret it in the morning. Words to live by, you know.
Have a good day/evening/morning/night
