Hear Me

2

2

My eyes have ran over everything in this room hundreds of times over. The mocking walls that crowded around me were empty and gave no indication of the time. The fluorescent light burned my eyes so often that a constant sting lingered in them. Each ominous silence pounded against my ear, sending thundering aches through my head.

The only thing I had to distract myself was my mind. I turned my head against the pillow as it fluffed around my face. Its crisp smell fluttered in the air. It was the same smells in this room. The same textures. The same noise. The same everything.

What was there before?

I could feel my body clench as I tried to recall anything from before I was confined to this space. A brief scent of fresh air came to my mind, but it quickly vanished.

My eyes closed. Furry figures formed ahead of me. They grew closer and slowly cleared. Finn's face came into view. A gentle hint of a smile rested on his lips while his eyes watched me carefully. My hand tried to raise itself to touch his face but just as a quiver shuddered through it, he disappeared.

Emily took his place. She was beaming from ear to ear. Her eyes creased as she threw her head back to laugh. But she didn't make any noise, or I couldn't hear it. Her face bobbed back into view just before she turned to look over her shoulder, and vanished.

Sam appeared. He was calmer. His mouth moved softly as if he was murmuring a few words. His eyes curiously glanced beside him. They lazily returned to look at me. Then, he was gone.

Beth's face appeared, but only for a few seconds. She stared at me, not in the way Finn did. Her gaze was hard and firm. Her lips were tightly knitted together. As her eyes bore into mine, she faded away.

Everything stayed black, but the sound came flooding back. A pounding noise ominously made its way closer to my ears, so it was sending bolts of pain through my teeth. Slowly, another face began to form in front of me. Within seconds, I realised it was Tate. He wasn't moving around like the others. His mouth was agape and his eyes were half open. I couldn't even see any breaths passing by his lips. He was entirely still. A sudden haze travelled across his eyes before he dropped and disappeared.

A sick feeling filled my stomach as the old scent of blood floated under my nose. My eyes stung more as they grew wet. Tate had been haunting my waking hours for as long as I have been here. Whether it was a fleeting thought or him taking control of my dreams, he always lingered in my head. I sucked in my lips as they wobbled.

The door opened. Looking over, I didn't bother to hide my emotions. A woman walked in, being followed by a guard. They were silent as the man held my head in place. He forced it to lay sideways against the pillow. At the same time, the woman wiped something across my neck. The smell of alcohol took over the air as her cold fingers brushed against my skin. She didn't make any eye contact with me despite my gaze burning into her.

She disappeared from sight, but returned a moment later, brandishing a long, pointed needle. Again. They mumbled something to one another before a sharp coolness slid effortlessly into me. My body jolted under the guard's hold. Instantly, the familiar blackness edged in on my vision. It grew rapidly, devouring the room. Before everything disappeared, the woman spared a look at me. Her eyebrows were raised with her eyes curiously watching me. She gave a slight nod, just as I slipped away.

*****

Humming fluttered around me in the darkness. My mouth stretched open to release a low groan as my eyes squeezed together. Pushing out my feet, a satisfying crack tapped down my back. I took in a breath as my eyes opened. The walls didn't crowd around me, and they were no longer accompanied by bright lights.

Instead, the only light source was the frosted window and the walls stayed as walls.

I pushed myself up on my forearms. Where am I?

This place felt so familiar and foreign at the same time. My feet slipped out of the warm bed and landed on a cold floor. I tiptoed to the door and gave it a hesitant tug. It clicked open with ease. A lightness surged in my chest as I walked out. The hum came from down a short corridor. As I moved, my eyes darted around, attempting to distinguish anything significant. The monotone and minimal decoration rang a bell in my head, but it wasn't enough to tell anything.

Pushing myself forward, I entered a brighter room. A table with chairs stood to my left, a small kitchen to my right. A person stood looming by a counter. The sound of a spoon clinking against a bowl came from their hands. My face scrunched up in confusion. What's going on? Who is that? My mind felt too heavy and weak to make the links.

I lifted a foot to move forward. But the sound of my foot being stuck to the floor caused their shoulders to twitch. They quickly swung around on their heel to face me.

My jaw tightened.

A grin spread across Hudson's face as he said, "Good morning Sine."