Twisted Darkness

chapter six

I heard voices around me, muffled by the humming of machines. Blinking, I see that I'm in the hospital with an IV stuck in me and a heart monitor attached to me. Mom was beside me talking to a lady, who I presume is the nurse. Watching I notice something off about the way mom is acting. She seem distraught,but it couldn't have been that long ago that she was infuriated with me. Consern and distraught was etched into her posture and what fraction that I saw of her features. A wave of unease washed over me, as I realized what was going on. My body ached and felt raw, skin had been burned away and I was covered in black-purple bruises with several broken bones. From the clipboard attached to my IV stand I saw that I was in the critical care unit.

I have sever burns, and a lot of blood loss. Apparently I was mugged and then set on fire, which does sound a whole lot more realistic than being attacked by ex-co-workers; who happen to be demons. Exhaustion washed over me, but I was unable to fall back asleep because my paranoia. Amidst my paranoia I saw a flash of black in my periphial and slowly turned my head toward it, all the while, I was coming up with ideas of what it could have been. To my surprise it wasn't one of my old friends from another life... rather it was Cailin.

His jade green eyes were sparkling with relief, but I couldn't figure out why he was here. Strangely I felt glad that he was here, but it was something I've never felt before. A faint smile slipped onto my lips, and he lit up into a full blown smile of relief that was detectable to everyone in the room. I had just been about to reach for his hand and ask why he was here, when the nurse startled everyone with her enthusiastic voice.

"She's up! Everyone out! Out, out, out! I need to check and make sure she is doing fine and figure out what hurts and what doesn't."

Everyone's faces fell and they showed their displeasure. They all left without any complaints, but by their posture one could tell that they wanted to throw the nurse out if the room. The door slammed and then I was being hovered over by the overly sweet nurse. I could now see what she looked like.. she was a plump middle aged woman with deep aubern locks and hazel eyes. She was very pretty and kind to her patients.

She poked and prodded me as gently as she could, asked if this hurt or that hurt, but my answer was always the same. 'No, I'm just sore. That's it, no sharp pain or anything.' When she finished checking my blood levels and my burns and broken bones she deemed me fit enough to have visitors. Soon after she left to tell them that I would be okay mom and Cailin came into the room along with another person whose face I couldn't see. It was a woman, that much I could tell by her figure, but she was dressed in black and had a hood hiding her face. No one noticed her come in but me, she was quiet, almost as if she walks on air. Mom was hovering over me while Cailin and the mysterious lady stood aloft and watched. Mom ran of saying she was going to get me a present, soon after her fleeing shadow was out of sight the hood fell to the maidens shoulders.

"Synclare?! Why are you here? Shouldn't you be home?"

"I'm here to thank you for saving me like you did. If it wasn't for you I'd be a goner."

"Lelana, who is this stranger? You know her?"

"I'm a foe-who-became-a-friend. Honestly if your worried about her, then your only going to exhaust yourself.. she is a very strong person. Although, if you wish to be part of her life; you must be prepared to accept every conciquince that may come with it."

"I wasn't asking you, now was I? Don't answer that Miss. Besides you talk about her like she is different from every other person on this planet. Would you like for me to rid ourselves of her?"

"No, Cailin. She is fine.. and what she says is true. I have people who I've wronged and they are going to start cashing in their revenge. You better be prepared for what your signing up for, I'm not exactly a stable person."

Everyone in the room fell quiet and was mulling over what I had just told them, more so Cailin than Synclare. He seemed upset that I was attempting to reject his friendship, but I just couldn't bring myself to put him in danger just so I could have him by my side. If I lost him forever because of this, I couldn't live with it knowing that harm came to him on my behalf. I couldn't ever forgive myself if anything happened to him.. I'd rather him think that I don't care for him than hurt both of us by being together.

Amidst my depressing thoughts, Cailin dismissed himself from the room and wished me well. Synclare stared at me with bright eyes and a smirk on her full lips, she said something that I didn't quite understand and left. The nurse popped in a few more times, and I also assumed that mom wasn't coming back tonight. I became acquainted with the nurse who was taking care of me, turns out that her husband left her and her two children. Her daughter and son are twins both at the age of ten, and her mother watches the children while she is at work. She is a very kind person once you get past her annoying ways of being very sugar coated when she talks to her patients, and I have a feeling that this is the first out of many times that I will see her.