NIGHTVIPER: Chronicles of Moon City

Chapter Three: Wakey, Maybe?

Stevie was lost. Well in a sense, she knew where she was—she'd listened enough in psychology class to know she was unconscious, trapped in some sort of mental construct.

If that hadn't been enough to convince her, the perpetual falling snow that never accumulated on the ground, and the unnatural light that seemed to have no origin would suffice.

It filtered through the trees, and no matter how far she walked, she could never get a clear view of the sky. The ground was a frosted meadow; the snow making no sound as she trudged over it.

How long had she been here? A few hours? A day? She knew her parents would never let her sleep very late during the school year, but she was almost certain that it hadn't been summer before she fell asleep.

Still she had no reason for alarm. She felt no fatigue, and no chill, aside from the literal tranquility of the forest.

Just as she was about to nod off while walking, the oddest thing happened—her leg stopped working. She tried to shift her weight back to her right leg but found it equally unresponsive.

In another moment, a new development: before her very eyes, her now rigid and motionless form was fading in the eerie perpetual light. Her vision went dark, and suddenly a rush of sensations flooded her system

The first sound she noticed was the heartbeat monitor. It beeped with the persistence of an ignored alarm clock.It was a welcome contrast, however, to the out of place sensation she felt of not belonging in her body, in the hospital bed, in this plane of existence.

She realized she wasn't alone in the room, even though it was currently some ungodly hour of the night. The figure, alerted by her stirring, rose to meet Stevie at the bedside.

"You're, you, again aren't you?" Raven Namahs asked tentatively. "Oh, god Stevie," she exclaimed, "you're finally back!"

Like drawing details from an elusive dream, Stevie slowly  put the pieces together. This was her dear friend, Ravenna, as she liked to be called. Reacquainting with her seemed to help ground many of the uncertainties swirling around her head.

"It's good to be back in the land of the living, but what do you mean 'I'm me' again?" Stevie asked. Wasn't I just in a coma or something?

Ravenna looked troubled, "Y-you—I mean ITS been a slightly different situation." Shifting her weight to the balls of her feet she brightened up and said, "I've got to let everyone else know, I know you're probably ready to get back out there, but the doctors won't release you until this afternoon, which is when I'll help you find—I mean return to, your accommodations. In the meantime, it's best you catch up on some sleep to regain your strength."

"Ravenna I've got like a million questions, are you sure"—but Ravenna's form was already growing blurry, and before she knew it, Stevie fell back under.