What Once Was Broken is Now Gold | Reed900 [Rewriting]

1. Empty

The first thing Gavin registered when he opened his eyes was the overwhelming numbness in his body. He could hardly turn his head to the side to get a look at the room he's in, though he knows he's alone and hooked up to an IV drip, the pressure of secure bandages all over his body. The tight, dull blue walls around him seemed to shrink for a moment, but then Gavin's eyes refocused and the walls took a few steps back.

He tried to make some sort of sound, any sound really-preferably a swear-but found his throat too dry and tight to voice anything other than a pathetic groan.

The curtain to his room rustled as a figure peered inside, but left too fast for Gavin to focus on their face. Moments later, two figures stepped into his room, one clad in the same dull blue as his room's walls. The other seemed dressed in something mostly white with bright blue specks that made Gavin squint, hissing at the intense light compared to the darkness of his room.

"Gavin?" the one in blue said, voice feminine, and Gavin knew he stared at her like a dumbass high on hallucinogens, but it helped him bring her dark face into focus. "Can you hear me? Blink twice if yes."

Gavin forced out a sigh, it sounding more like a wheeze out his raw throat. He blinked twice.

"Good!" The nurse turned away from him, moving too quickly for Gavin to follow. Soon enough, she ended up back at his bedside. "Drink this. Try not to move too much, this'll help soothe your throat."

She lifted a paper cup to his lips at a gentle angle, Gavin unable to protest with how heavy his body felt. After a few long minutes, Gavin gulped down the last of the cool liquid, then laid his head back against his pillow and gasped out a single word: "Fuck."

The nurse sighed. "Are you feeling better?"

"Shit," Gavin croaked, eyes watering like he just got back from a checkup with the eye doctor. He wanted to wipe at the wetness, but his arms felt like lead at his sides. "I dunno."

"That's fine, just please try not to move." The nurse checked his IV drip, then made sure he was comfortable in his hospital bed before placing a strange, stick-looking device in his left palm. "This is a voice recorder. Dr. Quinn will be here shortly to finish checking up on you and to tell you anything you want to know. She'll give you more details about what to do with this when she comes in."

Gavin tried to nod, eyes blinking long and slow. "'Kay." He followed the blob of blue as she left the room, wincing as he noticed the neon cerulean once more. "Ah, shit," he hissed, squeezing his eyes shut. "Th' fuck're you?"

The silent white blob in the corner of the room stepped forward, and even without a face, Gavin could tell they were looking down on him in a sick sort of satisfaction. "I was meant to be assigned your partner," they replied in a masculine monotone. "However, when I arrived at the police station, you were not there. Captain Fowler later informed me you had gotten into a fatal accident on your motorbike."

Gavin hissed out another breath and furrowed his brow, glaring up at the unfamiliar man with a strangely familiar voice. He couldn't place where he'd heard it before. "Partner?"

"Yes. It had been a secret from you until the last minute to ensure you couldn't complain or try to get out of it."

"Oh." Gavin stared up at the ceiling, information circling in his head. "I can't remember-?"

"Post-traumatic amnesia is common for such an accident, considering how often you drifted in and out of consciousness. Once you stabilize, perhaps you'll remember what happened."

Gavin nodded, then turned his gaze to the man, eyes trying to focus through the constant watering. "You said- It was fatal?"

The lines of the man's face went into focus, but the finer details were still a blur. But the man nodded and said, "That information is better said by the doctor. I am...unfamiliar with transferring such delicate knowledge."