All That Glitters (WayV) - Volume II

How Did We Get Here?

The light came shining in through the window, making the white walls glow. Tungmei opened her eyes and was greeted by a plain white ceiling. She felt puzzled almost instantly. 

"What?" she muttered to herself. She tried to sit up, but she felt a shooting pain go through her stomach. It was as if someone had stabbed her. Tungmei sat back down, letting her head hit the pillow. She exhaled sharply and closed her eyelids. They felt so heavy. 

Tungmei opened one eye when she realized she was in the hospital. She was suddenly aware of the soft murmuring outside her room, the beeping echoing off the walls, the tubes attached to her arms, and the machines casting their shadows over her bed. She lifted her arm and turned, scanning the bandages that covered her fair skin. Her hand moved up to her head, her fingers brushing the bandage that wrapped around her head. 

Just then, she heard a knock on the door. The door opened a crack, and Tungmei could see Meixing's hopeful eyes peering through the door. Tungmei's eyes met her best friend's, and she quickly flashed a smile. Meixing's eyes lit up. 

"Tungmei!" she squealed, walking in and taking a seat beside her bed. She reached over to hug Tungmei but stopped. 

"I probably shouldn't," she said. "You're still in pain, huh?" Meixing backed down, sitting back in her seat. She played with her fingers. 

"Oh!" Meixing said. She jumped out of her seat and headed straight to the cupboards, digging around. 

"Mei?" 

"Hm?" she hummed while fishing out a wooden bowl and a mason jar. 

"What's going on?" Tungmei asked. Meixing chuckled at the sound of genuine bewilderment in Tungmei's voice. She turned away from the bowl and smiled softly. 

"You got hurt. I don't know how  . . . but you were in an alley. Do you remember?" 

Tungmei stared at the ceiling, thinking. "Oh . . . yeah. I do. But . . . I don't remember anything before that. Why aren't you guys at school?" 

Meixing gulped. Tungmei's memory wasn't too good. It made sense, Meixing thought. She had been hit in the head, after all. "The Aliums attacked again, Tung," she said quietly. The atmosphere in the room had turned uncomfortably solemn. 

"Where are the others?" 

Meixing shuffled anxiously. "They're next door." 

"Why?" 

Meixing swallowed hard. She wasn't ready to break the news so soon. Tungmei had barely woken up after three days. She drummed her fingers against the counter and kept her eyes fixed on the white tiles of the ground. "Liwei got hurt. Real bad, too."

Tungmei froze, her eyes going wide. She was praying it wasn't real. Tungmei shakily sighed, her heart beating faster. She didn't care that she herself was in pain at that point. 

"Mei . . . How did we get here?"