Welcome to the Jungle

Chapter 21: Lost Boys Like Me Are Free

Kara opened her heavy eyelids with effort more than it normally needed and had to wait a bit for her awareness to come around. Her body felt as though made of steel or glued to the mattress beneath her.

"Is she awake? Kara, can you hear me?"

"Give her a moment, Alex."

Kara had to focus very hard to recognize the voices and as soon she placed them as Eliza and her sister, Alex's face appeared above her.

"Hey, you! Welcome back!" Alex smiled at Kara warmly and she felt herself returning it, even though it made her face hurt. Why did everything hurt?

"Hi..." Her voice sounded far weaker and hoarser than she had expected. Even her vocal cords felt soar.

Eliza emerged next with an exhausted, yet happy face. "How are you feeling, dear?"

"Tired." She wheezed in confession. All she wanted to do was to go back to sleeping when she didn't have the energy to even remember what had happened or ask where she was.

Eliza nodded in understanding and Alex compassionately gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze. Even her soft touch hurt.

"That's ok, sweetie. Go back to sleep." Eliza encouraged her.

"Mike..." Kara slurred as the mirage of him was still fresh in her mind. She felt worried for him, yet didn't know the reason.

"He's right here." Alex looked at someone to the left, but Kara was too feeble to even turn her head even if she wanted to. She didn't need to though as the man in question came into her field of vision merely a second later.

"Kara!" Mike gasped and despite her drowsiness, Kara saw the tears in his eyes. He took one of her hands in his, a thumb brushing the backside soothingly. She felt his touch burning her skin with how warm they felt against her cold body. It felt good. It felt safe.

"Mi..Mike...I-" Kara drawled, struggling for more words but the, pull of sleep was too strong to fight. Her eyelids threatened to close.

"Shhh..." Mike shushed her. "We can talk later. Rest now." She only heard him as her eyes fell closed completely. Kara swore she felt something hot touching her forehead, but she was already knocked back into deep slumber before she could figure out what it was.

The next time Kara woke up, she felt much stronger. The soreness was still very present, yet mentally she felt more like herself. She could now understand she was in a hospital and judging by the darkness inside the room and outside the window, it was late. But how late, she couldn't tell and there wasn't anyone around her like the first time. The only light sources in the room were the dim lights on both sides of her bed. Kara looked at her hands now that she had the power to actually move them. An IV line was attached to one and on the other, a blood pressure sensor was clipped to her index finger.

She was too busy taking in all the equipment surrounding her that the soft snore from the left corner of the private room almost made her jump. Kara squinted into the darkness and made out a body uncomfortably napping on a chair. Kara had a few guesses who it might be, although the ebbs and flows of the breathing and the snores instantly shortened the list as she recognized it as a male and left her with only one name.

"Mike?" She called quietly, but the man flinched awake as though she had shouted it.

"Kara?" He called back as he shuffled to come to her, but slowly. Kara saw him scrambling for something before standing and made her confused with his slow pace and the unfamiliar sound of something hitting the floor with his every step. She didn't put it together until he was near enough for her to see he was walking with the help of a cane.