Isle of Sanctum | The Aya Thrasher Chronicles | Book 1 |[Editing]

Chapter Sixty-Six

CHAPTER SIXTY-SIX

RAYNE

I woke up in a cramped bed. It took me a few seconds to realize where I was. I was in the hospital again. My hands, arms, and face were aching like I had been run over by a truck. That was a small price to pay in order to apprehend the Wyres. Though, I was feeling guilty about the deaths of Hayes and Nova. I was sad too, but the guilt was what was actually killing me. Everyone I got close to got hurt. It was like a curse that was following me around. Maybe I was the problem.

That got me to thinking about the others. Where were they? I sat up in the hospital bed and looked around. The room was incased in what looked like a plastic dome. There were Scuisians walking around in hazmat sounds. What in the hell?

"Hey!" I tried calling to one of them, but it seemed like the dome was sound proof.

I tried to get up, but my arms were full of IV lines. I figured it was important to not rip them out, so I did what I could to get myself to the edge of the bed. From there, I grabbed a coffee mug and threw against the dome. Crash. The mug shattered into several different pieces.

The sound of the mug colliding against the floor seemed to get one of the Scuisian's attention. He unzipped the dome and poked his head in.

"You should be in bed," the man scolded through his helmet.

"What happened? Where are my friends?" I asked.

"You were infected by a fatal toxin, you're lucky you're still breathing," he said. "You really should be in bed, that wasn't a sufficient time to heal—"

"Yeah, yeah," I cut him off. "Where are my friends?"

"Probably in the waiting room, they aren't allowed back here. The toxin is highly contagious," he explained.

The man proceeded to lift his head out of the opening of the dome before he zipped it back up. When he was gone, I touched my face. I was greeted by the rough texture of bandages. I picked up a plate from the table next to the bed and tried to get a glimpse at my reflection. I looked like a monster. The entire right side of my face was covered in vanilla colored bandages. Was it really that bad?I wondered.

I attempted to lift one corner of the bandage. It stung to the point where it was almost unbearable. Even so, I managed to lift off about half an inch of the fabric, just enough for me to examine what was lying beneath it.

My skin was red and swollen. Now, I really looked like a monster. I wondered if it was going to permanently scar. I didn't particularly want half my face to look like that, but at the same time, there were more pressing matters to deal with.

Since, I was unable to leave the bed, I sat there in silence for the next several hours. Then, the dome had been removed. The same hazmat man from before told me I was no longer contagious, but I still had to remain in the bed.

Someone creeped themselves inside the room. It was Serina.

"Thank goodness you're okay. I was worried sick," she said as she walked over to my bed.

"I don't know about that. Have you seen my face?" I joked.

"There's something I really need to tell you," she sighed and paused. "I've been wanting to tell you, but I had to be sure first."

I knitted a brow. "What is it?" I asked.

Serina glanced down before she looked back at me. I stared deep into her aqua colored eyes. I could tell she harboring a secret.

"You've never met your birth mother?" She asked.

I shook my head. "No. She died after she gave birth to me," I said.

She seemed confused. "Is that what they told you?"

"That's what my dad said." I explained. "I've seen pictures of her before, though."

Serina raised a brow. "I don't know what they told you, but that wasn't your mother."

I crossed my arms. "How would you know?" I asked.

"Because I am," she said with a sigh.

I sat there silent with my mouth agape. I couldn't tell if she was being serious or if this was some sort of sick joke. If she were my real birth mother, why did she let me grow up without her. My life could have turned out so differently.

"I know this may come as a shock..." Serina began. "I know you what you probably think of me—"

A tear entered from the corner of my eye. "You're the worst!" I cried out. Serina wrapped her arms around me in attempt to get me to calm down, but I kept trying to push her away. "No." I cried harder.

"I wanted to keep you here." Serina began. "I would have raised you. Your father kidnapped you with the help of that evil mother of his."

"You didn't give me up?" I asked wiping away a tear.

She shook her head. "No. Of course not. I've been looking for you for eighteen years," she explained. "Your father hid you well. I hope he's taken good care of you at least."

"He tried, but my grandmother—"

"Don't even get me started with her. I've never liked her you know." Serina shook her head. She paused for a second and lowered her head down. "There's something else I need to tell you...."

I looked at her waiting for an answer. After that huge bomb drop, what else could she possible say?

"Aya is also your first cousin," she said.

"Really?" I asked. Actually, that piece of news was hardly anything compared to finding out that my mother was Serina. "How does that work?"

Serina looked back up at me. "Her father is my older brother," she explained.

"Wait? That cop who broke me out of jail?" I asked.

Serina nodded. "He moved away and got married. So, I haven't seen him for years. I didn't know about Aya. I just assumed he was dead," she said.

I needed time to process all this new information. It was a lot. Not to mention, I still wasn't over Hayes and Nova. It was bittersweet. A family reunion mixed with tragic loses. It was too much to think about at once.