Elemental

Chapter 24

Christine woke up to a steady beeping from the machine beside her. She was lying on a bed in a small room, the only window in the room covered by curtains. The only light coming from the candle on her bedside table. There was a tube running blood into her arm. Her left arm was in a sling that kept her arm against her chest. Her stomach, thigh and left ankle were wrapped in bandages while her right knee was in a brace. Her body wasn't in nearly as much pain as earlier but she didn't dare move.

She knew she needed to find a way out of wherever she was, but as far as where she was, there wasn't much to go off of. And even if she wanted to move, she was in no condition to. She tapped into her powers and was relieved when she was able to produce a small ball of water in her hand.

The door to her right opened up and a woman strolled in. She looked to be in her mid-twenties with a blonde bob and bright green eyes. She smiled at Christine.

"Good, you're up. I was beginning to worry you'd slipped into a coma." She started writing down notes on the clipboard in her hands as she spoke. "Vitals seem to be normalizing," she mused as she wrote down the numbers on the monitor.

"Who are you? And, where am I?" Christine asked, her voice hoarse.

"Right, sorry," she said and set down her clipboard. "I'm Layla. I found you passed out by a car not too far from my house. I took you in and have been taking care of you. I'm a registered doctor if you were worried."

That wasn't what she was worried about. "So, do you know—"

"That you're Christine Cooper? Yes, I do. Your face has been everywhere since your speech."

She tried to sit up but her body wasn't cooperating.

"Hey, calm down. I'm on your side." She walked in a smaller room off to the left which she assumed was a bathroom and came back holding a mirror.

Christine froze at her reflection. Her hair had been chopped into a messy bob that ran across her jawline and she had bangs. Not only that, but her black hair had been dyed to a chestnut brown with tints of copper and red. There was black liner around her eyes and there was a ring in her lip and eyebrow. She barely recognized herself.

"I had to disguise you in case anyone decided to come looking for you here. I would have immediately taken you to one of the hideouts but I was afraid to move you. You were nearly dead when I found you. I was honestly afraid you wouldn't make it. But there is something miraculous about your cells. They're, like, hyper-healing. It's truly amazing."

"How long have I been here?"

"Over a week. Your shoulder was dislocated, your collarbone broken, your ACL was pulled but luckily not tore. You've also got a sprained ankle and suffered internal bleeding in your abdomen. I had to surgically treat it but you've been recovering well."

Christine put her hand against her stomach. "Wow. That's—That's a lot. But, I mean, thank you. Sounds like I would've died without you."