Beep. Beep. Beep. The sound of my heart, I guessed wildly. I tentatively opened my eyes to find a worried face peering over me.
"You're awake! At last. You're in hospital, Miss Gilbert. I'm afraid there was a complication with the surgery. You suffered an awful reaction to the anaesthetic.. We've bandaged you up pretty heavily, due to the fact that you appear to have clawed off most of the skin on your arms. Your arms are red raw, and your fingernails have all been bitten down to the quick. I don't suggest that you try to talk, as you've also suffered extensive damage to your vocal chords. You appeared to be hallucinating, and-"
Either he trailed off, or I lost interest. I couldn't really tell. Staring blankly at the ceiling, my brain tuned out. Every few seconds I picked up a word or two of what he was saying. Something about administering some pain relief? I wasn't sure.
All I knew was that I was overwhelmed. A strong surge of emotions raced through me: shock, disbelief, sadness. A fresh wave of tears cascaded down my face.
"Don't cry. You're in safe hands."
My stomach churned. Had I heard correctly? My body tingled as a new dose of antibiotics coursed through my veins. The steady beep of the heart monitor began to go into overdrive. I could feel tiny beads of perspiration beginning to moisten my upper lip. The doctor's face started to change. In a matter of seconds, I was staring, wide-eyed, into the face of the dentist.
A sly glint appeared in his eyes as I felt my body go limp. Completely powerless, I succumbed to the now familiar feeling, and entered the Void once again.
