Broken Nightmare

Chapter 32

  My mind was jerked awake, but my body refused to stir. All I wanted to do was sleep for the next, like, forever.

The hard mattress under my back made me realize something was wrong. My bed back at the house felt like clouds, not a rock. I slowly peeled my eyes open, squinting at the bright light that burned my iris.

An old, dusty quilt was laid heavily across my body. It looked like I was in some cheap hotel, but nothing around me gave me confirmation of where I was. Not even the windows, which were covered by heavy curtains.

Another frightful thought raced through my head. How did I get here? I thought back to the woods. The last thing I remembered was being hunted in the woods by some unknown creature.

I started to panic at the thought. I bolted up and touched my body, assessing my damage. I still wore the green dress. I guess that was a good sign. Now that my drowsiness has worn off, though, I noticed the ache in my cheek and ankle. I hung my feet over the edge of the bed and tried to stand, but then I realized it wasn't just my ankle that hurt. My feet were stuck with pins and needles the second I placed weight on them.

Palpable fear lodged itself in my throat. How am I going to get out of here? I took deep breaths, trying not to let panic overcrowd my thoughts.

The door creaked and I nearly jumped out of my skin. I jerked my head up, hurting my neck in the process as Nathan walked in the door. He slammed the door and rushed to my side as soon as he saw me, and the next thing I know, he's pushing down on my shoulders.

I swatted at his hands as relief flooded through me. "Lay back down, Elana." He commanded in a loud voice.

I tried to hide my fear by glaring at him, but I could tell he saw right through me. He gave me a worried look as I scooted up the bed, resting my back on the headboard. "I can't walk," I choked out, not knowing what else to say. My voice sounded hoarse and scratchy as it crawled up my throat.

"Shh, don't speak," Nathan whispered and moved to the foot of the bed.

I shook my head. I wished more than anything that what I witnessed was not real. The visions of the night came back. The fight with the vampires, my brothers, Dimitri, the dead wolves, Sampson. I remembered the fear that traveled through my body as I was chased into the woods. I remembered seeing my brother through the smoke of a fire my best friend had set. And I remembered nearly mauling my brother to death.

I let myself feel the guilt of all the past events and tears spurted to my eyes. I covered my face with my hands, not wanting to have Nathan looking at me while I cried. My cheek stung as soon as I put pressure on it, so I eased my left hand up a little. Silent tears poured from my eyes.

I removed my hands from my face and scrubbed at the moisture under them.

Nathan cast his eyes down. He got up from his spot and headed to the door. My heart lodged itself in my throat and I panicked as Nathan started to head to the door. Afraid to be alone again, I was about to run after him when he turned to the bathroom sink and filled a cup with water. He returned to my feet and handed me the cup.

"Where are we? Are the others safe?" My voice was a little more strained from the crying I just did, but I really didn't care at the moment.

I greedily accepted the water and swallowed most of it in one gulp. The lukewarm water rushed down my throat and settled comfortably in my stomach. It didn't matter if it was gross hotel water, I was so content with the liquid as I downed the rest of the glass.