The Enhanced

Chapter Forty Three

Juliet's P.O.V.

The first thing I was aware of was the fact that I couldn't move. I put all of my concentration into lifting my right index finger and nothing seemed to happen, and if it did I wasn't able to see since I couldn't open my eyes.

I could hear Aiden, but it was as if he was miles away, shouting at me from another lifetime. He sounded worried, scared, and I put all of my strength into waking up, comforting him, telling him it was going to be alright. But nothing happened, and I was left in the darkness.

Time passes slowly and still I can do nothing but sit there and wait for something, anything, to happen. Every second feels like a lifetime. Slowly, memories begin to lpay in front of me, passing thoughts and images of my childhood, my training, of my past life.

There are a few brief images of what I can only assume are my parents, a woman with piercing green eyes, and a slender face. She holds me up and looks at me and from somewhere within me there is a giggling sound. The woman smiles and holds me close to her, in a tight hug. And from beside me, I see a young man with kind eyes. His hair was similar to mine in colour, and his face was bright.

Aiden flashes across my memory, his grin that made you want smile with him, his gruff chuckle that made him sound older than his time. The feel of his hand, rough but comforting. I feel words on my lips, I feel myself tell him that I love him. I feel myself whole, as if my entire life had led to me meeting him, knowing him, loving him.

My memories of the facility feel lonely and miserable and I yearn to feel Aiden in my presence again, I wait to hear his voice again but there is nothing. Slowly, the images fade into the darkness and I am left alone. I have no body, no voice, it is just me and my conscience sitting in the abyss. Sitting there, I have never felt so lonely, so terrified of what would come next.

Was I dying? Was I already dead?

And then, slicing through everything, I hear Aiden again. His voice was so distant, so far away, but even its whispers bring me comfort. His words are hard to distinguish, but still just the sound calms me.

The time begins to pass again, slowly at first, but then quicker. Until I could feel the minutes passing my one by one, too fast for me to even comprehend. A giant flash of light blinds me, and I try to escpae it but fail. Terrified that this may be the end, I try to scream and cry and outrun it.

Then the light lessens slightly and I feel my body again, my fingertips and my legs and the pain in my stomach and I feel my eyelids. I blink the light away and shift my head, looking up at the ceiling of the car.

A sound to my left startles me and I look to see Aiden, staring at me in relief and terror.

He shoves his arms around me and begins to cry into my shoulder with sobs that rock both of our bodies and at some point, I join him and we hold each other.

When he pulls away, he pushes the hair from my face and kisses me without a thought. I don't think about anything other than pure delight and relief.

Every second stretches forever before Aiden pulls way again and hugs me.

"I love you, Juliet," he mumbles into my hair, tightening his grip around me.

I hold him tight, "I love you too," I reply. And I knew, without one ounce of doubt, that I did. I loved him more than anything I could comprehend, more than I could handle.

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It took a while for us to remember that we were in danger and to get going again. But, st some point, we do.