Moon Angel

Chapter 21: Bad News

Chapter 21: Bad News

The first thing I noticed when I woke up was my throbbing headache. The second was the pain in my chest every time I breathed. I felt dazed, a ringing filled my ears. What had happened?

I looked around to see I was in a hospital room. My bed was slightly raised, allowing me just enough leverage to look around the room. I turned my head to see Jay and Skyla sitting in the chairs next to my bed. Jay was slouched in his chair. Skyla asleep on his shoulder.

"Hey," Jay said warmly, when he noticed I was awake. He tapped Skyla lightly on the shoulder, waking her up. He moved forward on his seat. "I'm so glad you're alive."

His voice sounded like it was travelling through water and it took me a few seconds to make sense of what he just said. I smiled a little, the thumping in my head filling my ears. I closed my eyes to try and clear my head. I was still unsure as to how I got here.

"What happened?" I asked.

He avoided looking me in the eye. "I'll go and get the doctor now that you're awake."

He stood up, leaving the room. I looked to Skyla.

"You've been out since you came back. We weren't sure that you'd wake up at all," Skyla told me, filling in some of the details.

Since I came back? I vaguely remembered leaving for a mission. Had it gone wrong somehow?

The doctor entered the room, interrupting my thoughts. Mr Carter came in beside him, closing the door.

"What happened?" I repeated. I felt like a broken record but no one had actually answered any of my questions.

Mr Carter started first, "The explosive device went off prematurely. We are still trying to determine exactly what happened. The warehouse went up in flames after the explosion and you were caught in the wreckage. We managed to find you under the rubble. You were unconscious when we did. We were surprised to find you alive at all after what you went through. The doctors weren't sure that you'd achieve consciousness. But again, you have beaten the odds." Mr Carter smiled but I didn't smile back.

I remembered the bomb now and lying in the smoke and wreckage. And the pain. I remembered the pain.

The doctor took over from Mr Carter, listing my injuries.

I suddenly remembered who else had been there. Em! She had been in the room when the explosion went off. Where was she now?!

"What happened to Em?"

The doctor ignored my question and continued, using various medical terms. Some of the words found their way through my head. I had received concussion, a broken arm, a couple of broken ribs and burns on various parts of body.

But I suddenly didn't care about myself.

"What happened to Em?" I repeated the words again with more insistence this time.

The doctor stopped talking and looked over at Mr Carter. Mr Carter smiled at me but the smile did not reach his eyes.

"I'm sorry, Selene," he said quietly. The smile dropping from his face.

I shook my head in disbelief. "No," I muttered. "No. No."

Nothing could have happened to Em. Em was indestructible.

He continued, "Emelia was caught in the blast wave of the explosion. We couldn't find her body but there were scraps of clothing within the blast zone. She would have been incinerated..."

Each word smacked into me. I tried to block out the sound of his voice. It couldn't be true. But he spoke so softly, so matter-of-fact, like he was trying to break the news gently. But the news that your best friend in all the world had... died? That was never gentle.

I closed my eyes. I couldn't think about this right now.

"I am truly sorry, Selene. I knew what Emelia meant to you."

A silence filled the room. The pain in my chest increasing as I struggled to take deep breaths, to calm myself down.

Mr Carter was the first to break the silence.

"I think we should give Selene some space. She has been through a lot." I barely heard his words. I just stared at my lap. From the corner of my eye I saw everyone leave. Skyla gave me a small smile and squeezed my hand gently as she stood up.

Mr Carter stayed standing in the room.

"I know this is hard, Selene." I looked at him. His gaze were downcast, avoiding my eye.

"I thought it would be best if you were to be moved somewhere else. Away from Omega. Just while you recovered."

He let the news sink in. "With your injuries, you won't be able to train for a while anyway." He smiled, looking up at me.

"How far?" I asked. My voice sounded weaker than it should have.

"We have a lodge above ground that doubles as a guard outpost. It helps us keep an eye on everything that is happening. It is a beautiful spot actually. I think you'd like it there. I know how much you love the fresh air." He smiled again. "We have staff there who look after the place. They'd take good care of you. I also hear the food is superb." He paused. "You wouldn't be going far."

He smiled a third time. "I'll let you think about it." He turned around and walked out of the room.

Once the room was empty, the doctor came back in and checked me over. Apparently, apart from the concussion and physical injuries, there were no other mental side effects. I just had to rest up and my body would heal itself.

It was a relief when the doctor and nurses finally left me alone.

I felt so exhausted. So many emotions flooded my body. I didn't know whether to cry or scream so I did neither. I just sat and stared, trying to ignore the pain. I eventually drifted off to sleep, telling myself over and over again that it couldn't be true, that they had to be lying.