"Thwack!...Thwack!...Thwack!....THWACK!"
hhn… hhh… mhh-hh… haah… No more, please....please, please, please, please, pleaseeeeee...pleaseeee.
Trembling, I curl tighter, face buried in my knees, heart hammering against my throat.
mhh… hhh—hh… ahh…
Metal hitting flesh echoes inside my skull. Dark red blood seeps towards me like a snake scenting its prey. The fine dust on the hard concrete floor stirs in the strong wind from the thunderstorm outside, mocking my helplessness.
A blinding lightning strike turns the pitch-black night into day.
BOOM!
The flash burns my closed eyes, turning my vision red. Voices blur together somewhere above me.
Beep... beep... beep... beep...
My vision stays red. I can feel myself gasping like a fish for breath.
Who is talking...?
What is that beeping...?
Why won't the lightning stop...?
"—ear me?"
Huh?
"Rysa, -an - h-r me!? "
Someone's holding me. I try to pry my eyes open, but they're glued shut.
Water... I need water... My throat feels like sandpaper. My head is splitting open. Pain rolls through me, crushing and heavy. I can't breathe—
Beep... beep... beep... beep...
Pitch Black.
Beep... beep... beep....
Red.
Beep... beep... beep....
Pitch Black.
Crack—my eyelids part at last. My eyes slowly adjust to the darkness. A plain white ceiling. The overwhelming smell of disinfectant in the air makes my nose itchy. From the corner of my eye, I see a blue light blinking on my left side—that's where the beeping sound is coming from—and on my right, a window with blue curtains giving me the view of a quiet, starless night sky.
I shift my body a little, and pain lances through my entire body like fireworks.
Ow... ow... damn—everythinghurts.
Something moves beside me. I gently tilt my head to the right, squinting to see a guy sleeping on a chair beside my bed.
Fluffy hair... can't see his face. I shift my fingers ever so slightly and nudge his arm—hey... wake up—nothing. Another nudge—still nothing. He's dead to this world.
Who is this guy? He's snoring like a pig.
I am tired. Sigh.
Beep... beep... beep...
Red.
A burst of light blinds me. Blue eyes. Panic slams into me, sending the monitor to a state of hysteria. The guy jolts back, yelling.
"D-D-DOCTOR!!! Doctor!.... Nurse!! She's awake!"
It's the fluffy hair from last night.
Ugh.....so loud....someone shut him up!
The room floods with people. Three swarm the machines, one checks my pulse, and the other flashes his stupid torch into my eyes.
What is happening? Why are there so many people?
"Rysa, can you hear me?" one of them asks.
Rysa?
I try to answer, but my lips feel like dead weight. W-A-T-E-R... water. Please, somebody, give me some water!
I try to form words, but only weird breaths come out of me.
"Doctor, is she back to normal?" Fluffy asks.
Normal!?..... Which part of this is normal to you?!
"Hmm... she regained consciousness, but with a head injury like hers, full recovery will take some time," the pulse guy says, pushing up his glasses.
Fluffy wipes his eyes, then reaches for me. He brushes my hair, looking at me like I am the apple of his eye or something.
"Rysa... welcome back, my love. Sorry to startle you. Dear god, I missed you so much....." Fluffy hair takes my hand and presses it to his cheek.
Huh? Who the hell is Rysa?—Wait, my love?.... who's he???. Hold on, am I in a hospital??
I look at him, like really look at him.
A guy in his late 20s or early 30s, maybe?
Fluffy, disheveled hair framing a nerdy, sharp face with thick eyebrows and big blue eyes.
He might pass as handsome if he'd put on some weight and wasn't so gangly. Definitely not my type, so nada, doesn't ring a bell. He looks at me with soft, watery eyes before turning to the doctor.
"She must be tired, so let her sleep some more."
The doctor nods his head and signals the nurse.
No. No no no no.... WAIT!—I don't want to sleep anymore, water—
Beep.... beep.... beep....
Pitch black.