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I tilt my head to the side, and then every single one of my muscles tighten.
Standing out in the distance is a copy of me, wearing the same tattered dress and scuffed leather jacket. And I'm not alone. Blaise is next to me, his fingers laced through mine, a worried look on his face.
What the ...? Ghosts?
They flicker in and out of focus as the gnawing pain in my brain and muscles goes quiet. The world around me paralyzes as my eyelids softly slip shut.
At peace. I feel so at peace.
Guess I really can die ...
Chapter 11
Reviving the Near Dead
"Allura, open your eyes," Ryder's wonderful voice caresses my ears. However, doubt weighs on my mind.
No ... It's not real ... It has to be Lex or another Warden messing with my mind.
"Allura," Ryder pleads. "Please wake up."
I shake my head from side to side. No ... I don't want to ... I don't want to see the channels again.
"Sweetheart." Rough skin caresses my cheek. "I know it's scary, but I need you to open your eyes so I can know if the cure worked."
Fearing this is a side effect of one of the Warden's injections, my eyes remain lowered. I want to be brave, but I'm not ready to face the truth yet; acknowledge that my freedom is gone and that I'm going to relive my days in that cell. That Ryder, Reece, and Blaise are no more. That this was all a dream I've sunk into to deal with my traumatic reality.
"She's not opening her eyes," Ryder says, sounding severely concerned. "Does that mean it didn't work?"
"Don't jump to conclusions just yet," Reece tells him. "She may be a bit disoriented."
"A bit disoriented?" Ryder questions. "Her eyes aren't even open."
"Give her a minute," Reece says in a calm but firm tone. "She's been under for weeks. It could take her a few hours to come out of it."
Warm air tickles my cheek as Ryder heaves a sigh. "I hope you're right."
"I usually am," Reece reminds him. "Now sit back and give her some time."
The fingers resting on my cheek move away, leaving my skin chilling cold.
Silence engulfs me, the stillness rattling my already fragile nerves. I want to move, open my eyes, see why it feels like someone is watching me. But then I'd have to deal with the consequences of the truth, and I'm growing quite fond of my delusional bubble. Well, at first, anyway.
The more time trickles by, the more unsettled I become. Restlessness stirs inside me, driving me to the brink of insanity until I finally can't take it anymore.
With a preparing breath, I open my eyes and face the outcome I probably deserve, if I'm being entirely honest and unselfish.
A neon yellow light instantly overwhelms my vision, and I wince, my eyeballs feeling as though they're bleeding.
"Shit, sorry. I forgot I had that on."
When the light dims, Reece's face materializes above me. His scruffy jawline hasn't been shaven in at least a week, his brown hair is a chaotic mess, and dark bags reside under his worry-filled eyes.
"Can you hear me?" He aims a tiny flashlight into my eyes. "Her pupils are responsive." Fingers press to the inside of my wrist as he glances at the watch on his wrist. "Her pulse is steady." He leans closer with a crease forming between his brows. "And she seems to be breathing normally."
"Then why isn't she saying anything?" Ryder leans over me. Like Reece, his jawline is covered in scruff, his blond hair is a crazy mess, and he looks sleep-deprived.
"I don't know yet." Reece tosses the flashlight onto a table then rests his hand beside my head. "Maybe you should go get Rae."
Nodding, Ryder spins around to leave.
"Wait," I manage to croak out. "I'm fine."
Reece sits up straighter while Ryder reels back around, relief washing over his features.
"You can hear us?" Reece asks, reaching toward a square, beeping machine. He pushes a few buttons and the lines on the screen blink. Then he faces me again. "For how long?"
"A while." I rest my hand on the base of my parched throat and look around. I'm lying in a bed, in a room made of dark grey grated walls. A blanket is pulled over me and wires run from my wrists and head to a small machine balanced on top of a stainless steel table. "I could've spoken sooner, but I was afraid you guys weren't real." I'm still slightly doubtful.
This place feels so cold, like the Wardens' experiment rooms. As I take in the warmth and kindness in Ryder and Reece's eyes, though, my skepticism dissipates. Wardens couldn't create such warm emotions. This place ... Them ... It must be real.
"Where am I?" I cough against the scratchiness at the back of my throat.
"I'll get her some water," Ryder says, hurrying off somewhere.
"You're at Leviter Station." Reece sits on the edge of the bed and brushes my hair out of my eyes. "How much do you remember?"
I search my mind for the answer. "Climbing up a cliff ... Falling ... You guys saying that I was shot by the Kiss of Death. Blaise driving through a Tracker ... Passing out ... Waking up in water ... Blaise and I going to a world filled with death ... A stranger showing up ... Blaise disap--" I quickly shoot upright and end up smacking heads with Reece.
He moans, pressing the heel of his hand to his forehead while using his other hand to steady me by my shoulder. "Easy. The medication I used to counteract the effect of the Kiss of Death has some strange side effects."
"Like what?" I wave my hand around in front of me. I can barely keep track of the speedy movement.
"Like your brain's inability to control how your body moves." Reece captures my hand then slips his fingers through mine. "You might want to take it easy on moving around too much until you regain more control over your body. In fact, you should probably lie back down."
I nod and the whole room bounces. "I can do that ... after I see Blaise." I need to know he's okay, more than I've ever needed anything.
Reece stiffens, his lips parting. "Allura, there's something I need to--"
"Here. Drink this." Ryder returns with a cup.
I reach for it but move too fast and nearly knock it out of his hands.
"Sorry," I sputter, pulling back.
"No apologizing for things that aren't your fault, remember?" Ryder playfully scolds, wagging his finger at me. Then he moves the cup toward my face. "Open up."
I obey, unhinging my jaw, and he moves the straw into my mouth.
"Now, drink."
Feeling a little embarrassed that he's taking care of me, I wrap my lips around the straw. The second the refreshingly cold water spills down my throat, any embarrassment flies away to the sky, never to be found.
Reaching up slowly, I place my hands atop of his and around the cup, slurping down the water savagely.
"She's dehydrated," Ryder comments with concern as I continue to guzzle the water.
"That's understandable." Reece checks the monitor again. "She was in the Oblivion for nearly three weeks."
"Yeah, but usually people drink while they're in there," Ryder says. "Allura, didn't you drink anything?"
I shake my head from side to side, removing my lips from the straw. "We never got a chance."
Ryder moves the cup away from my mouth. "How come?"
I wiggle around until the wires attached to me aren't pulling so tightly, but I move too fast and nearly fall off the bed. When Ryder steadies me, I offer him a grateful smile.
"There was a lot going on in the memory Blaise and I were in," I explain. "First, these Orders showed up ... Wait. Couldn't you guys see what was going on in there? I thought that's what the point of the Oblivion was ... so you guys could see my memories."
"Normally, it is." Reece brings his knee up onto my bedside. "Because of the circumstances of why you were in there, things worked a little differently."
I glance back and forth between the two of them. "You mean because I was dying?"
Reece nods, his throat muscles working hard as he swallows. "We basically had to toss you in there without much prep time, so we
weren't able to monitor much." He pauses, contemplating. "Plus, your brain works a little differently and the machine struggled to completely connect with you."
My shoulders slump, my gaze descending to my hands. "Different how?"
"I don't know yet, but we will figure it out." Reece hitches a finger under my chin and forces me to look at him. The kindness in his expression makes eye contact easier than I thought. "I know you're nervous, but I'd really like to have Rae look at you. She's a lot smarter than me, and she might have a better answer to what's going on."
"You mean, the doctor here?" I ask, fidgeting. "The one Mable told me to see?"
"She told you to see Rae?" Ryder asks, reminding me that he and Reece don't know the entire story of what happened back at the East City Post when Mable tested my blood on moonstone. Only Blaise does, because he could hear through the walls.
