Page 63 of Savage Warrior

Should I speak? Is anyone there to hear me? Will they help me?

“Arina?” That familiar voice again, gentle, concerned. “What do you need?”

Water…

Did I speak aloud? I must have because drops of water are trickling across my lips. I catch them on my tongue. Their coolness is simple ecstasy, soothing my parched throat. For several minutes, I continue to lick the comforting fluid from my lips and drink it in.

“Do you want to sit up, Arina?” A soft voice now. A woman, with capable, gentle hands.

I nod, and she eases my shoulders from the pillow, then shoves another behind me.

“There, is that more comfortable?”

I sigh my response and lift my hand to grip the wrist of whoever is providing the water. I need more. The rim of a cup touches my lower lip. Water dribbles into my mouth, some of it spilling down my chin. I swallow it greedily, relishing the relief as it flows down my throat. I drink until I can take no more, then collapse back onto the pillows.

“Feeling better?”

Am I? Yes, perhaps. I try to sit up again, but agony pierces my fragile sense of well-being. I let out a cry.

The gentle woman is back. “I’ll get you more pain relief,” she promises.

“Please… It hurts…”

“I know. Let me help.” Moments later, the throbbing eases. I’m still hurting, but it’s less. I can cope. Probably.

“Can you still hear me, Arina?” It’s that familiar voice back again. A man, someone I know, someone I like. Someone I love?

I incline my head. Yes, I can hear you. Stay with me…

“Can you remember what happened? Do you know where you are?”

I crease my forehead, try to recall. We were in a car, driving fast, in the snow. Men were chasing us…

I let out a small cry. I’m afraid suddenly. They will kill us. We need to go faster.

“It’s okay. You don’t need to think about this yet. They’re gone. They can’t hurt you now.” He is holding my hand, squeezing my fingers.

I reach for him.

“I have you, baby. It’s over. You’re safe now.”

I am safe. I know that, feel that in my very bones. So why am I so fearful still? What is wrong? Why can I not—?

Natalija! Yuryl!

No. No, no, no. I need to help them. I must go back.

I try to sit up but I’m too weak. Hands are holding me back, pressing me into the bed. I fight, desperate to escape. I need to go. I need to go now.

It’s dark. Quiet. There are still sounds from the machinery surrounding me, but no voices. And, no pain. I open my eyes fully, take in deep breaths, and try to order my thoughts.

I am hurt. I was shot. The memory fills my confused, jumbled consciousness. I recall the terror, the bitter cold, crawling through the undergrowth away from… who?

?tefan!

?tefan told me to escape, to try to reach the road. He’s behind me, protecting me. I have a gun in my hand. Me, a gun! And I fired it. I remember pulling the trigger, again and again. Reloading.

Did I kill someone? Is that why they’re chasing me?

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