Page 73 of Shattered Echoes

Henry’s face softens. “We won’t let that happen. We’ll find him, Leo.”

I try to steady my breathing, but the panic is overwhelming. My vision tunnels, and I feel myself swaying.

What’s happening to me?

Just as I felt like I was going down, the head of Leo's security team bursts into the room, his face flushed with urgency. "We’ve found him!" he announces.

The atmosphere in the room shifts. A collective sigh of relief escapes from everyone, the high emotions that caused everyone to be on edge are dissipating. For a moment, the weight of anxiety lifts from my shoulders, and I feel a flood of gratitude and hope.

I can feel my legs again.

Relief washes over me in waves. My body feels lighter, as if a heavy burden has been removed. The tightness in my chest loosens, and I can breathe again. My hands also stop trembling. For the first time since Antonio disappeared, I feel a glimmer of peace.

"We need to go, now!" Leo commands, his voice urgent, but no longer filled with anger. Everyone scrambles to their feet, the room erupting into a flurry of movement. Gabriela grabs her purse, Henry grabs his jacket, and I stand up, ready to follow them out the door. But as I take my first step, the world around me tilts. My vision blurs once again. The colors of the room and people’s faces are smearing together into an indistinct haze.

A wave of dizziness crashes over me, and I grasp at the nearest piece of furniture for support.

"Colette, are you okay?" Henry's voice is distant, muffled, as if he’s speaking to me from underwater. I try to nod, to reassure him, but my body refuses to cooperate.

The room spins faster, and my legs feel like they’ve turned to jelly. Before I can process what’s happening, my knees buckle. The last thing I see is Henry's face, wide-eyed with alarm, rushing toward me as the darkness closes in.

I collapse to the floor, the world around me fading to black. I hear gasps, feel hands on me, but it all seems far away. My consciousness slips away, leaving me in a void of nothingness as the world around me fades.

Leo’s voice, so commanding, now sounds panicked. "Colette! Colette, stay with us!" He shouts, but I can't hear his words as I drift further away.

Gabriela’s soothing tones blend with the chaos. "She’ll be okay, but we need to get her some help," she says, her words a faint sound as my senses shut down.

24

Antonio

My vision swims as I slowly regain consciousness, the world around me a blur of shapes and colors. My eyes open for a few seconds only to close again, my eyelids feeling like lead. Faint voices sound around me, distorted and distant. My mind struggles to grasp onto them, to make sense of the disjointed whispers, but confusion envelops me.

Am I… am I dead?

The thought sends a chill down my spine, fear gripping my heart in its icy embrace. Images flash before my mind's eye, fleeting and fragmented. Among them, Colette's face emerges, her expression filled with disappointment and sorrow.

Colette... I'm sorry.

Regret washes over me like a crashing wave, threatening to drown me in its depths. Tears roll out of the side of my eyes as I think about what I may have lost since I killed myself, robbing myself of happiness. But then, amidst the chaos, a familiar voice breaks through the haze.

Leo.

Relief floods through me like a burst dam, sweeping away the tendrils of fear that had ensnared me. His voice is a lifeline, bringing me back to reality amidst the swirling tempest of uncertainty.

“Is he crying? Does that mean he is awake? Or will he wake up soon, Dr. Mendez?” he directs the multiple questions at someone.

That’s Leo’s voice... I'm not dead. Who is he talking to?

With a herculean effort, I pry my heavy eyelids halfway open. Where am I? Leo said, doctor. Am I at a hospital?

I try to piece together my surroundings, to make sense of this disjointed reality. The room tilts due to my head spinning with dizziness and my eyes close again of their own accord. Beside me, Gabriela's voice cuts through the fog, a beacon of reassurance in the darkness. "Antonio? Please wake up. Are you okay?"

Leo's voice is tinged with concern, his words directed at someone named Dr. Mendez. "Why isn't he waking up, Dr. Mendez?"

The unfamiliar voice responds, its tone calm and reassuring. "He's going to be fine. We already pumped his stomach and cleaned out his bloodstream." The words wash over me, leasing the ache of uncertainty that had plagued me.

“He’ll be okay. "

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