Page 80 of Tyrant

There are more voices. A few flashes of light. I can’t hear anything now. I definitely can’t see anything. Then it’s like a dark blanket being pulled up and over my body, something bad engulfing me and taking me away. Everything goes black. Goes quiet.

Everything goes numb.

I’m stuckin a void but I don’t know for how long. It’s like I’m just sitting in the middle of a dark room. That’s when I wake up.

I have no idea how or why it happens, but my eyes suddenly just open. I instantly know I’m in a hospital room, in a hospital bed, machines hooked up to me. The beeps are almost soft and soothing.

I look to my right and there’s Tyrant, sitting in a chair, watching me. He leans toward me and touches my chin.

“Are you here, Sera?”

His rough voice is like heaven. I nod. I move my mouth. Nothing comes out at first. After I swallow hard, I try again.

“Right here,” I manage to say. “A hospital?”

“Yeah,” Tyrant says. His eyes are focused and intense. “Do you remember what happened?”

“I’m not sure,” I say.

“Try to remember, Sera. Someone attacked you. Someone tried to kill you.”

I suck in a breath. The machines elevate their beeps and noises. In a matter of seconds, there are nurses in my room, checking up on me. They call for a doctor now that I’m awake. Everyone moves fast but moves gently.

Tyrant stands up and stands next to the hospital bed. Everyone seems to move around him. Nobody will acknowledge him or talk to him.

A doctor comes into the room. He has a tired, stern face and dark eyes and looks intense.

“Glad to see you’re awake,” he says. “You know, you’ve been in good hands here this entire time. This guy next to you, he tried to fight every security guard we have here. I thought he was going to burn the hospital down just to be by your side.”

Hearing that about Tyrant makes me feel flushed. I smile and nod.

“Talk to me about pain levels,” the doctor says. “Where and how much?”

There isn’t much pain right now. Although something feels weird with the left side of my head. I realize there’s a massive bandage there. That’s when pieces of what happened come back to me.

I look at Tyrant.

“Someone hit me in the head,” I tell him. “I was in the women’s restroom. After we…”

I freeze up and heat rushes to my cheeks.

“You’re remembering,” the doctor says. “That’s a good thing. Can you feel everything? Legs? Toes? Fingertips? All that?”

The doctor is asking basic questions and I keep nodding. I’m not sure if I’m telling the truth or not. I mean, yeah, I can move my body. It hurts to move. My head is very weird. Verywobbly.

I keep getting pulses of images. I was attacked. That much I know.

Attacked.

The heart monitor starts to beep a little bit quicker and louder.

“Deep breaths,” the doctor says to me. “This is a lot to take in right now. You showed up here in rough shape. It’s been a hectic few days for you, Serafina.”

“Days?” I whisper.

“Three days, Sera,” Tyrant’s voice says.

I look at him again. Shock ripples through my body.

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