Page 9 of Rising from the Depths

“The skin hasn’t torn, thankfully,” Aymee replied. “The supplies Arkon helped me get from the Facility are definitely better quality than anything we’ve had here before. You wouldn’t think it’s only been four days.”

“Four days?” Eva asked, her words slurring. Her eyelids — along with every other part of her body — felt suddenly heavy. “What’s only been four days?”

“You’ve been asleep for a while, Eva,” Aymee said. “You lost a lot of blood, and we’ve kept you sedated to make sure you were getting the rest you need.”

“What…happened?”

“You don’t remember?” Kent asked.

Eva shook her head. She’d been in the water with Blake, Addison, Hailey, and Samuel, enjoying a day off. They’d planned to swim and lounge in the sun…but she couldn’t remember anything after they started swimming.

“There was an accident,” Aymee said. “We can talk about it when you’re feeling a little better, okay?”

“What…?” Eva murmured.

“Rest, Eva. We’ll find Blake, and you can ask questions when you wake up.”

Eva’s eyelids drifted shut against her will.

“She really can’t remember anything?” Aymee asked softly.

“It’s a natural response to trauma,” Kent replied. Eva felt his hands lift away, but her body was leaden and unresponsive. “She may remember, in time…or she may never get those memories back.”

What happened? Tell me what happened!

But her mouth wouldn’t work, and no sound emerged from her throat. She gave up her fight and let oblivion claim her.

* * *

Artificial light dominated the room when evening came. The sun had set some time ago; whether it had been minutes or hours since, Eva could not say. Time was immeasurable as she sat in the clinic bed with her back propped against the pillows.

Aymee had been there to administer a pain-relieving shot upon Eva’s second awakening; the medicine wasn’t a sedative, but now Eva wished it had been. All she could do was sit and stare at what her mind refused to accept as real. She had hoped and prayed it was all a bad dream, that nothing had happened, but no amount of wishing could change the reality she faced.

Her legs were hidden beneath a blanket, but the cloth was draped over her stump, outlining it clearly. She could still sense the rest of her leg, could still imagine her toes wiggling upon her foot, could evenfeelit.

But it was…gone.

Eva reached down and bunched up the blanket in her hands. Her stomach churned, and her heart constricted. Before she could consider what she was about to do, she whipped the blanket aside.

She wore no pants to conceal her legs; with the blanket moved, there was nothing to hide the truth — no calf; no foot; no wiggling toes. Only a bandaged stump just below her knee. She lifted her leg and bent her knee, ignoring the agony it caused. Tears filled her eyes as she lowered her stump to the bed.

The door opened, and Eva turned her head to find familiar eyes upon her.

“Blake,” she breathed. Her tears fell at the sight of him. She didn’t know why he hadn’t been there before, but he was here now, and that was all that mattered.

Except…something was off.

He stood in the doorway, his gaze moving from her face to her exposed leg. He paled and looked away.

Why wasn’t he rushing to her side to hold her, to touch her? To tell her everything would be okay?

“Blake?” Her tone begged him to look at her.

He did, but only briefly. Clearing his throat, he stepped into the room, closing the door behind him. “Doc said you were asking for me.”

“Of course I was. Why wouldn’t I?”

Come closer to me. Hold me, Blake!

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