Page 8 of Rising from the Depths

The room around her faded into a dark blur, and a high, faint ringing drowned out all other sounds. All she saw, her only point of focus, was the end of her left leg — a bandaged stump just below the knee. Her calf, her ankle, and her foot weregone.

There was movement at the edge of her vision, and it was only then she realized her mouth was open, and she was screaming. It burned her lungs and throat, and all at once, she could hear it, deafening and filled with terror. Someone was speaking to her, but she couldn’t make out the words through her scream.

Panting, Eva lifted her leg and reached forward to touch the space her calf should’ve occupied as though this were an optical illusion and the rest of her would just appear. Her hand passed through empty air.

This is a dream. I’m not awake. This is a nightmare.

This is a dream.

A nightmare.

Wake up!

WAKE UP!!!

Gentle hands settled upon Eva’s shoulders as someone kneeled beside her.

“Eva?” the woman said. “You’re safe, Eva. You’re at the clinic, and you’re safe. I don’t know if you remember me, but my name is Aymee. I need you to calm down, okay? You’re hyperventilating. Take some deep breaths.”

“No,” Eva breathed, shaking her head. “No. No, no, no, no. I’m not awake. This is a dream.”

One of the hands on her shoulders slid down to rub her back, but Eva was barely aware of it. Her entire body shook, and her heartbeat thundered in her ears. Tingles raced over her skin. The light in the room was dimming, and darkness encroached on the borders of her vision.

“Dad!” Aymee called over her shoulder before turning her face back to Eva. The motion of her hand on Eva’s back didn’t falter. “Shh,” she soothed. “Breathe for me, Eva. Slow, deep breaths.”

“My leg! What happened to my leg?” Eva demanded.

Heavy footsteps approached, and another pair of legs entered Eva’s peripheral vision. There was a masculine curse. “Let’s get her back into bed.”

“Eva, this is Doctor Kent Rhodes, my father,” Aymee said. “We’re going to lift you and get you back onto the bed, okay?”

“No! I just want to wake up!” Eva yelled, struggling against the hands that carefully grasped her and lifted her off the floor. Her achy, weakened muscles could not overcome Kent and Aymee; they settled her atop the bed and held her down. “Please let me wake up!”

“Give her a sedative, Aymee, then check her leg,” Kent said.

Tears filled Eva’s eyes and blurred her vision. She wailed and fought to free herself, but Kent kept her firmly in place.

“I know you’re confused and frightened, Eva,” he said, his voice warm and gentle, “but we are taking care of you. We have to sedate you, so you don’t cause yourself any further harm, do you understand?”

Eva looked up into his blue eyes. “What happened to my leg? Where’s my leg?”

Something cold pressed against her neck. There was a click, a pinch of pain, and a hiss. Eva flinched.

“The damage was too extensive, Eva,” Kent said, sounding farther away with each word. “We had to amputate it to save your life.”

Fingers brushed over the skin of Eva’s thigh as Aymee peeled back the bandages, but Eva refused to look. She blinked away her tears, keeping her eyes on Kent’s. “What...what happened? Why? This…this isn’t real. Please tell me it’s a dream. Where’s Blake?”

Her gaze drifted away from Kent, wandering around the room as though her husband would be there. Her mind — and her senses — were growing fuzzy.

Not so fuzzy, however, that she didn’t notice the troubled glance between Aymee and Kent.

“Blake is… He’s working in the tannery,” Aymee said.

“He came by to check on you earlier. I’ll send someone to let him know you woke up,” Kent said.

Aymee frowned deeply; she seemed about to say something more about Blake, but she shook her head. “You just need to focus on resting, okay, Eva? That’s the only way you’re going to recover.”

“How’s it look?” Kent asked.

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