The Guide To Moving On

Chapter 31 Part 2 - Hurt

Nat's POV

I heard the crash of metal behind me a turned to see iron bars drop down, trapping me in the corridor. Great. I should've known this was a trap. I loaded my guns and stayed alert, spinning immediately as I heard the click of a door. I spun toward the noise and was immediately bombarded with guards. 

I cursed under my breath and started shooting. I was severely outnumbered and the blows that the guards were landing on me were getting more frequent and with more force. I continued fighting anyway, I had no choice. I was stuck and if I stopped now, I would die. 

I had tolerated the blows until one of the guards drew out a knife and started attacking my legs with it, leaving large stab wounds all over my legs and I screamed, falling to the ground. 

They all kept going, punching and beating me, I swear I heard one of my ribs snap at the force of one of the soldiers feet getting wedged in my side. Black spots started to invade my vision and m surroundings became blurry. 

The last thing that I remember before I gave into the darkness was the sound of a gunshot and the thundering of footsteps close by. 

*Time skip*

I felt myself slowly emerge from the darkness. This isn't the first time that I have been knocked out, and the familiar feelings started washing over me. The first sense that you regain is always hearing, I could hear beeping and some muffled talking, though I couldn't quite work out what they are saying. 

The second sense to come back was smell. I could smell the strong scent of anaesthetic, nearly enough to give me a headache. 

Next comes taste, I rolled my tongue around my mouth and found it dry. There was a distinct taste of dirt and something metallic, probably blood. 

Then it was touch. I felt everything at once, it felt like I had been runover by a truck. My whole body was aching, I couldn't tell what parts exactly, everything just throbbed. The only thing I could pin point was the weight and warmth of my hand, moving it slightly, I realised that I was holding something, or someone. 

Lastly, was sight. I opened my eyes slowly and was blinded by the light. I blinked for a few seconds trying desperately to get my eyes to adjust. I looked around and confirmed by suspicions. I was in a hospital. 

As I looked around properly I realised that the weight on my hand was actually another hand, Steve's to be exact, and his head rested on top of our intertwined hands. He was asleep, still wearing his suit, all dirty and bloody himself. 

"S-Steve?" I called but it came out more like a choked whisper due to how dry my mouth was. But he woke anyway, shifting back into his seat and blinking, he looked exhausted, dark bags evident under his eyes. 

"Hey Nat." he said groggily looking around the room trying to get his bearings. His eyes then circled back to me and he stared at me for a second before his eyes widened and he stood up quickly in fright. 

"Nat! Oh my goodness! You are awake! How are you feeling?" He rapidly asked, and I took a second to process what he said. 

"I'm fine." I retorted quickly and he arched an eyebrow sitting back down on the plastic hospital chair. 

"Ok, I feel like I have been hit by a bus." I admitted solemnly, giving up on pretending that I wasn't in pain. 

"Yeah, I figured, you have quite an extensive list of injuries. I'm going to alert the doctor that you are awake, give me a moment." He said getting up and letting go of my hand to go in search of the doctor.