Amalgamate

Chapter 10

Rowan awoke to voices, voices that weren't completely unfamiliar. Her eyes fluttered open, taking in an unknown space. The room was dark, lit by only two small lamps. There wasn't much to the small room: the bed she was in, a cart with medical supplies and a curtain covered window. The whole scene reminded her of a medical set up in some third world country somewhere.

She perused her surroundings with pause having no idea where she was or how she'd gotten there. All she knew was that her stomach hurt like a bitch. When she tried to sit up to get a better look, she audibly gasped, "Mother fu...ahh!" She looked down to find a large bandage across her lower abdomen.

Her mouth was parched, but what really got to her was the room spinning in front of her. She wasn't sure what kind of meds or chemicals they'd been pumping into her, but something was afoot.

Her gasp was loud enough to catch the attention of the people in the hall and one by one they filed into the room. There were four. She immediately recognized Karita, Raine and Maeve, but the man was new and he literally had the worst sunburn she had ever seen. Tilting her head she squinted her eyes in an attempt to focus her vision. Clearly this wasn't possible. Anyone that burned would be admitted to a hospital. Wouldn't they? Was she in a hospital?

Her voice was rough and slow when she spoke, "Who are you people?" Blinking in disbelief she continued to stare at him. She was a very pale girl, so the sun wasn't her friend either, but even she'd never suffered a sunburn like that.

"Listen, there's a lot going on here Rowan, and you're on some heavy meds for pain right now. You need to sleep." Karita knew there was no way Rowan would sleep, but she had to try.

"Like hell! I'm sitting here with my goddamn stomach split open and a guy standing at the foot of my bed who, no offense, has the worst burn I've ever seen. Not to mention, you ladies obviously knew me well before you met me last night. Who the hell are you people?" She enunciated every word as though the emphasis would somehow persuade them to answer her question.

Looking around at each other they weren't sure what to say, or how much to tell her.

"We were sent here to guard you Rowan...by your Aunt Deisha." Karita took a solitary step closer to the bed. "Someone's obviously put a hit out on you, and we need to figure out who they are and how they found you." Karita was as genuine and endearing as she could be in her response knowing that this would all sound bat shit crazy to Rowan at first.

"Ladies, we can talk later. Right now the rubber needs to hit the road. Between the spell and her injuries... she can't sift like this. She's gonna need some time to heal before she can train anyway. She's weak."

His flat affect made him seem confident and non-chalant. But, his eyes were completely, and intensely, focused on her. "Wait. I don't understand."

These people were speaking English, but they were talking about things she couldn't wrap her head around. Her gut instincts were screaming at her. Rowan had never placed her trust in anyone, and she wouldn't be startin' today either.

"If she's weak, maybe now isn't the time to move her." Maeve turned to Greer.

"We can't stay in one place too long. Greer's right. They'll come for her." Raine looked Rowan over from top to bottom...assessing her.

Rowan grew more confused as she listened to them, if that was possible. She didn't understand anything that was happening to her, and nobody was talking to her. Nobody was telling her anything. Anxiety crept over her, fueling her frustration which only accelerated her foul temper.