VOXISTALE: Novel Edition

Chapter 90

His eyelids felt like lead, refusing to open, too heavy to lift. So when he regained consciousness, he continued to lie immobile on something that felt somewhat soft, but with a hardness just beneath it. The soft was thin, so he deduced it must be a blanket or something. Aside from that, he heard very little outside of some soft crackling of a calm fire. The air felt incredibly tense, so much so that it made his stomach churn uncomfortably.

Again, he tried to open his eyes. Slowly, the lids began to lift, and he was greeted with a hazy sight of blurred light and shadows. The light somewhat hurt his eyes, so he let his lids drop back down and instead tried to move an arm. It was just as heavy, but he managed to move it to his chest after a few seconds of struggling with it.

Why did he feel so weak?

Deciding to focus on where he might be instead of fighting his tired body, Terrence tried to think back to the last thing he'd remembered. An image flashed in front of his mind; Frisk, wearing that breathtaking scarlet dress. It had been homecoming. Then . . . then they fought somebody. He couldn't really remember who, or why, but maybe that explained why his body was so exhausted and sore. He'd probably overexerted himself well beyond his limits.

So where had he gone after that fight? Was he at Gerson's? It didn't smell like Gerson's, but it was definitely a familiar scent. Almost like burgers and fries, but just . . . stale. Was this Grillby's?

Terrence tried to open his eyes again, which was somewhat easier this time as he was greeted by the blurry shapes again, barely able to make them out. He tried to sit up, and maybe got a centimeter off the ground before he stopped trying, grunting in pain.

"Terrence?" A feminine voice asked from somewhere behind him. He opened his mouth, which hurt too, just not as bad.

"Yeah . . ." he croaked out, his voice broken. Strained. His throat felt sore and dry.

"About time," the girl said. He recognized that voice . . . it was Sadie. For some reason, it felt like he hadn't seen her in a long time. She sounded relieved despite her words.

When his eyes refused to focus, he shut them again. "Wuh . . ." he started to ask, before a few coughs overtook him, and he was forced to react, his whole body tensing painfully as he let out a few wheezes. With a more pained groan, he tried to relax, wincing as his body throbbed with pain.

"Try not to move," Sadie advised a little too late- though that was probably intentional.

"Where . . . ?" He managed to get out, his voice breaking halfway through.

"Grillby's. Hang on, let me get you some water."

Well, he was right about it being Grillby's. He could feel her move past him, her steps were light on the wooden floor, but the vibrations were still there. Light wind brushed him as she passed, the sound of a door creaking open could be heard, before she exited the room.

He waited in patient silence, hearing soft snoring nearby. Somehow, he recognized that snoring a lot quicker than he'd recognized Sadie's voice. Greg was somewhere off to his right, probably sleeping in a booth, or resting against a wall. Terrence was mad at him for some reason, though he couldn't remember why. He really hoped his memory would come back soon.

Sadie returned, approaching him. Again, he tried to sit up, failing to do so, letting out a strained grunt again. "Seriously. Don't move." She ordered, and he could hear one of her knees pop as she crouched down and slid her hand behind his head, slowly and carefully lifting his head up, his lips pressing against the rim of a glass. Eagerly, he opened his mouth and accepted the water as she tilted the cup a bit to allow him to begin drinking. It was cold, and ran down his sore throat, soothing it, though that was short-lived until he took another gulp. The water was gone too soon, so Sadie refilled it at least three more times before she refused to get him another, stating it would be better to drink in smaller amounts until he recovered some more.