Dominance

Chapter 28: Grounded For Life

The cordial motion of floating engulfed Sara like a fluffy blanket. It was different from her first experience of lingering within the psychological black. She still felt the uneasiness of being displaced, but this time there was also an accompanying hum; a gentle sensation like that of a comforting warm hug. She found reaching out to embrace it caused the feeling to resonate visually into a soft blue blur that fought the darkness back.

Sara felt a tug; A voiceless motion beckoning her to leave. She had felt them occasionally as she rested, but Sara had ignored each poke thus far, with the temptation of sleep too much for her exhausted body.

She tried to bat the pull away, only to have it respond by yanking at her even harder. Gingerly, she let go, allowing her body to be swept awake.

The dark echoed away as Sara stared at the warm colours of an apricot ceiling. Her eyelids still felt heavy, but she knew if she were to close them for too long she might slip back into the comforting darkness, surely only to be dragged back awake again.

When she could tolerate the sudden change in brightness, she realised that evening light was spilling in through the partially open curtains of a tall window. She could only see a sliver of what remained of the day's sky from her horizontally placed position.

As her eyes lowered from the roof she took in the other details of the room. This bedroom was much larger than the one she had at home. It also smelled pleasantly familiar.

A decent sized television was rigged against one of the walls, the sound was muted but an array of tragic scenes that looked like chaos resulting from a natural disaster flashed across the screen. Underneath that was a white dresser trimmed gold accents. On top it was picture frames with photos of people that Sara was too far away to make out.

The only other furniture in the room was a study desk, an array of binders and books neatly lined in the attached shelves.

Sara's fatigued body was propped into a generously cushioned bed and her brain was foggy from overexerted sleep. But it did dawn on her that the consoling pressure -the warm hum from her dream- still remained.

Her head turned towards the presence of another figure huddled next to her, partially on the edge of the mattress and partially on the floor. His face was hidden against his elbow, but the mess of hair was instantly distinguishable.

She clenched her hand to be sure. But the gentle fizzles felt under her fingertips confirmed she was indeed grasping against the warmth of Twister arm.

He was wearing clothes again. Or rather, he had changed out of the stolen laboratory coat and into something with more coverage. The sleeves of the, presumably borrowed, green hooded jacket he wore were scrunched up as far as they could go.

Relieved he had not stirred, Sara anxiously stared at her appendage holding him. A needle protruded from her vein and she found herself following the medical tubing trailing outward. It led to an intravenous drip hooked up against the tall post of the bedframe.

Further down, against the same wall, she could see a pile of blankets, pillows, and bags tiering in a neat little mountain. One duffle bag was open revealing bandages and gauzes.

When Sara's attention flickered back to Twister, she realised the woodsy-vanilla smell in the air was not actually coming from the room, but was still a familiar scent she had encountered before. As she carefully leaned closer to in to confirm her suspicions, only to swiftly discovered Twister was not asleep as she had assumed him to be.

He was watching her from behind the crook of his arm and stray blonde strands of fringe, his eyebrows scrunching affront.

Horrified to having been caught sniffing him, Sara shot up straighter. But instantly regretted it as her head began to spin. She blinked back the dizziness. Her hand had retracted but was frozen mid-air with the unsettling texture of a needle piercing under her skin.