The Huntress Descent

The Storm: Chapter Thirteen

A harsh light shone directly from above, blinding my pupils beneath my eyelids till a swore they would be red raw. This time, however, I knew that it wasn't the sun that tried to burn my eyes out. There was a difference. The key. No heat. Well, from what I could gather. Opening them was proving to be a challenge. Nothing was responding to my command.

All I could do was listen, every sound vibrating in my eardrums. The intense noises setting off the flight or fight response. The beep of a machine close by her, the whistle of wind from somewhere, a dripping tap of water. I couldn't open my eyes. They wouldn't respond.

In the wake of panic, a whisper of voices pricked at the insides of my ear. Not loud enough that it was impossible to decipher what was being said, but just enough that I knew that I wasn't alone in where ever I was.

I tried to move something, anything, to will feeling back into myself. Even a twitch of the fingertip would set me in motion. Nothing. My body refused to listen to me and I didn't know why. I was trapped within myself with no way of shouting for help.

A shadow crossed over the front of my closed eyes. They twitched from the sudden response and flew open. The light blinded her at first, the light harsh and bright. Seconds later it faded to reveal the outline of a figure staring over me. They were dressed in a white lab coat, the words fuzzy on their corner breast. A mask covered the bottom half of their face, but perched on their nose was a pair of wire-trim glasses that magnified dark eyes. These dark eyes were attentively focused on me.

The corner of the man's eyes creased as his cheeks poked out the top of his mask. The man was smiling for some reason.

"Se's awake," the man spoke, the mask muffling his voice.

I tried to open my mouth to speak to him, to ask him where I was and what was happening to me. My mouth refused to respond to my commands and sat firmly shut. Silencing my screams for help.

The man rose up until he stood straight and turned to face whomever else was in the room. I couldn't tilt my head. The only thing I seemed to have control over was the movement of my eyes, and even that was restricted.

"That's a good sign," a woman's croaky voice responded to the man. "The Chancellor will be pleased."

"Sí, once sse is fully rrrecoberrret, we can starrrt de trrransferrr of data."

"How long are you going to keep her under?"

"A few morrre days. Just enough dat we don't comprrromise anythin."

There was a pause of silence.

"Are you going to let him examine her?" the woman asked in a lower voice.

The man glanced down at her. His eyes blank as he thought of a response to the question. "No," he said. "JHe is still useful to me. De longerrr I go without telling de Chancellorrr, de morrre I can get out of jhim." He looked back at the woman. "Afterrr all, it's jhis mistake dat got C7 into dis mess. Let jhim sufferrr."

A heavy coldness erupted in the back of my chest, followed by an intense pressure that squeezed my lungs together. It was that feeling again. I couldn't breathe. The tightness. The gasping for breath. The willing of air and nothing ever sticking.

The machine screamed beside me. Squealing as the pain got worse.

I was choking.

I couldn't breathe.

"García!" the woman snapped. "Level the medication. You know it isn't wise to mess with her vitals."

Immediately, followed by a silent thank you, I could breathe once again. The coldness trickling back into my lungs, the pain disappearing from the centre of my back. The machine settled down and everything returned back to normal.