The Rain (Book 2 - The Constant Fight)

Chapter 30 - Dispositifs de retenue pour et retrouvailles

A clock ticked. An old antique sound. It gave a sense of comfort. His eyes opened and at first, his world was a blur, everything fuzzy and faded. The walls were white, plain. He tried to lift his hand but he couldn't. He looked down, feeling his chin against his chest. His brows furrowed in confusion until he saw the restraints wrapped around both his wrists and ankles. He struggled for a moment before coming to the conclusion that he wasn't getting out.

Ross let his head fall back against the soft pillow in defeat. He closed his eyes and took a breath, opening them and staring at the ceiling that reminded him of school. The lights flickered and started to give him a headache. His wrist burned and he looked down to see it bound in white gauze stained with a small dot of red blood. His foot was also cloaked in white. He was wearing a pristine white t-shirt that looked strange. He was also wearing neatly ironed light blue trousers.

He let his eyes scan the room. White door to his right. No windows. A table to both his right and left. The room could only fit seven or eight people. The floor was a metallic grey, tiled and swept clean. It didn't feel right.

The last thing Ross remembered was being attacked by the dog. That was it. He didn't remember who saved him or how he got where he was.

He threw his head back with a grunt and gave up on trying to get out. His eyes caught on something in the corner of the room. He squinted his eyes and his forehead creased in confusion, his brows drawing together.

A camera. It was on. Ross could tell due to the flashing red light. He squinted his eyes and was able to see the actual camera watching him. He heard it as it zoomed in on him.

"Where the hell am I?" He asked, looking to his left to see another camera in that corner too.

The door swung open and his head snapped around. A woman stood in the doorway holding the door wide open. She was older, her hair a wispy white. She was small and plump. She wore a white shirt with a light blue apron. Ross clenched his fists and shook them in the restraints.

She made eye contact with him for only a second before she looked away and nodded to someone else.

Two kids came dashing in and a smile replaced Ross's look of caution. Bethany and Ben ran up to his bedside and practically threw themselves onto him.

"You're okay!" Bethany yelled gleefully as she bounced by his side. Ross smiled and nodded at her.

"We saw you come in. They said they had to fix you up before we could see you." Ben stated, grinning up at Ross.

They were wearing their own clothes. Bethany had a bandage on the back of her head. This caught Ross's attention.

"What happened to you?" He asked, his smile fading and a look of seriousness covered his face.

Bethany's hand went nervously up to the back of her head and she looked down in embarrassment. "We were attacked by dogs, I fell and hit my head." She looked up and sent him a nervous smile.

Ben looked over his shoulder to the woman who was still standing in the doorway, watching the three converse.

"Can we take off these?" He asked, gesturing to Ross's restraints. The woman stepped forward, letting the door shut behind her. She waddled past the kids and undid Ross's buckles. Once Ross's hands and feet were free, he rubbed them to soothe the burn.

She walked to the corner and took the crutches from the floor. Ross hadn't noticed them before.

"Here." Her voice was like gravel. Hard and sharp. She thrust the crutches in his direction and Ross swung himself around. Bethany darted around the bed and snatched them from the lady's grasp. Standing and smiling happily up at Ross.