Between Gates (The Gate Chronicles Book 1)

Chapter 26: Wakening

Chenn sat beside Nari’s bed, watching the tubes feed liquid into her veins. She’d been here for a week. Slowly color was returning to her, but she still wasn’t gaining weight. That wasn’t a shock though. She wouldn’t do that until she actually started eating again.

Her eyelids fluttered. Chenn sat bolt upright. He watched in anticipation and elation as her eyes opened.

"You're awake!" He kept his voice low so that he wouldn't disturb anyone, but adrenaline and excitement rushed through his veins. She'd been out so long that he'd thought she wouldn't wake up.

The thought that he might never see her beautiful green eyes open again was awful.  

Her green eyes focused on him slowly, and she smiled. “Chenn?”

“Yeah. I’m here, Nari. It’s okay. I’m here.” He whispered.

“What happened? I was… Was I sick? I remember being beaten and cut up by Amory and the warden. They wanted information, but I didn’t give it. After that, though, everything went fuzzy. Like I was dying or like I wasn’t there. There was a bright light, and then I was out.” She sat up a bit, slowly and stiffly because she still ached everywhere.

“That… That was me, Nari. I got you out. I’m sorry. I didn’t know what was happening to you. I forced the warden to let me see you because I wanted to talk to you. I just told him Amory had sent me to see if you were ready to talk. I didn’t know they’d done that to you.” He looked away, his hands shaking slightly.

“How bad was it?” She whispered, her throat feeling scratchy.

“Bad. They hadn’t fed you anything, or given you anything to drink in a week. Do you remember how you survived?” His voice trembled, and he looked like he might cry.

“Water. I haven’t had any of that in my mouth for what seems like ages. I had nasty, sludgy stuff from stagnant pools. I couldn’t always find it either. It was so dark. So dark.” She murmured weakly. “I thought I’d never see light again. I just wanted to die.”

“I could tell. You didn’t even…” His voice caught.

Tears sparkled in her eyes. “I didn’t what, Chenn?” Talking was exhausting her, and she lay back down on the pillows, whimpering in pain despite her efforts to conceal it.

“You’re in pain. Get some sleep. We’ll talk later.” Chenn wanted to keep her awake and talking so bad. She was awake for the first time in a week and lucid for the first time in close to two.  All he wanted was to keep talking to her, to keep listening to her voice even if it was weak.

But she was tired, and he knew he shouldn’t exhaust her.

“No. First tell me what I didn’t do or know.” She insisted.

“You didn’t even recognize me.” He whispered.

She reached out with a weak, bony arm, and stroked his cheek with her emaciated fingers. “Oh, Chenn. I’m so sorry.” She started crying.

“Don’t be. You… It wasn’t your fault. You were just really sick.” He wiped away the tears slipping down his own cheeks. “Don’t be upset, Nari. Please. I don’t want you to cry.”

“I can’t help it.” She gasped. “I got so bad I didn’t even remember the one person who’s come to mean the most to me. I’m so sick I can hardly move, and I failed in my mission to save Earth. I can’t tell Andrew that I failed, and he doesn’t know where I am. It’s been three months since I came here and now...” She had exhausted herself.

Her arm dropped, and the tears rolled down her cheeks, fat and hot. Her head hurt again, and the dozens of cuts on her body ached and burned.

Chenn sat on the bed next to her, and gently pulled her into his arms. She didn’t protest, but he felt her shudder just a tiny bit as her injuries pained her. “If I’m hurting you, I’ll let you be.” His voice broke, but he managed to whisper, "And if you hate me for what happened and you don't want to see me again, I understand. I'll leave. But I'll be waiting nearby in case you still want me." He shivered. "I will never leave you to face trouble alone again. I did that once, and you almost died. Never again." He murmured.