Terrible Fates (BEN Drowned story)

Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Reese's POV

It was all a blur when I woke up. Mostly because when I woke up, I had bolted upright from bed and started hyperventilating. I accidentally yanked a heart rate tracker clip away from my finger and the heart monitor went from rapidly beeping to a droning buzz in seconds. Hands grabbed at me, trying to lay me down as gently as they could, but when that didn't work they resorted to shoving me. I kept trying to fight them, not knowing who they were or where I was. That's when a voice spoke to me in a soft tone, "Reese, mijito, calm down."

I listened to the voice's command and laid back against my pillows. To my right was Mom, sitting on a recliner pulled up beside my bed. She was leaning forward, almost in apprehension of what just happened, but she remained still and patient. The two nurses that tried to hold me down let go of me, and held awkward expressions on their faces, like they had that moment of panic for nothing. One of them clipped the heart rate tracker back on my finger and the machine picked up on my pulse quickly. Mom's hands cupped my right hand and I tried to squeeze a gentle grip on her. Trying to do that exhausted me. Doing anything exhausted me now.

"The nurses wanted to wait until you were awake for you to eat a proper meal. You're anemic right now," Mom explained, as if sensing my concern.

"What happened?" I murmured, my mouth feeling dry.

She flashed me a delicate smile and answered, "You've been in the hospital for two days now. It's Monday."

"What...?"

She nodded and added, "Doctors say a custodian found you by the emergency entrance, and nurses took you in. You had lost a lot of blood."

"But...how--?" And that's when I suddenly remembered the encounter I had with that black, deformed creature, and what had been happening to my body. My heart started racing faster as I looked down at myself. My hands were clear of any black vein-patterned substances, and there was only a sore pain in my body. I touched the left side of my face and found a large, bandage patch on my cheek. Then I remembered the shadow coming closer before I had passed out. Who was that?

"Did...Did Artem come back to the shop?" I asked, hoping it was him. But, then I realized after I asked that it wouldn't make sense for him to just leave me at a hospital.

Mom shook her head and said, "He was just as surprised as we were when authorities called us here. That wasn't until a day later after you went missing, so we were all worried sick by then."

So then who brought me here?

I remembered other voices that talked to each other while I was in my unconscious state. A man and a woman, I think. The blue light was there, too. It made me feel better. But I passed out again before I could figure out who I was with and what they did to me.

There was a clock underneath the TV on the wall across from me. Noticing the time, I turned to Mom and said, "It's eleven. You should be at work."

"Took the day off. Probably will again tomorrow."

"Mama..."

She brushed her fingers against my right cheek, then through my hair to push back the stringy blonde locks that fell in my face. "Don't worry about that, mijo. Just relax and get better, okay?"

I nodded. It was then that I remembered my brother. "Where's Hunter?"

"He's planning on visiting you after he gets out of school. He'll be coming at two o'clock or so," Mom responded.