The Rosewood Prophecy

Chapter 45

                                                                          Aaron

Cold wind rushing past my ears. Kath's arm tightly around my waist, and my arm around hers. The heavy pull of gravity and the flapping of my cloak. And then, it was all over.

Or was it? I remember tree branches scratching at my legs, my arms, my face. One of the arrows caught on something and was yanked out painfully, taking a chunk of my flesh with it. I felt the warm blood gushing out.

But I also remember water, the coldest water I'd ever felt. I thought I was turning into ice. I tried to open my eyes, tried to move, but couldn't. Maybe it was just a nightmare. Maybe I've passed into the afterlife. Somewhere along the line, I've lost Kath. Everyone was taken from me. There's no point in living. I gave up completely, giving in to the elements and accepting my fate.

* * * * *

I hear voices. This murmuring, this low mumbling of sounds...am I going crazy? Are these the voices of spirits? They faded in and out, and I remained suspended in the painful darkness. I can no longer feel my limbs. All that remained was pain, pain, and more pain. I submitted once more to the blissful darkness.

* * * * *

"Shh. Don't move. You're safe now." Mum? Is that you? I struggled to open my eyes, to call out, but I couldn't. Mum. Mum. Don't leave me. Please don't leave me again. "There, there." A soothing hand gently caressed my burning body, just like what my mum used to do when I was little and had a nightmare. "You're safe now."

* * * * *

Where am I? Is this heaven? Is this hell? How am I even able to think? The darkness loomed all around, and I was reluctant to find out about my predicament. I had long given up the fight. I drifted mindlessly, aimlessly, until unconsciousness consumed me once again.

* * * * *

I opened my eyes slowly, my vision blurry. A warm fire cackled somewhere nearby, and sunlight streamed in through a window. I could hear the faint chirping of birds from beyond the walls. Is this what the afterlife was like?

No. I'm breathing. And there was a dull ache in my limbs that intensified if I moved a particular way. People don't feel pain if they're dead. Then where am I? And where's Kath?

Slowly, I forced myself to sit up, ignoring the tiny daggers of pain that shot through my arms and chest. As my vision focused, I saw that I was on a simple bed, with a mattress stuffed with straw and a warm handmade quilt. The room was small, but it had a fireplace at one end and a writing desk under the window, aside from two beds lining two opposite walls, one of which I was on. I looked down at myself, surprised to see bandages covering most of my upper body and parts of my legs. My clothes, however, were nowhere to be seen, except for my undergarment. Who had saved me, and took care of me while I was unconscious? And how long had I been here? Where's Kath?

A closer examination of the room told me that Kath was lying on the other bed, still unconscious. She lied so still I feared she was dead, but the small rise and fall of her chest told me she was still breathing. "Kath. Kath." I called out softly. "Kath? Katherine?"

There was no response. With some difficulty, I pushed the quilt aside and swung my legs over the bed. Gingerly, I stood up, hand gripping the edge of the bed to brace myself for pain. My knees gave out and I almost fell, but I forced myself to straighten again. Gradually, the pain dulled, and I was able to make the few steps necessary to reach Kath's bedside.